NYCEDC Continues to Advance the Reimagining of Gansevoort Square, Announce Selected Developer to Build New Mixed-Income Housing Units on Residential Site
Gansevoort Square Partners, a Joint Venture Comprised of Douglaston Development and Kinwood Partners, Selected to Build 590 Units of New, High-Quality, Mixed-Income Housing Units, Ground Floor to Feature Local Retail, and Community Spaces Enhancing the Cultural Corridor
Up to 55 Percent of Units to be Permanently Affordable, Exceeding 50 Percent RFP Goal, Without the Use of HPD Subsidy
The Gansevoort Square Redevelopment Project—Including Residential Site and Whitney Museum Expansion—Expected to Generate 3,700 Construction Jobs, 160 Permanent Jobs, and $1.1 Billion in Economic Impact
Advances Broader Commitment of the Reimagining of Gansevoort Square and Cementing Meatpacking District as Premier Global Destination and Economic Engine, Announced in Mayor Adams’ Fourth State of the City Address
NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the next steps in reimagining Gansevoort Square—located on Little West 12th Street between Washington Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan—that will deliver more affordable housing for New Yorkers and new retail space for local residents and visitors. After a competitive RFP process, Gansevoort Square Partners, a joint venture comprised of Douglaston Development and Kinwood Partners have been selected to build 590 units of high-quality, mixed-income housing and to activate the ground floor with vibrant community and retail space, both of which will be located on the residential site of Gansevoort Square. The developers will exceed the affordable housing goal of 50 percent permanently affordable units stated in the Request for Proposals—with up to 55 percent of total units as permanently affordable without using city subsidy funding—significantly exceeding both the RFP’s goal and the 25 percent typically required under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.
First announced in October 2024, this bold redevelopment will transform the Gansevoort Meat Market into mixed-income housing units, new open space, and an expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line maintenance and operations facility—cementing the Meatpacking District as a global destination, economic engine, and cultural and artistic hub for the city. The entire Gansevoort Square redevelopment project—including the residential site and Whitney Museum expansion—is expected to create 3,700 construction jobs and more than 160 permanent jobs. The full project is expected to generate $1.1 billion in economic impact.
“From empty airfields in Queens to old warehouses in Brooklyn, we’re turning city-owned sites into thousands of new homes for New Yorkers. With the Gansevoort Square transformation, we’ll bolster those efforts, bringing nearly 600 new homes, retail space, and new area for the community to gather in the heart of Manhattan. We’ll also add $1 billion to our local economy and give more families an affordable place to live, work, and play,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Whether it’s investing historic amounts of money into new affordable homes, shattering affordable housing records year after year, or passing the first citywide rezoning initiative in six decades, we are proud to be the most pro-housing administration in city history.”
“Gansevoort Square is where New York’s creative energy meets our housing mission,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión Jr. “With Douglaston and Kinwood’s leadership, we’re building a project that blends affordability, design excellence, and cultural vibrancy - ensuring the Meatpacking District remains a global destination and a neighborhood that welcomes all.”
“The transformation of Gansevoort Square exemplifies the Adams' Administrations historic efforts to confront the city's unprecedented housing crisis by delivering hundreds of new mixed-income units, expanding retail and open space, and creating thousands of jobs for New Yorkers,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “Building on the vibrancy of a beloved neighborhood anchored by world-class cultural institutions like the Highline and Whitney Museum, NYCEDC is proud to work with Gansevoort Square Partners to bring this vision to life for future generations of New Yorkers, right in the heart of Manhattan.”
“Gansevoort Square represents everything we believe affordable housing should be—ambitious in scale, exceptional in design, and built to last,” said Jeffrey E. Levine, Founder and Chairman of Douglaston Development. “By delivering these permanently affordable homes without city subsidy, we're proving the private sector can step up and meet New York's housing crisis head-on while honoring the creative DNA of the Meatpacking District.”
“We welcome the City’s selection of a development team to advance affordable housing in our neighborhood,” said Scott Rothkopf, the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art. “The Whitney looks forward to working with city partners and our neighbors, and bringing forward our vision for the museum’s expansion as part the broader Gansevoort Square project.”
Gansevoort Square Partners will build 590 high-quality mixed-income apartments, with up to 55 percent of total units designated permanently affordable. The development of the affordable units will be funded with private capital in lieu of any city subsidy or bond financing. Additionally, the building will include a vibrant ground floor space with both neighborhood retail and community areas, including plans for an active community space that will compliment the neighborhood and the extraordinary cultural corridor where the Whitney Museum, Hudson River Park, Little Island, the High Line, and the historic Meatpacking neighborhood all intersect.
Douglaston Development is a proven affordable housing developer focused on delivering best-in-class mixed-income housing in New York City, with a track record of more than 15,000 market-rate and affordable residential units across complex, community-focused projects in West Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and other neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. Kinwood Partners is an emerging developer founded by David Himmel, who previously oversaw major Meatpacking District projects, including Chelsea Market, Milk Studios, and Pier 57 during his decade of leadership at Jamestown.
Gansevoort Square Partners will work with world-class architects MVRDV and CetraRuddy to deliver transformative investment in permanently affordable housing, design excellence, and the continued cultural vitality of the Meatpacking District.
Following today’s announcement, the development team will begin site investigations and advance its designs ahead of residential construction, which is expected to begin as early as 2028. The project anticipates certifying into the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) by early 2027, with a goal of ULURP approval by the end of 2027.
“Projects of this complexity require patience, precision and deep community partnership,” said Steven Charno, President of Douglaston Development. “Our team is committed to working with our neighbors, local advocates, and cultural institutions to deliver housing that serves the community. That groundwork is why we're confident Gansevoort Square will be a development the neighborhood embraces today and for years to come.”
“We are proud and grateful to be a part of a project that breaks the traditional mold,” said Jed Resnick, Chief Executive Officer of Douglaston Development. “By integrating our development, construction, and property management capabilities with private capital, we're delivering a rental building with 55 percent affordability without additional subsidy, proving there's a scalable path forward for permanently affordable housing across New York City.”
“We’re honored to help shape the next chapter of the Meatpacking District,” said David Himmel, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinwood Partners. “We’re creating a place where world-class architecture, inviting retail, new public spaces and meaningful affordable housing come together to ensure this neighborhood thrives as one of New York’s most dynamic and inclusive places to live.”
“When more than half of the units in a new development are set aside as affordable housing, it represents meaningful progress toward expanding housing opportunity in neighborhoods where affordability has become scarce,” said Carlina Rivera, Executive Director of NYS Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH). “NYSAFAH supports approaches that achieve affordability goals without relying on competitive public subsidies, allowing those resources to be used elsewhere while still delivering homes for New Yorkers who need them.”
“Gansevoort Square is an innovative, multifaceted project that leverages 485x to create much-needed affordable housing while committing to wage standards and enforcement of them along with the workforce development necessary to adequately address housing needs and open more pathways for construction workers to pursue the middle class, support their families, and reinvest in their communities. The Adams Administration and NYCEDC have been wonderful partners as we’ve worked together to advance this project and combat the housing crisis that plagues our city. We look forward to collaborating further on this historic project,” said Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.
“We appreciate NYCEDC's ongoing collaboration and for the opportunity to engage closely with hundreds of community members to help bring the Gansevoort Square project to life,” said John Jobbagy, President, Gansevoort Market, Inc. “As our industry continues to evolve, this was a moment to take a step back and make room for much-needed housing and public amenities, and we are thrilled to help shape the next chapter of the beloved Meatpacking District.”
“The selection of Gansevoort Square Partners represents the next chapter in the Meatpacking District’s evolution,” said Jeffrey LeFrancois, executive director of the Meatpacking District Management Association. “We look forward to working with the team to deliver a project that meets the needs of the neighborhood and the city, builds new affordable housing while expanding arts and community facilities, all which will further cement Meatpacking's position as a vibrant cultural corridor.”
“Major housing developments like this create good construction jobs and generate economic activity across the five boroughs,” said Carlo Scissura, President and CEO of the New York Building Congress. “When we can build significant new housing that includes a strong affordability component, it benefits both our workforce and New Yorkers who need places to live.”
“Douglaston has a track record as an effective and honest partner with the Westside community. Combining that approach with the development expertise, they are able to balance the many stakeholders in a complicated land use project” said Joe Restuccia, Executive Director of the Clinton Housing Development Company. “In Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea, our communities saw Douglaston at 3Eleven in West Chelsea, where they managed a complex rezoning process, developing an NYFD EMS Station, providing a major capital contribution to Hudson River Park Trust all done while keeping housing affordability front and center.”
“The Gansevoort Square project is a critical opportunity to use scarce public land to bring over 300 affordable homes to Manhattan’s Community District 2, which is twice as many as the district built over the last decade,” said Andrew Fine, Chief of Staff and Policy Director at Open New York. “Our housing crisis demands that every neighborhood take action to create more housing, and yet the West Village lost housing last year. This project is an important step toward making the West Village once again a place for everyone—not just the wealthy few.”
“For more than a century, Hudson Guild has connected community residents with the skills and opportunities they need to thrive,” said Ken Jockers, Executive Director of Hudson Guild. “We are proud, as part of the West Side Work Coalition, to work with Gansevoort Square to deliver on that mission with job training, OSHA certification, and direct pathways to construction and building operations jobs for community members, including NYCHA's Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses, alongside the development of hundreds of permanently affordable homes.”
“EDC has selected a trusted development team, with long experience in building affordable housing, to undertake this important project,” said Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “The partnership with the Whitney illustrates how creative solutions can be developed to address the city’s housing crisis.”
“EDC has selected a trusted development team, with long experience in building affordable housing, to undertake this important project,” said Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “The partnership with the Whitney illustrates how creative solutions can be developed to address the city’s housing crisis.”
This announcement comes after a robust public engagement effort, including three public sessions as well as a land use presentation to Community Board 2, which collectively had hundreds of attendees. Gansevoort Square Partners are committed to continuing community engagement in collaboration with partners including the Whitney, the Friends of High Line, local elected officials, and stakeholders, to integrate community insight while advancing this project.
Today’s announcement marks even further progress toward housing development under Mayor Adams’ historic Executive Order 43 issued in August 2024 requiring city agencies to identify potential city-owned sites for housing. To date, the Adams Administration has advanced plans for 9,750 new homes across 11 city-owned properties. Development of city-owned sites contributes to the over 426,000 homes already created, preserved, or planned under the Adams Administration. Additionally, NYCEDC is planning to build thousands of new homes on city-owned sites like 100 Gold Street, Coney Island West, and the site of the former Flushing Airport, among others.
About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
About Douglaston Development
Douglaston Development is a New York City-based real estate development company, specializing in a wide range of projects from mixed-use developments, high-rise mixed-income rentals and market-rate condominiums, hospitality, senior communities and commercial spaces. Working in close collaboration with its affiliated construction and management companies, Levine Builders and Clinton Management, Douglaston Development has the advantage of being one of the few owner-builder-managers in the industry with expertise in successful acquisition, ground-up and rehabilitation construction and management of properties post-development. Over the past 40 years, the company has expanded its portfolio to include properties located in New York, Arizona, and Washington. For more information, please visit: douglastondevelopment.com.
About Kinwood Partners
Kinwood Partners is a New York City-based real estate investment and development firm founded by David Himmel. The company specializes in creating mixed-use and mixed-income projects that strengthen neighborhoods and foster long-term value. Kinwood executes across the full real estate lifecycle and leverages expertise in public-private partnerships. For more information, please visit kinwoodpartners.com.
