Penn South
Encyclopedia
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Penn South is the common name for the Mutual Redevelopment Houses, a limited-equity housing cooperative
development located between Eighth
and Ninth Avenue
s and East 23rd
and 29th Streets, in the Chelsea
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
. The 10-building 2,820-unit complex was built in 1962, and was sponsored by the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union based on the cooperative model promoted by the United Housing Foundation
. It was designed by Herman Jessor
.
To help keep Penn South affordable to those with limited incomes, New York City gave the development 25 years of tax abatements, from 1961 to 1986. After that, the cooperative's shareholders voted for a 25-year phase-in of real-estate taxes, which was approved by the city's Board of Estimate
. A further adjustment was made when the development asked the city in 1999 for tax relief when the building boom in Chelsea caused the project's assessed value to skyrocket. The city responded in 2001 by allowing the development's taxes to be calculated based on the cooperative's income, as is done with Mitchell-Lama housing. In return, the development must remain a limited-equity cooperative until 2022.
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
development located between Eighth
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Eighth Avenue is a north-south avenue on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic. Eighth Avenue begins in the West Village neighborhood at Abingdon Square and runs north for 44 blocks through Chelsea, the Garment District, Hell's Kitchen's east end, Midtown and the...
and Ninth Avenue
Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)
Ninth Avenue / Columbus Avenue is a southbound thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs downtown along its full length...
s and East 23rd
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
and 29th Streets, in the Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The 10-building 2,820-unit complex was built in 1962, and was sponsored by the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union based on the cooperative model promoted by the United Housing Foundation
United Housing Foundation
The United Housing Foundation is a real estate investment trust in New York that is best known for constructing Rochdale Village.- Purpose :...
. It was designed by Herman Jessor
Herman Jessor
Herman J. Jessor was an American architect who helped build more than 40,000 units of cooperative housing in New York City. He, along with Abraham Kazan, was a driving force of the cooperative housing movement in the United States....
.
To help keep Penn South affordable to those with limited incomes, New York City gave the development 25 years of tax abatements, from 1961 to 1986. After that, the cooperative's shareholders voted for a 25-year phase-in of real-estate taxes, which was approved by the city's Board of Estimate
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City, responsible for budget and land-use decisions. Under the charter of the newly amalgamated City of Greater New York the Board of Estimate and Apportionment was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York...
. A further adjustment was made when the development asked the city in 1999 for tax relief when the building boom in Chelsea caused the project's assessed value to skyrocket. The city responded in 2001 by allowing the development's taxes to be calculated based on the cooperative's income, as is done with Mitchell-Lama housing. In return, the development must remain a limited-equity cooperative until 2022.
See also
- Mitchell-Lama Housing Program
- Southbridge TowersSouthbridge TowersSouthbridge Towers is a limited equity housing cooperative built under the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program and completed in 1969. The complex is located in Lower Manhattan in New York City south of the entrance ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge and is bound by Pearl Street, Frankfort Street, Gold Street,...
- Co-op City, BronxCo-op City, BronxCo-op City , located in the Baychester section of the Borough of the Bronx in northeast New York City, is one of the largest cooperative housing developments in the world. Situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, the community is part of Bronx Community Board 10...
- Cooperative VillageCooperative VillageCooperative Village is a community of housing cooperatives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The cooperatives are centered around Grand Street in an area south of the entrance ramp to the Williamsburg Bridge and west of FDR Drive...