NYCHA, Related, Essence file plans for 217-unit building in Chelsea

New York City Housing Authority, in partnership with Related Companies and Essence Development, submitted a new building construction project for a 217-unit, 211,205 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 401 West 19th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on July 31, 2025 under job number M01260000. It calls for the construction of a 12-story building. The project is described in the filing as: construction of a new 12-story building as per plans filed herewith. Matthew Charney of NYCHA filed the plans. The architect is Ismael Leyva Architects.
This projects is part of a the NYCHA public-private Permanent Affordability Commitment Together, or PACT program, through which NYCHA selected Related and Essence for the redevelopment of the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses. NYCHA began in 2019 to advance the idea of demolition and reconstruction with tenants, highlighting the comparative costs of new construction against rehabilitation. This 217-unit project will replace a building which currently houses 36 units.
A 2023 media release from Related Companies said the broader redevelopment plan “will be overseen by NYCHA and Essence Development, and co-developed by Related Companies.”

401 West 19th Street

The property

The elevator building with 36 residential units in Chelsea has 45,420 square feet of built space and 130,859 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 176,235 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 375 feet and is 78 feet deep with a total lot size of 29,275 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $9.4 million.

Prior sales and revenue

The 45,420-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.8 million or $40 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Development

Matthew Charney of New York City Housing Authority submitted a new building construction project for a 217-unit, 211,205 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 401 West 19 Street. The plan was filed on July 31, 2025. It calls for the construction of a 120-foot tall, 12-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number M01260000. The architect is Ismael Leyva Architects, P.C. The project is described in the filing as: hub consultation accepted 7/30/25. construction of a new 12 story building as per plans filed herewith.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $1,200 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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

The neighborhood

In Chelsea, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52.5 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Chelsea has the 6th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Chelsea has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 21st highest in Manhattan. It had 2.1 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 nine of the 16 commercial properties representing 192,863 square feet of the 226,220 square feet. The largest owner is Benchmark Real Estate Group, followed by Churchill Real Estate Holdings and then Hakimian Organization. On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 211,205 square feet. It is a 217-unit, 211,205 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by New York City Housing Authority and filed by Matthew Charney with plans filed July 31, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that New York City Housing Authority owned at least 542 commercial properties with 159,806 residential units in New York City with 133,000,282 square feet and a city-determined market value of $11.4 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $79.3 million in debt, borrowed from Breaking Ground. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 97 percent of the 133,000,282 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 3 percent of the space. The bulk, or 34 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 31 percent of the space.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 157 9 Avenue, PincusCo identified four commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those four items, one was for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. It was a permit issued on July 30, 2024 for the $2 million renovation of 6,018-square-foot residential (R-3) building with one residential units at 418 West 20th Street. Of those four items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $147.9 million. The most recent of the two was S-Platform which bought the 4,424-square-foot, four-unit mixed-use building (S3) on 154 9th Avenue for $5.5 million from Angelo Sperrazza and Richard Schiller on April 4, 2024. One of those four items was a loan which Atlas Capital Group, Fairstead, Blackstone Group, and Island Capital borrowed $272.7 million from Bridge Investment Group secured by the 157,364-square-foot, 40-unit rental (D1) on 434 West 19th Street and 10 other properties on September 12, 2024.

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