Winning West Side story

Nearly a full square block on the far West Side of Manhattan is being transformed into 1,200 units of housing that will be the largest new construction project in the borough under the city’s affordable-housing program, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.

The $555 million project includes 682 apartments reserved for families earning between $32,720 and $134,970, as well as a new PS 51, replacing a smaller existing public school on the property.

Completion of the residential portion, including a 31-story tower, is scheduled for 2014. The project will create 2,900 desperately needed construction jobs. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the four-acre property at 45th Street between 10th and 11th avenues had been condemned in 1975 and, luckily, was rezoned for residential use in 2005 after plans for a sound stage and studio complex were scrapped.

The Gotham Organization, the developer, is bracing for 5,000 to 10,000 applications once they become available next year. (visit source article)