The Garment District’s next runway show won’t feature couture—it’ll feature condos. And rentals. And, crucially, loads of affordable apartments.
On Thursday, the City Council gave the green light to the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, a sweeping rezoning that will bring roughly 9,700 new apartments (including about 3,000 permanently affordable units) to a 42-block swath of Midtown South covering parts of the Garment District, Chelsea and Flatiron. It’s the largest residential neighborhood rezoning Manhattan’s seen in two decades and it finally lifts 1960s-era zoning rules that treated living in this central, transit-rich area like a zoning violation.
Right now, most of these blocks, stretching from 23rd to 40th streets between Fifth and Eighth Avenues, are dominated by manufacturing zoning that makes new housing a non-starter. MSMX swaps that out for higher-density residential districts (R11 and R12, for the zoning wonks) paired with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rules. That means every new apartment building or residential conversion will have to include income-restricted units—many for households making 40–80-percent of the area median income—and at least half of those will be two-bedrooms or larger.
“This is about turning one of our most centrally located neighborhoods into an actual neighborhood,” Mayor Eric Adams said after the unanimous Council vote. “A place where New Yorkers can live closer to jobs, parks, and amenities instead of commuting from miles away.”
Not that it’s going to be a demolition derby. Most new housing will rise on vacant or underused sites, with some office-to-residential conversions made easier by the city’s recent “City of Yes” zoning updates. Landmark buildings are safe and many big early-20th-century loft structures here already pack more density than the new rules allow.
Getting garment businesses on board took some tailoring. Early opposition gave way after the city pledged to preserve manufacturing space and invest $120 million in economic development for the area, part of a larger $448 million package of community benefits and infrastructure upgrades. The Landmarks Preservation Commission also just granted landmark status to five historic garment-industry buildings.
The rezoning will also bring a few street-level perks: Plans are back on for a dedicated, car-free 34th Street busway, plus pedestrian plazas and play areas along Broadway from 21st to 42nd Streets.
In short: Midtown South is trading its “no housing allowed” sign for a welcome mat—and 3,000 affordable homes is just the start.
