NEW YORK CITY-Shortly after the Bloomberg Administration unveiled a design competition to create a rental building with “micro units” – or apartments sized between 275 to 300 square feet – the multifamily industry is applauding the measure, describing that the pilot proposal is “creative solution” to help house the city’s growing population and changing demographics—which can help generate new opportunities for developers and owner/managers as well.

“If you could rent more apartments, then you will have more income coming in,” Adam Leitman Bailey, of Manhattan-based law firm Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., tells GlobeSt.com. Bailey, who specializes in multifamily and landlord representation, says the demand for space from singles, students and other aspiring New Yorkers is increasing, and providing more living options for the growing class can only help. “I love the idea of creating affordable housing based on the free market, which would be a smaller space, and these units provide that.”

Under the request for proposals, the city will waive certain zoning regulations to allow a developer to construct an apartment building at a city-owned site at 335 E. 27^th St. in Kips Bay with units smaller than what is allowed under current regulations. The idea here, says Jerilyn Perine, executive director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council, a research-based nonpartisan advocacy organization, is to lay the groundwork for housing regulatory reform and provide an example for the construction industry to follow.