Infinite Horizons, L+M Breathe Life Into Ex-Harlem Prison

A former prison in West Harlem is one step closer to being converted into affordable housing.

Curtis & Ginsberg Architects filed plans on behalf of L+M Development Partners and Infinite Horizons for a project at 31 West 110th Street, according to city permits. The 22-story, 151,000-square-foot building will spring up where the Lincoln Correctional Facility once housed hundreds of male prisoners. Prior to that, it was also a Young Women’s Hebrew Association for immigrants and an Army rest area before becoming a jail in 1976.

The state put out a request for proposals to redevelop the former 10,000-square-foot site last March, four years after the prison closed. The venture, which also includes Urbane and Lemor Development Group, won the project at the end of last year.

The $90 million project, dubbed Seneca, is set to deliver 105 affordable housing units to the neighborhood.

Notably, the project is being geared towards homeownership and not rentals, requiring only a 5 percent down payment to purchase. The developers are targeting households earning between 80 percent and 100 percent of the area median income.

A timeline for the project is unclear.

The site is notable for its frontage along Central Park, which had brokers calling for luxury condos or rentals upon the prison’s closure. At the time of the closure, then-Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer even pitched it to be a women’s prison for Rikers Island castaways. Ultimately, the affordable housing initiative won out.

“Infinite Horizons is excited to take this next step in advancing the Seneca’s vision of providing affordable homeownership opportunities and vibrant ground floor programming to the Harlem community,” CEO of the development company Randall Powell said.

The state is in the midst of a push to transform decommissioned prisons into modern communities and housing opportunities.

This summer, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Liberty Landing, a $108 million investment to convert the former Bayview Correctional Facility in Chelsea into a 124-unit affordable housing complex. Camber Property Group and Osborne Association are leading that redevelopment.