Slow projects from July 2018: two years and no building permits

PincusCo Media has been taking an in-depth look at delayed development projects in New York City to get an idea of which projects are taking longer to move forward.

On Monday, PincusCo looked at the three largest new building projects pre-filed with the city’s Department of Buildings in June of 2018 that had not yet received permits to begin construction. Two were in Brooklyn and one was in the Bronx. All were less than 50,000 square feet.

Today, PincusCo repeats the project, but this time looking at the following month, July 2018. Of the three projects, one was in the Bronx and two were in Manhattan. All three were greater than 140,000 square feet.

The largest of the three was Monadnock Development’s plan for a 261-unit, 191,014-square-foot residential and community facility building at 1923 West Farms Road in Tremont.

The plans, pre-filed on July 3, 2018, call for the construction of a 161-foot tall, 16-story, building.

The project is described in the filings as: construct new 16-story building mixed-use as per plans filed.

The plans were reported to be the sixth phase of a seven-building project, co-developed with Signature Urban Properties as part of the West Farms Redevelopment Plan. Five of the other buildings have received their TCOs, and a seventh building was pre-filed in December 2018.

The redevelopment transformed the industrial area into the Compass Residencies, a 1,300-unit community that includes low- to moderate-income housing, formerly homeless households, retail space, and extensive public and private open space.

The neighborhood was rezoned from industrial to residential under Mayor Michael Bloomberg back in 2011.

The plan was approved on April 25, 2019. However, no permits have been issued for this building.

A source with knowledge of the development said that while the project is still active, “we do not have a date for construction start at this time.”

The second and third projects were filed by Ed Poteat’s Carthage Real Estate Advisors on July 2, 2018.

The original plans called for a 190-foot tall, 18-story, 149-unit, 186,990-square-foot residential building at 224 West 124th Street in Central Harlem and a 205-foot tall, 19-story, 183-unit, 148,098-square-foot residential building at 212 West 124th Street in Central Harlem, but that second building has been cut down to a 14-story building, according to recent filings on the project.

Carthage Advisors bought the property for $27.8 million back in 2017 after a legal feud with Abyssinian Development Corp. caused negotiations to drag for multiple years.

Neither of the original plans have been permitted, and several post amendment plans have been filed, most recently for 224 West 124th on May 19, 2020. Those plans were approved on June 1, 2020, however no permit have been issued.