2023 Winter Issue - 86

Essex Crossing * New York, New York, United States
TYPE: Mixed use
USES: Civic, public, health care, research,
life sciences, leisure, entertainment,
office, affordable and market-rate
multifamily, retail, restaurant
DEVELOPER: BFC Partners, Goldman
Sachs Urban Investment Group, L+M
Development Partners, New York City
Economic Development Corporation,
New York City Department of Housing
Preservation & Development, Prusik
Group, Taconic Partners
DESIGNER: Beyer Blinder Belle,
CetraRuddy, Dattner Architects, DXA
Studio, Future Green Studio, Handel
Architects, Kokobo Greenscapes, SHoP
Architects, SLCE Architects, Studios
Architecture, West 8
SITE SIZE: 6 acres (2.4 ha)
DATE ACQUIRED: September 2013
DATE OPENED: January 2018
BUILDINGS: 1.9 million square feet
(177,000 sq m)
PARKING: None
OPEN SPACE: 20,909 square feet (1,943 }
sq m)
Located on Manhattan's Lower East
Side, Essex Crossing is a large mixed-use
development that includes residential, commercial,
and community spaces across nine
sites. The sites, which had been mostly
vacant since 1967, represent one of the most
significant urban renewal developments in
New York City history. The $2 billion project
includes 1,079 units of housing, class A
office space, retail space, Manhattan's largest
urban farm, the new headquarters of the
International Center of Photography, community
facility space for Lower East Side social
service and civic organizations, and a public
park.
To reunite the community and address
a citywide need for affordable housing,
Delancey Street Associates worked with
residents and stakeholders to reimagine the
underused space. The goal of the project was
to create an equitable and inclusive model
of mixed-income housing while facilitating a
new approach to commercial development
and preserving the original character of the
neighborhood. Retail includes The Market
Line, a subgrade, bazaar-like space that
opened in 2019 and will run 700 feet (213
m) along Broome Street through the base
of three Essex Crossing buildings and, at
150,000 square feet (14,000 sq m), is one of
the city's largest marketplaces.
The complex provides access to lowcost
groceries and fresh food and has varied
retail options deemed necessary amenities
by the community. Essex Crossing is now
home to individuals displaced in the name
of urban renewal more than 50 years ago.
All buildings were developed through the
Enterprise Green Communities criteria program,
so they include low-flow water fixtures,
Energy Star-compliant appliances, high-glaze
windows, motion sensors in common areas,
low-VOC paints, light-color roofs, and light
fixture dimmers.
The jury appreciated that Essex Crossing
represents a years-long community planning
process that has strengthened a historic
neighborhood and stands as a testament to
how thoughtful public/private partnerships
and placemaking can acknowledge past
One Essex Crossing, 202 Broome Street.
84
URBAN LAND WINTER 2023
EVAN JOSEPH
2023 Winter Issue

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