A new rendering has been revealed for 304 West 49th Street, a proposed 20-story residential building in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. Designed by DR Architecture & Design for 304 West 49th Garage LLC, the 209-foot-tall structure will span 59,000 square feet and yield a total of 69 rental units and ground-floor retail space. Seventeen of the apartments will designated as permanently affordable under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program. The property is located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.
The main rendering depicts the main northern elevation of the building from across West 49th Street, showing a straightforward massing with a single setback at the 15th floor. The exterior is composed of a beige façade surrounding a grid of recessed rectangular windows with black frames, and the first story is clad in contrasting black metal paneling. The 15-foot-deep setback is lined with a glass railing for a terrace, and the tower culminates in a short mechanical bulkhead.
The below block diagram shows a red outline around the project site, which is currently occupied by a six-story parking garage. The diagram depicts the property’s unusual position straddling the border of the Special Clinton District, an area in which building heights have been historically limited. The thicker dashed line shows the developer’s proposed zoning text amendment to shift the western boundary of the protected district to the property line, enabling the building to be constructed to its intended height. The developers have included MIH, a two-bedroom unit, and ground-floor retail space in the building programming in exchange for the rezoning.
304 West 49th Street will include four one-bedroom apartments on floors two through 14, two one-bedroom units per floor from floors 15 through 20, and one two-bedroom apartment.
The developer purchased the property for $14 million in 2013, and the parking garage was listed as unsafe in an inspection in late 2023.
The development site is located steps away from an entrance to the 50th Street subway station, which is served by the C and E trains.
A construction timeline for 304 West 49th Street has yet to be finalized. Work could begin as early as next year or as late as 2027, depending on the result of the zoning text amendment review by by Manhattan Community Board 4 members, the New York City Department of City Planning, and the City Council.
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Props to the developer for taking on this rezoning—hoping that it goes through!
Absolutely nauseating. A 20 story canker sore.
No buddy. No.
I beg to differ Yonah. More like much needed housing, and a win for New Yorkers tearing down a parking garage in danger of collapse. Good incentive to not buy and drive a car in Manhattan 🙌
The building has increased but the number of units has decreased, could it be that the design is similar to the production of size M and L plates? Thanks to Michael Young.
What if they drew the new line the other way? Six stories—case closed?
Hell’s Kitchen is going viral-Keep it going