229 Chrystie Street is located at the intersection of East Houston and Bowery in lower Manhattan. The property has a 460,000 square foot mixed-use, 14-story building that consists of two condominium units: one residential rental unit and one commercial rental unit. The residential condominium contains 361 apartment units. Of the residential units, currently 72 units (20%) are AMI. The commercial condominium measures ~72,361 square feet and contains two retail units: a large Whole Foods Market as a primary ground-floor anchor and an interior retail space.

The site is owned by the New York State Urban Development Corporation (d/b/a Empire State Development Corporation).  In 2003, the ESD Directors adopted the Cooper Square Mixed-Use Development Land Use Improvement Project General Project Plan to facilitate the Project.  In 2003, ESD entered into a ground lease with the original developer and property owner, Chrystie Venture Partners LLC, an affiliate of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. The lease was for a 20-year term from 2005 to 2025.  The terms of the lease provided that CVP would make payments in lieu of taxes (“PILOT”) to the City over the approximately 20-year lease term. Construction began in 2003 and was completed in 2005.

The Property is subject to regulatory agreements with the State and City as follows: i) the Second Amended and Restated Regulatory Agreement between New York State Housing Finance Agency and Houston Bowery Connection, LLC, dated as of September 12, 2014, and ii) the Regulatory Agreement between The City of New York acting by and through HPD, dated as of June 27, 2003.

The Ground Lease expired on July 1, 2025, and in order to maintain the status quo while the parties negotiated a long-term extension, ESD signed two short term extensions of the Ground Lease to extend the Ground Lease to December 2, 2025, and July 3, 2026, to maintain all existing lease terms. HPD consented to both extensions.

The Project is described in detail in the Amended GPP with a proposal for the current Ground Lease between ESD and Houston Bowery Connection LLC, an affiliate of American Realty Advisors be extended on July 4, 2026, for a period of 15 years, with the reversion of ownership of the Property to Owner delayed to the end of such term. Additional terms are that Owner will make payments in lieu of taxes (“PILOT”) to the City over the extended approximately 15-year lease term, with a fifty percent (50 %) Real Estate Tax exemption on the Residential lot.  Of the 361 residential units, an additional 19 units will be AMI; the new total will be 91 units (25%) at AMI. The extended Ground Lease will be for an additional term of 15 years, from July 2026 to July 2041. The Project will be subject to a new or extended regulatory agreement governing the affordable units.