Single room occupancy buildings, a staple of Upper West Side affordable housing for decades, are disappearing fast. The latest to file plans to convert to market rate is at 346 West 71st street between Riverside and West End. That building and the adjacent one at 350 West 71st are set to be redesigned into market-rate apartments, according to NY YIMBY. The 119-room hotel is set to be transformed by Icon Realty Management into 35 apartments.
“However, the seven-story building will remain the same size. It currently spans 33,755 square feet and houses 18 or 19 little rooms per floor. The renovation will transform those 280-square-foot rooms into residences that will average 964 square feet.
Meanwhile, the connected and nearly identical building at 350 West 71st Street already has alteration permits. 350 is a similar size, but it will hold a larger number of smaller units. Plans approved last year call for 55 apartments spread across 29,876 square feet of residential space. The average unit there will measure roughly 543 square feet, which pushes us close to micro-unit territory.”
“The buildings are currently gutted to the studs in preparation of conversion to either luxury condominium or rental apartments,” a listing for the property stated. It’s in an historic district so alterations to the exterior would have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
