HDFC unit at Beacon Towers, 29 West 138th Street, #4H | https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/harlem/beacon-towers-29-west-138th-street/44614/4H/ALcyFaRzNuV
In December 2025, a newly built boutique cooperative at 170 West 22nd Street, on the corner of Seventh Avenue, started accepting applications. The attractive nine-story building features a stone and brick facade, as well as thermal insulation and energy-efficient mechanical systems. Amenities include a shared courtyard, an eighth-floor terrace and recreational space, bike storage, and an on-site laundry room. Prices will range from $385K for studios to $452K for two-bedrooms.
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Rendering of 170 West 22nd Street (Amie Gross Architects)
This is not a typo for a building in one of Manhattan's most expensive neighborhoods; rather, these are Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) units. After the owner stopped paying property taxes on 201-207 Seventh Avenue (170 West 22nd Street) in the 1970s, the city seized control of the buildings and initially sought to rehabilitate them through the Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP). However, the four buildings were demolished in 2022 and construction began on the new nine-story building soon after. Five of the units will be occupied by returning residents, who will be permitted to buy them for as little at $250, and the remaining 21 are designated for households earning 130% of the Area Median Income. Full criteria and the application for 170 West 22nd Street may be found here.
170 West 22nd Street, December 2025 (CityRealty)
The HDFC program dates back to the late 1970s, when the city created a program that allowed low-income residents to buy their units for as little as $250. More recently, community development non-profit LISE NYC closed on three West Harlem buildings that it plans to renovate, convert to HDFC co-ops, and sell to existing tenants for $2,500. (Vacant units will be available through the city's affordable lottery system.)
It should be noted that to keep HDFC listings affordable, strict income caps are in place that buyers should be prepared to abide by. Moreover, in spite of the low sticker prices, buyers should be prepared to make a hefty down payment. As a result, a 2021 Bloomberg article observes that a number of HDFC units are being sold to young people whose incomes fall within the parameters but who have wealthy parents to help with the down payments, which couldn't be farther from what the program intended.
What is an HDFC Co-op?
HDFC units were created several decades ago as a way for tenants in poorly managed buildings to take control of the property and form cooperatives. The city sold these apartments to residents for a mere $250 a piece. Obviously they no longer trade for that price, but they do often sell for far less than what a comparable market rate unit in the same neighborhood would.Learn More About HDFC Co-ops Here→
Recent HDFC co-op listings
12 East 132nd Street, #4B (Compass)
108 West 114th Street, #4B (Compass)
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514 West 50th Street, #5RW (Compass)
98 Avenue C, #6B (Corcoran Group)
519 East 11th Street, #5E (Corcoran Group)
237 Hancock Street, #11 (Compass)
475 17th Street, #6 (Compass)
70 West, #3G (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
350 West 48th Street, #1W (Sothebys International Realty)
Beacon Towers, #4H (Corcoran Group)
135 West 89th Street, #2 (Bizzarro Agency LLC)
The Turin House, #18E (Compass)
3115 Broadway, #61 (Howard Hanna NYC)
170 Lenox Avenue, #2A (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
9 Argyle Road, #4C (RE Max Edge Group)
527 East 12th Street, #E5E7 (Sothebys International Realty)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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