Retail Latin America: New York City's first 'micro apartments' are coming this spring

In 2013, a project called My Micro NY won a design competition for the New York's first "micro apartments" sponsored by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Intended to create affordable housing for singles in New York City, those promised prefabricated affordable units are finally being assembled in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and will be unveiled this spring in Manhattan's Kips Bay, according to The New York Times.

The city's first "micro" building will have 55 rental apartments, all ranging from 260- to 360-square-feet with big windows, ample storage space, and Juliet balconies.

Because the architects believed amenities are important to micro-unit dwellers, the building will also have a public meeting space, café, and common rooftop garden for residents, as well as a laundry room, residential storage space, a bike room, and fitness space.

The building will begin rising up in 335 East 27th Street, in Kips Bay with apartments renting for $2,000 to $3,000 a month.

NYC Mayor's OfficeThe city's first "micro apartment" building will be located in Kips Bay

Residents are expected to begin moving in by September 2015, according to earlier estimates from the architects. The building will be rent stabilized, environmentally friendly, and — with the exception of the size — will follow all local, state, and federal housing regulations.

Under current zoning laws enacted in 1987, all NYC apartments must be at least 400 square feet, but then-mayor Michael Bloomberg said in 2013 that the new micro-units would be an exception.

My Micro NY will also be the first multi-family building in Manhattan to use modular construction, with the modules prefabricated locally by Monadnock Development as well as the Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Modular construction is said to be safer and more efficient since the plumbing, electrical, and building development is done in a controlled, indoor environment.

The city is expecting a wait list for the apartments, which have already received "dozens of calls from interested parties of all ages," according to The Times. 22 of the 55 units will be reserved for low-income families.

NYC Mayor's OfficeModular construction is said to be safer and quicker than traditional construction

The contest was developed to address the growing need in New York City for affordable studios, one person- and two person-households. It was originally a part of Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan, a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for an expected 500,000 New Yorkers.

"New York’s ability to adapt with changing times is what made us the world’s greatest city," Bloomberg said in a 2013 press conference. "And it’s going to be what keeps us strong in the 21st Century."