Affordable housing is at the top of New Yorkers’ minds more than ever with Mayor de Blasio’s new ten-year plan to create or preserve 200,000 affordable units across the five boroughs. In the last decade, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) oversaw the creation of 1 million square feet of retail space throughout NYC. With this new affordable housing plan, HPD will focus greater attention on mixed-use development initiatives, reaching unprecedented levels of retail space production. Seizing this opportunity, the Design Trust partnered with the HPD to create a set of guidelines that will address the design and use of these new ground-floor retail spaces. 

Our goal is to ensure that new mixed-use developments include the kind of spacious, flexible storefronts that can attract local entrepreneurs, provide vital services like banks and grocers as well as cultural amenities, while supporting active and vibrant streets.

background

In 2014, we conducted an open Request for Proposals called The Energetic City to give life to the city by connecting people through innovative design informed by the needs and aspirations of community users. An independent jury selected a proposal from the NYC HPD to create a comprehensive set of guidelines to address the design and use of new ground-floor retail spaces.

process

The project builds on a challenge faced by the City: ground-floor space that is designed only with housing in mind may result in underutilized or vacant storefronts and blight the very neighborhoods these affordable developments are meant to serve. Our multi-disciplinary team of Fellows conducted a year of research and design in partnership with NYC HPD.

Design Guidelines

In January 2016, we published Laying the Groundwork: Design Guidelines for Retail and Other Ground-Floor Uses in Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Developments. The guide invites developers and architects to think creatively about the ways buildings contribute to the life and health of neighborhoods encouraging attractive, active and resilient streetscapes. Accompanying the publication, the online cost template demonstrates the costs of applying the guidebook’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing recommendations.

The guidelines, informed by Mayor Bill de Blasio's holistic approach to community development in support of diverse, livable neighborhoods, are applicable to a wide range of retail models—such as grocers, pharmacies, and banks; community services such as health clinics, senior centers, and childcare; and cultural and recreational centers—that can meet and evolve with community needs.

Next Steps

These guidelines will be incorporated into future HPD Requests for Proposals for housing developments, as well as in the evaluation of development proposals, and the review of architectural plans to ensure that retail space in new affordable housing developments in New York City becomes a community asset for residents and neighbors. We plan to track several projects that are initiated using the guidelines.

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“These design guidelines will be a great resource for developers. They address all the key concerns of retailers seeking to lease space in mixed-use developments. We look forward to using the Laying the Groundwork guidelines in our future projects.” 

LARISA ORTIZ, PRINCIPAL, LARISA ORTIZ ASSOCIATES; INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS (ICSC) EASTERN DIVISION P3 RETAIL CO-CHAIR

“This retail design manual will be an invaluable asset when working to build the capacity of community-based organizations and BIDs. Physical design plays an integral role in determining the potential success of commercial districts. High quality design for retail spaces is especially important in underserved neighborhoods in New York City where design is necessary to help compensate for real and perceived locational disadvantages.”

MICHAEL BLAISE BACKER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, NYC DEPT. OF SMALL BUSINESS SERVICES