Carmel Place

Sorry I think this is a 250-square-foot unit that works out to a per square foot cost of $106. In comparison, the neighborhood average is $57 per square foot. Free wifi, cable and possibly housekeeping are included. Still....

It is really not an affordable alternative - that is just a marketing gimmick. If you want health club, roof deck, floor to ceiling windows, nice finishes in a studio, there are very few alternatives for $2500. If you want basic apartment, this is not for you. The stated sq footage on the floor plan is 300. Studios are renting for appx $5.5-6 per sq ft without this type of amenities. That said, perhaps the right price is a few hundred $ lower as people can move to BK instead of Kips Bay.

Wifi, cable and weekly housekeeping, if included, are at least worth $250 per month.

That's what it seems like to me. So why would the city approve this concept? Just another high priced alternative that does not do anything to improve affordability I guess.

Guessing developer makes money on services as well. Still, it's an interesting concept that might work somewhere else.

This is a good deal for people who want to live by themselves in new construction. I'd take it over a roommate or a commute from Brooklyn to Midtown. It is especially convenient for people working in the VA/Bellevue/NYU/Beth Israel on First Ave.

Only one available listing. So the demand indeed exists.

Good points which I think make sense. But do projects like Carmel Place help make housing more affordable in Manhattan? I think this was the point as micro-units were previously strongly opposed by many. It would be interesting to compare total occupancy costs for Carmel Place vs. market alternatives.

20 years ago I lived 4-5 years in a studio exactly two blocks south of this project. Area is only slightly better. Yes, big draw is for medical personnel and in recent years Baruch staff.

Did Carmel Place get any tax breaks or other concessions from the city for affordable housing? If not, it is just like any other rental development who is free to charge what the market will bear.

They got a variance to allow small units of less than 400 sf which were previously prohibited by zoning law. That's a pretty big concession. I think they also allocated some of the units for low income housing.

This new project in Brooklyn apparently got the density variance by providing low income housing for 40% of the uits and creating community facility space:

https://therealdeal.com/2017/12/10/jonathan-rose-brings-tiny-living-to-brooklyn/