$850 million mixed-use project approved for New York’s South Street Seaport

Howard Hughes Corp. will be expanding its presence in New York City’s historic downtown seaport that promises to revitalize the South Street Seaport Museum.

The City of New York has approved the company’s $850 million development at 250 Water Street, the linchpin of which will be a 26-story mixed building that will blend affordable housing with market-rate for-sale units, as well as office, retail, and community space.  The agreement gives HHC a seaport foothold on the property for 99 years through ground-lease extension.

The Seaport District in New York is one of HHC’s chief retail assets, with others including The Woodlands in Texas and Ward Village in Honolulu.

Of significant appeal to the city was the fact that $40 million of the project’s $850 million price tag will fund the South Street Seaport Museum. Opened in 1967, the museum dedicated to New York’s centuries-long maritime heritage has had a rough go for the two decades, being closed after 9/11 and flooded during Superstorm Sandy. Funding for its rehabilitation will also include $10 million from New York City.

"The approval of 250 Water Street represents an important moment in the continued revitalization of the Seaport district, and the economic and cultural recovery of Lower Manhattan," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "This will result in 70 new affordable apartments and an endowment of sustainable funding for the South Street Seaport Museum.”

In accordance with the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, HHC has committed that 20% of the building’s residential component will be affordable to families earning just 40% of area median income--or roughly $45,000 for a family of four by current calculations.

"The 250 Water Street project will not only transform an outdated parking lot into high-quality mixed-income housing, it will also provide a critical lifeline to one of my district’s--and our city’s--most treasured cultural institutions, the South Street Seaport Museum,” said New York City Council Member Margaret Chin.

HHC received approval for 250 Water Street as it nears completion of the Tin Building, a historic seaport structure being refurbished as a marketplace in partnership with Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten that’s set to open in the spring of 2022.