New apartment building above Inwood Library offers rents as low as $380. CBS New York takes an exclusive tour
NEW YORK - A new apartment building above the renovated Inwood Library showcases the vision of the city's Housing Preservation and Development division, with rents as low as $380 and access to child care and training.
Eliza Tower in Inwood offers "affordable luxury"
Manhattan apartments often offer amenities at a hefty price, but not at Inwood's new Eliza Tower. HPD rezoned the property alongside the Inwood Library to build what Commissioner Adolfo Carrion calls "affordable luxury."
At the Eliza, the most expensive three-bedroom is just $1,800 for families making 60% of the area median income. One-bedroom units go as low as $380 -- fully furnished for the formerly unhoused.
"They've been in pretty tough situations, so these units are particularly set aside for these particular families," said CLOTH executive director Yvonne Stennett.
HPD enlisted the help of the Community League of the Heights and the Children's Village to properly assess the needs of the neighborhood.
"Anything that I wanted for my own family would be available here was the baseline," explained Children's Village president and CEO Jeremy Kohomban.
Tenants can grow food in the self-irrigating rooftop garden, lounge on a terrace while doing laundry or workout in a gym with Peloton bikes. Energy efficiency encompasses every element.
Programming for the tenants will include a STEM center, training kitchen complete with certification classes and a preschool, right downstairs.
"Their children are being taken care of ... right here in their homes," Stennett said.
Next door, the renovated Inwood library includes dedicated spaces for teens, as well as tots and a wide range of offerings for adults.
"I knew the space was beautiful, but you don't see how beautiful until you see how people are using it," said library manager Danita Nichols.
HPD has $2 billion to build affordable housing over the next two years. Now the commissioner is looking to the horizon of vacant high rises, ready for conversion.
"There's a tax incentive associated with that," Carrion said, "and the number of owners and developers who have come to us, I've lost count."
Demonstrating the demand, 70,000 families applied for the Eliza's 174 apartments. The lucky tenants start moving in within the next two weeks.
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