HPD files plans for 282-unit affordable project The Beacon in Harlem

Rona Reodica, Director of Policy & Operations of NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development submitted a new building construction project for a 282-unit, 269,062 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 413 East 120th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan. The project is known as The Beacon and Ascendant Neighborhood Development and The Community Builders are leading the development.

The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on August 5, 2025 under job number M01030184. The project is described in the filing as: a 21-story new building. The architect is Paul A. Castrucci, Architect.

This building is being constructed on a portion of a tax lot occupied by a New York City Human Resources Administration building, known as the East Harlem Multi-Service Center. The HRA building will remain and will be rehabilitated, according a city press release from 2021 that has been updated.

The affordable housing development has been years in the making, and was was subject to a request for proposals. “HPD is planning for the future development of new affordable housing and neighborhood amenities… located at 413 East 120th Street between First Avenue and Pleasant Avenue, which currently hosts the HRA Multi-Service Center.

413 East 120th Street

The property

The specialty building in East Harlem has 80,095 square feet of built space and 39,726 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 119,877 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 209 feet and is 181 feet deep with a total lot size of 34,848 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7-2 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $8.1 million.

Development

Rona Reodica, Director of Policy & Operations of NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development submitted a new building construction project for a 282-unit, 269,062 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 413 East 120 Street. The plan was filed on August 5, 2025. It calls for the construction of a 211-foot tall, 21-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number M01030184. The architect is Paul A. Castrucci, Architect. The project is described in the filing as: a 21 story new building.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In East Harlem, The majority, or 51 percent of the 52.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, East Harlem has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $495.3 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 21st highest in Manhattan. For development, East Harlem has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 20th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.2 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the three commercial properties representing 636,578 square feet of the 716,673 square feet. The two identified owners are City Of New York and New York City Housing Authority. On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 269,062 square feet. It is a 282-unit, 269,062 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and filed by Rona Reodica with plans filed August 5, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 431 East 120 Street, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months. It was a permit application filed on August 8, 2025 for the $992,684 renovation of 39,977-square-foot residential (RES) building with 17 residential units at 444 East 119th Street.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.