Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy announced that an underutilized NYPD parking lot in the East Village will be transformed into The Aurea, a mixed-use development with approximately 131 affordable homes, a senior center, community space and replacement parking facilities.
The City is designating the site to a development team consisting of Spatial Equity, Housing Works, the Cooper Square Committee and the This Land is Ours Community Land Trust, mission-driven, minority-owned and non-profit organizations with decades of experience investing in and serving the neighborhood.
The designation marks the first City land award of the Mamdani administration and will include a community land trust as a development partner, ensuring long-term affordability, community stewardship and meaningful tenant oversight.
The Aurea will provide deeply affordable homes for low-income New Yorkers, with 30% of apartments reserved for formerly homeless New Yorkers. Housing Works will provide on-site supportive services for residents. The project will also feature landscaped terraces, green roofs and all-electric building systems designed to meet Passive House sustainability standards.
"We're turning an NYPD parking lot into approximately 131 affordable homes, a senior center and community space because public land should serve the public," said Mayor Mamdani. "This project will provide permanently affordable housing, create homes for formerly homeless New Yorkers and put community stewardship at its center through a community land trust. It's the first City land designation of our administration, and it's exactly the kind of housing we're committed to building across the five boroughs: deeply affordable, community-led and worthy of the greatest city in the world."
"The Aurea delivers on many of our housing goals: delivering affordable housing, including for formerly homeless New Yorkers, making good use of City-owned land, fulfilling community-informed rezoning commitments, and supporting a community land trust. This development will strengthen the community for many years to come," said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. "Congratulations to the development team and the City staff who have shepherded this project to this milestone."
"In one of the city's highest opportunity neighborhoods, we are proud to work with our partners to create 131 new affordable homes, serving low income New Yorkers, including seniors. This development will not only provide much-needed housing, but also community space for the neighborhood. Today's announcement is a testament to what can happen when we are able to cut through the red tape and unlock public land to build new affordable housing," said HPD Commissioner Dina Levy.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the site was shaped by extensive public input, including feedback gathered through the SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood Plan, multilingual outreach and a public community workshop. The designation reflects years of organizing by neighborhood residents and the City's commitment to ensuring public land delivers lasting public benefit.
This project advances key priorities in Block by Block: The Housing Plan for a New Era . Through Mayor Mamdani's first adopted budget, the City is investing nearly $5 billion in capital funding for new affordable development over the next two fiscal years while adding 41 new staff positions to accelerate housing production. Block by Block also expands support for community land trusts like This Land is Ours, recognizing the essential role they play in preserving permanent affordable housing and strengthening community ownership.
Redeveloping 324 East 5th Street also advances the administration's commitment to building affordable housing on City-owned land. On his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani signed Executive Order 4, creating the Land Inventory Fast Track (LIFT) Task Force to identify City-owned sites that can be transformed into housing for working-class New Yorkers.
Block by Block sets ambitious goals that meet the scale of New York City's housing crisis by building 200,000 new affordable homes and preserving another 200,000 over the next decade. The plan also strengthens tenant protections and housing code enforcement, invests in NYCHA's future by restoring its role as a public developer, expands pathways to homeownership opportunities and supports the workers building the homes New Yorkers need.
"Manhattan is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, and 324 East 5th Street represents the exact kind of project this moment demands: the conversion of an underutilized parking lot into 131 deeply affordable homes for low-income New Yorkers, including seniors. This project is the product of an extensive community engagement process in the East Village, and I'm proud that nearly 400 Manhattanites provided feedback that directly shaped the vision for this site. I'm grateful to Deputy Mayor Bozorg, Commissioner Levy, and HPD, along with Council Member Epstein and Community Board 3 for their leadership in advancing this project, and I'm thankful to Spatial Equity, Housing Works, the Cooper Square Committee, and This Land is Ours Community Land Trust, whose sustained commitment to this community made this development possible," said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
"I congratulate Spatial Equity, Housing Works, Cooper Square Committee, and the This Land is Ours Community Land Trust on their selection as the development team for 324 East 5th Street. Identifying and developing underutilized land is critical to addressing our ongoing housing shortage, and I am glad that this project will provide over 100 units of affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers. I thank the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development for their work to advance this project and their commitment to ensuring that every New Yorker has access to a stable, affordable home," said State Senator Brian Kavanagh.
"Community Board 3 is very excited to have a new affordable housing development on 5th Street. Affordable housing has been the number one priority for the Board for over 20 years. Our seniors and other lower income residents deserve a place in our community that is accessible, affordable, and near neighbors and family," said Andrea Gordillo, Community Board 3 Chair.
"Spatial Equity is honored to be selected by HPD & the Mamdani administration to help create housing & job opportunities for low-income families in vibrant, well-resourced communities. We are thrilled to work with longstanding neighborhood organizations like Housing Works, Cooper Square, and TLIO-CLT to deliver The Aurea. This development is for the East Village and by the East Village, resulting in over 130 deeply affordable homes and a neighborhood health center offering connection and wellness to local seniors," said Teg Sethi, Principal, Spatial Equity Co.
"We are excited to be part of this development team with Housing Works, Spatial Equity Co., This Land Is Ours Community Land Trust and SLCE Architects. Together, we bring a strong connection to the Lower East Side and East Village, and a commitment to deeply affordable housing, quality services for seniors and exceptional design and construction experience that will transform this site into a safe and supportive haven for seniors," said Steve Herrick, Executive Director, Cooper Square Committee.
"I am proud to be part of the development team bringing much needed supportive and affordable housing to the neighborhood I have called my home for almost 35 years. Housing Works is grateful to have been invited by Spatial Equity Co., the Cooper Square Committee, This Land Is Ours Community Land Trust and SLCE Architects, LLP to transform a parking lot into housing, the number one thing people need to not only survive, but to thrive," said Andrew Coamey, Senior Vice President, Housing Works.
"I am incredibly pleased that our joint participation with Housing Works, Cooper Square Committee, non-profit community-based organizations, and Spatial Equity, a minority owned business, led to a successful submission to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to their recently issued RFP. This project will bring deeply affordable apartments to our community. We look forward to working with NYC HPD and our development team as we move this project to implementation and bring this type of housing and services to the Lower East Side, which we have long been advocating for. Thank you, Mayor Zohran Mamdani for your leadership. And thank you to former Council Member Carlina Rivera and current Council Member Harvey Epstein and all our elected officials for their yearslong support of affordable housing at this site," said Valerio Orselli, Director, This Land is Ours Community Land Trust.
"This project demonstrates what is possible when mission-driven organizations and thoughtful design come together around a shared vision. We are proud to contribute our expertise to creating a building that not only provides much-needed affordable and supportive housing for seniors but also strengthens the character and vitality of the Lower East Side through sustainable, enduring and high-quality design," said Thomas Furman, Partner, SLCE Architects.
