Bruce Teitelbaum Looks To Revive One45 Project In Harlem With New Council Member

Bruce Teitelbaum is back at the negotiating table for a massive housing project in Harlem.

The developer has entered the preliminary stages of the rezoning process for his One45 project, the New York Daily News reported. Two years ago, the application for the 917-unit building on the corner of West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue was withdrawn after political pushback from the local city council member killed the project. 

But now Teitelbaum's project can make use of the just-passed 421-a extension and has a potentially friendlier city council.

Under the new proposal, one 33-story tower would have 461 market-rate apartments and 36 affordable ones, along with retail on the ground floor and event space. Another 35-story tower would have 300 affordable units and 125 supportive units. The new plans, which propose taller towers, offer more affordability than Teitelbaum's original proposal.

One of the buildings would also come with a three-story community facility. Another single-story building detached from the towers would be constructed for retail use. The retail building, which is one of the new additions in the latest iteration of the project, would be completed last.

The project has an estimated completion date in 2029, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

Teitelbaum told the Daily News that city officials “have been terrific” and that he has a “good working relationship” with the district’s newly elected council member, Yusef Salaam. That stands in stark contrast to his predecessor, former Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who refused to support the project because it offered less than 100% affordable units. She decided not to run for reelection last year.

After her opposition led him to pull the application in 2022, Teitelbaum has been operating a truck depot on the site to show politicians and the public the alternative to his proposal.

But he hasn’t stopped trying to get One45 built. He previously attempted to revive the project by adding more affordable and senior housing, according to plans revealed at a community board meeting in March 2023.