On January 21, 2025, the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) certified the city-led Midtown South Mixed-Use (MSMX) Plan into public review. The MSMX Plan is the first piece of the Adams administration’s “Manhattan Plan,” announced at the mayor’s State of the City address. The Manhattan Plan aims to spur development of 100,000 new residential units in the borough over the next decade. The MSMX Plan seeks to support the creation of 9,700 new residential units, including approximately 2,900 permanently affordable units.

“Today marks an important step forward for a plan that could help create badly needed housing and reinvigorate some of Manhattan’s core,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine in a press release.

The MSMX Plan would transform four distinct areas in the heart of Manhattan, roughly bounded by West 40th Street to the north, Seventh and Eighth Avenues to the west, West 23rd Street to the south and Fifth Avenue to the east. It is the first application of the newly created R11 (15 residential floor area ratio or FAR) and R12 (18 residential FAR) zoning districts established by City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted by the City Council in December 2024. Development in historic districts designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission would remain subject to state-level regulations limiting residential floor area to a maximum 12 FAR.

These high-density residential districts would be paired with new manufacturing zoning districts, established by the adoption of City of Yes for Economic Opportunity in June 2024, and the proposed Special Midtown South Mixed-Use District, to replace outdated manufacturing zoning districts with a bespoke zoning solution intended to preserve job-creating industries and businesses in the area while introducing residential uses through conversions and new construction.

“We envision for Midtown South a vibrant and dynamic, 24/7 neighborhood with a strong commercial core right alongside brand-new homes for New Yorkers, and we need to change our outdated zoning rules to make it all happen,” said Department of City Planning (DCP) Director and CPC Chair Dan Garodnick.

The MSMX Plan is the culmination of a multi-year community engagement process initiated by DCP in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on office space occupancy and commuting and work patterns and the city’s on-going housing crisis.

DCP’s plan for Midtown South includes:

• Rezoning existing manufacturing zoning districts to mixed-use districts, mapped for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, that would permit a wide range of residential, commercial, community facility, and light manufacturing uses.
• Creation of the Special Midtown South Mixed-Use District that would include floor area incentives for the construction of public schools, public realm improvements, and improvements to transit infrastructure, and special bulk regulations intended to create the flexibility needed for new development to reflect the area’s existing character, including special base height, distance between buildings, and street wall requirements.
• Elimination of the Special Garment Center District, which would be replaced by the new Special Midtown South Mixed-Use District and an expansion of the Special Hudson Yards District that would encompass the portions of the Special Garment Center District governed by strict preservation requirements.

The MSMX Plan now begins the approximately seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP, during which it will be heard by Manhattan Community Boards 4 and 5, the Manhattan Borough President, CPC, and the City Council. We will continue to monitor MSMX Plan as it advances through the public review process.