NEW YORK | 250 E. 57th ST | 715 FT / 218 M | 59 FLOORS

[NYguy]

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/90621816/original.jpg


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/16/realestate/16post-650.jpg
ny times


NY Sun

New Schools, 59-Story Tower To Rise at 57th St. and Second Ave.

By DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
October 9, 2006


Reviving a development model from the 1970s, the city will permit a private developer to build a soaring residential tower on a low-rise, under-utilized city-owned site in Midtown in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars that will be used to build at least two new city schools.

The developer, the World-Wide Group, has made an agreement with the city for a 75-year lease of a 1.5-acre site on East 57th Street and Second Avenue, and it will make payments to the city worth $325 million. The developer will raze the two existing schools on the site, P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, build two new schools that will accommodate more students, and develop a 59-story apartment tower and a long, four-story band of retail stores.

The city will issue about $130 million worth of bonds to build the schools through its educational construction fund, but the debt will be paid back with the developer's payments. The profit from selling the development rights is so great, according to city officials, that it will pay for capital improvements of other city schools around the five boroughs.

The executive director of the educational construction fund, run by the Department of Education, Jamie Smarr, said the city is now looking for additional, similar deals.

"Because our capital needs are so great versus the available resources, we are looking to greatly expand this model," Mr. Smarr said.

He said the conditions of the existing schools, P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, are among the worst of any in Manhattan. Last year, with the support of the schools' principals, the city sought proposals from private developers to replace the schools and capture the development rights available at the site. World-Wide Group was the highest bidder, according to Mr. Smarr.

Because the planned development will occur on an as-of-right site, it does not require approval by the Planning Commission or the City Council.

The developer has met with the local community board and is in the final stages of planning and an environmental review. Construction on the schools is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2008, and should take about two years. The developer's lease payments will also pay for a temporary facility that will house the students during construction and will serve as a working school for about 20 years.

A partner at World-Wide Group, David Lowenfeld, said the developer was attracted to the opportunity to recreate "an eminently forgettable area," and he cited the value of having nearly 200,000 square feet of retail on one of Manhattan's busiest crosstown streets. One of the retail spaces could house a Whole Foods or another supermarket, according to the existing plans.

The residential tower, designed by architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, would be about 450,000 square feet. It would contain 320 residential units with rental apartments on the lower floors and apartments for sale up above. The residential tower would be separated from the schools by a courtyard. According to the plans, 20% of the rental units would be "affordable" and the developer would build 30 "affordable" units off-site under the inclusionary housing program.

The planned development is just a few blocks from the headquarters of Bloomberg LLP and One Beacon Court, a project by Vornado Realty Trust that mixed luxury apartments with ground floor retail, and that was fantastically successful, according to real estate experts.

Mr. Lowenfeld, a former executive director of the city's Industrial Development Agency during the Koch administration, would not rule out switching to commercial development of the tower, but he said he favored residential. An office tower would require a zoning change and approval by the Planning Commission and the City Council.

World-Wide Group has built about 1,350 residential apartments in Manhattan, and was a partner in the development of the mixed-use Worldwide Plaza on West 50th Street.

This will be the 16th time the city has leveraged real estate assets to build schools using the educational constructional fund, but the model has been dormant since the 1970s. Last year, the city signed a 75-year lease with a private developer to build a junior high school and a residential building on 91st Street and First Avenue on the site of an old, vacant school.

In the 1970s, the city leased the site of 3 Park Avenue to a developer who built a 42-story commercial tower with a public school in its base. The Verizon Building at 375 Pearl Street and the adjacent Murry Bergtraum High School, near Police Headquarters, is also a product of the same program.

In the 1990s, a city study identified several possible sites suitable for similar development plans, including PS 9 on 84th Street and Columbus, PS 6 on 84th Street and Madison, PS 290 on 82nd Street between First and Second Avenues, and PS 51 on 45th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues.

One of the problems with the program, according to Mr. Smarr, is that it only benefited schools in Manhattan, where real estate values are higher and zoning allows denser development. But in the last few years, real estate values have soared in the outer boroughs, and the city is now seeking proposals from developers for a school site in Park Slope, according to Mr. Smarr.

The local City Council member, Daniel Garodnick, said he would be closely following the project as it moves towards construction.

Mr. Smarr said that the public benefit should outweigh any concerns about the height of the building or disruption during construction.

"We are getting three new schools, and the affordable housing component," Mr. Smarr said. "The public amenity is so great, it overwhelms whatever natural concerns someone might have over the scale of the tower."

Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff called the project a "win-win."

"It's a terrific example of what the public and private sectors can achieve when they work together for the benefit of the community," Mr. Doctoroff said. "At the same time, this project will generate a financial return for the city that can be used to support school construction and renovation elsewhere."

[Jularc]

Awesome news! I am glad they chose SOM as the architects. I am ok with their stuff. Can't wait to see the renderings! :tup:

[Daquan13]

Are there any renderings or pics of this new tower? I'd like to se them.

[NYguy]

The developer will raze the two existing schools on the site, P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, build two new schools that will accommodate more students, and develop a 59-story apartment tower and a long, four-story band of retail stores.

The city will issue about $130 million worth of bonds to build the schools through its educational construction fund, but the debt will be paid back with the developer's payments. The profit from selling the development rights is so great, according to city officials, that it will pay for capital improvements of other city schools around the five boroughs.

The executive director of the educational construction fund, run by the Department of Education, Jamie Smarr, said the city is now looking for additional, similar deals.

This is good news on many levels. The city has found another way new towers can benefit the city, with much needed school improvements. Under this model, we will begin to see even more towers going up.


The residential tower, designed by architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, would be about 450,000 square feet. It would contain 320 residential units with rental apartments on the lower floors and apartments for sale up above. The residential tower would be separated from the schools by a courtyard.

Because the planned development will occur on an as-of-right site, it does not require approval by the Planning Commission or the City Council.

It will be a slender residential tower. I'd say around 600 ft, maybe a little more. And I love as-of-right developments. They get into the ground quicker.

[Thefigman]

If the city is smart, they will make more deals like this one in the future.

I see this as a win/win for the city.

[JACKinBeantown]

My guess: 634 feet.

[NYguy]

My guess: 634 feet.

I'll top that - 635.

[GFSNYC]

Next to 42nd St. I'd say 57th has one of the most interesting set of towers in NYC, this may be no exception. This is really close to my area, and the school itself was actually re-clad 5-10 years ago, not sure if the interior was refurbished at all. It certainly is an eyesore as far as schools go.

I would bet that this tower will have commercial space, it could end up being a second Bloomberg tower in function - which wouldn't be bad at all. There's going to be very little community opposition to the tower as is, besides, commercial space will really be hot along second ave... some day

[Fabb]

That could be one of the tallest on 2nd Avenue.

[TechTalkGuy]

I'd say 650 - 700 feet (if they decide to add something exceptional on the top).

[NYguy]

It will appear on the cityscape here:

http://www.grandscapes.biz/images/east_detail_images/er_detail5_blowup1.jpg

[hoosier]

Nice diagram, but a little old. Where is Bloomberg Tower?:shrug:

[NYguy]

Nice diagram, but a little old. Where is Bloomberg Tower?:shrug:

Yeah, its outdated (there's no Time Warner Center either) but its accurate as far as location goes.

[NYguy]

NY Post

SCHOOLS 'DEVELOP' $TRATEGY

By ANGELA MONTEFINISE
October 15, 2006


The city is looking to capitalize on a booming real estate market by leasing the air rights over schools in exchange for new buildings or the cash to construct them.

"We are actively looking at air rights all over the city," said Jamie Smarr, executive director of the Department of Education's Educational Construction Fund, which handles the leases.

The city has been leasing school air rights since the 1970s, but it wants to do more of it, at a higher price, in a hotter market.

Last week, the DOE announced its latest project under the plan - the reconstruction of PS 59 and the HS of Art and Design on Second Avenue and East 57th Street.

Developers World-Wide Group signed a 75-year lease and will pay a total of $320 million in that period. As part of the deal, they will also replace the schools with new, larger buildings and develop a 59-story tower with retail and 320 residential units.

There have already been 12 projects using the leasing of air rights, 11 in the 1970s. They created 4,500 apartments and 1 million square feet of office space, Smarr said. The projects have leases of 75 or 99 years and pump $20 million into the fund every year.

Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, called the program "a natural," saying most schools are not built to the maximum size allowed, leaving leftover development space, or air rights.

Under the program, the city issues bonds to developers to rebuild and expand existing school sites alongside residential, commercial or office space.

The developers pay annual rent and fees to the city at a negotiated rate based on the market. The funds help pay back the bonds and, once the debt is paid off, go toward the DOE's capital budget.

[NYguy]

commercial property news

Two New York City Schools Part of $500M Mixed-Use Development Plan

http://www.cpnonline.com/commercialpropertynews/photos/general3/250_East57.jpg

October 18, 2006
By Amanda Marsh


The corner of 57th Street and Second Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City will now be the home to two new expanded, ultra-modern schools as part of a $500 million, 1 million-square-foot mixed-used development.

The Education Construction Fund announced that developer World-Wide Group has been chosen to redevelop the site, currently home to the High School of Art and Design and Public School 59. When completed, the facility will include the two news schools, 170,000 square feet of retail and a residential tower with 320 new rental and condominium units (pictured). The project is being designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill L.L.P, with Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn designing the P.S. 59 building.

The first phase of construction, which will take place over three years beginning in January 2008, will include the development and construction of the two new schools. During the phase, P.S. 59 will be relocated to a new school facility located within the boundaries of its existing district. When the school is completed, the relocation facility --which will also be newly constructed at an undecided location--will them become a permanent school. The new P.S. 59 will accommodate 730 students, up from its current 400, while the new High School of Art and Design will accommodate 1,400 students.

Both schools will frame an expanded open space, providing students a controlled area for recreational activities. A new side yard setback along 56th Street will also serve as an additional outdoor play area for schools. Additionally, the new development will also provide community facilities in the form of the schools’ cafeterias, a 500-seat theater, gymnasiums and parent community rooms.

The second phase of construction will involve the mixed-use portion. Twenty percent of the planned rental units will be affordable housing, with an additional 30 units of affordable housing built off-site.

World-Wide Group will lease the site from the Education Construction Fund for a 75-year period, in which it will make an annual lease and PILOT payments to the fund. The payments will cover the cost of both new schools, estimated to be $130 million, and generate additional revenues for other school capital projects. The developer was unable to comment by deadline.

According to State Senator Liz Krueger (D-NY), who represents the 26th State Senate Districts in which the schools are located, a number of public schools within the area, including P.S. 59, are significantly over capacity. Furthermore, the Department of Education has stated that the number of students living within the school’s areas is rising steadily each year.

That, in addition to what may eventually be 6,000 new apartments on former Con Edison sites at First Avenue between 35th and 41st Streets, would be an impossible burden on the schools, Krueger argued to the New York City Planning Commission three weeks ago.

____________________________________

wirednewyork

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1160595228_57second.jpg

[Lecom]

Awesome news! I am glad they chose SOM as the architects.
I better make it back there next summer.

[TREPYE]

commercial property news

Two New York City Schools Part of $500M Mixed-Use Development Plan

http://www.cpnonline.com/commercialpropertynews/photos/general3/250_East57.jpg

October 18, 2006
By Amanda Marsh
The project is being designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill L.L.P


Well this is certainly horrible news for this project. :no:

[Jularc]

Well this is certainly horrible news for this project. :no:

Well SOM work is ok... I am just worry that they will choose O'Hara architects. They seem to be very popular right now in NYC and they are just horrible.

[NYguy]

wirednewyork

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1160595228_57second.jpg

From this early look, it will be a very slender tower, as expected...

[NYguy]

Daily News

Low-income living on high

BY ELIZABETH HAYS
November 26, 2006

With vacant lots becoming luxury condos across the city in the blink of an eye, officials are looking up - and to some unlikely places - to build affordable apartments.

Low-rise schools, libraries, municipal parking lots and even supermarkets are among the unusual spots that could soon be topped with low- and middle-income housing.

Developers also would be required to renovate dilapidated city buildings, using private money.

"You have to be a little innovative because there isn't a lot of empty land left," said John Tynan, director of housing for Catholic Charities in Brooklyn and Queens. "It's driven by the scarcity of the land."

In Brooklyn, city officials are looking to build apartments over a Park Slope elementary school that needs repairs.

In Queens, the city is considering a low-slung supermarket on Guy R. Brewer Blvd. as a possible site for subsidized apartments, which would be built above it.

Meanwhile, another proposal picking up support involves building low-income homes above aging public libraries.

"Up until now, we had plenty of housing sites in New York, so no one had the impetus to look at libraries," said Kirk Goodrich of Enterprise Community Investment. The group has earmarked a handful of libraries in each borough that could be rebuilt with housing above them, such as the Grand Concourse branch in the Bronx.

City planners have even floated a plan to deck over spots such as the Sunnyside railyards or a below-grade portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway for still more housing - though that's still just an idea.

City officials said the trend toward reusing public property also makes financial sense, because adding new housing brings in private funds to overhaul crumbling city-owned facilities.

"You get a new and improved library or school as well as a chance to build housing," said Housing Preservation and Development spokesman Neill Coleman.

In Park Slope, the city plans to rebuild aging Public School 133 on Butler St. near Fourth Ave. by allowing a developer to replace the school with a 120-foot tower that also would include at least 100,000 square feet of subsidized and market-rate apartments.

A similar project is underway on Manhattan's East Side. The city has tapped a private developer to tear down PS 59 and the High School of Art and Design and replace them with new schools along with an apartment tower that includes 20% affordable housing.

A Brooklyn housing group, the Fifth Ave. Committee, also is pushing the city to use private funds to rebuild four aging libraries in Red Hook, Clinton Hill and other spots.

"We really need to look at using public space in a more efficient manner," said City Councilwoman Letitia James (WFP-Brooklyn), who is working with the group to bring a school or apartments above the Clinton Hill branch.

Housing advocates said they welcome any city plan that adds affordable housing. But they said the proposals don't make up for the subsidized housing that already has been eaten up by the real estate boom.

"They're still at a deficit," said Jumaane Williams, executive director of Tenants and Neighbors, adding the city lost 200,000 rent-regulated apartments in the past decade, and 34,000 additional subsidized units since 1990. "We're still losing more affordable housing than is being built."

[TechTalkGuy]

With vacant lots becoming luxury condos across the city in the blink of an eye, officials are looking up - and to some unlikely places - to build affordable apartments.

What a great idea! http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/mr-fish/Miscellaneous/BigSmile.gif

As we all know, there are plenty of lowrises around that could be converted to high rise skyscrapers.

Just because someone doesn't earn as much as a Wall St. Analyst does not mean they don't deserve to live in the sky. :yes:

[NYguy]

Just because someone doesn't earn as much as a Wall St. Analyst does not mean they don't deserve to live in the sky. :yes:

Amen.

And with the City so short on space, what better place to go than up!

[ZZ-II]

great project, NY Go!!!

[CoolCzech]

Amen.

And with the City so short on space, what better place to go than up!


But... but... I thought there was a GLUT of square footage in the City, and the WTC should never have been rebuilt on such a huge scale...

</sarcasm>

Isn't it funny how overnight there is suddenly a shortage of housing AND office space in NYC?

[NYguy]

Isn't it funny how overnight there is suddenly a shortage of housing AND office space in NYC?

There has always been a shortage of housing in NY, and the office shortage was predictable. Millions of square ft lost on 9/11, added to conversions, and little or no new major office construction equals shortage!

Enter: the WTC and the West Side.

[drew11]

is it approved, any renderings. :D

[NYguy]

The developer, the World-Wide Group, has made an agreement with the city for a 75-year lease of a 1.5-acre site on East 57th Street and Second Avenue, and it will make payments to the city worth $325 million. The developer will raze the two existing schools on the site, P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, build two new schools that will accommodate more students, and develop a 59-story apartment tower and a long, four-story band of retail stores.

The city will issue about $130 million worth of bonds to build the schools through its educational construction fund, but the debt will be paid back with the developer's payments. The profit from selling the development rights is so great, according to city officials, that it will pay for capital improvements of other city schools around the five boroughs.

____________________________________

wirednewyork

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1160595228_57second.jpg

No renderings.

[NYguy]

NY Sun

2nd Ave. Eyed by Developers as Luxury Lane

By ELIOT BROWN
March 19, 2007

Two new planned condominium towers suggest developers seem to be warming to Second Avenue on the Upper East Side — long viewed as a distant cousin to nearby Park and Fifth avenues, if even related at all — as a spot for luxury residential apartments. The developers of the two buildings, both glass towers rising 18 and 30 stories, are trying to capture some of the Westchester crowd — families with pockets that are deep but not bottomless, and want addresses less expensive than those closer to Central Park.

The 30-story tower, to be built by the World-Wide Group by late 2008 on the corner of Second Avenue and 74th Street, is planning prices between $2.5 million and $7 million for units of up to five bedrooms. The building's 87 units tend toward the spacious — three-bedrooms are just shy of 2,000 square feet, while the five-bedroom units are planned to be 3,400 square feet in size. "We believe this will be a value buy for New York families," an executive vice president at World-Wide, David Lowenfeld, said. Families are the target audience, Mr. Lowenfeld said, as he believes there is a pent-up demand for this price range on the Upper East Side. In addition to the generous square footage of the apartments, the building would contain amenities such as a "cruising wall," a miniature climbing wall located inside of a 2,400 square foot space aimed at children of various ages.

The 18-story building, currently a skeleton of concrete pillars on the southeast corner of Second Ave and 79th Street, is planning 40 units to be priced between $1.4 million and $4.5 million. Few details have been released about that building, being built by developer Meyer Chetrit, will also cater to the family crowd, a senior associate with the Corcoran Group, the marketer for the building, Beth Benalloul, said. "There's definitely a need for these high end buildings on the Upper East Side — I can tell you that," Ms. Benalloul said. Second Avenue has hardly been a stranger to high-rises over the years – numerous residential towers more than 30 stories line the street near the two planned buildings – though the move to the higher-end residential comes as in part as a result of rising land prices and a lack of developable sites further towards Central Park.

Development on the Upper East Side is being squeezed to the east for reasons of availability, the developer of the 30-story tower, Mr. Lowenfeld said. Property on Park Avenue rarely comes up for sale, he said, let alone the multiple adjacent lots that developers traditionally need in order to piece together space for a new high-rise. In addition, Second Avenue, unlike much of the East Side closer to Central Park, is not part of a historic district, so new construction there does not have to win the approval of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The recent interest in Second Avenue follows two recent projects by Mr. Lowenfeld further south on the avenue. On 57th Street, World-Wide is planning to build a 59-story tower on top of a school, and on Second Avenue and 55th Street, the company built a 32-story condo tower.

While a spike in interest along Second Avenue coincides with an increase in action from the MTA related to building a Second Avenue subway line, analysts say there has been no noticeable hike in values in anticipation of the line. "We'll believe it when we see it," a real estate appraiser, Ronald Gold, said. "We've been talking about it for 30 years." Subway or no subway, Second Avenue in the Upper East Side has become far more desirable in recent years, Mr. Gold said. "Before 1998, it was certainly a second-class neighborhood," he said. "There was a huge dividing line on the west side (of Second Avenue), primarily because of access to the Lexington avenue subway line. "Where is it now, because of this feeding frenzy over the last six years, everything's up for grabs."

The neighborhood is already known as one of the city's most desirable for families, with a concentration of private and public schools and family-oriented retail such as children's clothing stores. Manhattan's Community District 8 had one of the greatest increases in the population of families with children between 1990 and 2000 in the borough, increasing 5.5%, according to Census data. The district, which runs from 59th Street to 96th Street, is also the second most affluent in the city, with an average median household income of more than $74,000 in 1999. Much of that wealth is concentrated closer to the park, between Fifth and Lexington Avenues, although there are few bargains east of Lexington, where new condo developments are crowding out former walk-up rental apartment buildings. "It's getting unaffordable for the average person," a resident of the Upper East Side for six years who runs a Pilates exercise studio, Shara Arntosky, said. "These luxury buildings are going up and these cute little four-stories are coming down."

[antinimby]

Air Rights, Swapped for Schools


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/16/realestate/16post-650.jpg
GLASSY FUTURE A condo-rental tower is planned above two East 57th Street schools.


By C. J. HUGHES
Published: December 16, 2007 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/realestate/16post.html)

THE thought of shrieks from playgrounds during recess may till now have distanced developers from choosing sites near schools. But with buildable city lots in such short supply, they now appear willing to reconsider.

Two Manhattan buildings are to rise close enough to schools that they will almost seem part of campus: the Azure, at 33 East 91st Street, and a condo-rental at 250 East 57th Street.

And if the schools and apartments end up looking similar, it’s because the same developers are to build both, under deals hammered out with city’s Educational Construction Fund, a division of the Department of Education.

Created in 1967 but dormant for some time, the fund works to ease overcrowding in schools by leasing unused air rights over low-slung buildings, in exchange for new classrooms.

In the past 40 years, the fund has added 18,000 school seats, said Jamie Smarr, its director, adding that the two new projects alone will create 2,700. “We’re getting $300 million of new construction out of this,” he said, “and none of it is going on the city’s books.”

The Azure, which broke ground in September, will be a “co-op with condo rules,” which means subletters won’t require board approval, said John Caiazzo, a vice president of the DeMatteis Organizations, based in Elmont on Long Island. It is a developer of the 32-story tower, along with the Mattone Group of College Point, Queens.

The Azure’s L-shaped lot had been home to Public School 151, which closed in 2000. The new structure, with 80,000 square feet across five floors, will serve Middle School 114, whose 350 students are now shoehorned into a nearby elementary school. It is set to open in September 2009, Mr. Caiazzo said.

The Azure’s 127 units will range from 600-square-foot studios to 1,970-square-foot three bedrooms, he added. Priced from $713,000 to $3.7 million, the units went on sale in October, though “only a few contracts have gone out.”

Mr. Caiazzo played down concerns about noise; the school’s 40-foot-wide recreation area will be away from apartments, he said.

In fact, proximity might be a plus. “We’ve gotten quite a few inquiries about people moving here, so their kids could attend that school,” he said.

The high-rise at 250 East 57th Street, as designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is an angular 59-story glass tower over a retail base. Its offering plan still requires state approval.

But David Lowenfeld, a principal with World-Wide Group, its Manhattan-based developer, envisions a total of 320 units, from studios to three-bedrooms. Sixty percent will be condos, priced at $1,500 a square foot, he said.

The 1.5-acre site now houses P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, which faces Second Avenue. For the 2011 school year, the schools will have roomier new quarters. The elementary will triple in size, and the high school will grow 40 percent, Mr. Smarr said.

First, though, World-Wide Group must build P.S. 59 a temporary facility; It is currently under construction on East 63rd Street.

But what about noise from P.S. 59’s future rooftop playground? “This is the middle of New York,” Mr. Lowenfeld said. “People are used to noise.”

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

[scalziand]

This design looks promising, but I'd like to see some other angles before passing judgment on it. In particular I'd like to see the other side where the building dramatically narrows near the top. From this angle, it looks like the top is precariously balanced on top of the rest of the tower.:shrug:

[Dac150]

Meh...this is not going to fit in well, I can just see it.

[vaporvr6]

the top floor is like a teeter-totter!

[gttx]

Just because someone doesn't earn as much as a Wall St. Analyst does not mean they don't deserve to live in the sky. :yes:

Really? Since when was this the USSR?

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need - right? :rolleyes:

[Jularc]

This looks so promising, but yeah need to see more renderings.

[CoolCzech]

Really? Since when was this the USSR?

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need - right? :rolleyes:

Haven't you ever stumbled into the so-called Political Forum? :haha:

[Tom Servo]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/16/realestate/16post-650.jpg

sick.

[NYguy]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/16/realestate/16post-650.jpg

Interesting design. I like it. Wasn't expecting anything much for this tower. My guess is around 600 ft.

[GVNY]

What a stupid looking tower.

But of course, before I tear it apart verbally any further, I must see more renderings.

[CoolCzech]

I'm VERY dubious the tower will be as shown - I mean, it looks too thin at that choke point to even allow an elevator thru, nevermind being structurally sound...

[NYguy]

I'm VERY dubious the tower will be as shown - I mean, it looks too thin at that choke point to even allow an elevator thru, nevermind being structurally sound...

SOM has much experience with designing and building towers. I doubt they would propose something that couldn't be built.

The high-rise at 250 East 57th Street, as designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is an angular 59-story glass tower over a retail base.

What you're missing from that rendering is the other side of the "twist".

[antinimby]

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1198006404_57e250zs.jpg

[NYguy]

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1198006404_57e250zs.jpg

That's a better view. It's actually a striking tower.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/16/realestate/16post-650.jpg

[NYguy]

Looks like a cousin of Citicorp (Citigroup)

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/90621816/original.jpg

[Antares41]

Yes! this is a rather exciting rendering. If the real thing comes anywhere close to how it is depicted it will be fantastic, and, an instantly recognizable feature to the east side skyline. Almost makes up for the sad state of affairs on the old Con-Ed site.:tup:

[NYguy]

Yes! this is a rather exciting rendering. If the real thing comes anywhere close to how it is depicted it will be fantastic, and, an instantly recognizable feature to the east side skyline. Almost makes up for the sad state of affairs on the old Con-Ed site.:tup:

Almost. That one is turning into a battle to get anything built. But this tower will be a new landmark for the area. It almost makes up for the disappointing Bloomberg Tower (shown in the distance).

[NYonward]

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1198006404_57e250zs.jpg

That's a great design. It makes you wonder what structures we can't imagine now, that will be built in the city down the road.

[CoolCzech]

I have my reservations about the design, but without doubt it will add to the sheer variety of NYC skyscraper design... not just a bunch of glass boxes. And that's a good thing.

[NYguy]

It's also a very light design, something we don't see a lot of.

[ZZ-II]

simply great design, love it!! please build it soon :)

[antinimby]

That's a great design. It makes you wonder what structures we can't imagine now, that will be built in the city down the road.Yeah but let's not be so assured of this one just yet as it will be years before it gets under way and there is already word that the area NIMBYs have hired lawyers to try to fight the height.

[CoolCzech]

Why do I get the feeling that some of the very same rich NIMBY's opposing new highrises in NYC are at the same time writing out checks for apartments in some 2,000 foot tower in Dubai? Hypocrites.

[NYguy]

Yeah but let's not be so assured of this one just yet as it will be years before it gets under way and there is already word that the area NIMBYs have hired lawyers to try to fight the height.

I'd be shocked if the NIMBYs didn't try to fight it.

The high-rise at 250 East 57th Street, as designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is an angular 59-story glass tower over a retail base. Its offering plan still requires state approval.

The 1.5-acre site now houses P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, which faces Second Avenue. For the 2011 school year, the schools will have roomier new quarters. The elementary will triple in size, and the high school will grow 40 percent, Mr. Smarr said.

First, though, World-Wide Group must build P.S. 59 a temporary facility; It is currently under construction on East 63rd Street.

The new schools will get this one pushed through. If only there was a way to increase the tower's size/height, becoming the visible beacon that Bloomberg should have been. But its fine just the way it is.

[chex]

this one looks very nice, but we need more renders!

[Dac150]

I'd be shocked if the NIMBYs didn't try to fight it.

I don't see why they wouldn't either. If it's not for solid reasoning, then it will be for spite.

[NYguy]

I don't see why they wouldn't either. If it's not for solid reasoning, then it will be for spite.

At the same time, some will be pleased by the new school space:

The 1.5-acre site now houses P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design, which faces Second Avenue. For the 2011 school year, the schools will have roomier new quarters. The elementary will triple in size, and the high school will grow 40 percent

[antinimby]

Fund Closes $4.2B Deal for School Build



By Natalie Dolce
Last updated: June 18, 2008 (http://www.globest.com/news/1181_1181/newyork/171650-1.html) 11:09am

NEW YORK CITY-The New York City Educational Construction Fund has closed the first phase of an agreement with the World Wide Group LLC to construct two new schools here in conjunction with a 59-story--up to 715 feet in height--residential and retail tower at 250 E. 57th St. at Second Ave.

Anderson Kill & Olick PC represented the Fund in the transaction, negotiating the lease and development agreements encompassing all facets of the project, including the financial terms, design and construction, insurance and indemnity.

In June 2006, the Fund revealed that it had designated locally based World Wide Group to be the developer for the redevelopment here, which currently houses the High School for Art and Design. The project will include a new high school designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

The project will also include a new elementary school, approximately 200,000 sf of retail space, and a 488,000-sf, 300-unit residential tower containing affordable and market-rate housing. In 2006, plans were to begin construction in late 2008. James Cullen, head of Anderson Kill's real estate and construction practice, tells GlobeSt.com that they hope to start construction by September.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, the mixed-use project is expected to cost $500 million, and Cullen tells GlobeSt.com that that number is very much "in the ballpark". The High School for Art and Design will gain 40% more space than it has at present, incorporating an art gallery to display students' work and significant upgrades to its studios and labs, according to a prepared statement.

Under the development plan, as GlobeSt.com previously reported, the developer will receive a 75-year lease of the air rights within which the apartment tower and retail space will be constructed. The income from this lease will finance the construction of the new schools, also being undertaken by the developer.

The two schools will not tap into taxpayers dollars, and the lease will produce a 75-year stream of income that may be used for similar public school projects, according to a prepared release. In total, the air rights lease agreement has a capital value in excess of $4.2 billion.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, in the first phase of construction, World Wide will focus on redeveloping the High School of Art and Design and Public School 59, the two schools currently located on the site. Phase II will focus on the mixed-use component of the project. An estimated 20% of the 320-residential units will be affordable housing. Phase II can not start until Phase I is completed, so the anticipated completion date for Phase II is 2015.

According to information found on the Fund's website, the current school facilities on the site date back to the 1950s and are outmoded. Cullen tells GlobeSt.com that it is "ironic that it houses the High School for Art and Design."

The project would require the temporary relocation of P.S. 59 to another site for nearly three years during construction of the new school facilities, however Cullen tells GlobeSt.com that the High School for Art and Design would remain in its current facility until construction of the new school facilities is complete.

The temporary relocation site for P.S. 59 is located at 213 E. 63rd St. between Second and Third avenues. Cullen explains that the temporary relocation site wasn't previously a school, it was turned into a school and "that site will continue to serve as permanent swing space, if other schools need to be renovated or overhauled."

He explains that the air rights leases are "a boon to New York City on multiple fronts--educational infrastructure, housing stock and livability. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to help the City maximize its air rights assets."

This is the second new development commenced by the Educational Construction Fund in the last 18 months, the first being a similarly structured deal to build a new 540-seat 80,000-sf $45-million middle school and 241,000-sf apartment and retail complex on East 91st Street that includes 155 cooperative apartments.

Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. represented the Fund in both transactions. Construction for the project began in April 2007, GlobeSt.com has learned. That mixed-use development by the DeMatteis Organizations and the Mattone Group is expected to reach "substantial completion" by early 2009.

Copyright © 2008 ALM Properties, Inc.

[NYguy]

The New York City Educational Construction Fund has closed the first phase of an agreement with the World Wide Group LLC to construct two new schools here in conjunction with a 59-story--up to 715 feet in height residential and retail tower at 250 E. 57th St. at Second Ave.




http://www.nysun.com/new-york/manhattan-to-get-new-schools-as-city-developer/80306/

Manhattan To Get New Schools As City, Developer Reach Deal

By PETER KIEFER
June 19, 2008


Negotiators for the city have reached a multibillion-dollar agreement with a developer to build two new schools in Manhattan and a 59-story mixed-use tower at 250 E. 57th St.

Lawyers for the New York City Educational Construction Fund announced yesterday that they had closed on the first phase of financing for the World Wide Group to construct a new elementary school and a new high school that would replace the High School for Art and Design. In return, the World Wide Group has secured a 75-year lease from the city for a 1.5-acre site at East 57th Street and Second Avenue, where it plans to construct 200,000 square feet of retail space and 488,000 square feet of residential space. The developer plans to build 300 residential units, an unspecified number of which will be dedicated to "affordable" housing.

This type of deal, which allows for the creation of new schools at no cost to taxpayers, was more common in the 1970s, and is being revived by the Bloomberg administration. It calls for lease payments to be used for similar public school projects and, in total, the New York City Educational Construction Fund estimates the agreement has a capital value in excess of $4.2 billion.

The developer will add 40% more space to the High School for Art and Design, along with an art gallery and other upgrades. The new elementary school will be built on the site where P.S. 59 exists.

World Wide Group has built about 1,350 residential apartments in Manhattan, and was a partner in the development of the mixed-use Worldwide Plaza on West 50th Street.

[Lecom]

Seems like the school deal fends off any potential nimbys on this one. Anyone opposing this development would be seen as a child-hating monster, so thanks to the school perhaps the tower is immune.

Heh, I never thought I'd advocate using children as human shields, but here we go.

[NYC4Life]

Anything to satisfy these NIMBY's. Now if we can just include a Chuck E Cheese over at the Seaport propolsal, perhaps it can move foward without much objection :jester:

[antinimby]

But I do foresee a problem. The plan is to build the schools first and then the apartment tower but as you know with the recent construction accidents, once the new school opens, the NIMBYs will then say construction on the tower will endanger (and also disturb) their "precious" children.

[Zerton]

beautiful design. very elegant.

[Fabb]

The plan is to build the schools first and then the apartment tower but as you know with the recent construction accidents, once the new school opens, the NIMBYs will then say construction on the tower will endanger (and also disturb) their "precious" children.


Well, if you use them as human shields, they will be endangered.

[NYC4Life]

Hopefully we won't be seeing towering cranes over the heads of elementary school students. The lowlife NIMBYs surely will be accountable for this. The same could be said over at Beekman.

[ZZ-II]

wonderful news, will fit great in midtown!

[Lecom]

Anything to satisfy these NIMBY's. Now if we can just include a Chuck E Cheese over at the Seaport propolsal, perhaps it can move foward without much objection :jester:

Seriously, what's wrong with satisfying school demand? Personally, I see the addition of school space as a much more important element of this project than the tower, though it definitely is a nice bonus.

[NYC4Life]

Seriously, what's wrong with satisfying school demand? Personally, I see the addition of school space as a much more important element of this project than the tower, though it definitely is a nice bonus.

Like antinimby already stated, it will probably come down to a safety issue since the school will be completed 1st, while the rest of the tower will remain under construction.

[NYguy]

Seems like the school deal fends off any potential nimbys on this one. Anyone opposing this development would be seen as a child-hating monster, so thanks to the school perhaps the tower is immune.

Heh, I never thought I'd advocate using children as human shields, but here we go.

But not all NIMBYs have children. The closer this gets to the light, the more you'll hear grumbling from NIMBYs. And this tower's got 2 schools (new and upgraded) coming with it.

The New York City Educational Construction Fund has closed the first phase of an agreement with the World Wide Group LLC to construct two new schools here in conjunction with a 59-story--up to 715 feet in height residential and retail tower at 250 E. 57th St. at Second Ave.

If it does indeed reach 700 ft, they'll grumble about a "70-story" tower being built...:rolleyes:

[NYguy]

Seriously, what's wrong with satisfying school demand?

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I doubt that's what the developers are in business for.

Lawyers for the New York City Educational Construction Fund announced yesterday that they had closed on the first phase of financing for the World Wide Group to construct a new elementary school and a new high school that would replace the High School for Art and Design. In return, the World Wide Group has secured a 75-year lease from the city for a 1.5-acre site at East 57th Street and Second Avenue, where it plans to construct 200,000 square feet of retail space and 488,000 square feet of residential space. The developer plans to build 300 residential units, an unspecified number of which will be dedicated to "affordable" housing.

This type of deal, which allows for the creation of new schools at no cost to taxpayers, was more common in the 1970s, and is being revived by the Bloomberg administration.

Two new schools, and "affordable" housing? It's good that the city has found more creative ways to get more schools built, at least where it is feasible. City gets new schools. Developer gets to build. Everyone happy. (In theory).

[NYC4Life]

If it does indeed reach 700 ft, they'll grumble about a "70-story" tower being built...:rolleyes:

Then maybe the schools should be built on the 70th floor itself :notacrook:

[NYC4Life]

Two new schools, and "affordable" housing? It's good that the city has found more creative ways to get more schools built, at least where it is feasible. City gets new schools. Developer gets to build. Everyone happy. (In theory).


Soon enough the developers will have to acquire the Dept. of Education from the city and Bloomberg administration :haha:

[NYguy]

Soon enough the developers will have to acquire the Dept. of Education from the city and Bloomberg administration :haha:

Hey, its working for Bloomberg so far...:notacrook:

[aliendroid]

That's cool that they are building towers with schools in them in NY.

Any news on this one?

[Antares41]

Some important news original posted in WNY regarding development of this magnificant bldg :

by Dana Rubinstein | August 5, 2008

"New York, NY (Aug. 5, 2008) – New York City-based real estate developers The World-Wide Group has secured Whole Foods Market® (NASDAQ: WFMI), the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket, as the anchor tenant for its mixed-use project at 57th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan. The Whole Foods store, scheduled to open in 2012, will occupy 47,000 square feet out of a total of 170,000 square feet being developed by World-Wide in two phases.

“We are pleased to sign such a strong anchor tenant for this pioneering mixed-use project,” said David Lowenfeld, Executive Vice President of The World-Wide Group. “Whole Foods has a proven track record of success in New York City as well as an established reputation for giving back to the community.”

In addition to the upscale retail center, the 1 million-square-foot development site will include two new public schools, the High School of Art and Design and PS 59, and a 59-story residential tower with a mix of rental and for-sale units. The World-Wide Group has leased the project site from the Educational Construction Fund, an arm of the New York City Board of Education. The unique mixture of uses being developed advances 57th Street as a world-class shopping district whole also accommodating the growing residential population of this neighborhood."

[Lecom]

That's exactly how they should develop the city. Put important amenities like a school and a supermarket in the base and add a tower on top.

[NYC4Life]

Crain's New York

August 05. 2008 4:52PM

Whole Foods to open first Upper East Side location

The store on East 57th Street and Second Avenue will serve Tudor City and the Upper East Side.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/45583/250_East_57th_Street_midsize.jpg

Adrianne Pasquarelli

Upper East Siders will finally get to shop at Whole Foods without heading across town. The organic grocer just signed a lease for its first East Side location at 250 E. 57th St., on Second Avenue, in a building currently under development by the World-Wide Group, the developer’s publicists said. The three-floor space, to be located above the High School of Art and Design and P.S. 59, will be 47,000 square feet. Construction is expected to be completed by 2012.

This will be the supermarket chain’s eighth New York City location, and will make the Big Apple home to the largest cluster of Whole Food stores. Chicago comes in at a close second with six locations.

While Midtown East residents rejoice—the nearest Whole Foods location is at Columbus Circle—industry insiders say the addition will benefit a neighborhood bereft of many supermarket options.

“That would be a great access point for a lot of East Side residents to take advantage of,” said David LaPierre, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis Inc. who is not connected to the deal. “It would be a great divide to hit that Tudor City crowd to the south and the Upper East Side residents to the north.”

He added that Manhattan could most likely support two more Whole Foods stores.

Whole Foods has traditionally been very popular with New Yorkers since its 2001 arrival, and the new store is expected to continue this trend.

“Historically, markets in New York City have either been bodegas or the homegrown supermarkets like D’Agostino’s and Gristede’s, which are much smaller,” said Andrew Moger, chief executive of BCD, a restaurant and retail development firm. “Whole Foods did not particularly dial down their store prototype when they came here, so it stands out.”

[Dac150]

Put important amenities like a school and a supermarket in the base and add a tower on top.

That seems to be the new trend. It's almost as if developers have found a loop hole by adding schools and community benefits within their towers in order to make it more smooth sailing during the approval process. To me it's a win win.

[Lecom]

That seems to be the new trend. It's almost as if developers have found a loop hole by adding schools and community benefits within their towers in order to make it more smooth sailing during the approval process. To me it's a win win.

Exactly. On one hand, it's a loophole for the developers to make more money, and on the other it's an impetus for developing vital community elements. Cases like these are when community boards with their whining and demands actually do the city good. When there are no community demands whatsoever and the developers only do the most profitable thing, you end up with Dubai, where towers' bases are largely composed of parking garages rather than anything even remotely suited for the community around.

[Dac150]

Cases like these are when community boards with their whining and demands actually do the city good.

It's a great compromise. I have no problem with communtiy boards wanting community benefits. I also have no problem with developers building highrises. Put the two together and everyone wins. This is a tactic that should eliminate NIMBYism in this city. Of course there are going to be a few narrow minded NIMBY's, but this tactic should be a start.:yes:

[Lecom]

It's a great compromise. I have no problem with communtiy boards wanting community benefits. I also have no problem with developers building highrises. Put the two together and everyone wins. This is a tactic that should eliminate NIMBYism in this city. Of course there are going to be a few narrow minded NIMBY's, but this tactic should be a start.:yes:

The only other major factor at play is infrastructure - whether the roads, trash collectors, subways, etc can handle all the people crammed in the highrises. However, this tower should be better off in hopefully 15 years or so when the Second Avenue subway is well underway.

[Dac150]

However, this tower should be better off in hopefully 15 years or so when the Second Avenue subway is well underway.

Initially it's going to be crowded, no doubt, but as time goes on and these infastructure elements get worked into the fabric, the crowd will even out. These are all elements that are taken into consideration and should not come as a surprise to both community boards and developers.

[scalziand]

from SSC
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6193&d=1218230611
It looks really good from this angle.:tup:

[Hoodrat]

That's hella sexy

[NYC4Life]

Update: No sign of construction yet, High School building still stands.

Photos By: antinimby (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/member.php?u=3401) - Wired New York

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5635/img0074ms6.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/6273/img0077vk1.jpg

[NYC4Life]

The Architect's Newspaper

11.07.2008

Fair Trade

Cash-strapped city gets developer to rebuild two Midtown schools

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/image/Base-of-building2.jpg
The rebuilt High School of Art and Design will sit within SOM's one-million-square-foot, mixed-use complex.
Courtesy SOM

Even in flush times, the New York City public school system has capital needs that far outstrip its budgets, and so for several years now, the School Construction Authority has been looking at its biggest asset: the 1.5 acres of land under the schools themselves. At 250 East 57th Street, on a site that used to hold P.S. 59 and the venerable High School of Art and Design, work has begun on the first phase of a one-million-square-foot complex that will house the rebuilt schools, as well as housing and retail. Roger Duffy, the lead architect at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, explained the logic of the idea: “A lot of school sites in New York remain underdeveloped in terms of FAR (floor-area ratio).”

In exchange for the right to create a lucrative mixed-use development on the block-through parcel, developer World Wide Holdings negotiated a deal with the State Board of Education to rebuild and enlarge both schools on the site. In addition to lease payments, a PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Tax) scheme will contribute additional funds to other education programs across the city.

Construction will occur in two phases, with the retail levels and a significantly enlarged P.S. 59 emerging first. A 59-story residential tower and new High School of Art and Design will follow in an estimated four years.

One of the more appealing features of the design is the large Astroturf play area on top of the building’s retail plinth. There are six outdoor terraces, each catering to a different age group—which are unusually generous outdoor provisions for a public school in Manhattan. The second phase will see the rise of a concertina-like 59-story glazed tower, housing 320 apartments and condos; 20 percent of the units will be affordable, with another 30 affordable units built off-site.

This type of partnership has been growing more common in recent years and is not without its critics, but in a time of chronic budget shortfalls, Duffy sees it as an avenue worth exploring. “The involvement of private developers needs to be composed in an intelligent way to create leverage [for the school system],” he said. “But there is also a need to bring the public and private sectors together.”

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/PS-59-outdoor-2.jpg
The project's first phase will include an enlarged P.S. 59.
All images courtesy SOM

http://www.archpaper.com/uploads/Outdoor-art.jpg
Generous outdoor terraces are designed to serve different age groups of students.



Copyright © 2003-2008 | The Architect's Newspaper, LLC.

[NYguy]

http://www.observer.com/2009/real-estate/57th-street-skyscraper-air

57th Street Skyscraper Up in the Air

http://www.observer.com/files/full/SOM_1.jpg

By Dana Rubinstein
September 15, 2009

A developer’s vision for a stunning, hourglass-shaped skyscraper at the corner of 57th Street and Second Avenue is moving forward, albeit in an ill-defined form.

The city’s Educational Construction Fund, which is working with luxury residential developer World-Wide Group on the project, filed plans with the Department of Buildings on Sept. 10 for the project’s first phase: an 11-story building, containing 240,549 square feet for the two public schools originally located at the development site (P.S. 59 and the High School of Art & Design) and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Phase one is itself an amended version of the original plan, which called for the first phase to include 70,000 square feet of retail space. A spokesman for the developer acknowledged that the reduction is an adjustment to new economic realities.

Phase two remains largely in flux. The original plans, first unveiled at the close of 2006, call for a 59-story residential skyscraper to rise on the site. Both the scraper’s height and its composition are now up in the air.

“In terms of rentals or condos, it is too soon to commit one way or the other,” wrote World-Wide spokesman Lee Silberstein in an email. “This goes for the size, and therefore number of units.”

THE PROJECT IS a complicated public-private partnership that harks back to a more optimistic time.

When first announced in late 2006, The New York Sun reported that World-Wide would lease the 1.5-acre site from the City of New York for 75 years. The city would allow World-Wide to relocate P.S. 59 to a new school, to be funded and built by the developer. Then, World-Wide would demolish P.S. 59’s old digs and build a new school building in its place, adjacent to the high school. Once that building was complete, the high school would relocate next door, and its original building would be demolished. Then construction would begin on the residential portion of the project.

Essentially, the Department of Education would have emerged from the process with three new developer-funded school buildings, along with $325 million in rent over the course of the 75-year lease. For its part, the developer would be allowed to build a magnificent, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill–designed skyscraper in what was then a booming residential real estate market. Even better, the state would issue $130 million in tax-free bonds to help finance the schools' construction.

At first, construction moved forward according to plan. In August 2008, retail brokerage Robert K. Futterman & Associates announced that Whole Foods would anchor the project’s retail, opening an outlet there in 2012. By the end of 2008, World-Wide had finished construction of the temporary 63rd Street school for P.S. 59, the city’s first green school building. Industry trade New York Construction reported in October 2008 that construction on the new schools at the development site was to begin that fall. Nearly a year later, construction has yet to begin.

“The temporary site of PS 59 has opened and the school relocated; the rest of the timeline is being finalized,” Mr. Silberstein wrote.

The project’s future remains somewhat murky, but Education Fund executive director Jamie Smarr expressed confidence that the state would still issue bonds to finance construction, and the project would still be completed largely as planned. “The developer is still very much involved as this is [a] public-private venture,” Mr. Smarr said in an email.

“We are moving forward with the planning of this project and, other than some redesign, it remains the same as previously announced.”

[NYC4Life]

Another tower in Northern Midtown whose height is in question yet again. Hopefully, this tower won't be butchered like it's neighbor the Tower Verre.

[Zapatan]

Lol if 715 is too tall for people than New York really is coming to the end of it's skyscraper era.


Sad stuff :( Also kinda makes me want to get a job in the NYC city council when I graduate college to put in a voice of reason over all the doucheclowns we currently have.

[NYguy]

Another tower in Northern Midtown whose height is in question yet again. Hopefully, this tower won't be butchered like it's neighbor the Tower Verre.

It's only in question because of the market right now, but the tower is really planned for too far in the future to predict one way or another. I wouldn't worry about it at this point...

Phase two remains largely in flux. The original plans, first unveiled at the close of 2006, call for a 59-story residential skyscraper to rise on the site. Both the scraper’s height and its composition are now up in the air.

“In terms of rentals or condos, it is too soon to commit one way or the other,” wrote World-Wide spokesman Lee Silberstein in an email. “This goes for the size, and therefore number of units.”

[ZZ-II]

great news :)

[NYguy]

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/12/22/dramatic_57th_street_tower_springs_to_life_on_the_internet.php

Dramatic 57th Street Tower Springs to Life (On the Internet)

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2716/4206114031_06f55bf43f_o.jpg

December 22, 2009, by Joey

Big things are happening at the corner of Second Avenue and 57th Street, but how big remains to be seen. We're talking about 250 East 57th Street, the World-Wide Group's plan to replace a school building with a new school, a Whole Foods, more retail and, oh yeah, a 59-story residential tower designed by SOM that tapers and widens as it pierces the East Side sky.

Back in September it was reported that the tower is on hold while Phase I—the school and the retail in an 11-story base—proceeds. That still appears to be the plan, and a tipster points out that a slew of new permits related to the demolition of the current building at the site have recently been issued. Even if the SOM tower (it really needs a fun new nickname, btw) doesn't rise, we can still enjoy the renderings posted on the website launched to market the building's retail spaces. They're in the gallery above, and they're really making us crave some organic goji berries.

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4024/4206872500_6487f5b89f_o.jpg


http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4047/4206114365_6aa241a7c3_o.png


http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2534/4206114675_9f7fff1b93_o.png


http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2595/4206114173_cf18895bd0_o.png


http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4007/4206872344_be2aa5dd41_o.png

[Dac150]

Nice renderings of what could’ve been a nice tower; it’s not to say though that down the line something won’t sprout up from the base / podium. The retail for now is better than nothing.

[NYguy]

Nice renderings of what could’ve been a nice tower; it’s not to say though that down the line something won’t sprout up from the base / podium. The retail for now is better than nothing.

They are still building the tower, there will just be a revision to the design.

[Zapatan]

hopefully the revision is as cool as the current, I really like this tower :)

[NYguy]

Posted today on curbed.com.....

MIDTOWN EAST—A tipster follows up yesterday's update on the maybe/maybe-not 250 East 57th Street with this tidbit: "I live next door to the site (one of my walls is adjoining the school slated for demolition) and last week workers from the construction company came in to take pictures of my apartment (to make sure I can't wrongfully sue for any damages incurred during demolition, of course!). They said that demolition of the elementary school should be starting in the next few weeks."

[FerrariEnzo]

http://afinecompany.blogspot.com/201...of-future.html
Demolition Begins At Site Of Future Whole Foods, Schools, And Tower At 250 East 57th


It has begun, finally! The public/private venture of RFK (Robert K. Futterman) at 57th Street and Second Avenue is underway in earnest! I took this shot a few days back and the former elementary school at the site is quickly vanishing. What goes in it's place? Two new schools, retail including Whole Foods, and eventually a 59 story residential tower (nothing definitive on condo vs. rental and in fact if and when that part will ever happen- that's phase 2). One thing we do know is that the elementary school, P.S. 59 is scheduled to open in September 2012. We also know that the High School of Art and Design will occupy the space as well. The benefit here is that the elementary school will triple in size, the high school will grow 40% and the building on East 63rd Street where P.S. 59 is now squatting will become P.S. 267 to alleviate crowding in other Upper East Side schools when the new P.S. 59 is finished. Got all that? As for Whole Foods? It looks pretty solid at this point, at least if you take the 250 East 57th Street website at face value.
Posted by Andrew Fine at 11:39 AM

[FerrariEnzo]

Bigger version of picture posted above:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/13e37776.jpg

[NYguy]

I don't know if that's the redesign (its' still the same height) or just the rendering, but I still like it.

[JayPro]

If it is the update, I should like to see a few different perspectives.

This rendering doesn't seem to do enough to showcase the overall dimensions...

...but as long as it isn't a box. Trump and Bloomberg need a yang to counterbalance their yins...if that makes sense. ;)

[NYguy]

Comparing the two, my eyes don't deceive me...it's almost as if the tower were turned upside down.

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4047/4206114365_6aa241a7c3_o.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/13e37776.jpg

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/commercial/water_splashes_on_world_wide_qVL9rkMrrHOE5aOKSM7irO

Water splashes on World Wide

By STEVE CUOZZO
April 20, 2010

Marketing began today on $53 million in city-backed bonds to help finance construction of new public schools at World Wide Group's mixed-use project at Second Avenue between East 56th and 57th Streets -- just as local businesses and residents warned that a proposed city water-main project astride the site will create a "war zone."

The debt offering, reported by The Bond Buyer yesterday, is through the New York City Education Construction Fund, an agency controlled by the mayor's office. The ECF and developer World Wide are in a "partnership" on the project, which will ultimately include a 350-unit luxury apartment tower, two new schools and retail space including a giant Whole Foods.

But the neighborhood's on edge over the Department of Environmental Protection's announcement that it might build a secondary water main under East 56th Street from Sutton Place to Third Avenue.

The DEP told us that no decision has been made yet where to build the water main -- and no work would begin until late 2013 at the earliest.

Even so, local landlords, shop owners and restaurateurs are in a tizzy, aware of the mess that the Wall Street Area Water Main project has made of downtown streets.

A letter to the DEP urging that the uptown job be relocated was signed by City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) and State Sen. Liz Krueger.

Co-op apartment owners at 209 E. 56th St. got a letter from their board warning that it would disrupt businesses and endanger pedestrians. It said the block between Second and Third avenues, where work will start soon on Whole Foods, "will be like a war zone."

World Wide already has demolished PS 59 and the High School of Art and Design will come down as well. The developer has built a temporary home for both schools on East 63rd Street; they'll later return to new facilities at the Second Avenue site.

A spokesman for World Wide had no comment on how the water main job might impact its project.

Calls to Jamie Smarr, executive director of the ECF, were not returned.