NEW YORK | Redevelopment of the High Line [Archive] - Page 3

NYguy

Jun 16, 2009, 2:48 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06162009/business/high_time_for_high_line_bldg__174487.htm

HIGH TIME FOR HIGH LINE BLDG.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06162009/photos/hot_spot.jpg
Manhattan's latest hot spot -- the new High Line Park -- will connect with a renovated office and retail building,
seen here in an artist's rendering.

http://www.nypost.com/img/cols/stevecuozzo.jpg
June 16, 2009

COMING soon to the new High Line Park: A gleaming, 15-story boutique office and retail building through which the park literally passes.

Since the long-awaited elevated park between Gansevoort and West 20th streets opened last week, strollers have been awed by the Standard Hotel that straddles it, but baffled by the 103-foot-long tunnel at 14th Street topped by 11 stories of structural steel.

But CB Developers' 450 W. 14th St., officially the High Line Building, will start coming into focus next month when installation of curtain-wall glass is expected to start.

The tiny tower now under construction is a rare commercial breed. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects to LEEDS Gold standards, it will have a mere 78,000 square feet of office space on 10 new floors, two of which have already been leased to Helmut Lang.

The glass office floors will stand atop a landmarked, masonry base -- a former meat cold-storage facility -- containing 7,636 square feet of retail under a 23-foot-high ceiling, and over 4,000 square feet in the basement.

The park runs above the store section and beneath the offices.

It's "the only building that features a structure which is entirely integrated with that of the High Line," Adjmi said.

The office floors are being marketed by a Newmark Knight Frank team led by Brian Waterman. Asking rents run from the mid-$70s to the mid-$80s.

Winick's Lori Shabtai and Kelly Gedinsky are handling the retail, where the ground-floor "ask" is $300 a foot, "significantly less" than other retail nearby, Gedinsky said.

Until the park opened last week, it might have been hard for many to visualize.

Charles Blaichman, a CB principal, chuckled, "I think a lot of people didn't actually get it."

Winick's Gedinsky echoed, "It's hard for people to visualize something that does not exist."

But the park is already so popular, employees inside 450 W. 14th St. will have a lot of company.

arlekin_m

Jun 16, 2009, 5:11 PM

Amazing public space.

NYguy

Jun 23, 2009, 11:06 PM

hunxue-er (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21953266@N00/3654522242/sizes/o/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3633/3654522242_d72764295b_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2484/3654523350_b0a605a255_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/3654523788_5c3e2e42d9_o.jpg

NYguy

Jun 25, 2009, 4:13 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/garden/25seen.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

‘West Side Story’ Amid the Laundry

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/24/garden/25seen-600.jpg
IMPROVISATION On a recent evening, Elizabeth Soychak performed jazz standards
from Patty Heffley’s West 20th Street fire escape, just yards away from the High Line park,
which Ms. Heffley has turned into the site of her ad-hoc Renegade Cabaret.

By PENELOPE GREEN
June 24, 2009

JUST after 9 p.m. on June 17, the third installment of the High Line Park Renegade Cabaret was held on Patty Heffley’s fourth-floor fire escape. There were colored lanterns, and a festive array of undergarments hung from the railings.

The Renegade Cabaret Ms. Heffley, 55, a former punk rock photographer, had staged a laundry “installation,” as she put it, to bolster the live performance she was hosting. Elizabeth Soychak, a jazz singer and professional organizer who gives her age as “permanently 39,” wore a 1950s moss green chiffon dress and waited while Ms. Heffley, in black, introduced her.

“This is in response to 31 years of obscurity,” Ms. Heffley announced from the fire escape. “Now, every day there are thousands of people looking in my window. We’re not here to celebrate, we’re here to exploit. Welcome to the Renegade Cabaret.” Then Ms. Soychak launched into an a cappella rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “Early Autumn.”

Location, as all New Yorkers know, is destiny, and Ms. Heffley is embracing hers with gusto.

Since 1978, she has been living in a West 20th Street loft, yards away from the elevated track-turned-park-and-public-works-darling known as the High Line. Though the High Line extends from Gansevoort Street north to West 34th, it has been planted and paved only as far north as 20th Street; a gate there bars people from walking farther, and visitors bottleneck at that point.

Furthermore, though the ambient lighting of the path was designed by the High Line’s architects, Diller, Scofidio & Renfro, to glow mistily from the meadow beds on either side of the walkway, the lights planted on top of the stairway exit were installed by contractors who happened to point the harsh white beams right at Ms. Heffley’s windows.

Like it or not, Ms. Heffley’s living room has become a stage, and her fire escape — her front porch — its proscenium arch.

MS. HEFFLEY, now a freelance multimedia consultant, moved to New York from Denver 31 years ago, eager to photograph Manhattan’s punk scene. She chose her apartment (rent, $360, now $841) because it was a place where she could make a lot of noise.

The High Line was an agreeable presence. At first, a single locomotive rumbled by once or twice a week, but that eventually stopped. Then weeds began to grow. Ms. Heffley always wanted to plant flowers, but never found a way. “I tried filling a water balloon with seeds,” she said. “But it’s farther than you think.”

Days before the park’s opening on June 9, Ms. Heffley called her friend Ms. Soychak and said: “I’ve got to do something. Can you sing a few songs?”

Opening night was magical, both agreed. Ms. Soychak performed two three-song “micro sets,” as she called them, to a warmly appreciative audience. By laundry day, however, Ms. Heffley was panicking. Her loft has a washing machine, but no dryer; for three decades, she’s used the fire escape.

“I realized I can’t go out in my get-up,” Ms. Heffley said, pulling out her typical laundry day attire: orange gingham boxers and a fuchsia nightie. “So I put on a red tutu, a red hoodie and sunglasses. I proceeded to put my laundry out as usual, but with the underwear at the back.”

Soon, she was staging the laundry: drying the real stuff late at night, and by day, hanging goofier items like ruffled panties and leopard prints. One day someone called to her from the path, “I hope you don’t lose your energy for the laundry.”

Ms. Heffley was uplifted by the encouragement. “I’ll be putting other kinds of stuff out there, too. I have lots of ideas.” The Cabaret now has a Facebook page, and a Web site is under construction.

AT last week’s performance, David Hausen and Rocky Ziegler, filmmakers out for an evening stroll, listened happily from a park bench. Mr. Hausen asked, “Do they take requests?”

Nearby, a man in a khaki vest was singing along. “I know what time it is now,” he warbled as Ms. Soychak performed a Rodgers and Hart classic.

At 10 p.m., closing time for the park and the cabaret, Ms. Heffley and Ms. Soychak bid the audience goodnight. “If you see the party patio lanterns lit,” Ms. Heffley told them, “you’ll know something is going to go on when it gets dark.”

Robert Hammond, a founder of the Friends of the High Line and a member of the audience, remarked, “This is what we wanted,” referring to the cabaret. “It is going to keep it wild more than that will,” he continued, pointing to a patch of wildflowers.

As for the lights that shine like kliegs into Ms. Heffley’s windows, he said ruefully, “We screwed up on those.” But he brightened when told that she had said they were good for a stage. The Renegade Cabaret, he said, “is born of a mistake, just like the park.”

RefreshEverything

Jul 6, 2009, 1:24 AM

Just can't wait to get up there...

These photos are amazing! In case anyone hasn't been able to visit the High Line in person, check-out bit.ly/RefreshEverything to take a virtual tour, watch videos, and a ton more.

Krases

Jul 6, 2009, 2:34 AM

So when does the rest of it open?

StatenIslander237

Jul 6, 2009, 4:13 AM

NYGuy...those pictures, especially the nighttime ones, were fucking beautiful. Actually though, I can't wait 'til the initial hype is over and it becomes less of a mob scene and more of a quiet park atmosphere. Then it will really be absorbed into the fabric of this unbelieveable city.

rapid_business

Jul 6, 2009, 5:52 AM

Looks unreal!

NYguy

Jul 14, 2009, 10:31 PM

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/07/standard_hotel_calls_for_nude.html

Standard Hotel Calls for Nude Photos

http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/2009/06/20090611_standard_250x375.jpg

7/14/09

By now anybody who has visited the High Line (especially at night) has probably heard about, or seen, the sex show that goes on nightly through the windows of the towering Standard Hotel. Of course, this is what hotelier André Balazs intended all along (how else to explain the transparent shower dividers?), and he's no doubt been thrilled by all the coverage (or lack thereof). Evidence of his delight comes today from the Standard Hotel's blog, where management is not only encouraging public sex acts, but is actually asking for evidence. They're asking for photos of sex in the Standard's rooms, like this racy Purple magazine shoot (NSFW). They almost make it sound arty:

Now, we're asking YOU, our Stan D'elovely amateur pornographers to send in your most erotic photos shot at The Standard, New York. You can email them to us, or you can upload them directly to our Facebook page by tagging the pictures The Standard, New York. Whatever you do, just make sure the shots are HOT and that you get them to us in whichever way you can. It's all about sex all the time, and you're our star. C** on over.

Like we said, almost arty.

http://www.standardhotels.com/los-angeles/culture/stan-d-arde/

bucks native

Jul 18, 2009, 8:18 AM

http://media.philly.com/images/sky17-z.jpg

MICHAEL BRYANT /Inquirer Staff Photographer
A steel staircase at Gansevoort Avenue is the southernmost entrance to New York’s High Line. The elevated park provides a viewing platform that can be used to take in the theater of the street. Builders — helped by a budget of $150 million — removed the old rails, excavated down to the concrete bed, and added plantings, benches, and chaise longues.

from here: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/51003302.html

Changing Skyline: Reinventing a railroad

By Inga Saffron
Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic
15 JUL 2009

NEW YORK - As America busily transforms itself into Information Nation, we've rediscovered the tough beauty of our old downtown manufacturing buildings. Their light-saturated, industrial-age interiors are intensely coveted by the creative class. So then, where's the love for the monumental structures that supported those churning workshops - the grain elevators, coal chutes, and elevated rail lines that were the 20th century's equivalent of the great cathedrals and aqueducts?

The recent restoration and reinvention of New York's High Line should go a long way toward opening people's eyes to the potential of those industrial relics. Built in the 1930s to supply the meatpackers and manufacturers on Manhattan's West Side, the abandoned rail line has just been repurposed as a glorious elevated park that offers a delightful new way to experience the city.

Traditionally, city parks have been envisioned as serene enclosures, cocooning us from the hubbub of urban life. The new High Line park does the opposite: It provides a viewing platform to take in the theater of the street.

The park, which should be a model for Philadelphia's unloved Reading Viaduct in the Loft District, also serves as an auxiliary stage on which to try out new dramas. Although the first nine blocks of New York's ribbon park went public only in June, the shifting garden path - designed by Philadelphia's James Corner, along with New York's Diller, Scofidio + Renfro - already is one of Manhattan's hottest tickets.

Set in the heart of Chelsea's art and design district, the High Line plays host to a daily style parade from the nearby galleries and fashion houses. With its array of sustainable, IPE wood chaise longues, diving-board-style benches, and cafe tables, the scene is part poolside, part office-worker's respite. The first week alone, about 70,000 people clattered up the park's steel staircases, which begin at Gansevoort Street, just east of 10th Avenue.

The four entrances were cut into the bed of the existing structure, and all were intentionally designed as narrow slits that constrict views of the park. As a result, you don't merely emerge onto the surface, you burst into a 360-degree vortex of open sky. The long-distance views extend to the southern tip of Manhattan, but there are also more intimate glimpses into the meatpacking district's surviving cobblestone lanes.

The unusual perch is key to the High Line's charm. You can certainly get a dramatic view of Manhattan's streets from the Empire State Building, but that's like watching a movie play out on your iPhone in comparison to the High Line's IMAX experience. As Corner observed during a recent walk, the park "is primarily an instrument to see the city."

Corner, who chairs the University of Pennsylvania's landscape architecture department (and is a finalist for the city's Pier 11 park design), beat out several well-known architects for the High Line commission in 2004 largely because his design recognized that the derelict structure could be a neutral ground - uniting nature and the industrial city. Essentially, Corner and his New York-based Field Operations were proposing to refine what the High Line had already become.

During the two decades that the structure sat vacant, it had evolved into a dense meadow that was almost primal in its wildness. Thick grasses and weed trees obscured its railroad past. Because such wide-open spaces are rare in Manhattan, the rusting structure became a favorite with urban explorers.

When developers began lobbying New York officials for demolition in the late 1990s, its admirers launched a campaign to make people appreciate the industrial stray. They enlisted the noted photographer Joel Sternfeld to document the High Line's unusual beauty. His images revealed a romantic, ever-changing ghost street wending its way silently above Chelsea's hectic art scene.

Those photographs proved more powerful than the High Line's fans ever imagined. Instead of demanding demolition, developers began pushing into Chelsea with glittering condos designed by some of architecture's biggest names. New York officials did a quick about-face and asked the High Line's admirers to start raising money for a city park.

They provided Corner's team with an astounding $150 million to pour into the project, which eventually will snake up 10th Avenue and wrap around the West Side rail yards before concluding at 34th Street, a block from Penn Station.

The money has been well spent. About half went into refurbishing the riveted steel structure, which runs mid-block in many places and tunnels through existing buildings. Initially there was some thought of incorporating the weeds and steel rails, but Corner chose to excavate down to the concrete bed and re-create the meadow.

While Corner's High Line landscape looks as if it has been sown by the wind, it is really a constructed garden whose plantings were carefully chosen by Dutch horticulturist Piet Oudolf to evoke a more colorful, more sculptural version of a wild meadow. Plants with shapely, ornamental seed pods were favored, and the list includes such familiar species as Andropogon grass, liriope, astilbe, begonia, and flowering quince, along with river birches and sumac trees.

Corner wanted the plantings to look as if they had sprouted randomly, so he designed paving planks that taper at the ends, creating narrow openings that mimic the cracks of the rail bed. Sections of rail were also reinstalled, giving the impression of having always been there. Meanwhile, Corner's furniture designs riff on nature's resilience: His park benches are a continuation of the pavers. They rise from the surface, just as the park's design emerged out of the wild landscape. Chaise longues roll along the rails as freight trains once did.

Because the High Line is so linear, Corner struggled to keep the park itself from feeling like a bowling alley. The path intentionally bobs and weaves, opening up unexpected perspectives on surrounding buildings, like the fluttering white glass sails on Frank Gehry's IAC offices and Jean Nouvel's gridded, blue-glass condos on 11th Avenue.

As with a natural landscape, the experience changes as you move through it. There's a boggy area here, a small forest there, then suddenly a man-made intrusion rears up. One of the most dramatic is Polshek Partnership Architects' 265-foot-tall Standard hotel, which aggressively straddles the old freight bed. Farther on, you come to Diller, Scofidio's amphitheater, which offers a wide-screen view of the passing traffic on 10th Avenue - and makes it as riveting as a Broadway show.

Unlike the waterfront paths that have become popular in New York and Philadelphia, the High Line is not a recreation trail where pedestrians are forced to dodge bikes and joggers. It's conceived as a refuge for the old-fashioned flaneur, a place to stroll, people-watch, or just do nothing.

In Philadelphia, a like-minded group of urban explorers has been advocating for a local version of the High Line on the Reading Viaduct, which runs from Vine to Brown Street, shifting eastward from 11th to Ninth. Unfortunately, Chinatown leaders have loudly opposed the idea, arguing - like the New York developers - that the viaduct should be torn down to create land for housing.

Forget the huge cost of demolishing the viaduct - estimated at $35 million. Losing the noble stone structure would actually strip Philadelphia's Loft District of a potentially valuable amenity and make it a less distinctive place to live. As the High Line shows: Leave it and they will come.

Contact architecture critic Inga Saffron at 215-854-2213 or isaffron@phillynews.com.

NYguy

Jul 19, 2009, 5:09 PM

In Philadelphia, a like-minded group of urban explorers has been advocating for a local version of the High Line on the Reading Viaduct, which runs from Vine to Brown Street, shifting eastward from 11th to Ninth. Unfortunately, Chinatown leaders have loudly opposed the idea, arguing - like the New York developers - that the viaduct should be torn down to create land for housing.

Forget the huge cost of demolishing the viaduct - estimated at $35 million. Losing the noble stone structure would actually strip Philadelphia's Loft District of a potentially valuable amenity and make it a less distinctive place to live. As the High Line shows: Leave it and they will come.

It would be interesting to see how the Philadelphia development would turn out. There are a lot of cities with proposed likeminded developments.

NYguy

Jul 21, 2009, 1:23 PM

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/07/20/west_chelsea_gold_rush_redux_high_line_tower_revealed.php

West Chelsea Gold Rush Redux: High Line Tower Revealed

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2490/3708115569_1d8f8b73c6_o.jpg

Monday, July 20, 2009, by Pete

[Renderings via Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects.]

Now that the High Line has become this summer's big hit, get ready for more new construction to pop up on the open spaces that abut the rails. A big one is called the High Line Tower, a mixed-use proposal designed by Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects for Tenth Avenue between 28th and 29th Streets (UPDATE: Gates Merkulova Architects also created this dream factory). It would rise on both sides of the High Line and include a 13-story hotel and 23-story condo, with a "through-block shopping arcade" beneath the old rails to connect the combined lots.] A previous plan from 2006 by Kevin Kennon Architects (no longer visible at their website) has also been preserved at Wired New York. Pick your favorite!

The owner of the site, Heby Realty Corp., has bargained for some development rights from a property further south along the High Line. One little lot at the corner of West 29th has been vacated, but so far there's no sign of much activity. This block has another biggie in the works, the 620-unit Avalon West Chelsea that was stalled but, according to the DOB, is now seeing new life. With the next segment of the High Line stretching up to 30th Street set to open in late 2010, folks are advised to check out the trestle-top views as early as possible. And enjoy the open vistas while they last.

http://www.lhparch.com/project.aspx?cat=1&id=7

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3457/3708927496_47585e77b6_o.jpg___http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3001/3708927568_845021b93c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3510/3708927442_32eeab3e0c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3443/3708927356_f44cc4a76f_o.jpg

The Gates Merkulova Architects website has many more renderings including this shot of the arcade beneath the High Line

http://www.gmarch.com/High%20Line/index_HighLine.html
http://curbed.com/uploads/arcade.1-1-thumb.jpg

http://www.gmarch.com/High%20Line/images/full-size/Scheme%202/SE_HL_curve.V.jpg

http://www.gmarch.com/High%20Line/images/full-size/Scheme%202/SE_V.jpg

http://www.gmarch.com/High%20Line/images/full-size/Scheme%202/roof-plan.jpg

John F

Jul 27, 2009, 1:50 AM

Extended blog post with plenty of pictures from the High Line at Daily Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/26/757213/-To-Be-Back-On-the-High-Line-Again-(a-photo-diary)

NYguy

Jul 29, 2009, 4:29 AM

Friends and lovers on the High Line...

Ed Yourdon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/sets/72157621856641640/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2674/3761131777_62d0e65301_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2463/3761133597_540fe73b99_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/3761122637_9537a8464e_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/3761129993_22127b678d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/3761937878_a770cbe085_b.jpg

NYguy

Aug 18, 2009, 11:52 PM

mr.seymour (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevin-seymour/3834995108/sizes/l/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3529/3834995108_61ea0b9416_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2519/3834193621_2d693a3938_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2659/3834424766_e43b04b4db_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2594/3834420848_b13ab93e07_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/3834416398_d399045b6f_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/3833638661_c61bbede8a_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2579/3834882860_85a7f01cba_b.jpg

NYguy

Aug 21, 2009, 3:19 PM

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/08/21/high_line_hardship_building_gets_a_teenytiny_trim.php

High Line Hardship Building Gets a Teeny-Tiny Trim

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3502/3229623710_697027d16b_o.png

Friday, August 21, 2009, by Lockhart

Above, the original, semi-mind-blowing design for 437 West 13th Street, an office tower slated to rise just north of the Standard Hotel, astride the High Line. Back in February, the developers, the Romanoff family, applied for a hardship zoning variance to build to this height—215 feet, in point of fact—asserting that building so close to the High Line would prevent them from taking full advantage of the site. Oh suurrre, said critics, who see the High Line as a developer's wet dream.

The Board of Standards and appeals will finally hear the variance case next month, and in advance of that, the Romanoffs have made a few tiny trims to the project: they'll cut the height a whopping 14 feet, down to 201 feet. The minuscule cantilever out over the High Line—see it there? That little ledge?—will be eliminated, as will a basement. Whether that'll be enough to get this baby approved, we'll find out next month.

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3502/3228775259_8e82a87c51_o.png

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3451/3229624452_4f312112fb_o.png

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3077/3229624192_1c481816fe_o.png

NYguy

Aug 25, 2009, 12:56 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08252009/news/regionalnews/eyeful_tower__186393.htm

EYEFUL TOWER!
NEW DRAW IN NAKED CITY

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08252009/photos/naked_women.jpg
RISQUÉ BUSINESS: More people are flocking to the High Line's Standard hotel as word spreads
of X-rated sights like these gals cavorting behind floor-to-ceiling windows.

By AMBER SUTHERLAND and LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT
August 25, 2009

More people are flocking to the High Line's Standard hotel as word spreads of X-rated sights like these gals cavorting behind floor-to-ceiling windows.

The city might want to rename its newest park the "Thigh Line."

Thrill-seekers yesterday flocked to the Meatpacking District's newly christened High Line urban paradise to catch a glimpse of the free skin show playing out in the massive windows at The Standard hotel, which straddles the park.

"It's a little peep show -- but instead of being on 42nd Street, it's down here at the High Line," said Andre Landeros Michel, 34, a Chelsea designer who regularly ventures over to view randy Standard guests having sex in front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows in full view of the park.

A Parks Department worker said that plenty of people come to the park, built on the old elevated train tracks, specifically to watch the erotic exhibitionism.

"I think it's healthy and fun -- it's flirtatious," said Harlem resident Aaron Lipman, 34, a media research analyst who works near the park.

"It's like 'Wild Kingdom,' " added Lipman, who came to peer up at the windows with pal Jillian Andersen, 26.

But, as The Post reported yesterday, the hotel's X-rated windows are drawing ire from families and local business people who are sick of the nightly sexcapades and porn shoots on display.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called The Standard on the carpet, calling the alleged window action "unacceptable."

Yesterday, hotel officials -- who had bluntly encouraged the raunchy behavior, boasting on the inn's Web site that "it's all about sex, all the time" -- said they will try to be more sensitive.

"We will make a concerted effort to remind guests of the transparency of the guest windows," management said in a statement.

The Standard also sent a conciliatory letter to Quinn, sources said.

"We are encouraged by the action they have taken," Quinn said yesterday, adding that she will continue to "monitor the situation."

But voyeuristic New Yorkers think the show should go on.

"We saw two feet pressed against the glass in an apparent attempt to get better leverage," said sightseer Lipman. "Our curiosity is piqued -- but it hasn't yet been satisfied. We'll come back."

Added Andersen: "If you didn't want to be seen you'd draw the curtains."

NYguy

Aug 27, 2009, 5:19 AM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08252009/news/regionalnews/eyeful_tower__186393.htm

EYEFUL TOWER!
NEW DRAW IN NAKED CITY

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08252009/photos/naked_women.jpg
RISQUÉ BUSINESS: More people are flocking to the High Line's Standard hotel as word spreads
of X-rated sights like these gals cavorting behind floor-to-ceiling windows.

By AMBER SUTHERLAND and LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT
August 25, 2009

More High Line getting attention for the wrong (or right, depending on your POV :) ) reasons...

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/hotel-room-peep-show-5189/

Hotel-room peep shows draw gawkers to Manhattan’s High Line park

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nyc-high-line-ap-photo.jpg

At the Meatpacking District’s new High Line park, visitors of late are getting more than leafy respite. People at a hotel towering over this abandoned railway track turned urban green space have been, unintentionally or not, putting on a show for those watching below.

“Guests at the Standard Hotel keep failing to close the curtains as they frolic naked in front of their rooms’ floor-to-ceiling windows, which can easily be viewed from the High Line park below,” reported the Associated Press.

The X-rated window displays now draw people to the park specifically for the “erotic exhibitionism,” according to the New York Post, whose report “Eyeful Tower!” wins the award for most creative headline associated with this story, in my opinion.

In response to condemnation by a City Council member, the hotel stated earlier this week that it will remind guests of the windows’ transparency, but the Post’s article this morning about “Inn Decency” conveyed that at least some at the 337-room hotel were actually aiming for this kind of attention. “We don’t discourage it. In actual fact, we encourage it,” a bellhop reportedly said of the bare-all practices, which apparently, in the past, have involved hotel staff members.

A walk in the park is free, but a stay in one of the hotel’s rooms-with-a-view-to-impose start at $320 per night, pre-tax.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

NYguy

Sep 2, 2009, 11:14 PM

NYguy

Sep 8, 2009, 10:44 PM

http://nypost.com/p/news/business/getting_their_glass_in_gear_Ppa5RfvNtOvL6FJkKHpJRM

Getting their glass in gear

http://nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/09/08/news/photos_stories/cropped/high_liner_progress--300x300.jpg

September 8, 2009

IF you're a High Line stroller baffled by the unfinished project at 450 W. 14th St., which straddles the wildly popular new park, you're not alone.

We were curious, too, having written nearly three months ago that curtain-wall glass would soon adorn the 15-story structure that's now a steel skeleton. So far, no glass.

High Line-goers might want to see naked people, like the ones who sometimes strut their stuff in the Standard Hotel's transparent windows, as The Post reported -- but a naked building?

We wondered if owner CB Developers was having some kind of trouble completing the boutique office and retail mini-tower. The answer seems to be happily no. The delay has to do with a partial stop-work order issued by the Buildings Dept. on Aug. 3 over lack of a sidewalk shed at ground level. The order forbade any work above 40 feet.

But the situation was a bit more complicated than most, as the Parks Dept. was also drawn into discussions. It's all been worked out, says CB principal Charles Blaichman; a new shed will be installed this week and that should lift the stop-work order, he said.

He said the façade glass, which is now in storage, should start going up after a few more weeks of steel and concrete work.

Two of the project's 10 office floors were already leased to Helmut Lang. Newmark Knight Frank's Brian Waterman, the office leasing agent, said a "hard" deal for two more floors is in place for a tenant he wouldn't identify, and a lease is out for another floor.

__________________

New York Observer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/newyorkobserver/3894181516/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/3894181516_825b4394c2_b.jpg

kznyc2k

Sep 19, 2009, 3:21 PM

9/13, a walk from the southern terminus to the northern:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6672/img0727h.jpg

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6431/img0729y.jpg

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/692/img0731ik.jpg

End of the Line:

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/4392/img0732x.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6985/img0733t.jpg

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8379/img0735e.jpg

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2629/img0737yb.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6995/img0742t.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3510/img0743md.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4900/img0744fn.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9484/img0745gm.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7298/img0747f.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/9374/img0750nj.jpg

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2940/img0751f.jpg

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5021/img0752h.jpg

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3417/img0754o.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8625/img0759.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/3782/img0760fn.jpg

^ suddenly, I'm hungry for carrots.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2005/img0769xy.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6427/img0772zh.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8843/img0773p.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8346/img0776tm.jpg

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/5151/img0779lh.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/696/img0781.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8366/img0782c.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5287/img0787.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5426/img0788.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3051/img0797cu.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6874/img0800h.jpg

JDRCRASH

Sep 19, 2009, 3:28 PM

Turning an old elevated ROW into a walkable area is simply genius.

Rail>Auto

Sep 19, 2009, 10:50 PM

NYguy

Sep 19, 2009, 11:54 PM

Looks amazing... Soo, are the rail lines going or staying on it... I thought I saw in an earlier post on this thread that they were removing them but in the pics it looks like they're still there.

They rails were removed early on, the site cleaned, and the rails returned. One of the greatest public additions to Manhattan in decades, along with the BPC and Hudson River promenades.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9484/img0745gm.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5287/img0787.jpg

NYguy

Oct 12, 2009, 11:36 PM

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/10/12/hl23_adds_metal_to_glass_resulting_in_minor_brain_explosion.php

HL23 Adds Metal to Glass, Resulting in Minor Brain Explosion

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2593/4001318376_5b5d3c84e5_o.jpg

Monday, October 12, 2009, by Pete

When we got a first peek of the molded metal panels planned for avant-garde architect Neil Denari's HL23 in West Chelsea we were warned by the NMDA crew that the mock-ups weren't a true visual representation of what would rise above the High Line. Now there is glass as well as flashy sheets of stainless going up at West 23rd Street and close inspection shows some subtle changes.

In the mock-up each panel had the same swoopy indent at dead center, but now the panels are varied, with the indents off-set and moving across the panels, giving the east face a jolt of energy. The inset side windows appear pretty much the same, but look like they've been set a bit deeper into the metal facade. One thing we hadn't paid much attention to before is how intimately the lordly HL23 meets the High Line down below.

Old maps and photos of the High Line show a little spur on the west side of the tracks running from West 21st Street up to and just beyond West 23rd Street, ending right at the front door of HL23. Some plans for Phase II of the elevated park, set to open about one year from now, show a glassed-in elevator rising to meet that spur on the sidewalk where HL23, the High Line and West 23rd Street come together. Up above the rails a big tilted expanse of fritted glass looms over what is designed to be a major entry point to the High Line. That could make life interesting for the folks who take up residence in the full floor condos down low. And, depending on what goes on inside HL23, it could be a load of fun for High Liners, too.

And what to make of the business side of the building? HL23 isn't being built just for our gawking, after all. StreetEasy reports four units in contract, and get a load of this. A new listing for an $18 million penthouse triplex recently popped up on the market. An observant Curbed tipster writes:

I've been watching 515 W 23rd since it broke ground... and now it seems like the builder decided to totally re-arrange the top 3 floors and create a Triplex Penthouse… for just $18,000,000. Originally the plans called for a duplex penthouse only, and a full-floor residence below that one. Wonder why they decided to go this route instead of sticking with their original plan?

Because these days luxury is out but super luxury is in! Plus, there's still time to separate/divide as buyers see fit. Holler at it, Kanye.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3431/4001318212_e6b0edb378_o.jpg

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2671/3844959671_0455369e3c_o.jpg
Render showing HL23 overhanging the High Line.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2468/4000552027_d6fefcb9a0_o.jpg
The same, only, you know, REAL.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3489/4000552249_c8098c0e49_o.jpg
Looking north from the High Line at West 20th Street to the newly-glassed HL23.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2673/4001318142_9e14893447_o.jpg

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3445/4000552623_31e933b1d7_o.jpg

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2631/4000552447_00a2f03fb0_o.jpg

NYguy

Oct 13, 2009, 1:05 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/arts/design/12museum.html?ref=design

Whitney Advances Plans for Museum Near the High Line

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/10/12/arts/Museum500.jpg

By CAROL VOGEL
October 11, 2009

Three years after reaching a tentative agreement with the city, the Whitney Museum of American Art is forging ahead with plans to build a second museum at the entrance to the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway line that has recently been transformed into a public park.

The museum signed a contract last month with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to buy the city-owned site at Washington and Gansevoort Streets, in the meatpacking district, for $18 million. That is about half the appraised value of the property, a sign of the city’s interest in drawing visitors to the area.

According to the final agreement, the Whitney has up to four years to close on the purchase of the land and five years to begin construction of the building, designed by Renzo Piano. The museum will make nonrefundable monthly payments of $50,000 to the city until the closing date, which has not been determined. These payments will be credited toward the purchase price. (The balance is due at the closing.)

The signed contract comes three years after the Dia Art Foundation scrapped its plans to open a museum next to the High Line entrance. That’s when the Whitney stepped in and reached a conditional agreement to take over the space.

Since then the economy has taken a toll. In the spring the Whitney laid off eight employees, or 4 percent of its work force, and froze the salaries of senior staff members. In addition, the operating budget was reduced by about 10 percent.

Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s director, said the money for the project would come from capital funds, not the operating budget. “The two are separate,” he explained.

For decades the Whitney had tried to expand its landmark home — the 1966 Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street — but because of cost considerations the museum abandoned those plans and focused on a satellite downtown.

A second museum is critical to the future of the institution, Mr. Weinberg said, adding: “This is the only way we can continue to justify building a collection. We simply don’t have enough space to show our holdings. And since at least 60 percent of the art we acquire comes through gifts, it becomes more difficult to ask people to donate works if we cannot show them.”

Most of the Breuer space is devoted to special exhibitions, Mr. Weinberg said, with only about a quarter of the building left to display art from the permanent collection, one of the foremost holdings of 20th-century American art. “I’d like it to be 50-50,” he said. “You hear people say they are going to the Whitney to see a show, but you rarely hear someone say they are going to the Whitney to see our collection.”

The Breuer building is also a difficult space to maneuver. When the giant biennial closes, for instance, it takes three weeks to get the art out and install another show. “That’s just bad business,” Mr. Weinberg said.

But in this economy, paying for the High Line site will be a challenge. In May the museum announced a fund-raising campaign of $680 million: $435 million for the new building and about $245 million for the endowment. While Mr. Weinberg would not say how much had been raised so far, other than “a very substantial amount,” he did say that “giving slowed last year, but since the summer things have picked up.”

In addition to raising money from individuals and corporations, the Whitney plans to sell five town houses next to the Breuer building when the real estate market improves. The proceeds will be earmarked for the downtown site.

The project would give the Whitney a six-floor museum more than twice the size of its Madison Avenue home. The satellite would include more than 50,000 square feet of galleries and about 15,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space.

The Whitney will also have right of first offer on another city-owned property, north of the downtown site, which is occupied by the Gansevoort Meat Market Cooperative. If the co-op decides not to renew its lease, which expires in 2014, the Whitney could entertain the possibility of expanding once again.

“It’s bigger than our existing site,” Mr. Weinberg said, comparing the co-op’s space to that of the Whitney project. “And we would probably co-develop it with another institution.”

For the city, the addition of a Whitney downtown is another magnet to draw people to an area it has worked hard to develop. “We think this is a great anchor to this cultural district,” said Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “It will provide a gateway to the High Line. The two are complementary.”

A question remains, however, about how the Whitney can run two sites at once. Last year when Leonard A. Lauder, the museum’s chairman emeritus, gave $131 million through his foundation, he stipulated that the Whitney could not sell its Breuer building for an extended, but unspecified, period of time.

Mr. Weinberg said that the museum was studying options to see how to make the two sites work programmatically and financially. Teaming up with another institution is one idea. “We’re exploring all sorts of possibilities,” Mr. Weinberg said.

rapid_business

Oct 14, 2009, 3:51 AM

I finally had a chance to check out the High Line this weekend. It was done really well... very impressed. I'll post some pictures soon. Who was the the L/A firm that designed it?

sbarn

Oct 14, 2009, 6:46 PM

:previous: Field Operations, lead by James Corner was the landscape architect. Renfro Diller and Scirfidio (sp?) was the architect firm on the project.

NYguy

Oct 20, 2009, 1:48 PM

http://www.observer.com/2009/daily-transom/high-line-keeps-going

High Line Keeps Going

http://www.observer.com/files/full/88373172.jpg

By Reid Pillifant
October 19, 2009

The full, 1.5-mile vision for the High Line Park inched one step closer to completion today, with the first concrete indication that the city will acquire the northern third of the elevated rail line.

At a City Planning Commission meeting this afternoon, chair Amanda Burden said the commission is preparing the paperwork for the city to purchase the stretch--between 30th and 34th Streets and the spur over Tenth Avenue--all of which is currently owned by the rail company CSX.

"We're thrilled," said Peter Mullan, the Vice President for Planning and Design for Friends of the High Line. "It's really the linchpin for saving the High Line at the railyards. It doesn't guarantee preservation but it's the first step towards that," he said.

The acquisition would mean that any changes to the property would be decided through a public process--and what with the public adoration for the viaduct-turned-park, it would seem to be a considerable safeguard. Friends of the High Line had been pressuring the city to take control of the stretch for months, fearing that it might fall outside the public purview as the developer, Related Companies, finalized plans for the site.

But Related has insisted all along that the High Line is in its plans, and Mr. Mullan praised their commitment after today's announcement. "Putting it in their plans gave a strong signal to the city that there was no reason not to move forward," Mr. Mullan said.

The second stretch of the High Line is currently under construction, and is expected to open before the end of 2010.

NYguy

Oct 22, 2009, 2:43 PM

HL23

Tecttonic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10342485@N05/4029352132/sizes/l/in/pool-18964236@N00/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4029352132_a891f19fdb_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/4029352724_f1a7bfefe0_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2589/4028598095_1bce425534_b.jpg

NYguy

Nov 8, 2009, 2:33 PM

HL23 nearing completion...

Fecki (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fecki/4080109326/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4080109326_e0b1a08638_b.jpg

NYC4Life

Nov 9, 2009, 4:27 AM

Manhattan's shorter high rises are getting more European in style it seems.

Busy Bee

Nov 9, 2009, 4:46 AM

Just because its high quality adventurous modernism doesn't make it European. Modern architecture may be more embraced in Europe and accepted as mainstream, but that in no way makes modern architecture a European product or export.

StatenIslander237

Nov 9, 2009, 6:06 AM

I think Manhattan is adopting a more European attitude towards the urban environment in general. Emphasis on pedestrian space and bike lanes has been exploding over the past few years and only more plans are in the works. The waterfront reclamation projects also suggest this new attitude, but then I think that if anywhere in the U.S. should set the bar for cutting-edge urbanism, it should be Manhattan. :cool:

texcolo

Nov 9, 2009, 2:29 PM

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6431/img0729y.jpg

You know you've got a good park going when people start getting their marriage photos there. They picked this park over Central Park to get their photos done.

:tup:

NYguy

Nov 30, 2009, 3:07 PM

http://racked.com/archives/2009/11/25/storecasting_wont_you_be_dvfs_new_neighbor.php

Storecasting: Won't You Be DVF's New Neighbor?

http://racked.com/uploads/2009_11_860washington%20copy.jpg

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
by Izzy Grinspan

Developers just got the go-ahead to build a glossy new ten-story tower at Washington and West 13th Street, across the street from Diane von Furstenberg's Meatpacking District HQ. Curbed has more on the building's details, but we're most interested in the large retail space that will run along Washington Street. It's probably too small to become the MePa Bloomingdales of legend, but some other luxury brand could make good use of the space. Any suggestions? Let us know in the comments.

DVF herself, by the way, is quite pleased with this news, even though (because?) it means you won't be able to peer into her studio from the Standard Hotel anymore. Of the Romanoffs, who are developing the building, she says: "As an old family of the Meat Packing District, the Romanoffs have committed to preserve the neighborhood as a destination for high-end fashion and commerce." We're glad to hear someone's standing up for neighborhood's longstanding shopping history.

___________________________________

http://curbed.com/archives/2009/11/24/high_line_hardship_building_trimmed_again_and_approved.php

http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_11_860wash2.jpg

http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_11_860wash1.jpg

Kiss those views into Diane von Furstenberg's studio from the lower half of The Standard goodbye. The Board of Standards & Appeals has approved the zoning variances being sought by Meatpacking District developers/landlords the Romanoff family to build a glassy new commercial building at Washington and West 13th Street, right up against the High Line and across the street from André Balazs's playground for the fabulous. The Romanoffs argued that they should be permitted to build big because the High Line, which cuts through the property, prevents them from taking full advantage of the site. The proposal was already run through the SizeChopper, but the approved version is even smaller—10 stories, or 175 feet tall, still 24% larger than zoning allows. The new James Carpenter-designed retail and office Mecca will be known as 860 Washington Street.

Here's rundown on the architecture and what's going in the new building:

Carpenter chose materials for the design that would reflect the industrial origins of the neighborhood, including terra cotta, zinc, and perforated metals in a range of subtle grays, along with concrete and glass. The Building will be LEED Certified, containing a large amount of recycled content. Large glass “lites” will maximize views out of the building and daylight penetration into the building, reducing the amount of energy required to provide appropriate light levels during the day time within the building. With a network of green roofs located both on the primary roof and the 4th floor setback, the building will minimize the heat island affect that occurs with most buildings in an urban environment as well as reduce the burden of storm water discharge into the municipal sewer system.

This world class building encompasses ten stories totaling 116,000 square feet. The first two floors offer many options and versatility for retail space ranging in size from 11,500 to 13,200 square feet and slab to slab ceiling heights of 17’ to 25’ feet. Office space on floors 3 through 10 offer approximately 11,000 sf of rentable space per floor with 14' to 17’ slab to slab ceiling heights. In addition, the retail space also offers tenants greater flexibility given the ability to integrate the ground floor and second floor. A portion of the retail space is located underneath the High Line and includes a sky light at the High Line level offering tenants a truly unique design opportunity.

The Romanoffs even got DVF herself to say a few kind words: "As the neighbors to the north of 860 Washington Street, we are delighted that the City of New York has granted the necessary variances for this project to move ahead. As an old family of the Meat Packing District, the Romanoffs have committed to preserve the neighborhood as a destination for high-end fashion and commerce." Indeed, finally someone is brave enough to stand up for the Meatpacking District's long tradition as a, um, fancy shopping destination!

NYguy

Jan 19, 2010, 3:24 PM

http://curbed.com/archives/2010/01/19/high_line_spy_shots_show_new_section_not_yet_in_bloom.php

High Line Spy Shots Show New Section Not Yet in Bloom

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2793/4288127142_55089f1c37_o.jpg

High Line Spy Shots Show New Section Not Yet in Bloom
January 19, 2010, by Joey

Section 2 of the High Line, running from 20th Street to 30th Street, is scheduled for an opening sometime in 2010. When exactly? Friends of the High Line isn't saying, but these aerial photos sent in by a Curbed tipster show just how far the extension of everyone's favorite makeover of formerly abandoned train tracks has to go. Will Section 2 be ready for the June one-year anniversary of the debut of Section 1? Only a select group of construction workers, gardeners and Diane von Furstenbergs knows.

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2794/4288126978_19397870f5_o.jpg

http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4056/4287385469_276e58056c_o.jpg
The staircase-to-be right outside architect Neil Denari's HL23.

rapid_business

Jan 19, 2010, 7:50 PM

wicked. :tup:

NYguy

Feb 3, 2010, 12:51 AM

The Standard

Kurt Strahm (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kstrahmx/4325342328/sizes/o/in/pool-18964236@N00/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2786/4325342328_2be267478c_o.jpg

NYguy

Feb 15, 2010, 2:07 AM

HL23

joseph a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/josepha/4357105294/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4357105294_1ccafce312_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4357108896_79778430fe_b.jpg

Aleks

Feb 23, 2010, 3:54 AM

Is HL23 condo exclusively? I don't think I'd like living on those bottom units if so. Floor-to-ceiling and they all face downward towards a park?

BTW, i saw a listing for the penthouse of this building and it is SWEEEEET!

NYguy

Feb 23, 2010, 2:08 PM

Is HL23 condo exclusively? I don't think I'd like living on those bottom units if so. Floor-to-ceiling and they all face downward towards a park?

That's part of the charm for some people. Here's the website with a little more detail on the HL23 and some renderings from the site...

http://www.hl23.com/#/The Building

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/122229484/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/122229503/original.jpg

NYguy

Mar 2, 2010, 5:16 PM

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/commercial/show_us_some_glass_zy8gqcrHuRREJAufSk4bHJ

Show us some glass

By Steve Cuozzo
March 2, 2010

Charles Blaichman, developer of High Line-straddling 450 W. 14th St., insists there's nothing wrong with his 15-story project that's still a concrete skeleton, vowing that curtain-wall glass will finally start appearing on the smallish, but extraordinarily visible, structure "by next Monday or Tuesday."

That will be a welcome turn of events indeed, because Blaichman and his team twice before told us that installation of the glass façade on the Morris Adjmi-designed boutique office building straddling the park would start imminently.

The project -- a 12-story glass box atop an old, three-story brick industrial structure -- was expected to be finished last summer.

But today, scaffolding and nets shroud the brick base that forms a pedestrian passageway over the High Line. The eastern side of the passageway was recently closed to protect park-goers from overhead construction.

None of that means anything's wrong if it merely reflects the final stage of work. Blaichman said delays are attributable to "normal things that happen on every job."

"What you don't see is that all the mechanicals are done," Blaichman said.

Newmark Knight Frank office leasing broker Brian Waterman, who's signed fashion house Helmut Lang for two floors, said he knew of no construction problem.

"I can assure you that nothing is wrong," echoed Winick Realty's Kelly Gedinsky, the project's retail leasing agent. "We had some crazy snow days. It's definitely going to affect any construction site."

But while bad weather might slow even a project as small as 450 W. 14th, which topped off last April, Blaichman & Co. have been less than forthcoming about other issues.

Last summer, they cited a dispute between the Buildings Dept. and the Parks Dept. over a sidewalk shed. But they didn't mention partial stop-work orders for major violations. Those included a December citation for "failure to safeguard public and property" over an incident in which a 1,500-pound steel beam fell from the sixth floor.

Meanwhile, Blaichman's contractor recently asked the Dept. of Environmental Protection for a permit to pump up to 720,000 gallons of groundwater daily into the sewage system. A rep for DEP said the agency had granted "conditional approval" pending completion of an engineering statement. "We're still exchanging information," she said.

Blaichman denied any groundwater problem, saying the permit is in case "we get water from rain."

OK -- show us some glass!

NYguy

Mar 12, 2010, 5:08 AM

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/03/11/piano_still_playing_with_the_whitney_in_mepa.php

Piano Still Playing With the Whitney in MePa

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2706/4410998097_94bc869526_o.jpg
The Whitney site from Gansevoort; the M&O structure will rise to the left.

March 11, 2010, by Pete

The recent news that a "maintenance and operations" building for the High Line was moving ahead at 820 Washington Street left some doubts about architect Renzo Piano's plan for a new Whitney Museum at the edge of the Meatpacking District. After all, the two were supposed to share space. But the Piano is still in tune. We dug into the High Line Maintenance and Operations Facility RFP from the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop is listed as the design consultant on the project. Phew! We don't want the High Line's new Love Shack clashing with all that fancy Italian starchitecture!

The "Detailed Site Map" shows the long and narrow M&O building will go up on the north end of the site just west of the High Line, off Washington. That corresponds with both models and renders of the Whitney MePa from the Renzo Piano Building Workshop showing a boxy structure with a ramp running alongside and a terrace on top.

The bulk of that building site was cleared last summer and the Parks Department and Friends of the High Line have positioned several trailers on the Washington Street site to serve as a temporary maintenance and operations facility until the new building is completed. That construction is set to wrap up in 2013, leading us to surmise that the rest of the Piano plan won't be rising anytime soon. But there's another little nugget in the RFP: "It is anticipated that the M&O Facility will meet a minimum LEED Silver certification." That's the silver lining around the Whitney MePa cloud.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4036/4411765918_9e7ac5727d_o.jpg

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4050/4418122446_93b497c8b2_o.jpg
Model from Renzo Piano Building Workship showing the Whitney plan with the High Line maintenance box on the north edge of the site.

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4036/4411765582_4fbcd48a4c_o.jpg

http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2801/4411765666_fae712529b_o.jpg

NYguy

Mar 17, 2010, 12:44 AM

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/03/16/highlinestraddling_office_building_finally_getting_glassed.php

High-Line-Straddling Office Building Finally Getting Glassed

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4040/4438476615_73bff013a9_o.jpg

Tuesday, March 16, 2010, by Joey

There is no one High Line building but there is, however, a High Line Building, the name given to architect Morris Adjmi's glassy addition to a former warehouse that the elevated tracks run through at 450 West 14th Street. Helmut Lang has already signed on for two floors and construction on the Meatpacking District office building got underway many moons ago (we even got a look inside), but it's been a long slog without much visible progress. No longer! The Cuozz noted today that glass has started going up on the skeleton's south-facing side. Indeed, The Standard hotel now has some fresh glass reflecting all that naughtiness going on inside its rooms.

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2695/4438476245_e99abeb983_o.jpg

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2795/4438475831_d2d4374557_o.jpg

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/4029/4438475437_db7a801ddf_o.jpg

canadate

Mar 19, 2010, 4:34 AM

Took these two days ago on both 33rd & 30th.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5059.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5057.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5060.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5061.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5062.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae212/canadate/DSCF5063.jpg

NYguy

Mar 19, 2010, 4:49 AM

That's the portion that will supposedly be saved by Related, incorporated into the massive Hudson Yards development over the railyards.

NYguy

Apr 2, 2010, 7:46 PM

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/04/02/high_lines_next_section_not_opening_until_2011.php

High Line's Next Section Not Opening Until 2011

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/highlinesection2_4_10.jpg

Friday, April 2, 2010, by Sara

High Line fans (of which there are now more than two million) were promised that Section 2, which stretches from 20th Street to 30th Street, would open sometime in 2010. But recent looks at the abandoned train tracks' makeover suggested it had a ways to go, and now DNAinfo brings the official word that Section 2 might not open until spring or summer 2011. What's the holdup? Money! Friends of the High Line needs $50 million in private funding to take care of Section 2 and set up a High Line endowment. They've got $44 million so far. Sounds like it's time to pick up some High Line t-shirts!

_____________________________

http://www.dnainfo.com/20100401/manhattan/high-line-second-section-opening-pushed-back-2011
High Line Second Section Opening Pushed Back to 2011

http://s3.amazonaws.com/sfb111/image_xlimage_2010_04_R9612_great_lawn_high_line.jpg
Adrian Benepe, Amanda Burden and Joshua David plant an eastern red bud tree with others in honor of the High Line's 2-millionth visitor.

April 1, 2010
By Nicole Breskin

The planned fall opening of the second section of the High Line has been pushed back to 2011, officials said Thursday.

The park’s second stretch — running from 20th to 30th streets — was slated to open later this year after the initial section debuted last summer.

But Parks Department and High Line officials say that date could be pushed back to as late as the spring or summer of 2011.

“Fundraising is the biggest challenge,” said Joshua David, cofounder of the non-profit Friends of the High Line, which oversees maintenance and management of the park. “In the toughest fundraising year, in the 2009 calendar year, we expanded our staff and our budget. It’s an ongoing issue, but I’m eager and optimistic.”

“Great parks don’t come for free,” added Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe of the fundraising efforts. “This park had a huge private investment.”

Construction has continued on the second section during past six months, with work being completed on the park’s “great lawn” and a “woodland tree-top canopy walk,” officials noted.

“There will be a diverse set of experiences,” Benepe said at the event. “The High Line is and will continue to be one of the world’s most unusual parks.”

Friend of the High Line is currently working to secure $50 million in private funding for additional capital costs. So far, approximately $44 million has been raised.

The first of the High Line’s three sections, running from Gansevoort to 20th streets, opened in June 2009. The third section, which extends up to the Western Rail yards development site, is currently undergoing the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure to allow the park to acquire the remaining rail tracks.

NYguy

Apr 8, 2010, 12:10 AM

Joe Shlabotnik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/4493699115/sizes/l/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2797/4493699115_bc863fb980_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4493688861_1b6f3e2a19_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4493729971_6969e2b518_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4494359938_da7c6b7b6e_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4493725653_6edc04a881_b.jpg

BStyles

Apr 8, 2010, 12:47 PM

Are they really putting down new tracks?:sly: You know, they're trying too hard to make it look ancient.

I say out some tram tracks up there and make it a ride.:yes:

NYguy

Apr 8, 2010, 3:24 PM

Are they really putting down new tracks?:sly: You know, they're trying too hard to make it look ancient.

I say out some tram tracks up there and make it a ride.:yes:

They're not putting up "new" tracks. The tracks had to be removed, and the site cleaned before they could make it a public park.

Lecom

Apr 8, 2010, 9:57 PM

Are they really putting down new tracks?:sly: You know, they're trying too hard to make it look ancient.

I say out some tram tracks up there and make it a ride.:yes:

It's a fascinating urban artifact that gives continuity to the park and relates to its historical origins.

Aleks

Apr 8, 2010, 10:07 PM

i think the tracks add a nice touch to the park.

NYC4Life

Apr 9, 2010, 6:48 AM

Hey, probably would be cool to see those tracks in service again, as some type of shuttle.

Sandy

May 23, 2010, 7:08 AM

The High Line wasn't opened yet when I was in NYC in April 09, so this year, it was the first thing I wanted to see, it's really a great development!
Some shots I took... on, from it and around...

1.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-16.jpg

2.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-17.jpg

3.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-18.jpg

4.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-27.jpg

5.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-29.jpg

6.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-32.jpg

7.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-36.jpg

8.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-40.jpg

9.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-43.jpg

10.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-46.jpg

11.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-50.jpg

12.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC201054.jpg

13.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC201049.jpg

14.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-53.jpg

15.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-58.jpg

16.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC201039.jpg

17.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC201014.jpg

18.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC201062.jpg

19.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-65.jpg

20.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-71.jpg

21.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-75.jpg

22.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-79.jpg

23.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-84.jpg

24.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-88.jpg

25.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-89.jpg

26.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-91.jpg

27.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-92.jpg

28.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-94.jpg

29.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-96.jpg

30.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-98.jpg

31.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-100.jpg

32.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC2010102.jpg

33.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-114.jpg

34.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-115.jpg

I love this district.

Fabb

May 23, 2010, 7:51 AM

Nice pictures !
Interesting architecture as well, including the new building by Nouvel...

NYguy

May 23, 2010, 2:08 PM

29.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-96.jpg

30.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-98.jpg

31.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii283/sandyuspatriot/NY%202010/NYC-2010-100.jpg

Great photos. As you can see, there's still a lot to be done, but it's already one of the city's new jewels.

Construction above continues as well, a few photos from a couple of weeks ago...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/124826517/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/124826622/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/124826636/large.jpg

As mentioned by Fabb, many great additions to the area...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/124826682/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/124826706/large.jpg

NYguy

Jul 28, 2010, 1:31 AM

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/full-high-line-coming-city-hands

City Getting Control of Last Bit of High Line

http://www.observer.com/files/full/high%20line%20gmaps.JPG

By The Real Estate Desk
July 27, 2010

The last pieces of the High Line are nearly under city control.

A City Council subcommittee today voted to allow the city to acquire the portion of the High Line—the former rail viaduct planned as parkland—north of 30th Street. This is the third of three segments of the High Line, which spans from the Meatpacking District north through Chelsea to West 34th Street.

Owned for years by freight railroad company CSX Transportation, it was unclear for a while who might own the final segment, which runs through the West Side rail yards (and is supposed to be part of any development that may happen there). But earlier this year, the Bloomberg administration began the aquisiton process, which requires consent of the Council.

In the short run, this doesn't mean much will change. The segment will still be abandoned and off limits, and no designs have been done. (The second segment is still under construction, scheduled to open next spring, and there is still no long-term funding model to maintain the park.) Taking the longer view, however, the move makes it easier to build it out.

kenratboy

Jul 29, 2010, 3:47 AM

I walked it when I was there 2 weeks ago. Fantastic concept and execution. Even in the middle of the city (granted, a fairly quiet part), it is a nice, relaxing place to get away. The views are great as well (old and new architecture).

NYguy

Oct 14, 2010, 3:18 AM

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/10/13/new_stairway_to_high_line_heaven_midtowns_cassa_dumps_broker.php

New Stairway to High Line Heaven

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2010_10_hlstairs.jpg

October 13, 2010, by Joey Arak

The new staircase at 23rd Street for Phase II of the High Line that we've been keeping a close eye on has been installed. Phase II doesn't open until next spring, so no peeking! Those burly dudes will mess you up.

Jonovision

Oct 15, 2010, 4:01 PM

I was visiting NYC for the first time last week and snagged this shot. It looks like the next section is almost ready!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs828.snc4/68876_638155260529_94807507_38154529_7152954_n.jpg

NYguy

Oct 16, 2010, 12:08 AM

^ Looking good.

Troubadour

Oct 23, 2010, 10:59 AM

High Line park is a glimpse into the future of cities. :banana:

patriotizzy

Oct 24, 2010, 7:54 PM

NYguy

Oct 24, 2010, 11:11 PM

I've got a question. So the high lines are being made into neat parks, but what happens under the highline (next to the roads)? Do they leave it as ugly as before? I would much rather have them tear down the high line and just build parks on their footprints. I don't know though, maybe someone can shed some light for me.

Well, a street level park in Manhattan at that location simply wouldn't work. The High Line is a right of way that passes various commercial and residential buildings. At street level, it would be something else, and wouldn't work as a continous park anyway because there are too many crosstreets. But there are a variety of uses planned for the spaces anyway (stores, restaurants, etc.) similar to what's planned for the space underneath the FDR and the new east river park there.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2599493454_e8fdcec1e3_b.jpg?rand=885747825

wrab

Oct 24, 2010, 11:14 PM

JSsocal

Oct 24, 2010, 11:47 PM

patriotizzy

Oct 25, 2010, 3:50 AM

^^^^ I see. I was never really opposed to the elevated park innovation, I was always a little curious to how they came about. I do love the designs and the beauty they bring to cities. Thanks for the response guys.

John F

Nov 8, 2010, 6:15 PM

OK, on topic but off topic because it's not development related (moderators, feel free to ix-nay this post)

Pee-wee Herman was on the High Line in a video for Funny or Die. The antics start at 2:05:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/2acd0d12b2/pee-wee-s-foursquare-day

NYguy

Nov 9, 2010, 3:03 AM

LOL, I forgot that guy existed.

John F

Nov 9, 2010, 6:10 PM

LOL, I forgot that guy existed.

Off topic: Paul Rubens had moved away from the character, but brought him back this past year. First, with a show in LA (resurrecting the Playhouse show that he used to perform with the likes of the late Phil Harman - before he was on TV) and now in NYC as you can see from the video.

End of the off-topic stuff.

NYguy

Nov 11, 2010, 12:51 AM

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/11/10/twisty_mepa_tower_gets_sliced_diced_by_landmarks_commission.php

Twisty MePa Tower Gets Sliced & Diced by Landmarks Commission

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1425/5162673783_b7fa60dcee_o.jpg
The view along Washington Street. Well, not anymore.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010, by Pete Davies

Architect Morris Adjmi's bold plan for a new office building sprouting out of an old Meatpacking District warehouse at 837 Washington Street got some love from the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday, but not enough to get the project to second base.

The commissioners praised the design but found it wrong for the Gansevoort Market Historic District, instructed developer Taconic Investment Partners to sharpen its butcher's knife. Despite a stack of supportive letters from nearby property owners and positive testimony from the Romanoff family, whose site kitty-korner across Washington Street just outside the historic district has been approved for a new 200' tower, the LPC sided with community naysayers who were against the 8-story plan.

Adjmi and adviser Bill Higgins together laid out the genesis of the torqued framework as an expression of the movement and flow of people and goods through the area as it grew from a small village to a center of commerce. But the commissioners thought the 100' building to be too tall for the two-story base that would hold it. They asked for precedent in the area that would allow for such a plan, but the cited examples were all outside the historic district. The design team explained that the idea for the grid of steel beams, rotating slightly around a taller brick core, was born from the way city streets come together on this block at Washington and West 13th Street.

This is where the old downtown street grid, running diagonally across the lower part of Manhattan, intersects with the later 1811 Plan that created the familiar orthogonal grid of streets covering Manhattan to the north. Still, no dice, so it's back to the drawing board, with the development team trying to figure out a way to build something dynamic and new while constrained by the restrictive rules and the context of the low-slung warehouses that line the streets of the historic district. New plans will be drawn up, but no date has been set for a repeat performance.

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1234/5162673741_caed4d37b9_o.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4029/5163282520_31778cb8ea_o.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4018/5162673585_19d6d58322_o.jpg

High Line views

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1408/5162673649_8998764951_o.jpg

Busy Bee

Nov 11, 2010, 1:12 AM

Imbeciles.

Copied and pasted from Curbed NY (http://ny.curbed.com): "8 stories is a bit extreme. It should be 6. Now if it started at 10, that too would be extreme, and more appropriate would be 8. But it started at 8, so it should be 6. Yeah. That's about right."—anon [Twisty MePa Tower Gets Sliced & Diced by Landmarks Commission]

Another case in point that the developer should always present an exagerrated proposal with the almost guaranteed kneejerk reaction from commitees and nimby's insisting to lop off a few floors will get the developer and architect exactly what they really had in mind. The nimby/cantankerous commitee folks think they've won and the developer wins. Everybody's happy!

Seriously though, how could anyone complain about this proposal??? Morris Adjmi is one of my favorite NY architects.

NYguy

Nov 11, 2010, 1:37 PM

Seriously though, how could anyone complain about this proposal??? Morris Adjmi is one of my favorite NY architects.

It's a law of nature. For every new proposal, there must be at least one group of people outraged over the "size" of said development, or the general "newness" of it all.

NYguy

Nov 11, 2010, 2:17 PM

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/high-lines-new-neighbor-neighbors-abhor

The High Line's Would-Be Neighbor That the Neighbors Abhor

http://www.observer.com/files/full/837_Washington_Street_0.jpg

By Matt Chaban
November 10, 2010

The High Line has become the backbone of the city's best architecture, this generation's Park Avenue. From the Standard Hotel to Nouvel's 100 11th, from Frank Gehry's IAC HQ to HL23, the High Line—itself an exquisite work of architecture and landscaping—has won a reputation as the best spot to build stunning new structures, as well as the best place to gaze upon them.

The elevated park nearly got another high-flying neighbor yesterday at 837 Washington Street, a lot across the cobblestoned road from the Standard Hotel, though the proposal was ultimately turned down by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The new office building, being developed by Tacononic Investments, is designed by Morris Adjmi, the architect of the nearby High Line Building, which is, along with the Standard, the only edifice that will ever overhang the park. 837 Washington is currently a two-story meatpacking building, and Admji has proposed a torquing glass-and steel tower atop it, creating an unusual design that nods to both the Manhattan street grid laid out in 1811 (paralleled by the building's top) and the older, confusing-even-to-natives streets of Greenwich Village (the bottom).

"I think this building tries to be a metaphor for what's happening in the Meatpacking District," Adjmi told The Observer Monday. "It's a very modern structure of glass encased within a steel lattice that nods to the High Line and the area's industrial past." Plus, the original 1938 Art Deco meatpacking building remains relatively intact, instead of being demolished.

It would be a ravishing addition to the neighborhood, and might even be taller than its proposed eight-stories, were it not located in a historic district—one created to head off over-development such as that created by the Gansevoort Hotel and the Bumble and Bumble Building, both built before the area received historic status.

Adjmi presented the project to the commission yesterday, and while it won praise from some local developers, preservationists were bothered by the proposal. The biggest issue seemed to be that the building's height—many others in the district are much shorter, like the building currently at 837 Washington—that and Taconic's desire to replace a building deemed a contributing piece of the Gansevoort Market Historic District when it was established in 2003. At the time, the commission said it was an exemplary building from the market's latter day architecture.

"The existing landmarked building is once again merely playing base to a grandiose, out of context structure, and that is not the role of a contributing building in an historic district," Nadezhda Williams of the Historic District's Council argued in her testimony to the commission. Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation told The Observer that the building actually had "an interesting design." Still, there's that whole height issue. "The big thing for us is a seven-story addition dwarfing a one-and-a-half-story contributing building," Berman said.

The commission seemed to agree, telling Adjmi he should come back soon with a shorter proposal. "I don't know how I'm ever going to get to the size making any sense at all," Commissioner Elizabeth Ryan said. The commissioners were, however, impressed with the marriage of new and old and did not seem bent on ensuring the building remains as is. The architect argued that his building, being located on the border of the district, and just across the street from its taller neighbors, could serve as a transition, but even this argument did not fly.

In reality, though, this may all be part of the plan. From St. Vincent's aborted hospital to 980 Madison, developers know full well to push the limits as much as possible at the commission. That way, when they return months later with their relatively more conservative proposals, they can, typically, be easily approved.

NYguy

Dec 9, 2010, 3:49 AM

http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/10871?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AN_blog+%28A%2FN+Blog%29

Rolling on the High Line

http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/HighLinefromHL231-e1291841594234.jpg
View of the High Line lawn from HL23. (Image: Diana Darling)

12.08.10
Julie V. Iovine

We were scouting cool party spaces recently and caught this view from Neil Denari’s HL23 on the High Line. Lower floors of the 14-story condo, now nearing completion, are going to feel pretty vulnerable to nose-pressers strolling up the rail-bed park who will be just feet away from their living room glass walls. But on the upper floors, views of the length of High Line will unfurl as alluringly as the Yellow Brick Road. Right now, it’s possible to make out the stretch of emerald lawn section at 23rd Street, waiting for its sunbathers.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Dec 9, 2010, 4:01 AM

when will the 2nd part of high line open?

NYguy

Dec 9, 2010, 4:45 AM

when will the 2nd part of high line open?

Late spring or summer next year. All of these park openings seem to be delayed a little, so I wouldn't expect it until the summer. The third and final stretch of the High Line is years down the line because it involves the railyards development.

Obey

Dec 10, 2010, 12:53 AM

Great progress. Will love the day when I can walk on the entire High Line. This is the final phase, right?

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Dec 10, 2010, 2:20 AM

Great progress. Will love the day when I can walk on the entire High Line. This is the final phase, right?

nope the 2nd part is next, he 3rd and final phase will come with the completion of the Hudson Yards.

NYguy

Dec 16, 2010, 1:33 AM

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/not-be-outdone-balasz-building-ice-rink-standard

Not to Be Outdone, Balasz Building Ice Rink at Standard

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

By Matt Chaban
December 15, 2010

Yesterday we broke the news that downtown was getting its first ice rink, at the appropriately named W Hotel Downtown.

Well, it looks like there will be two rinks south of 14th this season, if not more. Curbed reports that the Standard Hotel is turning its patio into a rink, as well.

The Standard Hotel pulled in its yellow patio furniture for the winter, and you'd better believe that Andre Balazs is not letting that prime space go to waste. After all, he put two nightclubs on the top floor.

Interestingly, this means there will now be two places to ice skate on Washington Street where once there were none. No word yet on whether patrons will be forbidden to drink or wear clothes on the Standard's ice.

JSsocal

Jan 21, 2011, 2:22 AM

The new viewing window
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5122/5371839570_9cd07fb534_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5371849402_65df225a9e_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5242/5373822065_8ba7dd14f3_b.jpg

Lots of interesting art pieces on the high line.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/5371237331_36ea289fbb_b.jpg
My Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34734039@N04/

NYguy

Jan 21, 2011, 5:09 AM

As seen in the photos above...

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/01/20/14th_streets_high_line_building_now_all_glassed_up.php
14th Street's High Line Building Now All Glassed Up

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/5282/5373599408_b4ed6f7b2d_o.jpg

January 20, 2011, by Joey Arak

Only two building are allowed to hover directly over the High Line, and one of them sure is taking its sweet time.

The High Line Building at 450 West 14th Street has been under construction just north of the Standard Hotel (the other High Line straddler) for so long that our Curbed Inside peek was back in 2009.

But now the office building, designed by Morris Adjmi, is glassy as heck. How's she looking? Maybe not quite as clean and transparent as we expected, but the first batch of renderings really played up the glass at the expense of the steel. As for future occupants, we haven't heard anything new since Helmut Lang signed on for two floors. Any fresh intel?

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/5243/5373000705_fd505b344f_o.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/5250/5373600582_36eaa2011e_o.jpg
The base (an old meatpacking plant) is still under wraps. Here's a pic from the High Line.

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/5087/5373600026_8919bfc00f_o.jpg

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/5125/5373002055_0f9a3609f8_o.jpg

Obey

Jan 21, 2011, 11:54 AM

The rendering and reality seems fairly identical. How far along are they on phase 2?

NYguy

Jan 31, 2011, 4:27 PM

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703833204576114381949330602.html
'Great Theater' on the High Line

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AT236_NYSPAC_DV_20110130181508.jpg

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AT237_NYSPAC_G_20110130181608.jpg

By DANA RUBINSTEIN
January 31, 2011

When a designer from Morris Adjmi Architects descended into the basement of 450 W. 14th St., now a 10-story glass box built atop a masonry base pierced through by the High Line, he found a grisly reminder of the building's original purpose: approximately five-dozen 50-gallon drums filled with the remnants of animal carcasses.

The building's drab, five-story art-deco masonry base, completed in 1932, two years before the railroad now known as the High Line, once served as a frozen-storage facility for the meatpacking industry. Trains would pull into the building and stop, allowing workers to haul frozen carcasses, hanging from hooks, onto train cars, before rumbling on to their next destination.

Seven years ago, when Morris Adjmi architects was hired to design a tower for the site, the five-story masonry base was largely derelict. But the architects, enamored of its history, chose to keep it and build a 10-story glass addition on top.

Structurally, that was something of a challenge. According to Mr. Adjmi, the building is the only one along the High Line to share key structural elements with the train track. In other words, the columns and the trusses that support the building are the same columns and trusses that support the track that passes through what would be its second story.

After using ultrasound technology to determine the strength of the foundation, the architects decided to build a light-weight glass-and-steel tower on top of the masonry base.

The inspiration for the design was Rachel Whiteread's "Monument," in Trafalgar Square. The sculpture featured an upside-down, clear-resin facsimile of a stone plinth placed on top of the actual fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square.

Like "Monument," Mr. Adjmi built a translucent top, in this case a 10-story, glass-and-steel office tower, which echoes the opaque, rectangular, masonry base below.

The result is a staid, elegant building, one whose restraint is underscored by the raucous architecture surrounding it. Directly to the south, the tome-shaped Standard Hotel hovers on concrete stilts above the High Line. To the east there's the headquarters of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, a red-brick building sprouting a flagrantly modern, prismatic glass atrium. (Ms. von Furstenberg is also an investor in 450 West 14th Street, which is being developed by Charles Blaichman, of CB Developers.)

The tower's design eschews excess flourishes. The existing masonry base boasts a restored art deco parapet. The north and south facades of the glass skyscraper, meanwhile, bear four-story indentations, as though a giant pair of fingers had gently pressed in the glass. The angle of the indentations mimics the angle at which the High Line passes through the building below.

On Friday morning, the office tower offered dazzling views of Manhattan and masses of ice swirling along the Hudson River. It also offers views of another sort.

To the south, construction workers routinely witness the now-notorious couplings of the curtain-challenged guests at the Standard. To the north, fashion models can frequently be spotted traipsing into Milk Studios.

In the words of Jordan Rogove, a Morris Adjmi architect, the building offers "great theater."