As the cost of living spikes in tandem with homelessness rates across the country, various cities have begun exploring the idea of converting vacant spaces — like former shopping malls, defunct department stores, and abandoned churches — into affordable housing units.
In July 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul embraced that trend by investing over $108 million into the “Liberty Landing” project: an ambitious remodeling effort that will convert a former women’s correctional facility into an affordable housing site for low-income residents and formerly incarcerated individuals.
“Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” Governor Hochul said in a press statement.
“Liberty Landing represents a significant step forward in our efforts to provide inclusive housing opportunities and support to vulnerable New Yorkers.”
Daniel F. Martuscello III, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community, also gave his full-throated support of the project.
“Liberty Landing will not only provide much-needed affordable housing to New Yorkers, but also support those recently released from prison in their reentry, which will ultimately promote public safety by reducing recidivism,” Martuscello said in the press release.
“I commend the Governor and those who have partnered on this project for their vision to reuse the facility in a way that will benefit those who need it most.”
The building once served as temporary housing for passing sailors before it reopened as the Bayview Correctional Facility in the 1970s. After forty years of operation, the prison shuttered its doors in October 2012 after Hurrican Sandy swept through, causing dramatic storm damage.
In the decade-plus since, it has sat vacant.
The location of the former prison is prime real estate. It’s nestled in Chelsea — one of New York City’s most expensive neighborhoods — where the cost of rent is 183% higher than the national average with a median rent price of $5,595 per month.
Karen Hu of Camber Property Group — the developer behind the conversion project — told Fast Company that she knows firsthand the struggle of maintaining a “stable life” in a high expense area like Chelsea.
“But I’m also an urban planner by training and so I know that we need a diverse set of people in the city to keep it a dynamic place,” Hu explained. “The idea of having affordable housing with Statue of Liberty views across the Chelsea piers is really fitting to me.”
Bethany Borel, an associate partner at CookFox Architects — the designers behind the project — said that the historic facade of the building will remain in place, but the interior of the building will need to be almost completely gutted to transform the prison into functional housing.
“The dimension[s] of those rooms are so small that really the cells themselves can’t be reused,” Borel told Fast Company.
In spaces where cells were once separated by a corridor, CookFox plans to outfit the building with 146 units — an assortment of studios and one and two bedroom apartments — as they completely reimagine the interior of the L-shaped building.
“Knowing that the puzzle pieces can slot in so well, it seems like a no-brainer that that’s the way we should proceed,” Borel said.
Although the project is still in its development phase, construction is set to begin in 2026. It is not clear yet how much the units will cost, but the governor has pledged to to keep the housing units “permanently affordable” and tailor them to the people who “need them most.”
But good things take time, and Hocul hopes that the Liberty Landing project will transform “a former symbol of incarceration into a beacon of hope, healing, and opportunity.”
Header image via Google Maps Bjoertvedt (CC BY-SA 3.0)
