Here's a look at 255 E. Houston St./171 Suffolk St., the L-shaped parcel where work continues at developer Samy Mahfar's 14-floor residential building. (The condoplex on the corner of Houston and Stanton is part of a different project.)
[Entrance at 171 Suffolk St.]
Branding on the sidewalk bridge now reveals that the building is called Sioné ...
There's also a teaser site where prospects may sign up to be on a mailing list. The site describes Sioné this way — "A Limited Collection of Luxury Residences"...
The residences here range from studios to three bedrooms — all with or without terraces ...
There's a lot of backstory with this development. Quickly: In September 2016, Mahfar withdrew his application — after a five-year fight with Community Board 3 and local elected officials — for a commercial zoning change for this property and surrounding parcels. He wanted to put a restaurant or retail business on the ground floor. Under current zoning, only a community facility is allowed. (The new building has 6,258 square feet set aside for that usage.)
Mahfar, who has been accused of harassing rent-regulated tenants, had approval for a 10-floor building, which turned into 14 floors and 88 units.
As the Lo-Down reported in December 2017: "Mahfar had already received 421a tax breaks to build some affordable units, but he was also seeking a floor area bonus through the city’s inclusionary housing program." It's not immediately clear how many affordable units may be available in this complex.
No. 255 previously housed the day-care center Action for Progress, which was forced to evacuate in 2009 after construction on the condoplex next door destabilized the building...
[EVG photo of No. 255 from 2012]
Previously on EV Grieve:
Next for 255 E. Houston St.: Community facility/school/medical building?
10-story building now in the works for 255 E. Houston St.
Debate over commercial overlay for 255 E. Houston St. and surrounding blocks continues
Report: Samy Mahfar drops bid for commercial overlay on East Houston and parts of the LES
