EDC Issues RFP for 100 Gold Street

The Adams administration is seeking a developer to replace a Brutalist-style city-owned building in Lower Manhattan with more than 1,000 apartments.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation on Wednesday will release a request for proposals to replace 100 Gold Street with a mixed-income, residential project.

The nine-story office building, constructed in the mid-1960s, is anchored by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, but several other city agencies also have office space there, including the mayor’s office, the Department of Education and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. The building is also the longtime home of a senior center.

The city plans to sell 100 Gold Street to a developer and use the proceeds to relocate and build out office space for the agencies, either within its portfolio or in newly acquired office space. The agencies and senior center, which occupy nearly 530,000 square feet at Gold Street, will remain at the building until they find new space, the RFP specifies.

DCAS, which oversees the city’s office portfolio, estimates that necessary updates to the building — including replacing windows, electrical work and energy retrofits — would cost about $180 million, after the city has already allocated $50 million to repairing elevators, sprinklers and making bathrooms comply with the American Disabilities Act.

The city has not, however, released estimates of how much it expects to net from the sale of the building nor the cost of relocating the city agencies.

The administration also doesn’t see converting the office building into residential space as a viable option, given the significant upgrades needed and the building’s large floorplates. Knocking down the building also allows more housing to be built because the existing structure is only using a little more than half of its permitted density.

Mayor Eric Adams announced plans for the property in his State of the City address in January, as part of a broader “Manhattan Plan,” an initiative he said would bring 100,000 new homes to the borough over the next decade. At the time, he said the project would create more than 2,000 homes. When asked about the difference in unit count, a representative from EDC indicated that a precise number of units would be determined through the city’s land use review process.

The number of affordable units and the rent levels will also be determined through the bidding process and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The RFP indicates that, at a minimum, 25 percent of the homes must be income-restricted.

Some residents of neighboring buildings have already expressed concerns about how demolition and construction will affect the area, and how shadows from the new project will limit their access to natural light, the Tribeca Trib reported.

The project has early support from Gary LaBarbera, who heads the New York City and state chapters of the Building and Construction Trades Council. Given the project’s size and location, the future developer would need to pay higher construction wages if the project receives the property tax break 485x.

“Thanks to the wage standards outlined in 485x and a potential project labor agreement, this development could not only provide much-needed affordable homes but also help create family-sustaining union career opportunities for tradesmen and tradeswomen,” LaBarbera said in a statement.

The RFP is being released as city office leases face heightened scrutiny. The Department of Investigations and others are reportedly looking into a proposed lease at 14 Wall Street and other actions overseen by DCAS. The news also, coincidentally, comes as the Trump administration is reviving its efforts to promote classical architecture over Brutalist designs for government buildings.

Last year, Adams signed an executive order calling on city agencies to identify city-owned or controlled property suitable for housing development.