At 834 Pacific, just east of Vanderbilt (and Atlantic Yards), a new rental building with middle-income affordable units, most small (+ perplexing AMI)

834 Pacific (photos by Norman Oder);
550 Vanderbilt in background

Barely half a block from the Atlantic Yards site, just east of Vanderbilt Avenue and the 550 Vanderbilt condo tower, rises a new residential building, six-story 834 Pacific Street.

It offers 113 apartments, 34 of them affordable, or income-restricted, via the city's Housing Connect web site.

That's 30% affordable, conforming to the Affordable New York program, at 130% of Area Median Income (AMI), though note below how incomes have stretched.

The developer is the company Happy Living on a site leased from the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, part of the Diocese of Brooklyn. (Two separate, presumably superseding, lease documents indicate $5 million.) 

New four-story building

(A four-story commercial or community facility building is being constructed by the Diocese east of the Co-Cathedral, at 860 Pacific Street. See image at left.)

City Realty says the new residential site was formerly site for a rectory. According to the architect, Issac & Stern:

This project was initiated when air rights were purchased from the adjacent Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph/St. Teresa of Avila. The zoning area is a through lot between Pacific and Dean Streets that contains three separate buildings. The cathedral fronts both Pacific and Dean Streets, an accessory building to the church fronts Dean Street, and the newly proposed building will have a frontage of 177 feet on Pacific Street. The building was designed as a rental space containing affordable units with tax benefits to the developer.

Panorama photo from north side of Pacific Street

Middle-income affordable housing

The recently posted notice on the city's Housing Connect web site describes numerous amenities, including bike-storage lockers, high-end kitchen appliances, and high-speed Internet. The affordable units will all be aimed at middle-income households earning about 130% of Area Median Income. The lottery for such units ends Jan. 8, 2021.

Issac & Stern architects

This middle-income population is relevant since it will likely be targeted by most, if not all, of the affordable apartments coming online at B4 (18 Sixth Ave.) and B15 (662-64 Pacific St.) at Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. 

Skewing small

The new building's affordable units skew disproportionately small: 18 studios, 13 1-bedroom, two 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom.

It's unlikely that Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park housing would skew that small, given the past buildings developed and the political pressure to deliver a range of units. Indeed, a Greenland USA executive recently said

(It also would violate the pledge in the nonbinding 2005 Affordable Housing Memorandum of Understanding, which promised that 50% of the units, in floor area, would be for families.)

It's unclear whether the city has rules, or guidelines, regarding the 

Rent levels

Though the rents are set at 130% of AMI, according to the announcement (screenshot at bottom), the actual rents are considerably lower than the rents designed as 130% of AMI on the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development web site. (See screenshot at right.) 

It's unclear why, though it may be a recognition by the developer that the market is strained by the coronavirus crisis. (I've queried both the developer and HPD, but haven't gotten a response.)

The 834 Pacific studios will rent for $1,900 monthly, to individuals with incomes $65,143 to $118,300. (Note that 40 times rent is $76,000, so those earning more would easily clear a standard benchmark for minimum income.)

The one-bedrooms will rent for $2,200 monthly, to households earning $75,429 to $133,120. (So 40 times rent is $88,000.) 

The 2-bedrooms will rent for $2,500 monthly, to households earning $85,715 to $159,640. (So 40 times rent is $100,000.)

The 3-bedroom will rent for $2,950 monthly to households earning $121,029 to $183,300. (Oddly, 40 times rent is $118,000,)

For final unit, at bottom, income ranges are the same as for the other 2-bedroom apartment