After years of sitting quiet on the West Side waterfront, the former Bayview Correctional Facility at 550 West 20th Street is officially under construction again, this time as Chelsea Beacon, a state-backed affordable housing complex instead of a prison.
Crews are now on site at the long-vacant Art Deco building at the southeast corner of West 20th Street and Eleventh Avenue, directly across from Chelsea Piers. The 1930s structure will be reused and built up, with new levels rising above the existing roofline and historic details like the chapel restored rather than ripped out. State officials and developers say the project will include apartments for people returning from incarceration and a short-term transitional residence for people with mental health needs.
When complete, Chelsea Beacon is expected to bring 131 permanently affordable apartments to the neighborhood. At least 79 of those will be supportive units, paired with on-site services, and there will be a 15-bed short-term transitional residence. Plans also call for about 8,500 square feet of community facility space, a seven-story addition tucked into the interior courtyard, and a planted terrace above the former roof. The redevelopment is set up as an all-electric building with resiliency upgrades built into the adaptive reuse, according to New York YIMBY.
Design and reuse
Architecture firm COOKFOX is steering the conversion and says the design is meant to reconnect the complex with its maritime history while turning former cells and institutional spaces into studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms.
The street-facing Art Deco facades will stay in place, with the new construction set back from the original walls so the building still reads like a 1930s landmark from the sidewalk. Inside, the chapel and decorative mosaics are being repurposed for residential use instead of being treated as relics of the Bayview era.
COOKFOX also identifies the Osborne Association as the operator of the supportive housing units and Urban Pathways as the operator of the short-term transitional residence. That team structure reflects a heavy focus on on-site services and support for residents, according to COOKFOX.
Funding and partners
The roughly $167 million redevelopment is largely financed with state support and tax credits. The capital stack includes tax-exempt bonds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, along with additional funding from New York State Homes and Community Renewal and Empire State Development.
State officials announced the start of construction in early July 2026 and framed Chelsea Beacon as part of a broader effort to turn underused state properties into affordable housing rather than letting them sit idle. "Chelsea Beacon will rise up as a place of hope and welcome for New Yorkers coming home from incarceration to safe and stable housing," Osborne Association President and CEO Jonathan Monsalve said in the state announcement. The construction launch and financing details were outlined in a New York State press release.
From prison to homes
The push to reuse Bayview did not start with this week’s groundbreakers. The state first rolled out a proposal in 2024 under the name "Liberty Landing," with somewhat different unit counts and a smaller overall budget. The scope, financing, and branding have shifted since then, ultimately landing on the larger Chelsea Beacon plan that is now under construction.
Supporters argue that converting the former Seamen’s House YMCA, which later became the Bayview Correctional Facility before closing in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, is a straightforward public benefit. In their view, the project brings a prominent but shuttered building back into active community use and ties its next chapter directly to housing and services. The initial 2024 announcement and early renderings were released by Empire State Development during the planning phase.
What neighbors should expect
For now, nearby residents can expect visible site work and foundation activity as construction ramps up. A firm completion date has not yet been shared by the development team or the state, so this will not be an overnight transformation.
The site is a short walk from the C and E trains at 23rd Street and sits across from Chelsea Piers, putting future residents near the Hudson River waterfront and neighborhood retail. Officials say the project is expected to prioritize MWBE contracting and local hiring during construction while ultimately delivering long-term supportive services for some of the city’s most vulnerable New Yorkers, according to New York YIMBY.
