NYC Developer Opens Chelsea Rentals as Pipeline Gets Tougher
MaryAnne Gilmartin’s first project in the city since striking out on her own will start leasing. Future efforts might become more challenging.
A rendering of an interior of an apartment at MaryAnne Gilmartin’s new development in Chelsea.
Source: DBOXNew York veteran developer MaryAnne Gilmartin, who’s worked on the Barclays Center and New York Times Building, will start signing up renters for her new firm’s first completed project.
Her firm, MAG Partners, begins leasing Monday at the Chelsea development called Ruby — named for the late Harlem-based fashion designer and dressmaker Ruby Bailey — that has 480 apartments spread across two towers. She also has two other Manhattan multifamily projects underway at 335 Eighth Ave. and 300 E. 50th St., but after the deadline to qualify for a key tax incentive expired last year, her outlook for more rental projects across the city is starting to dim.
Gilmartin is among developers warning that the New York rental market — already tough with rents hovering near record highs — could come under pressure as she expects it could take state officials at least a year or two to get serious about replacing the 421-a tax break, an incentive that encouraged building more affordable rentals. In the meantime, she expects the pipeline for rental construction to slow and some developers to turn to more lucrative condominium projects with fewer units and higher prices.
“We’re going to have homogenized product — too much of it — brought online as a result of not having alternatives,” Gilmartin said. “That does not serve the people in New York City.”
For now, Gilmartin is focused on showing what MAG Partners can build. Ruby, the Chelsea building, plays up its proximity to the Garment District with a brick facade, herringbone flooring and generous closet space. Rents without concessions for Ruby’s market-rate apartments start at $4,330 for studios, $5,955 for one-bedrooms and $9,000 for two-bedrooms. Three-bedrooms will be priced once they’re ready to hit the market. The developer has also designated 30% of its units as affordable housing.