Another rendering of the 20-story Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, residential project at 304 West 49th Street has surfaced. For 304 West 49th Garage LLC, the building was planned by DR Architecture & Design.
Standing at 209 feet tall, the building will have 59,000 square feet of area, including 69 rental flats and ground-floor retail.
The city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program will designate seventeen of the apartments as permanently affordable. Eighth and Ninth Avenues are the exact locations of the parcel in question.
The first image shows the building’s northern facade as seen from West 49th Street; it has simple massing and a single setback on the fifteenth story.
The front features a beige façade encircling a pattern of black-framed, rectangular windows set in a grid; the first floor is wrapped in metal paneling that contrasts with the beige. The tower ends in a brief mechanical bulkhead, and a glass railing lines the 15-foot-deep setback that serves as a terrace.
The planned site, marked by a red outline in the block diagram below, is currently occupied by a six-story parking garage. Located on the edge of the Special Clinton District, a historically low-lying area, the property occupies a unique spot, as seen in the diagram.
To allow the structure to be built to its intended height, the developer has requested an adjustment to the zoning wording that would move the western boundary of the protected district to the property line. This change is indicated by the thicker dashed line. In consideration for the rezoning, the developers have incorporated MIH, a two-bedroom flat, and ground-floor retail space into the building’s programming.
If the rezoning is not approved, the project will be constructed in accordance with the following plan, with the western portion of the property having a height restriction of six stories to meet the district’s regulations. With its smaller footprint, the eastern half could only accommodate 39 units, although it would be one level higher than the main plan.
New York’s Oldest Store Makes a Triumphant Comeback After Closing All Locations
The apartment building at 304 West 49th Street will have one two-bedroom unit, four one-bedroom units on floors 2–14, and two one-bedroom flats on each floor from 15–20.
The parking garage was deemed hazardous after an examination that took place in late 2023, after the developer had paid $14 million for the site in 2013.
A door leading to the C and E trains’ 50th Street station is just steps away from the construction site.
The 304 West 49th Street construction schedule is still in the works. Depending on the outcome of the zoning language amendment review by members of Manhattan Community Board 4, the New York City Department of City Planning, and the City Council, work could start as early as next year or as late as 2027.
