News Summary: NYC picks micro-apartment design

ITTY-BITTY LIVING SPACE: New York City planners picked the development team for its first miniature apartment units — dwellings as small as 250 square feet aimed at helping stock the city with affordable housing options.

THE TEST: A team made up of The team consists of Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development Corp. and nARCHITECTS was chosen to construct a Manhattan apartment complex that will incorporate 55 "micro units." If the program is successful, New York could overturn a requirement that all new apartments be at least 400 square feet.

THE DETAILS: A test 325-square-foot studio has a bed that folds out over a couch, a fold-out table tucked neatly under the kitchen counter, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator and separate freezer tucked under the counter.