A closing on the $185 million in construction financing was announced by Related Companies and The Hudson Companies on Nov. 14 for the ninth Riverwalk building. The addition to the development in the Riverwalk neighborhood on Roosevelt Island will include workforce housing for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) employees as well as rental apartments and office spaces.
Designed by Handel Architects, the project is to be built by Monadnock Construction and is expected to be completed in mid-2025. $111 million of the financing is from Wells Fargo and the ground lease is being executed in conjunction with the closing of the site from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC).
“The start of work on Riverwalk 9 marks the culmination of a quarter century of work with our partner to build an entirely new and thriving neighborhood on Roosevelt Island,” said Chief Executive Officer of The Hudson Companies David Kramer in a press release statement. “From our first planning meetings in 1997, we set out to bring these 19 undeveloped acres to life through mixed-income rental, condominium and institutional housing, dynamic retail and beautiful new public open space.”
The Related-Hudson joint venture was designated by RIOC in 1997 in efforts to fulfill the Island’s General Development Plan designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee.
The entirety of the Riverwalk complex will total nine buildings that hold more than 2,000 condominium and rental apartments, 40 percent of which are affordable. Other housing options in each of the nine residential buildings include hundreds of institutional workforce apartments for employees of MSK, Weill Cornell Medicine and others being offered at a range of income levels.
Located at 430 Main Street, Riverwalk Nine will be 28 stories with 104 homes for MSK workers which include studios, two-bedroom and three-bedroom options and will also include 253 market-rate studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes.
“Riverwalk 9 is the realization of decades of hard work and resiliency through multiple challenges, including economic downturns and a global pandemic, to create new housing opportunities and further support the Roosevelt Island community and New York,” said Executive Vice President at Related Companies Frank Monterisi in a press release statement. “We are proud to finally reach this monumental milestone, along with our partners at Hudson, along with Memorial Sloan Kettering, RIOC and Wells Fargo, for the Riverwalk Park neighborhood.”
Riverwalk is accessible to Manhattan’s Upper East Side by a subway and metro ride and one ferry-ride from Astoria and Long-Island City. It is the site of Related-Hudson’s developmental efforts, where they have created parks, daycare facilities, ballfields and retail space.
“The timely closing of this deal is indicative of the hard work of all parties involved at RIOC and our partners at Related Companies and Hudson. I cannot wait to get shovels in the ground to unveil our latest investment that will continue the tremendous economic boom we are experiencing. Once completed, Riverwalk 9 will spur further job growth, create new housing, and contribute nicely to the beauty of Roosevelt Island,” Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation President and CEO Shelton J. Haynes said in a press release statement.
