The Department of Housing Preservation and Development has released a request for affordable housing proposals for the north shore of Staten Island. The RFP would use 108,000 square feet of land owned by the city for a mixed-use development with 100-percent affordable housing and community amenities and services.

“Today marks an important step in implementing our Stapleton Waterfront, which will activate 36 underutilized acres for the public’s benefit,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of NYC’s Economic Development Corporation. “We congratulate HPD on this milestone and we look forward to supplementing this much-needed affordable housing with a reconstructed Front Street, new sewer infrastructure, and public waterfront open space.”

Site A in Stapleton is a vacant lot south of Hannah Street that lies in part of the New Stapleton Waterfront District. The Economic Development Corporation is leading the city’s redevelopment of the 35-acre decommissioned Navy Base into a mixed-use neighborhood with housing, waterfront open space, retail, and community facility space. Infrastructure enhancements would also be part of the redevelopment, including bicycle and walking paths and improved public transit connections.

The RFP for Site A expands on the goals of the Bay Street Corridor Neighborhood Plan, a collaborative planning process by the city and the community. Goals include the promotion of growth in the neighborhood, the development and preservation of new housing, fostering jobs and economic opportunity, and investing in services and infrastructure like parks, schools, and safer streets. The RFP also includes the goal of creating high-quality affordable housing, part of the city’s Where We Live NYC fair housing plan.

“The launch of this RFP is a significant step toward ensuring that people of all income levels can call the North Shore home,” said City Council member Deborah Rose. “Waterfront housing in Stapleton will be eventually complemented by the necessary infrastructure including open space, recreation amenities, and a new school, all part of the Bay Street Corridor rezoning blueprint that I negotiated last year with extensive community input. It is imperative that only qualified developers who build quality affordable housing consider this RFP. I look forward to realizing our vision for a vibrant, accessible waterfront.”

Development teams must include a minority- and women-owned business enterprise or a non-profit developer that will hold at least 25 percent of the managing ownership interest in the project, therefore entitling it to at least 25 percent of the total economic benefits of the project, net of any tax credit limited partner interests. Teams will be evaluated in part by how they thoughtfully consider the goals and priorities informed by resident input in Community Visioning Workshops earlier this year. Results of these workshops are summarized in a report available online and attached to the RFP.

The deadline for submissions to the RFP is March 23, 2021, with a pre-submission conference to be held on January 5, 2021.