ALERT: Good News for development site on 10th & 3rd
From GVSHP:
Plans have recently been announced for new dorm for the School of Visual Arts (SVA) on an empty development site at 3rd Avenue and 10th Street. While we rarely find news of a new dorm in our dorm-saturated neighborhood cause for celebration, this case is different. Zoning for this area allows a 90% increase in the size of an allowable new development if it is a dormitory or other “community facility.” Additionally, the current zoning places no absolute limits on the transfer of “air rights” from neighboring sites, so new developments can actually be even bigger than the 90% bonus. NYU employed both methods to get the rights to build their exceptionally large planned dorm around the corner on East 12th Street; in fact, we feared that NYU might take a similar tack if they got hold of this site, which they were secretly negotiating to do until their plans were exposed by GVSHP this March.
The SVA dorm plan, by contrast, will not utilize ANY of the bonus afforded to dorms, and will not utilize ANY air rights from neighboring properties. The new building will therefore reach no higher than 6 stories along 3rd Avenue and 10th Street, as opposed to the 12-25 stories or more that several recent and planned dorm developments in the area have reached. Additionally, the developer has said that while he has signed a 10-year lease with SVA, he is reserving the ability to convert the dorm to residences in the future. Because this dorm is staying within the allowable size for residences, it can legally convert to residential use in the future, unlike most other dorms in the area like the planned NYU dorm which cannot legally convert to entirely residential use unless they get a zoning change or variance. For more information, see www.thevillager.com/villager_159/unlikenyu.html.