A neglected area of Staten Island will get a fresh batch of new eco-friendly housing

Staten Island’s North Shore is set to host New York City’s largest mass timber residential development.Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s Economic Development Corporation announced their chosen developers for the mixed-income housing project on Monday.Artimus and Phoenix Realty Group will head the massive development on two vacant sites along the North Shore’s Stapleton waterfront.“With today’s announcement, we are checking another key box of our North Shore checklist,” Adams said.

“We are not only building the affordable homes New Yorkers need but using sustainable materials to reduce our carbon footprint and help turn New York City’s waterways into the ‘Harbor of the Future.’”One quarter of the 500 units will be designated as affordable, or available to households earning between 40 to 80% of the area median income.This carve-out makes the project “one of the largest mass timber residential projects with affordable housing in the entire country,” according to the city’s announcement.Mass timber, according to the city, will reduce the project’s carbon footprint and speed up construction time.

The engineered wood, made by bonding smaller wood pieces together, is considered a sustainable alternative to other construction materials.In addition to coming from a renewable source, the mass timber also weighs less than steel or concrete. The project is a piece of the mayor’s 2023 pledge to invest $400 million into the borough’s neglected North Shore.

In addition to monetary investment, the four-year roadmap for the “Staten Island North Shore Action Plan: Building a Vibrant, Mixed-Use Waterfront Community,” sets out to build 2,400 homes, more than 20 acres of public space, more than 7,500 jobs and $3.8 billion in economic impact over 30 years.The New Stapleton Waterfront, in particular, is turning a former US naval base into a 38-acre mixed-use neighborhood.The city’s Economic Development Corporation broke ground on the next 6 ac...