Since converting to PACT on December 12, 2024, the three-year Manhattanville PACT renovation project, led by the development team Gilbane Development Company, Apex Building Group and West Harlem Group Assistance, has gotten underway: facade repairs have started, the garbage disposal system is being overhauled and in-unit work is scheduled to begin in May.
The Manhattanville project is a part of NYCHA’s Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program, which harnesses public and private funding to bring meaningful upgrades to buildings and apartments at our city’s public housing developments. Under PACT, tenants’ rights are protected, and their apartments remain affordable for the long term. NYCHA continues to own the properties, while the development team works with the contractor, a joint venture of Gilbane and Apex, to carry out the rehabilitation, and coordinates with both property management led by ELH Mgmt, and Goddard Riverside, the provider of social services to residents.
Built in 1961, Manhattanville Houses (1,272 units) was designed by the modernist architect William Lescaze, also the design lead for NYCHA’s Williamsburg Houses (New York City’s second public housing development). The property consists of six 20-story buildings on a twelve-acre campus bounded by Broadway, Old Broadway, West 133rd Street, Amsterdam Avenue, West 129th Street, and West 126th Street.
Manhattanville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024, and project financing includes historic tax credits. The $445 million project will result in comprehensive renovations addressing mechanical systems, apartment interiors, public spaces, building envelope, and grounds improvements. This includes redecorated hallways, expanded lobbies, new recycling/laundry and parcel delivery rooms in each building, boiler plant overhaul, elevator overhauls, façade repairs, new roofs and solar panels to generate electricity, landscaping, a new 1,300-camera security system, and new playground equipment. Apartment renovations will include new kitchens and baths (including waste line replacement), painting, new flooring, LED light fixtures, windows, and doors, new convectors and controls, new electrical panels, wiring, and additional outlets.
Our team meets regularly with tenants for input on building issues and concerns to ensure that resident needs are met, and the construction process runs smoothly. This major rehabilitation project is on track to be completed by 2027.
