{"id":154351,"date":"2025-05-13T01:29:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T01:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/?p=154351"},"modified":"2025-05-13T02:29:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T02:29:03","slug":"leading-architects-think-smaller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/leading-architects-think-smaller\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Architects Think Smaller"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div data-parent=\"true\" class=\"vc_row row-container\" id=\"row-unique-0\"><div class=\"row limit-width row-parent\"><div class=\"wpb_row row-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-8 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"empty-space empty-double\" ><span class=\"empty-space-inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n<span class=\"btn-container\" ><a role=\"button\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/The-Real-Deal-May-2025.pdf\" class=\"custom-link btn btn-xl border-width-0 btn-color-137369 btn-round btn-outline btn-icon-left\" title=\"PDF\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/span><div class=\"uncode-single-media  text-left\"><div class=\"single-wrapper\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"><div class=\"tmb tmb-light  tmb-media-first tmb-media-last tmb-content-overlay tmb-no-bg\"><div class=\"t-inside\"><div class=\"t-entry-visual\"><div class=\"t-entry-visual-tc\"><div class=\"uncode-single-media-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-154352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-12-at-9.31.03%E2%80%AFPM.png\" width=\"688\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_custom_heading_wrap\"><div class=\"heading-text el-text\" ><h1 class=\"h1 font-weight-700\" ><span>Leading Architects Think Smaller<\/span><\/h1><div class=\"text-small text-top-reduced\"><p>Tax breaks pave way for more projects with different scopes<br \/>\nBy Jake Indursky | Research By Matthew Elo and Joseph JungerMann<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script id=\"script-row-unique-0\" data-row=\"script-row-unique-0\" type=\"text\/javascript\" class=\"vc_controls\">UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById(\"row-unique-0\"));<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><div data-parent=\"true\" class=\"vc_row row-container\" id=\"row-unique-1\"><div class=\"row single-top-padding single-bottom-padding single-h-padding limit-width row-parent\"><div class=\"wpb_row row-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-3 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"uncode_text_column\" ><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">FOR ARCHITECTS, 2024 WAS A TALE IN TWO parts. They spent the first half stuck in the mud as developers waited for housing policy clarity and the second half in a welcome return to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIn the second half, we started getting some movement \u2014 some market-rate housing, office conversions into housing and different things like that \u2014 as people started to learn about these new abatements and new affordability programs,\u201d <b>Aufgang principal Ariel Aufgang<\/b> said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Many of the top firms on The Real Deal\u2019s rankings, which take into consideration the number of permits filed with the Department of Buildings, held onto previous spots. Gensler and SLCE retained their pole positions for alterations and new builds, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWe did better in 2024 than what we did during Covid and 2023,\u201d said SLCE partner Saky Yakas, whose firm is working on projects like the Flatiron Building conversion and One Times Square.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Despite legislative life rafts, architects confirmed that the new state of play \u2014 high interest rates, cost uncertainty and tricky zoning \u2014 requires a keener eye. It may mean more business compared to years past, but the scope of architectural projects has changed as developers contort building plans for new tax breaks.<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-5 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"uncode-single-media  text-left\"><div class=\"single-wrapper\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"><div class=\"tmb tmb-light  tmb-media-first tmb-media-last tmb-content-overlay tmb-no-bg\"><div class=\"t-inside\"><div class=\"t-entry-visual\"><div class=\"t-entry-visual-tc\"><div class=\"uncode-single-media-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-154356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-12-at-9.31.16%E2%80%AFPM.png\" width=\"667\" height=\"1286\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script id=\"script-row-unique-1\" data-row=\"script-row-unique-1\" type=\"text\/javascript\" class=\"vc_controls\">UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById(\"row-unique-1\"));<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><div data-parent=\"true\" class=\"vc_row row-container\" id=\"row-unique-2\"><div class=\"row no-top-padding single-bottom-padding single-h-padding limit-width row-parent\"><div class=\"wpb_row row-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-8 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"uncode_text_column\" ><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">\u201cYou have to be a solid developer now for development,\u201d said JFA chief operating officer and partner Ben Grunwald. \u201cYou have to know what you\u2019re doing\u2026 if you know what you\u2019re doing, at least, you could have a game plan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>City of \u201cat last\u201d\u00a0<\/b><br \/>\n<\/span>City of Yes\u2019s passage opened up a world of opportunity for architects. It also opened up a world of work. \u201cOwners immediately wanted us to see what the implications were,\u201d said Yakas, who has already added floors and units and upgraded drawings on three affordable housing projects across Brooklyn and Queens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The plan\u2019s Universal Affordability Preference, which replaces the city\u2019s Voluntary Inclusionary Program, grants 20 percent density bonuses to projects if all of the extra space is dedicated to permanently affordable housing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">City of Yes also created more housing production opportunities, including loosening of parking minimums and the inclusion of denser R11 and R12 zoning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">CetraRuddy founding principal Nancy Ruddy said that the real driver of business for her firm this year has been office-to-residential conversions, spurred by City of Yes expanding the convertible building stock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThat has been a major source of work and construction jobs, even clients who have never done renovations and conversions,\u201d said Ruddy, whose firm is working on the nation\u2019s largest conversion, 25 Water Street in the Financial District.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Perhaps more surprising is the surge of office-to-office conversions. Developers are increasingly looking to upgrade existing office buildings as demand for quality office space has surged, according to Kohn Pederson Fox principal Forth Bagley. Manhattan\u2019s first-quarter vacancy rate was 17.7 percent, according to Savills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The industry also finally got clarity on 485x last year. While the industry breathed a sigh of relief at receiving a fresh tax abatement, architects are now working with developers to adhere to deeper affordability and prevailing wage requirements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cPeople are looking for smaller deals \u2014 clients that used to build 500-unit buildings are now looking at 100-unit buildings or less,\u201d Grunwald said. Whether that\u2019s good news for architects depends on whom you\u2019re asking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt\u2019s counterproductive, frankly,\u201d said Hill West founding partner David West. He said that developers are looking to break sites into multiple smaller buildings when possible, or in the case of one planned 450 unit tower, pausing all together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Even then, sites being broken up into several buildings requires multiple lobbies, multiple elevator cores, double the management staff and double the application and permit filings for architects, he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s an unintended consequence,\u201d West said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the tax abatement rules should be driving the decision-making.\u201d<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script id=\"script-row-unique-2\" data-row=\"script-row-unique-2\" type=\"text\/javascript\" class=\"vc_controls\">UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById(\"row-unique-2\"));<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><div data-parent=\"true\" class=\"vc_row row-container\" id=\"row-unique-3\"><div class=\"row one-top-padding single-bottom-padding single-h-padding limit-width row-parent\"><div class=\"wpb_row row-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-3 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"uncode_text_column\" ><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>Show me the money\u00a0<\/b><br \/>\n<\/span>Affordable housing projects have proven especially crucial \u2014 if they land financing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe biggest problem now is there are more projects than there\u2019s funding,\u201d said Curtis + Ginsberg partner Mark Ginsberg, who has a number of projects on hold until clients can get funding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Architects have found success this year through the city\u2019s efforts to rehabilitate New York City Housing Authority properties through its Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program, which allows land to be leased to developers who complete needed repairs<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Aufgang<\/b> is working with developers on three different projects in the Bronx and Brooklyn where units are being renovated \u201ctop to bottom,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Recently, though, the Trump administration has turned its eye on federal affordable housing funding, which could further threaten many projects\u2019 cash streams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Despite months of tariff whiplash and stubbornly high interest rates, architects looking ahead feel they have navigated the Covid trough and can visualize the next boom cycle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThere\u2019s this pent-up need of wanting to develop, we\u2019re seeing a real parallel between what happened after Covid and what happened after the 2008 and 2009 recession,\u201d Ruddy said. \u201cA city like New York always comes back.\u201d <span class=\"s3\"><b>TRD<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-5 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"uncode-single-media  text-left\"><div class=\"single-wrapper\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"><div class=\"tmb tmb-light  tmb-media-first tmb-media-last tmb-content-overlay tmb-no-bg\"><div class=\"t-inside\"><div class=\"t-entry-visual\"><div 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row-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-8 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><div class=\"divider-wrapper\"  >\n    <hr class=\"unseparator separator-no-padding\"  \/>\n<\/div>\n<span class=\"btn-container\" ><a role=\"button\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/news\/\" class=\"custom-link btn btn-sm border-width-0 btn-default btn-round btn-outline btn-icon-left\">Back To The News<\/a><\/span><div class=\"empty-space empty-double\" ><span class=\"empty-space-inner\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column pos-top pos-center align_left column_parent col-lg-2 single-internal-gutter\"><div class=\"uncol style-light\"  ><div class=\"uncoltable\"><div class=\"uncell no-block-padding\" ><div class=\"uncont\" ><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script id=\"script-row-unique-4\" data-row=\"script-row-unique-4\" type=\"text\/javascript\" class=\"vc_controls\">UNCODE.initRow(document.getElementById(\"row-unique-4\"));<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York City\u2019s Brownsville Plan is a community-driven process that was launched in 2017 to revitalize the Brownsville neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn. A variety of initiatives included in the plan were aimed at improving the residents\u2019 quality of life by addressing such issues as health, safety, economic opportunity, and access to affordable housing and the arts.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154351"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154386,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154351\/revisions\/154386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aufgang.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}