A rendering of the new building by ARC Shadow. Design by SLCE Architects.
By Carol Tannenhauser
A two-story building on 85th Street and Broadway is set to be demolished and replaced with a 17-story, luxury senior residence, offering 162 assisted-living units, with about half reserved for residents with Alzheimer’s Disease or other memory issues, Bloomberg reported.
The site as it looked this week.
Welltower, Inc., a leading senior-housing landlord, and Hines, a luxury developer, purchased the two lots at 2330 Broadway, formerly the home of Price Wise Discount and Wells Fargo, this week for $61 million. They plan to begin demolishing the vacant buildings on them in the first half of next year, according to Bloomberg.
The West Side project, built in the style of surrounding buildings, represents a doubling down of a bet by the firms that a coming wave of seniors will want to keep living in the city even when they can no longer live on their own. Hines and Welltower are erecting a similar assisted-living tower on Manhattan’s East Side.
The monthly cost of living at the tower — not covered by insurance — would depend on the level of care, Welltower Chief Executive Officer Thomas DeRosa said in an interview. It would be similar to the East Side project, where an earlier estimate suggested some monthly rents could top $20,000. That could be a bargain compared to the cost of round-the-clock home health aides, he said.
Residents will enjoy a spa, a rooftop garden, and a “bistro.” The real estate companies believe that the neighborhood is lacking these kinds of buildings, according to a press release.
“The Upper West Side of Manhattan is a uniquely distinct neighborhood with a large population of affluent seniors yet zero supply of modern, purpose built residential care communities,” said DeRosa in the release. “This location is in the top percentile of the demand curve for our target households and The Welltower West will offer a seamless extension of this unique neighborhood for our residents.”
Re: “an earlier estimate suggested some monthly rents could top $20,000.”
$20,000 per MONTH!😱
That’s gonna make a lot of people ‘sick-in-the-Welltower’.
😂
Having gone through issues with elderly family members there is one HUGE issue. Is this assisted living or independent living? The differences are far, far more significant than most may think. State regulations very much govern who can and can’t be in assisted living… if one is less than fully mobile, they can and will kick you out. Errr, maybe suggest that you can no longer be there and must find another place. Happened to us with a 95 year old family member… who had to endure a fairly traumatic total move to a different facility. We HATED having to put her through such trauma ALL because she had an increasing need to use a wheelchair.
While housing for retirees is desperately needed who could afford $240,000 a year in rent???
Someone with money?
we lost 600+ units of affordable senior housing at the Williams, West End and 95-96. they are converting it into a luxury condo.
and now we’ve gotten, in return, 162 units of ultra-expensive senior housing that only the richest can afford.
this shows the myth of “trickle down” affordability.
$20,000 a month is a bargain compared to paying for health aides?
Is this person serious? Ridiculous.
Given those costs, wonder who will be living there. Not seniors who’ve lived on the west side for years with modest incomes to begin with. Once again, it’s all about the buck and the wealthy who can afford this.
Affordable housing for those who work? Affordable housing for seniors who may not be able to age in place? Nah. Let’s once again cater to the super wealthy as they have SO few options!
Sorry about sarcasam, but it’s getting worse and worse in this city for people to live and nobody seems to care or do anything to resolve it.
All we see are big highrises with expensive pricetags. Owned by folks who don’t even live here or pay taxes for the most part. So what do they bring to the city? All they do is make some developer rich.
And Broadway gets darker and darker as more tall buildings go up.
Agreed. Less sunlight and more screaming ambulance sirens. How sad. Our quality of life as long time residents keeps going down.
What a delightful and appropriate project for our neighborhood!
As with the vast vast majority of the projects on the UWS, we welcome this kind of legal and worthwhile development.
I always find it amusing when people calll Upper West Siders NIMBYS when a new project begins just about every week and we are collectively quiet in the face of progress. Yet when once a year some outrageous mega-super-deluxe-mega tower pied-a-tere is announced to block out the sun, we announce our disdain and are somehow labeled enemies of progress:..a ridiculous accusation.
-Bill Raudenbush
Don’t you think something more could’ve been built here though? I don’t know, something twice the height and twice the units with some affordability in it. 10023 is much cheaper than 10024, and 10023 is much taller, that’s not a coincidence. There are no affordable housing lotteries in 10024, but Waterline Square, plus a couple more that.
Which is it? Affordability, or lack of height? Those won’t come together.
Sounds promising. Maybe I’ll never have to leave the neighborhood!
Well, it does zero for the hipness factor (or lack thereof) for the neighborhood, but at least the building is kind of cool.
Older people are a lot hipper to things than I think you are giving them credit for.
Not sure why people are in such an uproar about the price. The Atria on 86th is a similar assisted living facility and has been at or near that price for quite some time, according to a friend whose spouse was there. As for home health aides – at $20 or more per hour, 24 hours per day you’re at $500 per day. Thats $15,000 per month so maybe not as much of a difference as you think
Wages paid to home health aides vary, but most are getting barely above minimum wage. Even then those on 24 hour shifts aren’t paid same rates for all hours worked.
This goes back years based upon the theory that for at least 12 or around that number their patient will be asleep and thus they are “off duty” and should be sleeping as well.
https://laborpress.org/court-hears-home-health-aides-case-for-24-hour-pay-cuomo-nixon-mum/
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20171001/HEALTH_CARE/170929853/home-care-workers-are-fighting-to-get-paid-for-every-hour-they-work-and-improve-their-lot-in-an-industry-they-
https://www.csemploymentblog.com/2017/10/articles/employment-policies-and-practi/24-hour-pay-live-home-health-care-aides/
There is a reason why home health aides are largely immigrant women (and some men) drawn from certain demographic pools; the low wages offered do not begin to compensate for work involved.
Anyone who has ever hired a home health aide via an agency can attest they were charged hefty rates. However nursing staffing agencies retain a good portion of private, insurance, and or Medicare/Medicaid dollars paid for in home care. Staff OTOH do not often see a large part of that fee.
Best home health aides are snapped up by wealthy families, even if they must lure them from a placement agency. For everyone else it is a bit of a scramble; asking around and or going through agencies in hopes of finding one or more capable and reliable aides.
It doesn’t help that given a chance a majority of nursing assistants would rather work in a hospital or skilled nursing facility than in a private home. Wages and benefits are often better (especially if the place is union).
Overall nursing assistants as a whole are not very well paid: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/new-york-city-cna-salary-SRCH_IL.0,13_IM615_KO14,17.htm
What you also find is that the really good nursing assistants are attending nursing school. Thus in two or four years they are gone and have moved on.
Clearly the comment made about $20k and healthcare for the elderly was made by someone who doesn’t have these issues. And insurance-if you have smart parents that saved for this day-should be taken. Atria is around the corner where my mother resides and can’t wait to see how this pans out. Good luck to this building. Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients don’t give a rats ass about spas. They care about music and being around people and dogs and making it all easier. A glass of wine occasionally-at least in my mother’s case.
Does anyone really think this the true plan? The developers will snow the Planning Board so they can get all sorts of variances; then a year or two from now when the place does not rent out, it converts to an ordinary rental. Or even better a condo so the developers pocket the cash and take off.
Amazing and I still pay for a brownstone floor through garden apartment I’m both sides $174.18 a month for the rest of my life living here in the posh beautiful Neighborhood brown stone street/tree line Street and so quiet. Making me laugh when I hear someone paying $20,000 + a month put the same amount of space I have… but I have garden! Storage basement with washer and dryer! 2 large master bedrooms and family room with living room and dining room and walk through kitchen. I’m still laughing 😂
$174.18 per month? Show us your lease, Genius…
I tend to think GeniusBoy is making this up, as a way of trashing rent regulation.
rent stabilized apartments get raises every two years. If he is in an apt for 174 a month, it was $20 or so 20 years ago. Not likely.
If he is in a RENT CONTROLLED (as opposed to stabilized) apartment, he would have to have been here since 1972, and further have been a low income senior and thus get SCRIE rent increase exemptions for the last 35 or so years.
It’s a hoax.
I wouldn’t brag about what amounts to stealing from somebody else. You could be a bit more grateful and less of a dick about it. Just sayin
Congrats on your rent-controlled apartment.But I find the tone of your comment totally obnoxious.
I agree. Rent control has its merits for elderly people in a fixed income who never made a lot of money. But rents should not be several standard deviations below market – that is just ridiculous. Outliers like this are going to ruin it for the many people who it was meant to benefit.
And for all of your bragging, you have likely been in the apartment forever and I am guessing you have appliances and amenities that were installed during the Truman administration – I’m sure your landlord loves you.
Rent controlled tenants (who are not on SCRIE), have their rents raised 7.5% PER YEAR – My apartment is rent controlled. I have been here “forever” and I pay over $3,000 a month. My lord, if this $174. figure is true, the landlord must never have paid any attention to anything.
Residents will enjoy it if they are very rich.
Oh no! What happened to Price Wise? All of my mother’s prescriptions were there!!!! Did they move?
How did you miss? WSR covered the story of Price Wise closing.
You haven’t filled our mother’s prescriptions since last June?
https://www.westsiderag.com/2018/05/06/openings-closings-price-wise-discount-biscuits-bath-pokebab-smiles-on-smiles-josephs-pharmacy-expansion
They are gone. They had an enormous sign in the window since August. Everyone is the neighborhood went to see them on their last days, tears and hugs were in order. It’s horrible to think we’ll have another mall-like glass fronted la-de-dah building in place of comfortable and homey neighborhood stores. What’s happening is so depressing.
there is no question that there is a great need for this type of senior housing. I find it disturbing that below West 96 Street within CB that all types of development is geared for the affluent and middle-class, however Manhattan Valley continues to be the receiver of supportive and low-income housing. This certainly appears to be reflective of a segregated community within our Community Board 7.
Just when the UWS was getting some hip and cool restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and bars and this real estate curve ball is thrown our way! What about us normal, crazy, liberal, blue collar working, ethnic, middle class,rent controlled,educated Democratic voters! Who’s building a new high rise for people like me? Soon, there will be no one left to keep on electing the same politicians over and over again! A building full of wealthy and elderly folks will change the political status quo and cultural makeup of this friendly neighborhood!
Excellent location. NO escalator or elevator access to the subway system.
I don’t think the residents will be using the subway much.
The market for this may be the elderly parents of younger wealthy people…
The suburban-raised wealthy tech/finance/ media folks now in Manhattan, in luxury buildings can move their elderly parents here as needed,
Well at least we know why Price Wise was given the push. Sad.
As for this planned residence it really is a case of everything old being new again.
Those grand pre-war apartment buildings found all over UES and UWS were often originally built to lure the wealthy out of their mansions and townhouses. As such they offered every available mod con for the day giving that target demographic all the comforts wanted/expected, but at far less cost.
This came in handy because for all but the uber wealthy it was becoming increasingly expensive to maintain private residence in Manhattan. Servants were becoming hard to find and retain. Those who did stay often wanted higher wages. Coal or whatever fuel used for heating was going up. Piled on came increased taxes, inflation and a few economic depressions/recessions. Oh yes, and two world wars.
The late Mrs. Astor could afford to “age in place”. Huguette Clark could have done so as well, but preferred Beth Israel hospital.
For those who are merely well off but not hugely “wealthy” it makes sense on many levels to move into an assisted living facility. Costs for professional and or assistant nursing staff and everything else are spread out over all residents leveraging economies of scale.
Restrictive zoning = higher prices. Compare 10023 and 10024, and then do the same with 10023 and Chelsea, Soho, Greenwich Village, parts of the UES, Tribeca.
They could’ve done so much more here, but they had to resort to a luxury elderly care center, which isn’t totally bad but shows the result of restrictive zoning laws.