[NYguy]

DAILY NEWS

Developers: Race you to the top
Scramble to build - up

By HUGH SON


Developers are scrambling to build a slew of supersized condo towers in Williamsburg and Greenpoint before the city's sweeping zoning changes - designed to block such buildings - take effect.

At least seven high-rise apartment buildings that will dwarf existing three and four-story rowhouses in the neighborhood are in the works, the Daily News has found.

http://www.nydailynews.com/images/graphics/bklyntowerimage.jpg


A little more on the zoning:

NY POST

MIKE'S IN THE ZONE

By JULIA VITULLO-MARTIN

March 14, 2005 -- TODAY should see progress in one of Mayor Bloom berg's least-publicized top initiatives — revitalizing the north Brooklyn waterfront.

Greenpoint-Williamsburg has been in decline for so long that only the oldest New Yorkers can remember when it thrived. For decades, mayors either ignored it or made things worse. (Giuliani officials, for example, proposed Greenpoint as a destination for the porn industry they were trying to evict from Times Square — saving Manhattan at Brooklyn's expense.)

Bloomberg saw the enormous potential lying beneath the rubble when he took office in 2002, designating the waterfront a top redevelopment priority.

Today, the City Planning Commission will vote on the administration's proposals to rezone Greenpoint-Williamsburg — permitting residential development, which has been outlawed since 1961, and opening new parks and esplanades.

The commissioners will almost surely pass the plan, as they should, though with some dissent. But then the debate moves to the City Council, where it may get acrimonious.

Yet the Bloomberg plan's merits are enormous.

First, by authorizing new residential development on the waterfront the plan will correct the injustice of the Wagner administration's 1961 rezoning.

Untilthen, the citysensibly treated housing as a beneficial use, to be built anywhere. But Mayor Wagner's planners, in a disastrous (and futile) effort to save manufacturing jobs, not only extended manufacturing zoning deep into existing residential areas but also forbade any new residential development on the waterfront.

Second, Bloomberg's rezoning recognizes and encourages Greenpoint's energetic mixed-use character. The zoning sets height limits to encourage new buildings to fit into their surroundings. It allows light-industry and commercial uses to co-exist with residences — which is how Greenpoint-Williamsburg developed historically.

Third, the plan will make the now-cut-off waterfront accessible to the public, providing a continuous esplanade along the East River.

Finally, the rezoning is sensitive to the neighborhood's low-rise character, siting lower buildings inland, thus encouraging a smooth transition in scale and style. And while taller buildings will be on the water, building heights will vary — discouraging the monumental, repetitive look of late-20th century architecture.

This is a heroic undertaking, for waterfront development is neither easy nor cheap.

* The area has been industrial, so infrastructure for residential development — streets and utilities — is missing.

* Property previously used for heavy manufacturing is invariably polluted, sometimes seriously. But the polluting industries — and their owners — are long gone, leaving it to government to clean up the mess.

* Because the waterfront is far from subways, many residents will want to own cars. But the East River's high water table prevents underground parking garages, so most parking will have to be above ground.

The most contentious debate by far, however, is over "affordable" housing in the plan.

For the last two decades, housing advocates have pushed inclusionary zoning — IZ. This lets developers build larger market-rate buildings than would be permissible under standard zoning, provided they also put up extra low- and moderate-income units.

In theory, the affordable units are subsidized by the greater density allowed the project. But — as with so many of the advocates' theories — it too often doesn't work that way in the real world.

Because they know they may have to carry the low-end units when the market slows, developers tend to build only high-end units in "their" part of the project — so housing at moderate rates gets squeezed out.

For that reason and others, the Bloomberg administration wanted to avoid IZ on the waterfront; it reluctantly embraced some as a compromise with political necessity.

Developers will be able to build towers as high as 350 feet on the water in exchange for making 25 percent of the units affordable. Advocates, including Greenpoint-Williamsburg's community board, say they want 40 percent.

That would be a calamitous mistake. The neighborhood is an untested market for the high-priced market-rate housing that's to subsidize the affordable units. Even at 25 percent, the plan risks trouble the next time New York's volatile real-estate market hits a downturn. At 40 percent, if developers and planners overestimate how many households are willing to pay top dollar to live across the river, the whole plan will be jeopardized. Worse, as lawyer Howard Goldman notes, it's a very short step from this plan to the assumption that the city should mandate affordable housing in every district.

Bloomberg's genius has been to see value where previous mayors saw waste. This rezoning will be the start of something good — if the City Council lets it happen.

[BVictor1]

Check it out: New York's fabled Plaza is going condo

By Lisa Anderson
Tribune national correspondent
Published March 14, 2005

NEW YORK -- Very soon, the legendary Plaza, the high-society hostelry that has been making memories for New Yorkers for the last 98 years, may itself be little more than a memory.

For now, doormen in gold braid-trimmed livery still guard the portals of an old-fashioned world where the chandeliers are crystal and the furniture favors gilt. An imposing vase of flowers, scenting the air with stargazer lilies, still graces the marble-topped table in the Fifth Avenue lobby. And, in the late afternoon, the silvery sound of a harpist playing Pachelbel's Canon still mingles with the clink of china and the murmur of voices as tea is served in the elegant Palm Court.

But, as of April 30, this fabled French Renaissance-style showpiece, with its signature green copper mansard roof and riveting guest register, will close its doors.

Over the following 18 months, new owners plan to transform the Plaza. The 805 guest rooms will turn into about 200 luxury condominiums overlooking Central Park, and a 150-room hotel on the East 58th Street side. Upscale retailing will move into beloved spaces like the Grand Ballroom, where generations of debutantes have come out to society, married and danced as dowagers.

The facts of this real estate transaction are as simple as the emotions they evoke are complex.

Like a host of hoteliers in Manhattan, Elad Properties, an Israel-based firm that bought the Plaza last August for $675 million, is cashing in on a breathtaking boom in residential real estate prices. Soaring values make it more lucrative to sell square footage as condos, currently going for an average $1.2 million, than to rent it out as guest rooms, no matter how stratospheric the rate.

Currently, hotels converting to condos and co-ops include the venerable Stanhope, across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Sheraton Russell; Empire; Mayflower; Gramercy Park; Intercontinental Central Park South; Barbizon; Olcott; Wall Street Regent; Delmonico, and about 19 percent of the rooms in the St. Regis.

Only the news of the Plaza's closing, however, unleashed such a torrent of anger and emotion. In recent weeks, that translated into a street demonstration by employees, pilgrimages by guests from afar, the establishment of Plaza rescue Web sites and passionate appeals to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to safeguard some of the hotel's famous public rooms.

"I have to say I haven't seen so many people so concerned about a building in a long time," said Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private, non-profit organization.

"The Plaza means a lot to New Yorkers and to people outside New York," said Breen, who grew up in Upstate New York and remembers "being taken to tea at the Palm Court as a big treat on trips to New York."

It means so much to Joan Yatsko that she and two colleagues in a New Jersey radiology office created the Web site www.friendsoftheplaza.com and are collecting online signatures for a petition to save the hotel. "My parents spent their wedding night there in 1947," said Yatsko, 49. "Growing up, it was always like the Plaza was the epitome of class."

On a recent springlike day, Michael Newman stood staring at the broad six-column hotel entrance with its Edwardian glass marquee. An attorney who now lives in San Francisco, Newman, 48, spent much of his life in New York and has fond memories of the Plaza.

"I remember having tea in the Palm Court. With my wife's family, we would go to the Oak Room for Christmas Eve. It was kind of a tradition. Actually, I'm staying here because I'd never stayed here before," he said.

"It seems like everyone you bump into these days has a Plaza story," said Peter Ward, chairman of the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, the union for about 85 percent of the city's 26,000 hotel workers, including 900 at the Plaza.

Dimas Caro, arranging magazines in the hotel gift shop recently, is one of them. "It's overwhelming for us," said Caro, 47, who has worked at the Plaza for six years. "You think you have a job and it's a lifetime commitment--aside from the fact that it is an institution that we all have loved for so many years."

Rally planned for Monday

On its www.savetheplaza.com Web site, the union urged members to come to a noon Save the Plaza rally in front of the hotel on Monday with guest speaker Jesse Jackson.

Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg has encouraged talks between Elad and the union, Caro said he and many colleagues expect to be unemployed come May.

Ward, who was married 22 years ago in the Plaza's Grand Ballroom, is determined to stem the loss of jobs in an industry that has seen the conversion trend claim more than 3,000 hotel rooms in recent years and, with them, thousands of jobs.

His union joined the conservancy and others in petitioning the landmarks commission to protect the most important interior public rooms in a building whose exterior received landmark status in 1969.

The commission, which often operates at a glacial pace, rendered an unexpectedly swift decision March 8. It "calendared" six of the most prominent Plaza rooms: the Palm Court with its columns and faux skylight; the ornate, wood-paneled Oak Room and Oak Bar; the historic Grand Ballroom, and the lobbies on Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street, also known as Central Park South.

Robert Tierney , chairman of the city's landmarks commission, said those are the six most crucial rooms at this time and would not elaborate on why the Edwardian Room, which has been redone as CPS One restaurant, did not make the list.

To be calendared means that the rooms will be the subject of an as-yet-unscheduled public hearing on their eligibility for landmark status and may not be touched until that is resolved, said Tierney,

Interior spaces deemed landmarks are rare. "Of the 1,200 or so individual landmarks in New York City, approximately 100 are interior spaces," said Tierney, listing the main waiting room in Grand Central Terminal, Radio City Music Hall, and the interior of The Four Seasons restaurant designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson as examples.

As the conservancy's Breen pointed out, landmarking doesn't regulate the use of a space, just the preservation of its architectural details. In other words, even if the Grand Ballroom becomes a landmark, it may never see a waltz again.

When considering a space for landmark status, the commission primarily assesses its architectural merit and its history. Regarding the latter, a well-worn New York saying goes, "Nothing unimportant ever happens at the Plaza." Indeed, when New York City, bidding for the 2012 Olympics, wanted to impress the visiting International Olympic Committee members last month, it put them up at the Plaza.

Designed primarily as a residential hotel by Henry Hardenbergh , the 19-story Plaza opened its doors on Oct. 1, 1907. The tone immediately was set when socialite Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt became the first residential guest to sign the register.

Kings, queens and Beatles

Every U.S. president since William Taft has made at least one visit to the Plaza. Not to mention a parade of kings and queens and a galaxy of cultural stars from Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald to the Beatles and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who kept a suite there during the construction of his Guggenheim Museum.

Over the years, the Grand Ballroom has been a favorite place for New York weddings, including such nuptials as Pat Kennedy and Peter Lawford, Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower, then-Plaza owner Donald Trump and Marla Maples and, in 2000, the $1.7 million spectacular uniting Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The hotel is the subject of several books, but many people best know it from the "Eloise" series. Begun in 1955 by Kay Thompson, the books, and later the film, chronicle the life of Eloise, a spoiled, but charming, 6-year-old who lives with her British nanny in the Plaza and drives the management crazy.

The Plaza also is a favorite of film directors; it plays a role in about three dozen movies. Among them: "Barefoot in the Park," "The Great Gatsby," "King of New York," "The Way We Were," "North by Northwest," "Home Alone 2," "Funny Girl," "Crocodile Dundee," and, of course, the film version of playwright Neil Simon's 1969 Broadway paean to the hotel itself: "Plaza Suite."

But Suite 723, the trysting spot for the "Plaza Suite" lovers, likely will disappear in the renovations, as private rooms can't get landmark status.

No matter what changes the property undergoes, it still will be called the Plaza. Said Elad spokesman Steve Solomon, "Why would they change the most famous name in New York City?"

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

[lakegz]

^that is such a shame. Even though i probably would never afford a room at the Plaza, just its presence evoked fantasies of the classiest place in the country. It was neat walking by it and knowing full well it was the Plaza Hotel, where every rich socialite an foreign dignitary stayed in NY. It wont have that same allure being condofied.

[Lecom]

that should be like illegal to do

[TalB]

TalB,

Even though you've provided some info for the forum, some of the projects that you've posted above are not about tall office towers, as Jasonhouse pointed out to you earlier.
Daquan13, Brooklyn could build bigger like Manhattan, but there are number of zoning laws in several districts that prevent it, especially on surpassing the WSB, Brooklyn's tallest. This is why there are not a lot of buildings in that borrough that are over 30 stories. BTW, there is nothing wrong with lowrise construction as long as it's a private company paying for it. Nevertheless, here are some other projects going in throughout the city.

794-802 DeKalb Avenue
794-802 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn
4 stories
U/C

Rendering
http://www.corcoran.com/property/nd/photo/dekalb.jpg

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40762816.jpg

625 West 42nd Street
621-627 W 42nd St, Manhattan
478 ft and 46 stories
U/C

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40806921.jpg

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40806859.jpg

97 Broadway
97 Broadway, Brooklyn
50 ft and 5 stories
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40752586.jpg

The Meserole Grand
168-172 Meserole St, Brooklyn
52 ft and 4 stories
U/C

Rendering
http://loftfinders.com/images/East%20%20Williamsburg120_image1

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40753669.jpg

Union Lofts
395 S 2nd St, Brooklyn
45 ft and 4 stories
U/C (nearing completion)

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40756093.jpg

610 Union Avenue
610 Union Ave and 2-10 Bayard St, Brooklyn
70 ft and 5 stories
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40807668.jpg

230 Livingston Street
230 Livingston St, Brooklyn
25 stories
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40774761.jpg

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40774765.jpg

225 Schermerhorn Street
225 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn
14 stories
Proposed

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40774797.jpg

Hudson Blue
423 West St, Manhattan
10 stories
Approved?

Rendering
http://www.corcoran.com/property/nd/photo/hudson.jpg

Current site
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/165charles/165charles_pier45.jpg

[billyblancoNYCII]

Are you stealing stuff from Wired NY, TalB?

[Daquan13]

Tal, I think what Jasonhouse was trying to say is that maybe you should put Brooklyn's low-rise structures in a different thread.

And leave this one mainly for high-rise structures.

[Jasonhouse]

Two comments...


One... If TalB is hijacking someone else's pictures from any other website, please let me know. We aren't going to put up with that shit. As far as the data itself goes, I'm utterly certain that every forum winds up unwittingly "stealing" info from other ones as folks post stuff.


Two... TalB, if you are trying to piss off the staff to the point where we just get so sick of your antics that we ban you out of disgust, then you are doing a great job. This thread clearly had a structure to it until you fouled it up, and if you think we're going to allow you to continue to drive away NYC forumers with your antics, you are dead wrong...

[TalB]

Disregariding the insulting posts against me, I was at some building sites in Manhattan on Sunday just before going to a Knicks game, but since I don't have a digi-cam, I can't show any pics.

Friar's Bldg (near MSG):Either the hole is still being dug for for or the the rubble is being cleared.

Times Square Plaza:Foundation work is still being done for it.

The Helena:Much of its exterior is done, and the scaffolding is lowering as the interior is being worked on.

Trump Pl:The buildings on the far right and left hand sides are nearing completion.

NY CyberCenter:A crane just started appearing on the site at 55th St from the West Side Hwy

[Jasonhouse]

^It's not insulting, it's the reality you have made for yourself.

[Lecom]

625 West 42nd Street
621-627 W 42nd St, Manhattan
478 ft and 46 stories
U/C
Damn, awesome

[supastar]

There's a really beautiful condo tower (12-15 stories) going up at Smith and Atlantic called The Smith that I saw a rendering of in the Times a few weeks back but I can't find it on the web. I think an Israeli developer is building it. BTW, I've noticed that Cobble/Boerum Hills are totally getting Williamsburg'ed. In the past month they've opened a Brooklyn Industries, American Apparel and a Neighborhoodies within blocks of each other, near the new Court House condos.

[Crawford]

There's a really beautiful condo tower (12-15 stories) going up at Smith and Atlantic called The Smith that I saw a rendering of in the Times a few weeks back but I can't find it on the web. I think an Israeli developer is building it. BTW, I've noticed that Cobble/Boerum Hills are totally getting Williamsburg'ed. In the past month they've opened a Brooklyn Industries, American Apparel and a Neighborhoodies within blocks of each other, near the new Court House condos.

There are now actual Neighborhoodies boutiques? Brooklyn, the end is near! Guess it's off to the Boogie Down for hipsters.

[arbeiter]

Crawford, Smith-Atlantic intersection is in the tony Boerum Hill area, which has been too expensive for most hipsters for at least a few years...unless I'm not paying attention to the going rates correctly.

[Crawford]

Crawford, Smith-Atlantic intersection is in the tony Boerum Hill area, which has been too expensive for most hipsters for at least a few years...unless I'm not paying attention to the going rates correctly.

No, you're right. There might be a few deals near the Gowanus, but Smith Street is almost all yuppie now.

[TalB]

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/comm/42624.htm
CITI TO SELL, LEASE BACK L.I.C. TOWER
By LOIS WEISS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nypost.com/photos/comreal03162005039.jpg
LUXE LOOK:This is a first look at the Centria, the 34-story, luxury residential condominium to be developed at 16 W. 48th St. by Jules Demchick's J.D. Carlisle.
Photo: Perkins Eastman Architects

March 16, 2005 -- CITIBANK is shopping its 1.4 million-foot Long Island City skyscraper but intends to keep its offices there.
The building, known as Court Square One, opened in 1989 at a cost of $250 million. Its selling price will be a function of the length of the lease and cash flow to the investors.

Most "Class A" deals have been trading with a 5 percent return.

If Citi agrees to pay $20 a foot, it would value the building at $560 million or $400 a foot, but that's still nearly twice what some feel the building is worth in an otherwise tenantless Long Island City market.

A spokeswoman said the scheme for the sale and long-term leaseback of the 54-story tower at 25-01 Jackson Ave. follows its multi-year trend to re-allocate capital.

According to Real Estate Finance & Development, Citibank is pitching Court Square One through an in-house investment banker, Doug Sisler.

Tishman-Speyer is currently developing a 475,000 foot first phase of Citibank's second project, Court Square Two, right across the street.

*

BMG Music Publishing staffers will be saying goodbye to Times Square and hello to Flatiron North on June 1.

The division is leaving the rest of the company at 1540 Broadway and re-locating to 12,746 feet on the 8th floor of 245 Fifth Avenue at 28th St.

Steve Eynon, Scott Gottlieb, and Michael R. Laginestra of CB Richard Ellis worked for BMG while Cushman & Wakefield's Matthew Astrachan, Robert Gallucci and Mitch Konsker repped the KBS Realty Advisors ownership.

*

Steve Hanson, who runs the Park Avalon restaurant at 225 Park Ave. South, had leased an additional space in the same building two years ago. He never figured out how he wanted to use it, so he recently returned the keys to the owner, Mort Silver, and his son, Tommy.

Now, restaurant architect Jeffrey Beers International, and partner, Rick Wahlstedt, are bringing in their successful Chicago concept, En Japonais, to take over the three-story spread.

It also has 4,300 feet on the lower level that could eventually become a club component. Beers was the designer for Ono and China Grill.

Leslie Siben of JDF Realty brought them to the building that was repped by C. Bradley Mendelson, now with Cushman & Wakefield. The 15-year deal went for a six-digit rent.

Investment companies continue their love fest with the Plaza District, especially if top execs can walk to work.

That's what drove the 10-year lease for 7,123 feet at 600 Madison Ave. for Gerschel & Co.

It has been sited at 720 Fifth Ave. and while a principal wanted to remain close to home, the 58th St. property added Central Park Views to the mix from the new pre-builts on the 16th floor.

Peter Simel and Benjamin Friedland of CB Richard Ellis worked the tenant side while David Falk and Peter Shimkin of Newmark & Co. acted for the Laurence Ruben Company ownership.

lweiss@nypost.com

[TalB]

A few other high-rises that I have just heard of lately.

519 West 42nd Street
519 W 42nd St, Manhattan
216 ft and 19 stories
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site (Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40878839.jpg

50 West 15th Street
45-60 W 15th St, Manhattan
105 ft and 10 stories
Proposed

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.kiddingaround.us/images/storeny.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

Supa: 10-12 floors, used to be Atlantic Court. By Africa-Israel and Boymelgreen, designed by Melzter/Mandl.

[TalB]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14168666&BRD=1864&PAG=461&dept_id=152800&rfi=6
Now That Wal-Mart Is Out Century 21 Is Likely Tenant

by Kim Brown, Central and Mid Queens Editor March 17, 2005

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire1860/zwire/images/20476_Y36.jpg
Vornado Realty Trust plans to develop the site at 62nd Dr. and Junction Blvd. in Rego Park. (photo by Michael O’Kane)

The Rego Park site that became the most well-known lot in Queens after Wal-Mart expressed interest, will likely be developed as two apartment buildings and a number of retail stores. Century 21 department store is expected to be the anchor tenant, according to the developer.

Representatives of Vornado Realty Trust—the company that owns the site at 63rd Road off Queens Boulevard—spoke publicly on Wednesday night for the first time since news about Wal-Mart made headlines citywide.

Vornado project manager Michael Berfield acknowledged that negotiations with the retail giant were off, but declined to say more about the subject or mention other possible tenants besides Century 21. Rather, Berfield discussed the proposed physical development on the Rego Park-Elmhurst border.

Although Vornado’s plans to construct an 18-story building, a 23-story building, a garage and a number of retail stores did not cause the same emotional reaction as Wal-Mart, many residents expressed concerns about the development’s impact on their community.

“The schools in this area, including the one we are in now, are extremely overcrowded,” said Audrey Dineen at the Community Board 5 meeting and public hearing, which was held at PS 206 in Rego Park. “Has anyone ever thought what’s going to happen if each family moves in with one school-age child?”

Berfield said the company completed the required study and found the schools will not be severely affected. “Based on the Environmental Impact Statement there is no significant impact,” he said.

Dineen disagreed. “There will be a very significant impact if each family has one child,” she said.

In addition to concerns about overcrowding in neighborhood schools, residents said they were worried about the effects the development would have on parking, traffic and existing businesses.

“The traffic and parking in this area are absolutely horrendous. Folks sit around for hours waiting for parking,” said Terry Lewis, who has been an Elmhurst resident for more than 24 years. “With another mall it’s going to be unbearable.”

Lewis said he approached Vornado about leasing a small portion of the site for a youth center, but was rebuffed. The center, he said, already has the backing of the City Council, State Senate and Assembly.

“There’s enough retail. There are stores, stores and more stores,” he said. “We don’t need any more stores when there are 20,000 young people in the community with no place to go.”

Vornado’s plans call for 650,000 square feet of retail space and 450,000 square feet of residential space. Approximately 450 apartments will be built above four levels of stores. A multilevel garage will have 1,400 parking spaces, 1,110 for shoppers and 300 for residents.

Philip Habib, an engineer hired by Vornado to mitigate traffic concerns, said there will be some changes to area roadways in order to alleviate congestion. The eastbound Long Island Expressway service road approaching Junction Boulevard would be widened to provide a right-turn lane. A new signal would be placed on the eastbound LIE service road at 97th Street. In addition, 62nd Drive would be widened by five feet to create a fifth lane.

Although rooftop gardens are part of the plans, they will only be open to residents. There will, however, be an enclosed pedestrian walkway between Junction Boulevard and 97th Street that will be open to the public. There will also be tree plantings and other improvements to the sidewalks that border the property.

The area bounded by Queens, Junction and Horace Harding Boulevards is within walking distance of the Queens Center Mall and Queens Place Mall. Because it is currently zoned only for residential use, Vornado is seeking a variance from the Board of Standard and Appeals to include retail space, which the company expects will be granted. The requested variance would also allow the developer to build fewer parking spaces than the number mandated by the city.

CB 5 will vote on the proposal at its April meeting, but ultimately, the decision about whether to allow developers to proceed will be left to the BSA.

Plans to build a Wal-Mart on the site fell through in late February after nearly three months of intense pressure from union leaders and politicians.

From the time that the negotiations were made public, Vornado Realty Trust—a Manhattan-based company that owns and manages office buildings, malls and hotels in several states as well as in Puerto Rico— has declined to discuss Wal-Mart with the press.

Those familiar with the negotiations say it is likely that Vornado, rather than Wal-Mart, buckled under community pressure. Some even speculated that when Vornado made the announcement, Wal-Mart had not yet been informed that the deal was off.

One of the reasons the site is so appealing is because of easy access to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Long Island Expressway and a number of bus and subway lines. “Clearly this is a site that is extremely visible and accessible,” said Stanton Eckstut, principal architect for the development. “It’s on the edge of a thriving community.”

But some residents say the development will destroy the very elements of the community that allow it to thrive.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Jim Galloway spoke for the Lefrak City Merchants Association, an organization that represents 72 “mom and pop” stores. “When the Queens Mall expanded, furniture, electronics and clothing stores went out of business,” he said. “We don’t want another devastation.”

[Daquan13]

Tal, Jasonhouse is going to get you.

[Lecom]

A few other high-rises that I have just heard of lately.

519 West 42nd Street
519 W 42nd St, Manhattan
216 ft and 19 stories
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site (Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/40878839.jpg
Awesome, right next to another tower. This site could've used a taller building though.

[TalB]

Here's an update shot of another skyscraper going up in midtown in the 30's area.

Tower 31
9 W 31st St, Manhattan
450 ft and 41 floors
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site (Done by Egineer from SSC)
http://img120.exs.cx/img120/6976/pics0056cy.jpg

[TalB]

This project isn't new, but it's still in the proposed stage.

Port Authority Bus Terminal Tower
SW corner of W 42nd St and 8th Ave (20 Times Sq), Manhattan
600 ft and 42 floors
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41088532.jpg

Current site
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPTS_TE/13602/image009.jpg

[Matty]

^ That's a pretty tower.

[TalB]

The number of Israeli companies in NYC just keeps on growing. ;)
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/
Eyal Ofer partner in Manhattan construction project

The buildings will contain 250-280 apartments. An apartment on the upper floors will cost tens of millions of dollars.

Ran Dagoni, Washington 23 Mar 05 17:25

Eyal Ofer and his partners have purchased the site of the Mayflower Hotel on Central Park West Street in New York for $401 million. The group will spend $400 million on building two residential high-rises. Analysts said the price was a new record, and more than double the going rate in Manhattan.

The plans stipulate that one of the high-rises will have 34 storeys, and the other nineteen. Another report says that both towers will have 39 storeys. The two bottom floors in both towers will be used for shops on four levels along the entire Broadway blockfront. The buildings are designed to contain 250-280 apartments, with average space of 195 sq.m. per apartment. Prices will vary from several million dollars on the lower floors to tens of millions of dollars on the upper floors.

The cost of buying the Mayflower Hotel was extremely high. Ofer and his partners will have to pay high taxes and compensation to four protected tenants with long-term leases in the hotel.

Furthermore, in order to obtain a permit to build more storeys than permitted in the area, the partners will have to build moderate-income housing on the corner of 102nd Street and Broadway, 40 blocks away from the Mayflower Hotel.

The project is located near Columbus Circle. It is part of the real estate boom created by the Time-Warner Center, one of New York’s main architectural attractions, located on the other side of the circle. Following the completion of the Time-Warner Center in 2004, real estate values in the area rose to “astronomical levels,” according to a “New York Post” report yesterday.

Brothers Arthur and Lie Zeckendorf, two of New York’s biggest real estate tycoons, are also partners in the project, together with Goldman Sachs-owned Whitehall Fund.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 23, 2005

[Pluto]

^ That's a pretty tower.

And LONG overdue. Port Authority is too underwhelming as is.

[TalB]

Another highrise is planned for LIC.
http://www.nydailynews.com/business/story/292477p-250402c.html
Condo craze building in Long Island City

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/597-building.JPG
Preliminary rendering by Scarano Architects of condominium project at 45-56 Pearson St. near Queens West waterfront.

By LORE CROGHAN
DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER

The heart of Long Island City is finally going condo.
In a move that could touch off a wave of apartment construction, a Brooklyn condo developer bought the first major building site sold since the 37-block Queens industrial area was rezoned in mid-2001.

The developer is one of a host of builders from hot residential enclaves like Williamsburg who are looking for a new frontier.

"I see a very good opportunity in Long Island City," Mark Junger of Rosma Development told the Daily News. "I think it's going to be a hot neighborhood."

He paid $16.5 million for the site at 45-56 Pearson St. - where he's going to construct a 20-story "Manhattan-style building," he said.

Until now, big residential projects have hugged the Queens West waterfront. The new condo tower will be further inland, off Jackson Avenue.

Junger's luxury tower will have fancy touches like a swimming pool with a retractable dome, a running track on one roof of the building, and a garden on another.

There will be 120 condos of varying sizes, from one-bedroom units to big penthouses. He plans to break ground by July, and spend the following year and a half building the project. The site now consists of a warehouse and parking lot.

It's too soon to set apartment prices, but Junger anticipates they'll run around $600 to $700 per square foot - comparable to condo rates in sought-after Williamsburg.

He expects to attract buyers who work in Manhattan - it's about a 15-minute subway ride to Grand Central Terminal.

Most of the 15 bidders for the development site wanted to build condos, and the rest were planning rental apartments, said Jeffrey Troy of Eastern Consolidated, the sale broker with colleagues Alan Miller and Louis Ricci.

Junger paid about $92 per buildable square foot for the site. As demand for sites in the nabe heats up, it will be hard to find land for less than $100 per buildable square foot, Eastern brokers predicted.

Still, that's not as high as Williamsburg land prices, which are approaching $150 per square foot.

Several Long Island City sites are now in play - Junger himself's going after one.

Originally published on March 23, 2005

[TalB]

This highrise in Brooklyn is being done by Dev-Boymelgreen Developers, who are also renovating the factory in Prospect Hts.

The Smith/Atlantic Court
295 Atlantic Ave and 75-91 Smith St, Brooklyn
140 ft and 13 stories
U/C

Rendering
http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=459

Current site (Derek2k3 of Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41186392.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41186382.jpg

[TalB]

The boom on W 42nd St just continues with more projects.

605 West 42nd Street
605 W 42nd/43rd Sts and 563-578 11th Ave, Manhattan
Rumoured to be at least 60 floors
Proposed

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site (Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41138810.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41139505.jpg

Javits Convention Center Hotel
600 W 42nd St, Manhattan
664 ft and 50 floors
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41199907.jpg

Current site (Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41199870.jpg

[Lecom]

...which means there will be no Riverplace 2 if the hotel is built. They both are proposed on the same site.

[Lecom]

This project isn't new, but it's still in the proposed stage.

Port Authority Bus Terminal Tower
SW corner of W 42nd St and 8th Ave (20 Times Sq), Manhattan
600 ft and 42 floors
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41088532.jpg

Current site
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPTS_TE/13602/image009.jpg
I hope it gets built, even though this one, if it's EVER going to happen, won't come anytime soon. The bus terminal really divides the 42nd Street into its Times Square part and the quiet residential part. Too bad the current transition, the massive terminal with ghetto hobos chilling nearby, sucks.

[TalB]

...which means there will be no Riverplace 2 if the hotel is built. They both are proposed on the same site.
Silverstein may have cancelled Riverplace 2 recently, and I heard that was it was put into the unbuilt catagorey on Wired NY.

[TalB]

http://www.tribecatrib.com/
'5B' Developer Seeks Local Support

http://www.tribecatrib.com/photos/news/mar05/5b-architect.jpg
http://www.tribecatrib.com/photos/news/jan05/colo1.jpg
http://www.tribecatrib.com/photos/news/jan05/color-b.jpg

by Carl Glassman

After some 15 years of opposing one project after another proposed for the city-owned lot known as Site 5B, Community Board 1 seems poised to give its blessing to a residential-retail complex that will put hundreds of apartments and two levels of retail shops across the street from P.S. 234

The board will not take an official position on the development, planned for the block bordered by Greenwich, Warren, West and Murray Streets, until an environmental impact study is issued and a city-mandated land-use review process is begun. But most members of the Tribeca Committee, which last month was given its first detailed presentation on the one million-square-foot project, seemed persuaded that this was the best development plan that they could expect.

"At the end of the day we found there was a design that was more in line with the context of the neighborhood and would lead to additional benefits to the community," said CB1 chairwoman Madelyn Wils who was involved in negotians with the developer, Minskoff Equities, Inc.

Minskoff proposes rental apartment buildings on Greenwich Street and Murray Street, condominium townhouses on Warren Street and a condominium tower on West Street. Two floors of retail would occupy the entire perimeter of the site.

Last September, the Bloomberg administration reached an agreement with City Councilman Alan Gerson on the placement and maximum height of buildings on the site, including a 70-foot-tall building across the street from P.S. 234. Seeking to raise that allowable height to nearly 135 feet, to make room for 48 more condominium townhouses, Minskoff representatives appeared before the CB1 committee to explain their revised plans.

They presented shadow studies in hopes of persuading the committee that the new design would not have a greater overall impact on P.S. 234. In fact, the studies showed less shadow cast over the school during morning hours. In the afternoon the school would be so eclipsed by the planned Goldman Sachs headquarters in Battery Park City and the Freedom Tower on the World Trade Center site that the impact from the Site 5B structures would be insignificant, said Minskoff CFO Benjamin McGrath.

The height of the condominium tower on West Street would also increase, from 370 feet in the earlier proposal to 382 feet. But what had been planned as a 200-foot-tall building at the corner of Murray and Greenwich Street would be reduced by half.

"They dealt with it in a very smart way," said board member George Olsen, former president of the P.S. 234 PTA who earlier had expressed grave concerns about the higher building looming over the school.

If the board accepts the revisions, Minskoff is expected to contribute more than $1 million towards the community center planned for a new residential tower across the street on Site 5C, on the west side of P.S. 234. A Whole Foods store at Greenwich and Warren Streets in the Minskoff complex also appears likely to be part of the deal.

In January, McGrath told the Trib that leasing to the grocery would be "less economically attractive" if the developer can not create the additional townhouses on Warren Street.

When pressed about that statement by a board member last month, McGrath sidestepped the question of a tradeoff for the food store but said a decision had to be made soon.

"[Whole Foods] said to us, 'We ain't waiting around for this deal,'" McGrath told the committee. "In other words, if we can't demonstrate that we can deliver to them within a certain time period then they'll pull the plug."

For years, the operator of the parking lot on Site 5B has paid the maintenance costs for nearby Washington Market Park-now $46,000 a month-in lieu of taxes. Once Minskoff takes over the site the developer will be required to continue supporting the upkeep of the park. But how much he will pay and other details of of the arrangement remain unclear.

Alex Adams, a vice-president for the city's Economic Development Corp., told the committee that the city "fully intends" to make sure the allocation to the park is met. "Exactly how we do it remains to be seen," he said. "It's one of those things that was simple in concept and difficult to actually execute."

The new Minskoff complex, together with the residential tower to go up next to P.S. 234 on Site 5C, will transform the landscape around P.S. 234. Minskoff's design, presented by its architect Chris Cooper of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, received mixed reviews by the committee, and several members requested a separate meeting on the design.

"The surface architecture on such an enormous site is so ordinary," said committee member Bruce Ehrmann. "It looks like a mediocre high-rise midtown street as opposed to our Downtown low-rise."

Eric Anderson, an architect on the community board, was more positive. But he, too, expressed reservations. "I think it's an attractive building but
it's got an institutional character to it. The building has the look of a modernist past period and maybe that's fine. But I think it's worth discussing."

Whatever misgivings the committee may have about the design, most members expressed support for the overall plan. That is a dramatic change from the battles that have ensued during the past 15 years over abandoned tower proposals by long-defunct Drexel Burnham Lambert, the Commodities and Mercantile Exchanges, and the Cotton, Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa exchanges.

In October 2002, Anna Switzer, then P.S. 234's principal, and local elected officials stood outside the school to protest a 600-foot-tall office tower proposed by Edward Minskoff himself. "Stop the Minskoff Tower: Save Tribeca and Save P.S. 234." read a big banner hung on the school's fence.

[ThreeHundred]

Ok..NYers..I have a question: I was looking through the New York skyscraper diagram and I noticed something called the Hudson Tower. It's (according to it's position) going to be taller than the Freedom Tower. Anyone have word about this?

[TalB]

This proposal probably isn't new to some, but those who haven't heard of it before will hear it now.

120 Willoughby Street
116-124 Willoughby St and 392-400 Albee Sq, Brooklyn
About 512 and between 33-48 floors
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231646.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231738.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231748.jpg

Current site (posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231292.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231301.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41231831.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

ThreeHundred: It's the tallest tower in the west side plan, someone mistakenly added it as proposed when it's actually a vision, and I'm sure the height is wrong. I changed the status.

[TalB]

Apparently LIC, Williamsburg, and Clinton have some more highrise developement going on.

Court Sqaure Two
Jackson Ave near Court Sq, LIC, Queens
14 floors
Proposed

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41374989.jpg

Current site
http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/queens/lic/queensplaza/citibank.jpg

Clinton Parkview Apartments
553-555 W 52nd St and 738-742 11th Ave, Manhattan
11 floors
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site (Posted by Derek2k3 of Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41393904.jpg

Kedem Winery Development Plan
Kent Ave, Brooklyn
Each around 20 floors
U/C

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41384391.jpg

Current site (Originially posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41384389.jpg

[TalB]

Another floor addition for NYC that is taking place in Manhattan.

WFIFTY8 at Columbus Circle
422-430 W 58th St, Manhattan
139 ft and 11 floors (6 floor addition)
U/C

Rendering
http://www.elliman.com/elliman_data/NewHomeDevelopment/nhd_home/53853a.jpg

Current site (Originally posted on Wired NY by Derek2k3)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41465220.jpg

[TalB]

http://www.qgazette.com/News/2003/1001/features/003.html
Luxury Condo Planned For Steinway Street
by linda j. wilson

http://www.qgazette.com/News/2003/1001/features/003p1_xlg.jpg
Artists rendering of proposed building on Steinway Street.

A 10-story mixed-use building with 108 one- and two-bedroom apartments and commercial and medical-professional space on the ground floor is set to rise on the site of the former Steinway Bus Company storage yard at the foot of Steinway Street, Gerald Caliendo testified at land use hearings in Borough Hall last Thursday. The street address of the property is 19-73 38th St., Long Island City.

The lot was at one time significantly larger, Caliendo said, but the owner had been forced to sell a portion of it several years ago, leaving a 60,000-square-foot parcel to be occupied by the proposed building. The smaller lot size is actually an advantage, Caliendo said. "In discussions with the Board of Standards and Appeals and the Department of City Planning, we concluded that the smaller lot size makes the building a much better fit in the context of the community."

The building, owned by TTW Realty, LLC, will have 72 one-bedroom apartments and 36 two-bedroom units ranging in size from 775 to 900 square feet. "It will constitute a significant addition to housing stock in the area," Caliendo pointed out. The building is planned to be a condominium and Caliendo said he expects its occupants to be among the many area residents who find the neighborhood conveniently located for an easy commute into Manhattan. A gymnasium for the use of building residents and a parking garage with 195 spaces, 18 more than the 177 required, are also planned.

The ground floor commercial space, amounting to 22,123 square feet, will not be occupied by a "big box" retailer, Caliendo stressed. Also 5,400 square feet of space are planned to be set aside for community use.

Because of the former use of the property, soil conditions will require piles to be driven for the building foundation, Caliendo said. While remediation is planned for the property, no date to begin has been set. Despite the environmental problems attendant on the former use of the property, Community Board 1 recommended approval of the project at its September meeting by 35 votes in favor.

Board 1 was less receptive to an application to extend a term of variance, which was also considered at the board’s September meeting. The application, by Caliendo on behalf of Constantine Plagakis, would allow an existing manufacturing building in a residential district at 35-31 31st St., Long Island City. Board 1 recommended disapproval of the application by 37 votes, with one abstention.

The building was constructed in 1980 and serves as storage and a showroom for restaurant refrigeration equipment, Caliendo said. He told Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz, Alexandra Rosa, chief of staff to Borough President Helen Marshall and Irving Poy, director of planning and development, that Plagakis has sometimes had disassembled equipment spread out on the street in front of the building. The owner several months ago pledged to discontinue this practice, and has done so, Caliendo said.

The city will lose tax income if the variance is not granted and the property is ultimately taken off city tax rolls, Caliendo pointed out. The problem, he said, lies in the fact that Community Board 1 is unwilling to recommend approval of the length of time requested for the variance.

Caliendo noted that Plagakis also owns and uses an adjoining building, which was built before 1961 and is therefore exempt from variance requirements. He also owns a vacant lot next to the buildings, which has sometimes been used for storage of the equipment he sells. This has become an issue with the neighborhood. Plagakis testified that he now sells only new air conditioning equipment and therefore no longer needs to do repairs, eliminating the need for equipment to be spread over the street or the lot.

Jamaica Hospital plans to build a new nursing home on 134th Street between 89th and 91st Avenues in Richmond Hill, representatives of the hospital testified. The new structure will replace the existing 204-bed facility with one accommodating 226 beds. The new nursing home will be built on property now a parking lot owned by the hospital. A special permit is required, as the property is located in a district incorporating both R4 and R6 general residential zoning. The new facility will be 121,000 square feet in area. The new nursing home exterior, in brick and stucco, has been designed to resemble a row of townhouses in order to conform to the styles of housing prevalent in the surrounding neighborhoods. It further fits into its environment because the area has not been inundated with community facilities.

The building interior features a four-story, U-shaped atrium—a configuration dictated by the requirements of the zoning, representatives of the hospital and the architect explained. There will be 80 beds in semi-private and private rooms on each floor and a 20-bed unit for patients who are dependent on ventilating devices. Privacy curtains will screen each bed and all rooms will be handicapped accessible under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Efforts are being made to create a more home-like atmosphere while still complying with standards set by the state.

Landscaping on the 134th Street side of the building will include landscaping to screen the building with vegetation. A wall eight feet high will be topped by a wrought iron fence. A parking facility will accommodate 990 staff, patient and visitor cars. The existing nursing home will be used to house administrative operations.

In other business, Eric Palatnick represented Joseph P. Morsellino in an application submitted by Joshua L. Muss, care of Allied enterprises for a special permit to allow a proposed drive-thru at a McDonald’s Restaurant at 160-11 Willets Point Blvd., Whitestone. Palatnick testified that the drive-thru had been disapproved in 1989, but that plans had been revised and now were considered to meet the requirements for such an addition to the facility.

Palatnik testified that fully half of the restaurant’s business is take-out and the drive-thru has been designed to accommodate this increase in volume, including allocating 13 parking spaces cars waiting to go through the drive-thru. Parking on nearby streets will not be affected, Palatnik testified. Guide rails will keep cars in their respective lanes for either the drive-thru or restaurant parking, a guard rail will be installed on the side of the establishment property facing Francis Lewis Boulevard and a handicapped ramp will be moved closer to the restaurant building.

Community Board 9 recommended approval of the application by 35 votes, but imposed conditions on its recommendation. Those conditions included repainting the stripes denoting parking spaces in the parking lot and installing speed bumps and security cameras. Poy requested a letter from the applicant agreeing to the conditions, and Palatnik said one would be forthcoming.

[Daquan13]

Ok..NYers..I have a question: I was looking through the New York skyscraper diagram and I noticed something called the Hudson Tower. It's (according to it's position) going to be taller than the Freedom Tower. Anyone have word about this?



I'm not a New Yorker, but I am a Bostonian.

And this is the first time that I heard of that. Can you post a pic of the tower here, please?

[TalB]

More news on site 5B
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_99/2ndtribeca.html
Volume 17, Number 45 | April 1 — 7, 2005

2nd Tribeca project may be louder than the first

By Ronda Kaysen

The construction plan for Site 5B, a 1.1 million sq. ft. residential project in Tribeca, sets the stage for more overcrowding at neighboring P.S. 234 and noise pollution that may affect the elementary school children once the construction gets underway.

Construction on the development — flanked by Warren, Murray, Greenwich and West Sts., directly across from the Warren St. school — is expected to begin in the fall, after developer Edward Minskoff completes the lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which should begin by the end of April.

Site 5B will include about 440 rental and condo apartments and 170,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including possibly a Whole Foods Market, as part of an agreement City Councilmember Alan Gerson signed with Dep. Mayor Dan Doctoroff last September.

The noisiest part of the construction — digging the foundation — would occur in the fall and the company will know in two months if pile driving, a notoriously loud digging process, will be necessary, Carlos Olivieri, S.V.P. for construction and development for Edward Minskoff Equities, said in a telephone interview.

If pile driving does occur, it will continue for three or four months of the seven-month-long foundation phase, Olivieri said. Pile driving, he added, is inescapably noisy.

Sandy Bridges, P.S. 234 principal, couldn’t agree more about the disruption pile driving would cause to her school. “Pile driving creates a significant amount of noise, which we are already experiencing from the Goldman Sachs building and World Trade Center 7 and they’re not even next to us and they’re annoying,” she said, referring to two nearby developments.

The bulk of the school’s windows face directly onto the site, which Bridges expects will compound the problem.

Nearby Site 5C, another development in the agreement that is currently in the excavation phase of its construction, has created less of a noise issue for the school, in part because it is located on a windowless side of the building and also because developer Jack Resnick & Sons agreed to forgo pile driving for variable frequency hammers that use vibration, a quieter alternative.

At a recent P.S. 234 P.T.A. meeting with Minskoff representatives, some parents suggested replacing the school’s windows with double-paned, soundproof glass, an alternative Olivieri said his company would consider.

Just who would pay for the windows and whether they could be approved by the Department of Education and adequately installed before construction begins (without further disrupting the students) remains to be seen.

Olivieri indicated that Minskoff Equities would consider footing the bill, although because the windows would mitigate Tribeca noise long after construction is complete, the cost might be the city’s responsibility.

Regardless of cost, Bridges is skeptical that any windows will abate the problem. “There are some noises that you cannot keep out no matter how the thick the glass is,” she said. “If there is somebody pounding a pile 40 feet from your building, you are going to hear it.”

She would rather see the developer find a way to avoid pile driving entirely, as the developers of Site 5C have done.

The city recently reached a favorable construction agreement with Resnick for Site 5C. In the agreement, Resnick agreed to meet requirements for city developments. All construction vehicles will use low sulfur fuel with vehicles retrofitted with exhaust filters to minimize air pollution in the area, and follow conditions that meet requirements proposed in new city legislation currently under consideration by City Council.

Gerson who helped broker the construction agreement with Resnick, expects to reach a similar construction agreement with Minskoff who is in a precarious position because Site 5B has yet to be approved by ULURP.

“I made it very clear that Minskoff would have to follow the same type of restrictions that Resnick agreed to,” Gerson said, noting that he would block the ULURP if the problem was not resolved favorably. “At the end of the day, I don’t think he’s going to have that much of a choice.”

Also, Community Board 1 has yet to approve a proposed height increase to the Warren St. building of the Site 5B development, although members of the board’s Tribeca Committee have indicated they will support the addition. C.B.1 has the power to veto the increase as part of last year’s agreement. If the increase is approved, one third of the additional revenue, between $1 million and $2 million, will go to a planned youth recreation center on the Resnick site.

Olivieri was unaware of the new legislation that Resnick’s development is following, but insisted his company would use low sulfur fuel on the equipment at the site and the staging area would be primarily on Murray and West Sts., a good distance from the school. Although during the construction of the West St. tower, the staging area may be on Warren St. if the New York State Department of Transportation does not sanction placing it on West St.

Once construction on Site 5B is complete, the problems associated with the new development will be far from over. The neighborhood will have an additional 438 units of housing from Site 5B alone. Coupled with about 260 residential units expected for Site 5C, Tribeca can expect a significant increase in its school-aged youngsters a full year before a 600-seat K-8 on the East Side opens its doors.

“It is terribly disingenuous to sanction the construction of these big residential units and not give any thought to where these kids in them are going to go to school,” said John Jiler, a P.S. 234 parent who attended last week’s P.T.A. meeting with Minskoff Equities.

A new P.S. 234 annex being built in conjunction with Resnick’s Site 5C project will open in time for the start of the 2007 school year and add space for 150 more students. However, the school is already 130 students above capacity this year.

“Conservatively, if you get 50 kids from each of these buildings — that’s conservatively — that’s 100 kids, that’s a whole grade and that’s the annex. And that’s not considering all the other projects going on,” Kevin Fisher, P.S. 234 president, said.

The School Leadership Team, a panel made up of P.S. 234 parents, teachers, the principal and P.T.A. chairperson, recommended on Tuesday to remove the school’s pre-K program next year to save room for the school’s art program. Referring to the decision as Hobsian, Fisher added, “Between two bad choices that was the less bad choice,” he said. If District 2 approves the decision, it would hopefully be temporary, and could be revisited again next year, added Fisher.

Site 5B is only one of many developments planned for the Downtown area — the city expects 13,000 new residential units for the C.B. 1 district in the next five years — and not the primary source of the overcrowding, Olivieri said.

“We are a pimple on the elephant’s tale in terms of the number of units that we are adding,” Olivieri said. There is little his company can do to abate P.S. 234 overcrowding or to deter potential residents from enrolling their children at the school, which has one of the best reputations in the city, he added.

The city sold Sites 5B and 5C to the residential developers, noted Bridges, and it is the city’s responsibility to address the issue of where the new children will go to school. “This requires the [school] region or the Dept. of Ed to recognize the crisis and to divert it before they destroy their wonderful gem Downtown,” she said. “They can’t just keep pouring kids into a school that doesn’t have the capacity to have them.”

Ronda@DowntownExpress.com

[TalB]

Unfortuantely, NIMBYs are still trying to prevent Site 5B from being built.
Volume 17, Number 45 | April 1 — 7, 2005

C.B. 1 should say no unless Minskoff offers more for Tribeca tower

Sometime within the next two months, developer Edward Minskoff and his consultants will formally present Community Board 1 with their plans to build 440 apartments and condos on the Warren St. parking lot site across from P.S. 234 — also called Site 5B in the now expired urban renewal zone.

Minskoff is looking to add about 50,000 square feet of bulk to the Tribeca project, making it 684,000 square feet. The tallest building at West and Warren Sts. would go up by 12 feet to 382 feet and the adjacent building on Warren St. would increase from 70 to 135 feet under the requested expansion. But C.B. 1 will have the chance to stop the expansion idea once and for all when its members see the plans soon. The board was granted the rare veto power under a September agreement between Councilmember Alan Gerson and Dep. Mayor Dan Doctoroff.

If Board 1 approves the change – and early indications are they will – Minskoff would be required to contribute one third of his added purchase costs, roughly $1 million to $2 million, to a proposed youth recreation center across the street from P.S. 234.

The one or $2 million should be the ante. If Minskoff wants to play this bigger development hand, then he should have to put more on the table. For starters, Minskoff wants to use excessively noisy pile drivers in his construction. On the rec center site across the street, Site 5C, developer Scott Resnick has agreed to use variable frequency hammers which are less jarring and noisy. Minskoff’s project, unlike Resnick’s, faces more P.S. 234 windows, and Minskoff should be doing more to mitigate noise, not less.

Parents have suggested installing better school windows to cut down on the noise, which sounds like a reasonable request. Other schools including St. John’s, P.S/I.S. 89, Stuyvesant High School, Borough of Manhattan Community College and P.S. 150 are all nearby and may also need assistance.

Minskoff is expected to take over at least some of the maintenance costs for Washington Market Park, but details have not been finalized. The Minskoff buildings are among the planned skyscrapers that will increase the shadows in the park, and the developer could also contribute capital money for future park improvements.

Although we want the residential growth of Lower Manhattan to continue, there is a danger of speeding residential development before there is enough school space for families. Plans for a P.S. 234 annex and a new K-8 school will benefit Minskoff and are a higher priority.

Minskoff and Resnick are not to blame because city administrations dawdled for decades and let the Washington Market urban renewal zone height restrictions expire, but it is worth pointing out that both developers are building higher than they agreed to several years ago. The city originally took these properties over on the theory that they would improve Lower Manhattan, but instead officials kept the lots vacant. Disrupting schools and overwhelming residents doesn’t sound much like urban renewal.

Ben McGrath, Minskoff’s C.F.O., told us in January – maybe in jest – that Minskoff perhaps would be willing to give the Downtown community as much as $10 million to build bigger. Minskoff quickly backed away from that number and the figure is now under $2 million. The dollars and concessions need to move a long way in the other direction before C.B. 1 should consider allowing this expansion to proceed. Until then board members should just say no.

[TalB]

Another planned highrise for Williamsburg.

The Aurora
30 Bayard St, Brooklyn
125 ft and 13 floors
Proposed/Appoved?

Rendering
http://www.thedevelopersgroup.com/images/building/bld_1032_1_dt.jpg

[TalB]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14303044&BRD=1863&PAG=461&dept_id=152656&rfi=6
21-Story Residential Tower Set To Open In Forest Hills

by Kim Brown, Central and Mid Queens Editor April 07, 2005

http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire1860/zwire/images/20613_T343.jpg
The Windsor in Forest Hills is scheduled to open in September. (photo by Michael O’Kane)

If there were any doubts about whether buyers would pay Manhattan prices to live in Forest Hills, the Windsor on Queens Boulevard has laid the questions to rest.

Although it won’t open until September, The Cord Meyer Development Corporation’s 21-story condominium off 71st Road is now more than 70 percent full and has a waiting list of 1,000 people, according to Jaqueline Urgo, of Marketing Directors Inc., the exclusive sales agent for the property.

“It’s beyond our expectations,” Urgo said, “It’s opened up the luxury market in Forest Hills.”

Prices at the Windsor begin at $510,000 for a one-bedroom, while three-bedrooms on higher floors can cost up to $1.5 million. Although the prices are almost double that of other area real estate, sales of the building’s 95 condominiums have been brisk.

Nowadays, most one-bedroom apartments in Forest Hills run from $150,000 to $250,000. Two bedrooms begin at around $300,000. According to Urgo, the Windsor has “raised the bar” for real estate in the area.

Other real estate brokers say that lately the market has been very hot, but the Windsor has drawn even more people to Forest Hills. Some of those who don’t buy there, end up looking at other properties in the area.

“We are getting a lot of people from the city,” said Jacques Ambron, the president of Madeleine Realty Ltd., which sells co-ops and condos in Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens. “It has had the effect of pushing up prices.”

The prohibitively expensive prices of Manhattan real estate is one reason more people are looking to buy in Forest Hills, according to Ambron. Although the prices are increasing throughout Queens, they are still far lower than in Manhattan and some of the choice Brooklyn neighborhoods, like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights.

Other people who are looking for good neighborhoods, not just apartments, don’t even consider buying in Manhattan. The relative calm of Forest Hills, its close proximity to the city and the good reputation of area elementary schools are drawing people who may have been thinking about living in the suburbs.

One of the factors contributing to the Windsor’s success, according to Urgo, is that there haven’t been any new, large-scale developments in Forest Hills for over a decade.

“We knew there was pent up demand,” she said. “But until we opened, we didn’t realize the depth of the demand.”

For some people the fact that the building is a condominium and does not require board approval like co-ops, makes the apartments appealing. They are easier to buy and sell. They also require less maintenance than a house.

Some of the amenities that make the Windsor a luxury property include a basement parking lot for residents, a health club, lounge, roof deck and a 24-hour concierge.

The limestone-colored tower was designed to have an Art Deco look. Floor-to-ceiling windows at the corners of the building were selected to give apartments the maximum light possible. From the upper floors the building boasts views of Manhattan’s skyline.

While some Community Board 6 members initially opposed the project because of the traffic and congestion on Queens Boulevard and Austin Street as well as the overcrowding in schools, the project was eventually approved by a vote of 26 to 2.

Before building the residential tower, Cord Meyer, which first built homes in Forest Hills more than a century ago, had considered building an 11-story retail complex at the location. The idea was reconsidered because of a lack of demand for commercial space in the area.

For Cord Meyer, the choice to build condominiums apparently turned out to be the right one. “I only wish I had a second building to offer,” Urgo said.

[TalB]

This article is about a project known as Hudson Blue, which is 10 floors
http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/February_2005/1107827527.php
February 2005
Luxe Designers Reflect

West Street project mirrors Meier's affection for glass facades

By Melissa Dehncke-McGill

Glass facades are mirroring global design trends in Manhattan, replacing cement and brick frames with conventional windows, providing apartments with more light and perhaps inadvertently giving an immediate answer to passers-by who might wonder, "What’s it like to live there?"

Following on the heels of the Richard Meier-designed Perry Street towers and The Related Companies’ Astor Place project, the newest reflective high-end condo development will be at 423 West Street, on the new Gold Coast of the West Village. The 23.5-foot-wide, 10-story tower, which is on its way to completion, sits between Perry and West 11th streets and has been dubbed Hudson Blue by developer Horizen Global.

Occupants of the project will look out of floor-to-ceiling windows at commanding views of the Hudson River from the second to the top floor. Since it’s just across from the Hudson River Park, there’s little chance those river views will be disturbed, according to the developer.

Dan Cobleigh, Horizen vice president of design and construction, said the building, on the former site of the Pit Stop, a local repair garage, will bring in a more updated aesthetic, in line with the nearby Meier towers, which have grabbed headlines for both design and prices.

The intent was to capture the greatest sweep of views available, and the heating and cooling system was installed for unobstructed sightlines. "Most sliver lots have one exposure, but because our property is 15 feet forward, we also have 15 feet of southern exposure," said Cobleigh.

Horizen chief executive Michael Yanko said the materials used will allow for larger vistas and help maintain privacy. "Different glass has been used to compensate for the sun and shade hitting the building, allowing a wider radius view from the inside, ensuring that nobody can see in," he said.

Yanko said Hudson Blue’s offering plan will be available by the beginning of February. The building’s sales and marketing agent, Corcoran’s Shlomi Rouveni, said there has already been plenty of buyer interest.

"We don’t even have a sign on the building and we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls," he said.

The relatively small project will include a half-dozen two-bedroom apartments as well as a pair of duplex apartments with three bedrooms each. Buyers will have their choice as to whether they want high-end finishes or raw space.

"As opposed to bigger buildings like Morton Square, this will be an exceptionally exclusive eight-unit condo, which will probably end up being four to five units total, since some people will buy more than one apartment for duplexes," said Yanko. "We are giving amenities such as a private chef in the cellar with a common kitchen making food for the weekend, and I’m actually subsidizing the chef for the first year as part of the attraction. You could not do this in a 200-unit building."

While the design has some trendy cachet, it doesn’t have the status-symbol clout of brand-name architecture. But Cobliegh said he’s not worried, and that he believes that people buy brand-name architects to impress their friends.

"Although we don’t have a world famous architect on our payroll, the buyers in our building are impressed with their own status, and believe ‘my own eyes can tell me it’s good.’"

Cobleigh acknowledged that there is a strong movement among the current population in the area to curb the new development that is bringing in a different aesthetic, at least for a while.

"The residents need time to digest it before they accept that this is the new direction," he said. "People want to be heard, and so much has been forced on them so quickly that they need time to recover."

However, curtain walls are here to stay, the architecturally trained Cobleigh said.

"In Europe it’s been around for 20 years," he said. "We are businessmen not altruists, but we believe in contributing to the advancement of design."

The Real Deal

[Lecom]

For those who don't know about the project Talb posted about, it's a small 10-story luxury condo tower sandwiched between two other buildings lust like half a block north of the Perry Towers on the Hudson River in Greenwich Village. Right now all they got there is the pit.

[Chad]

505 Greenwich Street
New York,NY10013

Overview

505 GREENWICH – CREATED WITHOUT COMPROMISE.

http://www.corcoran.com/property/nd/photo/505greenwich_lg.jpg

A burnished copper base with bead blasted stainless steel doors forms a pedestal for the striking curtain wall façade.

Crisp, cool, pre-cast concrete lends solidity and balance to the captivating walls of glass.

Extraordinary expanses of glass allow for the enjoyment of light and views.

The Lobby
The burnished and polished copper concierge desk interacts with the warm glow of the translucent glass package room.

A recessed seating niche is finished in Sapele Ribbon Stripe Mahogany and chocolate brown leather.

A burnished copper column echoes the building’s façade.

A geometric mix of textured Jerusalem limestone unites the lobby and courtyard.

A glass bridge floating above river rock provides a unique vantage point to enjoy the private courtyard.

A series of gentle broad steps lead through the private courtyard to the black bamboo.

[TalB]

Unfortunately, preperation for highrise construction will have it bad sides at times.
http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/298508p-255596c.html
Foundation cracks spark W'burg development rift

BY HUGH SON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/996-wburg.jpg
Larry Walczak stands atop his building, which has formed cracks from nearby construction, he claims.

Demolition work for a controversial Williamsburg condo high-rise has created cracks in a next-door building, residents have charged.

Residents at a North Seventh St. row house next to the site for a planned 222-foot-tall building at 144 North Eighth St. said the racket that caused the cracks happens several times a week.

"It's really intense; it knocked a picture off the wall and glasses off the table," said Larry Walczak, a freelancer who works from his apartment. "I refer to my place as the war zone."

Walczak showed a reporter several 4-foot-long cracks radiating from a wall in his apartment closest to the construction.

"I've lived in Los Angeles, and it reminds me of a little earthquake," said Sandra Cheng, who also claimed several new fissures appeared in her living room.

But developer Mendel Brach strongly denied his project - dubbed the Finger Building by area residents who say it resembles a raised middle finger - created the new cracks.

"There is no way that can happen," Brach told the Daily News. "We have our own engineers on site all day. If there was one crack in the surrounding property, I would have stopped work."

"Almost every day, inspectors from the Buildings Department, the MTA, every organization in the United States are there because people keep complaining," he added.

A Buildings Department agent found "cracks approximately 1/4-inch wide and other hairline cracks" in a December inspection of Walczak and Cheng's apartments, documents found.

But the cracks don't pose a serious threat to the building, Buildings spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said.

"If we felt that the damage was so severe that people shouldn't occupy it, we would vacate the apartments," Givner said.

Irate neighbors have demanded blueprints of the project, but the city hasn't received the latest building designs, Givner said.

In May, the City Council will vote on a rezoning plan that would block tall buildings such as the North Eighth St. project in low-rise parts of Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

In recent City Planning Commission presentations, the building has been cited as an example of out-of-scale development.

As for the noise, Brach said the worst was over now that several huge boulders buried in the site have been broken apart.

Originally published on April 11, 2005

[TalB]

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/298802p-255836c.html
Luxe glass tower planned for Prospect Heights

BY DEBORAH KOLBEN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

People in glass houses - are rich people.
At least in Prospect Heights, where famed architect Richard Meier is putting up a super deluxe 15-story glass tower.

"It will be the most luxurious building in Brooklyn," boasted Lisette Koe, a spokeswoman for Meier.

The sky-high prices expected for the abodes probably won't shock borough residents still reeling from news that a five-story Brooklyn Heights home hit the market last week for $20 million.

The 119-unit building at 17 Eastern Parkway should be completed by 2007.

Meier is best known for a pair of celebrity-studded glass towers he designed on Perry St. in the West Village.

Martha Stewart, Calvin Klein and Nicole Kidman all snagged places there.

Project officials wouldn't say how much apartments in the Prospect Heights building would sell for, but neighborhood real estate agents estimated around $1 million for a two bedroom.

Residents in the tower - just a stone's throw from Prospect Park - will be greeted by a 24-hour concierge and have their feet warmed by underfloor heating.

Not to mention the extra deep soaking tubs, remote control window shades and parking attendants.

"It will certainly have a ripple effect," said Steve Rutter, who manages the Park Slope Corcoran office. "Prices around there will increase, too."

Some residents fear the new building will stick out against the brick prewar buildings along Prospect Park.

"I hope it fits into the neighborhood," said Margaret Elwert, who helps organize the annual Prospect Heights house tour. "Maybe we'll add one of the apartments to our tour."

Originally published on April 12, 2005

[TalB]

Here are some updates on some Manhattan that have been forgotten for some time.

Gehry on the Hudson (InterActiveCorp) (Originally posted by Edward from Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/gehry_expedia_diller.jpg

Tower 31 (Originally posted by savethewtc on SSC)
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3220/24042005_0411Image0030.JPG

505 5th Ave (Originally posted by savethewtc on SSC)
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3220/24042005_0411Image0064.JPG

The Nicole (Originally posted by Derek2k3 on Wired NY and recently completed in 2004)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/41939905.jpg

[TalB]

Unfortunately NYC will be loosing some historic buildings for new highrises.

Studebaker Bldg (Recently demolished and will be replaced by a 25 story appartment)

Before demolition
http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/11/08/nyregion/studebaker.span.jpg

After demolition
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/1600broadway/studebaker_1600broadway.jpg
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/1600broadway/1600broadway_crowne_plaza.jpg

Mayfair Hotel (Demolition is begining and a new 39 story aparmtent will replace it.)

http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/mayflower/mayflower_pelli.jpg
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/mayflower/mayflower_columbus.jpg

[Daquan13]

It's such a shame that older historical buildings must be killed for newer ones!

[Lecom]

Not these two though. Buth had rich historical heritage yet have been made into some shitty buildings over time. CHeck out Emporis for more facts, I put some on there.

[doormanpoet]

My fathers side of the family built skyscrapers in Manhattan for 70 years since my great grandfather topped off the Empire State Building. Do they still add floors to existing buildings like they once did? Or is it all new construction?

[JACKinBeantown]

Not these two though. Buth had rich historical heritage yet have been made into some shitty buildings over time. CHeck out Emporis for more facts, I put some on there.
But that's what preservation societies are for. Too bad they couldn't help out the Studebaker Building. It could have been restored into a beautiful old building. I'm sure what's replacing it won't compare.

[Lecom]

True, but trust me, those two old buildings just weren't worth it. I saw them both and they just plain out sucked.

[TalB]

An ad about 200 Chambers St, which isn't being contructed.
From an ad in the April 17, 2005, New York Times Magazine:

The opportunity for unparalleled design, luxury and service is coming to TriBeCa. A new glass-and-steel, 30-story condominium is set to make its mark at 200 Chambers Street and will offer residents a lifestyle unlike anything previously offered in the much-coveted neighborhood. Focusing on the details that matter to discerning New Yorkers, the developer Jack Resnick & Sons Inc. is pushing the boundaries of what defines luxury living in New York City.

With 258 condominium units, 200 Chambers Street will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences ranging in size from 573 square feet to 2,300 square feet and priced from approximately $500,000 to approximately $3 million. The uncompromising interiors are appointed with sumptuous materials including Balastina lava stone countertops, birch cabinetry, chesnut wood flooring throughout and Crema Marfil mosaic-inlay flooring in the bathrooms.

Residents will bask in sun-flooded apartments with floor-to-ceiling, wall-of-glass windows offering unobstructed city and river views. Premium appliances including Sub Zero, Viking and Bosch will grace each residence, as will five-fixture marble master bathrooms and a washer and dryer unit in all tower residences. Ceiling heights of nine feet add to the feeling of spaciousness.

Upon entering the lobby of 200 Chambers Street, residents will be greeted by a 24-hour doorman and concierge. The elegant design is punctuated with a stunning marble floor that flows into a lusciously landscaped garden. Designed by the noted landscape architects Thomas Balsley Associates, this oasis is visible through a dramatic wall of glass.

A lap pool will be the centerpiece of the building's state-of-the-art health-and-fitness center. The resident amenity space will also include a lounge, a playroom, a conference center and a 5,000-square-foot terrace. An on-site garage will provide added convenience.

Contributing to the excitement of 200 Chambers Street is the world-class TriBeCa neighborhood that offers cosmopolitan dining, shopping and recreational attractions. The building location, steps from the waterfront and the esplanade along the Hudson River, offers residents fabulous parks, top-ranked public schools and a major transportation hub.

200 Chambers Street is a collaboration between renowned architects Lord Norman Foster, who was involved in the initial design, and Costas Kondylis, who has completed the vision. The sales-and-presentation center will be located at 25 Hudson Street.

Jack Resnick & Sons Inc. has been a premier owner, builder and manager of residential and commercial real estate in New York City since 1928.

The Marketing Directors are the marketing and exclusive sales agent. For more information, phone the sales office at 212/334-8383 or visit www.200chambersstreet.com.

[TalB]

This article is about a project at 1 York St, which will be given a 6 story addition to become 12 stories
Volume 17, Number 47 | April 15 — 21, 2005

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_102/bldg1.gif
Architect Enrique Norten’s design for a glass addition to One York St., just south of Canal

Glass tower addition draws some critics

By Ronda Kaysen

It's said that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. That doesn't mean their neighbors can't lob as many as they want. Neighbors of one glass residential conversion recently took a few shots at an Enrique Norten-designed condo building coming their way.

“It looks like L.A. landed in the area,” 260 West Broadway resident Paul Yeager told Community Board 1 members at a full board meeting this week. The 12-story conversion will occupy an entire block bounded by Laight and York Sts., directly south of Canal St – and cattycorner to Yeager’s building. “We just don’t think it’s in context with the area.”

“It looks out of place, as far as I’m concerned,” board member Joe Lerner said at the meeting. “I just don’t see it floating.”

Norten, the celebrity Mexican architect and one of the World Trade Center Memorial Competition jurors, has designed a glass-fronted building, inserted in the center of a pre-Civil War manufacturing building, with several floors of glass floating above the building’s original rooftop. The 150-ft. tall structure will include 6,000-sq. ft. of retail space and a 14,000-sq. ft. community center, most likely for the Chinese American Planning Council, which currently occupies the existing building. Although few resist a residential conversion, many are frustrated with the scale and bulk of the transformed building. The developer is applying for permits to allow for the residential conversion, enlargement of the building, the community facility and a parking garage.

“The architecture itself had mixed reviews [from committee members],” Tribeca Committee chairperson Albert Capsouto said in a telephone interview. His committee reviewed the project earlier this month and drafted a resolution in support of the four special permits requested by the developer. “If it were a little lower, I could deal with it a bit better.”

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Norten sees no problem with his modern structure. “The gentleman -- with all due respect -- can have his own opinion, but it is a very uneducated opinion,” he said of Yeager, the West Broadway resident.

Although C.B. 1 has requested the Department of City Planning rezone North Tribeca for residential use and cap height at 120 feet – 30 feet lower than One York St. -- as it now stands, the developer is free to build as tall as he pleases on the property, which is not a landmark. The project, however, is neither as tall nor as bulky as current standards allow. C.B. 1 recommended City Planning approve the permits.

The 122,000 sq. ft. project, known as One York St., embodies the challenge of designing a modern structure within an old building, developer Stanley Perelman said after the meeting. To simply mimic a 19th century structure would be inappropriate and outdated. “The real challenge would be to do a project that keeps the architectural vocabulary and speaks to the community,” he said.

Perelman, a ten-year Tribeca resident, intends to live in the 41-unit dwelling once it opens in early 2007. Work is expected to begin in July and take 18 months to complete. He insists construction will be restricted to weekdays and the 47-car garage planned for the building will be reserved for residents only. “We’ll try and be as a good a neighbor as we can,” he told the board.

Ronda@DowntownExpress.com

[TalB]

Here is a rendering of the new 1600 Broadway, which is replacing the Studebaker Bldg.

http://www.pbase.com/image/42375953.jpg

[Jularc]

Cooper Square Avalon Chrystie:

Facts:
Located in Cooper Square
708 Apartments
85,000 sf of Retail Space



http://www.pbase.com/image/42654958.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42654959.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42654673.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42654676.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42704943.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42704947.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42654683.jpg

Copyright ©1997-2005 Arquitectonica International Corporation

[Jularc]

Soon to be built where the old Museum is and also accompanied by a residential tower (Last Picture):

The Bronx Museum Of The Arts:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42653368.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42653369.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42653371.jpg

Copyright ©1997-2005 Arquitectonica International Corporation

[Jularc]

130 West 19th Street:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42039110.jpg

http://www.clarett.com/chelseahouse.html

Luxury Condominium Homes

130 West 19th Street is a 100,000 square foot luxury condominium located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Randy Gerner of GKV Architects, construction will begin in late spring 2005.

[Jularc]

Hudson Square
255 Hudson Street

http://www.pbase.com/image/42039311.jpg

http://www.255hudson.com/

Metropolitan Housing Partners is building an 11-story, 64-unit building, one block away from their sold-out 505 Greenwich St. project. Construction began in January and the glass-façade building is being designed by Handel Architects. The exclusive sales agent for the property is Corcoran.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

[Jularc]

325 Fifth Avenue:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42420891.jpg
http://www.325fifthavenue.com/

[Jularc]

Midtown Centria
16 West 48th Street:

http://www.perkinseastman.com/images/project_images/on_the_boards/centria.jpg
http://www.perkinseastman.com/

JD Carlisle Development Corp. will create the first luxury residential condominium in Rockefeller Center, the Post reported. The 34-story, 150-unit curtain wall building will be designed by Perkins Eastman Architects with interiors by Philip Koether. The Marketing Directors is the sales agent for the project.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

[Jularc]

Sutton 57:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42709203.jpg

http://sutton57condos.com/

At Sutton 57, you will enjoy services found in many of New York’s finest buildings with a level of privacy experienced in very few. A concierge stands ready 24 hours a day. A rooftop terrace and fully-equipped fitness center are at your disposal. Yet all this serves just 38 homes.

[Jularc]

Place 57:

http://www.ilarch.com/images/photos/57thStreet_BIG02.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42709044.jpg
http://www.ilarch.com/projects/proj...57thStreet.html

Designed by Ismael Leyva Architects, this luxury residential condominium for The Clarett Group will be located on 57th St. not far from the intersection of 3rd Ave. Including close to 135,000 square feet of gross residential area, the 36 floors of the new building will have 71 high-end units. The building is designed as a pure geometry of glass surfaces. In a dynamic combination of minimalist shapes, the main volume is takes advantage of the lower height of the adjacent building at the corner with the 3rd Ave. The result is a daring composition, generating a volume with diamond like facets. This allows various exposures permitting for better views in the apartments. An angled cantilever, following a diagonal direction projects out above the existing lower buildings, animating the West façade. The living spaces located in this cantilever offer panoramic views of the surroundings. The apartments located on the upper floors enjoy views of Central Park, the Midtown skyline and the East River. The building will become an outstanding feature of the East Side, favorably seen from both East 57th Street and 3rd Avenue.

[Jularc]

I don't see this one here...

140 West 42nd Street:

http://www.gruzensamton.com/images/project_zooms/140_WEST_42ND_STREET_RENDERING_DAY.jpg
http://www.gruzensamton.com/port_arch_housing.htm

This 142,000 square foot, 23-story office tower, currently in design, will be built adjacent to Times Square and will become an important addition to the current transformation of the Times Square district. The tower will be located between two landmarked buildings, the Knickerbocker Building to the west, and Bush Tower to the east and south. The merging of zoning lots with an adjacent parcel on 41st Street and the connection of the new tower with the Bush Tower will permit the sharing of new office space with Bush Tower office space by prospective tenants.

[Jularc]

Touro Women's College and residential condominium apartments:

http://www.gruzensamton.com/images/project_pops/Touro_225_West_60th_Street_Rendering_12_2004_Exterior_2_p.jpg

http://www.gruzensamton.com/images/project_pops/Touro_225_West_60th_Street_Rendering_12_2004_Exterior_1_p.jpg

http://www.gruzensamton.com/port_arch_housing.htm

Gruzen Samton was retained to design a mixed use building. The base contains a 40,000 gross square foot Touro Women's College is located in five levels between the cellar through third floors. The College includes a double height gym, library, cafeteria, 3 laboratories, 17 classrooms, administrative, faculty and student offices, and a terrace accessible from the second floor. Its liberal arts and sciences program will serve a student population of 425 students. The 115,000 gross square foot apartment building is located between the 4th and 19th floors. There is an exercise room and community room on the fourth floor with access to a common terrace. The 101 apartments include 18 studios, 59 one-bedroom units, and 24 two-bedroom units.

[Fabb]

By Dorn Townsend

Columbus Circle and the new Time Warner Center are more than a pricey mall and a slow moving intersection. More permanently than Christo's recent installation, they do double duty as unofficial urban gates -- pass them heading north and you're on the somewhat sedate Upper West Side. Pass them going south and you've waded into the cacophony of Midtown.

Since the Time Warner Center opened, the blocks to the west and north are poised for radical transformation. Development between Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center, which is itself slated for an upgrade, has given a previously unfocused neighborhood a community focal point and helped spark a residential apartment boom.

"You're going to blink and all those garages will be gone and condos will be there," said Abby Gellert, Halstead Property's director of sales for Manhattan's Westside. "The projects underway will change this neighborhood almost overnight."

Besides Donald Trump's seven towers on Riverside Drive, the neighborhood will soon be home to at least nine other condominium towers, ranging from 35 up to possibly 60 stories. Both the Empire and Mayflower hotels are being partially converted to condos.

Fordham University plans to more than double the size of its Lincoln Center campus, an expansion that would be financed partly by the sale or lease of two corner parcels on Amsterdam Avenue, which could become luxury housing.

Should the Fordham plan be realized, a high-rise quadrangle for 10,600 students would be created on the Columbus Avenue end of the superblock between 60th and 62nd streets, with seven new buildings around a 1.5-acre courtyard. This ensemble would be overlooked by two apartment towers, one of which could be as high as 60 stories.

Most of the other projects center around the intersection of West End Avenue and West 59th Street. In a change from the development pattern of many nearby condos, most of the soon-to-be-built towers will have bases featuring space for retail outlets and restaurants, helping to give the area some of the visual jolt and sidewalk life found in other Manhattan neighborhoods.

"This area used to be a bit of a slum," said Rose Marie Laster, a vice president at Corcoran. "Now there are new shops coming and the Whole Foods in the Time Warner Center has had a big impact."

These projects are becoming available just as demand for Upper West Side residences surges. According to Halstead Property's monthly property report for February 2005, the number of new listings on the West Side fell 24 percent from a year ago. The biggest squeeze came among units with two bedrooms or more, which led to higher prices. West Side condo prices averaged $1.29 million in 2004, up 27.2 percent from the previous year, according to Miller Samuel appraisers. West Side co-ops averaged $877,000, up 11.7 percent from the year before.

"The biggest story on the West Side is the lack of product. Nothing is going on the market," said Gregory Heym, chief economist for Halstead Property. "Our brokers say that right now the West Side is the hardest because there is nothing to sell."

Other brokers agreed.

"There's a real frenzy in this neighborhood," said Antonio G. del Rosario, an agent for Citi Habitats. "Apartments that used to be on the market for weeks are now selling in a couple days."

Rosario, who lived in a dorm room at the Julliard School in the 1990s, has seen the neighborhood behind the Time Warner Center and Lincoln Center change from a near slum to an appealing option. He attributes the popularity of the area to several factors: a spillover of young professionals unable to find apartments in Hell's Kitchen, improved public schools, and of course, the Time Warner Center.

"With its restaurants, bookstore, and fresh food market, Time Warner did a lot for this neighborhood. It's made living in the area a lot more convenient," said Rosario.

Due to robust demand and developers' desire to cash in on high prices, most new residential units will be condos rather than rentals, and will provide a much needed alternative to dealing with increasingly difficult coop boards in the area.

"Because of this incredible demand, one thing I'm noticing a lot is how much more demanding co-op boards have gotten in the last year," said Gellert. "With the embarrassment of riches of buyers, boards are getting so critical that we sometimes joke that people couldn't pass their own boards."

TRD

[Jularc]

The Chelsea Tower:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42710750.jpg

Facts:

34-story
228-unit luxury apartments
16,000 sf of retail space
parking garage

http://www.chelseatower.com

[Jularc]

Any chance of this happening?

33 Wall Street:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42711754.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42712126.jpg

http://www.clarett.com/images/AERIALsmall%7E1.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42711784.jpg

http://www.clarett.com/33wall/index.html

The Clarett Group acted as Development Consultant to the City and State of New York for the development of the New York Stock Exchange building and tower, a planned 1.8 million square foot project. Clarett oversaw the design development of the entire project with architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and marketed the office tower component to potential tenants and investors

[Fabb]

This project was abandonned four years ago, wasn't it ?

[Lecom]

Yea. September 11th fears killed it

[Fabb]

Or, at least, this is the official version.

[Jularc]

If it was really killed, why still have a website to promote it? it is sort of a mistery... I guess. :uhh:

[TalB]

Here's a project that will join a well-knonw hotel in Brooklyn.

Hotel St. George Addition
100 Henry St and 51-55 Clark St, Brooklyn
120 ft and 11 floors
U/C

Rendering
http://www.gmsllp.com/img/projects/Hotel%20St.%20George.jpg

Current site (Originally posted on Wired NY by Derek2k3)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42710441.jpg

[TalB]

Articles that talk about the Marriot Expansion and 325 5th Ave
http://newyork.construction.com/news/building/default.asp
Building News - April 2005

A Hotel Grows in Brooklyn

Just seven years after the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge became Brooklyn's first new hotel since 1934, a brightening tourist picture is fueling a $77 million, 190,000-sq.-ft. expansion. "We don't have the room base" to meet demand, said Mike Brenner, senior vice president at Muss Development, the hotel's New York-based owner, which is also developer and construction manager on the project.

Located at Renaissance Plaza in downtown Brooklyn, the 24-story addition designed by San Francisco-based SB Architects will increase the hotel's capacity from 376 to 656 rooms. A two-level pedestrian bridge will link the poured-in-place concrete structure to the existing building. Completion is scheduled for fall 2006.


Empire State Gets High-Rise Neighbor

Diagonally across from the Empire State Building, one of Manhattan's largest residential projects is underway on Fifth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets. Levine Builders of Douglaston in Queens has begun foundation work on 325 Fifth Avenue, a $95.5 million, 41-story tower.

Designed by Stephen B. Jacobs Group of Manhattan, the 390,000-sq.-ft., cast-in-place concrete building will have 250 apartments, 6,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and an underground parking garage. Completion is scheduled for late 2006, said Jeffrey Levine, president of Levine Builders. The project developer is a joint venture between a Levine affiliate, Douglaston Development, and New Jersey-based Continental Properties.

Levine has two other large Manhattan residential projects in progress, both designed by Jacobs Group. A $120 million, 320,000-sq.-ft. project at 555 West 23rd St., with 337 rental units, is scheduled for completion by mid-year. And a 54,000-sq.-ft., $13.3 million complex at 244 East 25th St. has topped out and is on track to open with 54 units in the third quarter of this year, Levine said.

[TalB]

This article is about a 12 story building for Spring St[/u]
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_51/upslookstodeliver.html
Volume 16 • Issue 49 | April 30 - May 6, 2004
U.P.S. looks to deliver Hudson lot to developer

By Lincoln Anderson

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_51/ups.jpg
[i]Downtown Express photo by Robert Stolarik
The U.P.S. parking lot at Spring and Washington Sts.

United Parcel Service’s slogan “What can Brown do for you?” is sounding attractive to developers reportedly eyeing the delivery company’s giant open-air parking lot in Hudson Sq.

According to real estate sources, U.P.S. is actively seeking developers for the roughly 85,000-sq.-ft. lot, bounded by Spring, Washington and West Sts. and on its north end by the St. John’s Building.

One of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that last September U.P.S. sent out requests for proposals to nine select developers for the site. The proposals have since been culled down to three and will now be whittled down to one.


Related Companies, Tishman and Savanna Partners are reportedly among companies that did not make the cut of three. The Brodsky Organization is reportedly one of the finalists.

The expected 450,000-sq.-ft. project would include condominium and rental apartments. There would also be an 80,000-sq.-ft. garage built by the developer for U.P.S., with loading docks for its trucks, on the corner of the site inside the new building.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_51/ups1.jpg
Rendering of architect Philip Johnson’s “Urban Glass House,” a 120-foot building proposed to be built at 328 Spring St. across the street from the U.P.S. lot.

“That site’s going to go for probably $100 million,” said the source, an executive with one of the developers that responded to the R.F.P. “It’s one of the last big sites on the waterfront. The strong condo market’s pushing this, but the Hudson River Park is helping.” A developer could be picked in three to four months, he said.

Since the site has manufacturing zoning (M2-4), a variance would be needed from the Board of Standards and Appeals to build condos. The developer would likely request a change in the site’s current floor-area ratio of 4, allowing a taller or bulkier building. However, the city has imposed a height limit of 14 or 15 stories on the area, so the building would likely not be taller than that.

“They’re going to seek a zoning change. When they go for rezoning, they go for new F.A.R.,” the source said. “I’m sure that’s going to be a lightning rod of [community] opposition.”

Last year, the south part of Hudson Sq. — south of Spring St., north of Canal St. and east of Washington St. — was rezoned to allow new residential construction. However, community residents and Councilmember Christine Quinn fought off the effort to rezone Hudson Sq. north of Spring St. to allow new residential projects.

Jackie Larson, a U.P.S. spokesperson, wouldn’t say if any deal is in the works.

“We still own the property. I just don’t have anything to tell you about right now,” she said.

The parking lot is across Washington St. from U.P.S.’s building, known as its Manhattan South Facility, which serves Lower Manhattan. U.P.S. purchased the parking lot in 1976. Not usually filled to capacity, it is used to park large tractor-trailers and some trucks.

Savanna Partners holds the lease for the south end of the U.P.S. building. Savanna subleased space to ImClone right before the insider-trading scandal involving Sam Waksal, ImClone’s executive, broke, but ImClone still hasn’t moved in.

Since the construction of the Hudson River Park’s Greenwich Village segment, high-end residential development has exploded along the waterfront. The last couple of years have seen two new 16-story luxury towers by architect Richard Meier at Perry and Charles Sts. with a third planned; Morton Square, a full-block, 14-story, 283-unit residential building at Morton St.; a project in the works by Related Companies at the Superior Ink factory site at Bethune St. and an exclusive sliver tower by Horizen under construction near the Meier towers.

The U.P.S. property is about seven blocks south of Morton Square. Just across Spring St. from the U.P.S. site, Nino Vendome has presented several variations on a plan to develop a luxury residential tower by renowned architect Philip Johnson; but so far the project hasn’t gotten off the ground.

Johnson’s latest plan for 328 Spring St., which Vendome released recently, is for a 120-foot building, described as an “Urban Glass House” to contrast with one of Johnson’s most famous designs, his Glass House in Connecticut. Johnson, 97, collaborated with his partner, architect Alan Ritchie, on the design, which would preserve the adjacent James Brown House, the historic home of the Ear Inn.

Zack Winestine, co-chairperson of the Greenwich Village Community Task Force, said it was the first he’d heard of the new project, but that an image of Morton Square, a new, 14-story, 281-unit, full-block residential development seven blocks to the north, immediately flashed into his mind.

The city’s Department of Sanitation District 1 garage is located across Spring St. from the site, and Winestine wondered if residents living in luxury apartments would really want to live above garbage trucks and a U.P.S. garage. In addition, he feared the garbage trucks would be forced to relocate, possibly to Gansevoort Peninsula, compounding the problem of getting city garbage trucks off the peninsula to allow it to be turned into part of the Hudson River Park.

“I’m really concerned about this,” said Winestine. “We just fought a battle to keep that general area open for light-manufacturing and office space. So this would seem to fly in the face of City Planning’s vision of the area. I think there’ll definitely be opposition, probably a good deal of it. People have to imagine a series of Morton Squares shoulder to shoulder ask, ‘Is this the Village waterfront we want?’ ”

Katy Bordonaro, co-chairperson of the Greenwich Village Community Task Force, recalled that several years ago, the U.P.S. parking lot was being considered as a new Sanitation facility for Community Board 2, as a way to get the garbage trucks off Gansevoort Peninsula.

“U.P.S. was opposed and then the plan died,” Bordonaro said.

However, the city now has plans to build a Sanitation garage somewhere south of the Javits Center, which may include a new District 2 Sanitation garage, and which will have a public park on top.

Kathy Dawkins, a Sanitation spokesperson, said the department is still interested in part of the site for an open-air parking lot for 12 garbage trucks from District 1 that cannot fit in the too-small District 1 garage and currently park on the street around the lot.

“We’re still interested in this property with U.P.S.,” Dawkins said. “We would like to lease a portion of it to handle off-street parking for our trucks. But we are waiting for U.P.S. to obtain a certificate of occupancy for that property before the city moves ahead with its lease for part of that lot.”

(A certificate of occupancy is the last step when building a new building; it certifies that the building is structurally sound and conforms to plans filed with the Department of Buildings.)

Dawkins said the city would only park garbage trucks from the District 1 garage, which serves Lower Manhattan’s Community Board 1, on the lot.

Lincoln@DowntownExpress.com

[TalB]

There is currently another highrise almost next to this one that is being constructed right now.

302 Spring Street
300-302 Spring St, Manhattan
11 floors
U/C

Rendering
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42710882.jpg

Current site (Originally posted by Edward from Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/300spring/300spring.jpg

[Lecom]

Some nice infill projects there, TalB.

[Jularc]

Yeah nice mid-rise building! I like it! :yes:

[TalB]

It's time again for another update on projects we already know throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

255 Hudson St (Originally posted by Edward on Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/255hudson/255hudson.jpg

Court House Towers I & II (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY and nearing completion)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42706793.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42706794.jpg

Feil Hall (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY and nearing completion)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42706795.jpg

117-119 Court St (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42706791.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42706792.jpg

The Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza Expansion (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42735702.jpg

Greenhouse Condos (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY and recently completed)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42798928.jpg

165 Charles St (Originally posted by Edward from Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/165charles/165charles.jpg

310 E 53rd St (Originally posted by macreator from Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=816

The Milan (Originally posted by macreator from Wired NY and is recently completed)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=817

200 Chambers St (Originally posted by Edward from Wired NY)
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/200chambers/200chambers.jpg

9-12 Barclay St (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42767516.jpg

[TalB]

This article talks about new hotels that are being constructed
April 2005

Shrinking Hotel supply fuels development plans

By Alison Gregor

As developers cash in on lucrative hotel-to-condo conversions, the number of hotel rooms in New York is shrinking, even as hotel occupancy in the city is likely to peak in 2005 after several slow years.

In order to make up for the shortfall, developers are looking to the rezoned Hudson Yards area as a location for new hotel construction, simply due to a lack of alternative development sites.

The slow leak of hotel rooms from Manhattan doesn't yet have hotel industry experts running around like Chicken Little, but they warn that there could be high-season shortages.

At the end of 2004, there were 62,000 hotel rooms in Manhattan, and about 70,000 in all of New York City. But in 2004, about 1,305 rooms were lost due to five hotel closures, while only 452 rooms were added due to the addition of four hotels, says John A. Fox, senior vice president at PKF Consulting, which specializes in hotels.

"While the loss of hotel rooms is not insignificant, it's not at the level where we've got a dire shortage," Fox says.

Fox's statistics don't include condo conversions, which would up the number considerably. Legendary hotels like the Pierre and Carlyle have been selling apartments for years, while The Plaza, Stanhope, St. Regis and Sheraton Russell hotels have become the latest adherents to the trend.

The old Windsor, Empire and Gramercy Park hotels are reportedly converting rooms to condominiums. The Inter-Continental Central Park South, Regent Wall Street, Barbizon and Olcott all are transforming multitudes of hotel rooms into apartments.

The Mayflower was torn down completely to make way for highrise luxury apartments. And there have been reports of a plethora of other hotel conversions, though at least one report was erroneous.

The Plaza Athenee has no plans to convert any of its hotel rooms, Fox says.

Yet Manhattan may not be completely devoid of new hotel sites. Some are promoting the Hudson Yards area on the island's far West Side.

Hotel industry experts say there's no question hotels will go up in the Hudson Yards area, but the unknown is when.

"That area is under-hoteled, in general," says Art Adler, managing director at commercial brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. "The question is when should hotels be developed over there. Should it be now? Or should it be when there's more commercial development over there?"

"Usually, hotels follow, not lead, commercial and tourism development," he says.

In the Hudson Yards area, a new hotel with about 1,500 rooms has been zoned as part of the expansion of the Javits Convention Center. If developed, it would be a destination in itself, much like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, Adler says.

But Fox says the Javits hotel was not a done deal and no developer had been selected.

"I don't think you're going to get somebody to come in and do that without some kind of incentives," he says.

Also in the Hudson Yards area, there is potential for construction of a hotel as part of the new Penn Station redevelopment, Adler says.

Currently under construction in Hudson Yards is a 188-room Holiday Inn Express at 29th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, which is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2006, says Monica Smith, corporate communications coordinator for InterContinental Hotels Group.

Rumored to be in the works are a Holiday Inn at 39th Street and Eighth Avenue and a Wingate Inn on 35th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Most industry experts feel that the Hudson Yards area might be appropriate for smaller discount hotels.

"If you're coming to New York, you want to stay on Eleventh Avenue?" asked Eric Anton, senior managing director at Eastern Consolidated Properties, a commercial investment banking firm. "Not really. Unless maybe you're driving in, and it's convenient. I could see a lot of smaller projects, like Motel 6's or Howard Johnson-type hotels" in Hudson Yards.

Adler agreed, predicting the development of a couple hotels to serve spillover from Times Square during high season, which is the fall, holidays and spring.

"A Holiday Inn, for example, that's priced well would do very well, because certain elements of demand aren't as price sensitive," he says. "You're not going to see luxury hotel development there.

Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal

[Jularc]

The Power House (Queens):

http://www.pbase.com/image/42994354.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42994331.jpg

http://www.kfarchitect.com/

The residential conversion and a 4 story roof addition
to an existing water front building on the East River
with 400 new residential units.

[Jularc]

40 Mercer Residences:

http://www.pbase.com/image/42999196.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42999187.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42999192.jpg

http://www.jeannouvel.com/

Under the design sinse 2000, the project, at the
intersections of Grant Avenue, Mercer Street, and Broadway,
consists of 41 luxury apartments, retail, and spa facilities.

[westcoastperspective]

The Power House (Queens):

http://www.pbase.com/image/42994354.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/42994331.jpg

http://www.kfarchitect.com/

I thought the developer dropped the plans for keeping the chimneys due to city opposition?

[Jularc]

^Yes! :uhh: My fault... Here is the story...


Four Relics From the Past Will Topple After All

By JEFF VANDAM
Published: April 24, 2005

The much-watched saga of the fate of four smokestacks atop a former power plant in Long Island City, Queens, has a resolution: they are coming down.

Despite a neighborhood campaign to preserve the smokestacks, they will make way for a developer's glass and aluminum tower, which will form a residential complex when combined with the 1909 power plant, the onetime Pennsylvania Railroad Power Station.

"We had no choice but to look for a different design," said Cheskel Schwimmer of CGS Builders, the developer. Mr. Schwimmer said he originally had hoped to incorporate the smokestacks into his design, constructing a glass cube between them. "But the city did not approve it," he said. "We had to look at other options."

In the neighborhood, where the smokestacks' plight has sparked debate for months, Mr. Schwimmer's opponents are not pleased.

"I think it's sad," said Paul Parkhill, co-director of the educational group Place in History, who participated in a postcard campaign seeking landmark status for the plant. "It sort of underscores the fact that the city doesn't do a good job of protecting industrial buildings, especially in the outer boroughs."

Nevertheless, some residents were not particularly disheartened.

"There are mixed feelings in the neighborhood between newer residents and people who are second or third generation here," said Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2. "The artists, the newer arrivals in the neighborhood, they tend to be the preservationists."

But any dispute has been silenced by the scaffolding covering each of the stacks. At last look, one was already halfway gone.


Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[westcoastperspective]

thats too bad- it definitely would have been a unique development- and saved a bit of industrial heritage.

[Fabb]

Reckson Takes Citibank Site for $470M
By Barbara Jarvie
Last updated: May 5, 2005 07:40am

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY-Reckson Associates Realty Corp. has inked a deal for the 1.4-million-sf tower at One Court Square here for $470 million, inclusive of transfer taxes and other transaction costs. The 50-story class A tower will remain occupied by its seller, Citibank NA, under a 15-year net lease.

"One Court Square’s attractive price per square foot offers the potential for material asset value appreciation as the surrounding market continues to develop,“ says Scott Rechler, Reckson's president and chief executive officer. “It is our intention to capitalize on this acquisition to pursue additional value-added opportunities in the Long Island City submarket." Tod Waterman, executive vice president and managing director of Reckson's New York City division, says the acquisition complements its 90-property, 17.7-million-sf portfolio.

Citibank plans to develop a 475,000-sf, $200-million office expansion adjacent to One Court Square. Reckson officials believe the Long Island City submarket will benefit from the strength of Midtown Manhattan's class A office market, the continuing trend of regional decentralization in the New York Tri-State area and the significant infrastructure and zoning upgrades planned for the area.

In 2001, the New York City Department of City Planning identified central Long Island City as a growth area with significant potential for office, retail and residential development and the city council adopted the initiative to rezone 37 centrally located blocks in the area. The zoning was expected to facilitate commercial development at increased densities as well as allow new residences to mix with commercial and light industrial businesses.

In another large Long Island City transaction, New York Blood Center inked a long-term lease for 76,000 sf at 45-01 Vernon Blvd., John Maltz, president. and Gary R. Blum, director of conversion development at Greiner-Maltz, the brokers who represented the ownership of NYBC, say the deal will not only bring jobs to the neighborhood, but validates the area as a prime commercial destination at a time when most properties are looked upon solely for their residential conversion value. NYBC first inspected the property in the summer of 2004 through their exclusive broker, CB Richard Ellis. Negotiations continued through to mid-April, due in part to the detailed requirements of NYBC.

Gayle Baron, president of the Long Island City Business Development Corp., says the deals confirm Long Island City’s desirability as a commercial marketplace, both short and long term. “Moreover as the job base grows, and support services increase, LIC’s potential as the city’s fourth great business hub will be realized. Currently commercial properties are well priced given the vitality of the area, including residential development, strong building stock, proximity to Midtown and mass transit assets.”

Reckson expects to generate an initial unleveraged cash flow yield of approximately 6.5% and a GAAP NOI yield of approximately 6.8% on the total anticipated investment, while the net lease is in effect. The Citibank lease contains partial cancellation options effective during years six and seven for up to 20% of the leased space and in years nine and 10 for up to an additional 20% of the leased space, subject to notice and penalty. Closing is expected sometime this month. To facilitate the transaction, Reckson has obtained a $470-million unsecured bridge loan facility.

[TalB]

http://www.bronxmall.com/norwoodnews/past/032405/news/N50324page5.html
Concourse Building Demolished
10-Story Structure to Replace It

By HEATHER HADDON

http://www.bronxmall.com/norwoodnews/past/032405/news/qgrace.jpg

In the first major housing complex built on the Grand Concourse in decades, a 10-story building will rise where a former school was knocked down at Bedford Park Boulevard.

The squat building, most recently owned by Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, was half demolished as of early last week. Yoel Movtady, a Long Island marketing executive, purchased the site for $625,000 last fall.

The new development will house roughly 50 units of middle-income housing, predominantly two- and three-bedroom apartments with a few one-bedrooms. The first floor will include some commercial space, which Movtady hopes to rent to doctors or other professionals. A parking lot is permitted for the basement.

The building is still in the planning phases, and Movtady hasn’t yet devised a timeline for the construction. Build Tech Architects, who have designed many Bronx projects, are drawing up the building’s blueprint. They also designed an 8-story building slated to rise at Perry Avenue and East Gun Hill Road.

The complex is Movtady’s first real estate development. “I saw that this is an area that could be developed,” said Movtady, who came across the site about a year ago. “The building wasn’t being used … and there should be something built here. We want to bring new housing for families to the area.”

The structure was formerly home to the Bedford Park Academy, a private school, until Grace Lutheran bought it in 1981. The space hadn’t been actively used recently, with the school’s main site located around the corner on Valentine Avenue. Rev. James Gajadhar, Grace Lutheran’s pastor, did not return calls for comment.

The entire Grand Concourse, which was planned with a consistent architectural style, hasn’t seen a major new housing development in some 30 years, according to John Reilly, executive director of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation. “It’s a big change,” said Reilly, a lifelong Bronx resident. “There have been renovations and conversions, but I can’t think of any new [housing] construction.”

Given the site’s prominent location, Reilly hopes that the new building will be both attractive and affordable. He didn’t think a 10-story structure would necessarily tower over the surrounding apartments, which are mostly six and seven stories, due to newer construction trends toward shorter stories.

Movtady is toying with the idea of making the building into condominiums. “We are leaning toward ownership …. but we are still searching to see if there is a market,” he said.

Community District 7 as a whole has seen a spate of three-family homes constructed recently, reversing the long-standing trend toward rental apartments. “There has been a demand for private homes, so I guess there could be one [for condominiums] too,” Reilly said.

Movtady hopes so. “If this project is a success, we will try to develop more sites in the area,” he said.

[Lecom]

According to Emporis aka according to me aka according to the little paper thing that convoinces me to enroll in their university (yeah right), Fordham University Lincoln Center campus, plans to expand its complex by adding 1.5 million square feet of academic, student activities and residence hall space, expected to cost about 1 billion dollars.

[TalB]

Some more projects including a special one in Queens.

United Nations Federal Credit Union Building
43-35 24th St, LIC, Queens
241 ft and 16 stories
U/C

Rendering
No rendering available

Current site
http://www.queenswest.com/neighborhood/pictures/kyles_corner/20050406_kyle_16.jpg

70 Washington Street
27-37 York St and 66-76 Front St, Brooklyn
156 ft and 15 floors (2 floor addition)
U/C

Rendering
http://www.dumbo-newyork.com/images/70_washington.jpg

Current site (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/43025333.jpg

The Nexus
84 Front St, Brooklyn
120 ft and 11 stories
U/C

Rendering
http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=258

Current site (Originally posted by Derek2k3 from Wired NY)
http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42811269.jpg

[TalB]

http://thevillager.com/villager_105/charlesstdevelopersaya.html
Volume 74, Number 52 | May 04 - 10 , 2005
Charles St. developer says he won’t go for the max

By Lincoln Anderson

http://thevillager.com/villager_105/303.gif
The warehouse at 303 W. 10th St. is slated to become a 17-story condo complex

West Village antidevelopment watchdogs are keeping anxious watch on two building sites — one of which is being dubbed a potential “neutron bomb” that if developed with a huge tower, could explode the neighborhood’s historic fabric.

The two sites are the Perry Garage, just east of the middle tower of the three new Richard Meier-designed towers on the waterfront, and, a few blocks to the south, the Whitehall Storage warehouse, midblock between West and Washington Sts. between Charles and 10th Sts.

Parkers at the Perry Garage were recently notified it would close in two months, then the closing date was pushed up to last Saturday, when the garage was emptied of cars. The owners of the seven-story building, reportedly a former horse stable, are Richard Born and Ira Drukier — who developed the first two Meier condo towers — along with other investors.

Meanwhile, the four-story Whitehall warehouse was purchased a year ago by the Witkoff Group and Lehman Brothers. The team of Witkoff and Cipriani was recently designated the development team for Pier 57 at 15th St. in the Hudson River Park.

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said both sites are on the society’s watch list, which they monitor for any development activity. The warehouse could be a “neutron bomb” if developed to the full 32 stories, he warned.

“It’s a huge site,” agreed Zack Winestine, co-chairperson of the Greenwich Village Community Task Force. “Everywhere you look there’s a soft site that could blow up into development.”

However, Born said nothing’s final on the garage’s future.

“We have no definitive plans to do anything there,” he said. “We’ve been contemplating closing the garage for development and the reason it’s closed is because the elevator broke.”

Born said the building, which they bought five years ago, is basically built to its maximum allowable floor-to-area ratio. The site’s zoning allows residential use as of right, he noted.

However, a local real estate source reports that air rights from the adjacent three-story townhouse at 164 Perry St. were recently sold, raising the likelihood Born and Drukier are planning to add floors above the garage.

Berman noted that the building’s facade has few windows, so there’s a concern adding new windows might not be done in a historically sensitive way.

Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, head of the Witkoff Group, said he’s very aware of the community’s feelings about overdevelopment and will purposefully not build a tall tower at the Whitehall warehouse site, which allows residential use as of right.

“We are very familiar with the community,” said Witkoff, noting that “the first thing they did” after buying the building was, nine months ago, to meet with a group representing the community, including Berman. “We said we had no intention of building that site anywhere close to the maximum height that would be allowable,” he said, “that we want to come in here and have people say, ‘Here’s a developer that is doing something contextual.’ ”

If the warehouse were demolished and a new tower constructed on a smaller footprint, it could be up to 32 stories, Witkoff confirmed. But they plan to keep the existing building as a base and add on top of it to a height of 17 stories with a number of setbacks, with most of the design set back from the river, and with an interior courtyard. The building will be from 250,000 to 290,000 sq. ft.

They hired Rick Cook from Cook & Fox as the project’s architect, who Witkoff said is “contextually sensitive.” If the old warehouse can’t support the new structure, they would demolish it and construct something just like it, Witkoff said. It will be an energy-efficient green building, as well, he noted. They will be using the preservation firm Higgins & Quasebarth as historical consultants on making the building contextual with the historic neighborhood.

Witkoff said they’re sensitive to trying not to have the building throw large shadows onto the neighborhood or impede views.

“Most developers would want to build to 32 floors,” he said. “And we knew that we couldn’t build to 32 stories without creating a firestorm.”

Witkoff said Cook “photographed every building in the neighborhood” to understand the local architecture and has even found design inspiration in the “breather towers” for the Holland Tunnel in the Hudson River.

Witkoff owns the Woolworth Building and is converting its tower to residential units. He has converted 10 Hanover Sq. to rental units and is converting the Regency Hotel at 55 Wall St. to condos.

He added he knows Gansevoort preservation activists Jo Hamilton and Florent Morellet from when he was being asked to possibly be involved in the effort to relocate the Flower Market to the Meat Market. And he says he personally spent “300 hours” in community meetings during the Pier 57 bid process.

“A year ago we tried to put forth something before there was any pressure for rezoning [the Far West Village], because that’s the way we operate,” Witkoff noted of the Whitehall site. “We’re going to be a developer that listens very, very carefully.”

Berman said Witkoff had not spoken to him yet about the size and actual design of the building.

[Jularc]

I guess it has change:

440 West 42nd Street:

http://www.pbase.com/image/37698122.jpg
Copyright @ 2004 Twining Properties

http://www.twiningproperties.com/properties/current_projects/new_york_city/:v_get/3865/overview/_res/id=sa_Image

http://www.pbase.com/image/43195260.jpg

http://www.twiningproperties.com/hc_images/a-ne-iso.jpg


Twining Properties is pleased to announce 440 West 42nd Street, a 65-story high rise residential tower with over 800 luxury apartments in Midtown Manhattan. 440 West 42nd Street will be developed by a joint venture between Twining Properties, The Related Companies and Macfarlane Partners. The project will occupy an entire city block and will include two retail levels, theatres and health club above underground parking, and rental apartments and condominiums with dramatic views of the Hudson River and Times Square. Construction will commence in the first quarter of 2006. (12/20/04)

Copyright © 2005 Twining Properties

[TalB]

This article talks about 1 Kenmare Sq, which is 11 floors and was recently completed
One Kenmare Square: There Is No There There

By SAM KNIGHT
Published: May 8, 2005

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/05/08/nyregion/08kenm_184.jpg
Frances Roberts for The New York Times

In search of Kenmare-ness near Spring Street.

One Kenmare Square is the latest address in SoHo.

For the last few months, in distinct, white letters, it has adorned the billboard of the new André Balazs apartment building taking shape just south of Spring Street. The only problem, if there is one, is that there is no Kenmare Square.

That's not to say that the address has been plucked from thin air. The new building, which is dark and shiny with an undulating front, overlooks the A-shaped intersection of Cleveland Place and Kenmare and Lafayette Streets.

"It felt more like a square than anything else," said Keith Bashaw, a spokesman for Mr. Balazs, on the thinking behind the address.

In bygone days the intersection was indeed known as Kenmare Square, although in 1987 the 0.03 acre of creased concrete in the middle was named Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino Park, in honor of the city's first Italian-American police lieutenant. Nevertheless, the building stands squarely on the lot at 210 Lafayette Street. And an informal poll of local business owners one recent morning drew mixed reactions about the new, glamorous address.

Carlos Thom, the manager of Lafayette Color Lab at 216 Lafayette Street (a possible candidate for No. 2 Kenmare Square, should the name catch on), was gracious about both his new neighbors and their title. "Actually, I like it," he said. "With the park right there, it has a lot of meaning to it."

Understandably, reaction was rather less receptive on Kenmare Street, where some business owners suggested that the new building was helping itself, uninvited, to a liberal dose of Kenmare-ness. "Everybody looks at it and says, 'How on earth did he get Kenmare Square?' " said Sydelle Phillips, the owner of Allstate Glass, a shop that has been happy with its address, 85 Kenmare Street, since 1923.

Hagay Nagar, the manager of Hoomoos Asli, a restaurant opposite the new building, was more emphatic. "He can't, he's on Lafayette," said Mr. Nagar, gesturing across the square. "I don't how he got this. Oh, my God!"

But Mr. Nagar took solace in his own address, 100 Kenmare Street: "One hundred is a strong number, you know. One hundred sounds perfect."

[TalB]

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/308001p-263545c.html
New bldg. counts on feng shui

DUMBO tower in spirit

BY DEBORAH KOLBEN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/3-bklyntower.JPG
Developers for the Beacon Tower, seen here in an artist's rendering, are turning to feng shui guru Benjamin Huntington to provide the building with 'good energy' for its inhabitants.

The bedrooms must be far from the front door to make residents feel protected. The doors must open freely so inhabitants can easily move ahead in their lives.

Sounds like advice from a guru, right?

Well, it is - and developers of a luxury tower rising in DUMBO have turned to the ancient Chinese tradition of feng shui to fill the high-end apartments with "good energy."

Of course, those who live in the 23-story tower might have trouble finding inner peace because it's going up just feet from the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Feng shui or not, some Brooklynites say they can't imagine finding peace living so close to traffic.

"We're window people," said Brooklyn Heights resident Paul Taylor, 39, who was walking with his wife past the construction site at 85 Adams St. "We like to open up the window and hear the birds."

A construction crew demolished an old neighborhood watering hole with tinted windows and Frank Sinatra memorabilia and is now laying the foundation for the new tower.

Beacon Tower is scheduled for completion next year. It will have valet parking, a 24-hour doorman and a landscaped roof garden.

Even though it's just a hole in the ground, buyers have already snatched up 30 of the 79 units. Prices range from $630,000 for a one-bedroom to $2.4 million for a penthouse with a sprawling terrace.

Popular in interior decorating circles, feng shui promises health, money and even love based on the placement of a couch or wall.

"We want to make this building as friendly and comfortable and tranquil as we can," said feng shui guru Benjamin Huntington, who was hired by the Beacon Tower developers.

He advised the use of stone kitchen countertops for "a sense of grounding ... to represent the Earth."

"Make sure all the doors open freely," Huntington said. "If you struggle to open doors in your home, you will struggle to open doors in your life."

But it will take more than ancient philosophy to keep trains and trucks from rattling residents nerves.

Because sound levels at the site spiked higher than double the accepted city level, the developers are putting in special sound-absorbing 10-inch-thick acoustic windows.

"Regular windows would be no good," said Corcoran broker Justin Whitney. "You would hear the train and traffic, but with these you hear nothing."

Not everybody could appreciate the beauty of feng shui living. DSL deliveryman Ira Kaplan had only one concern about the new building:

"We have enough traffic down here to begin with. How are we going to make deliveries?"

Originally published on May 10, 2005

[BANKofMANHATTAN]

what is that top chunk doing on the newer render of 440 West 42nd Street?

it looks a bit out of place. :hmmm:

[westcoastperspective]

Signage mabye i.e. 4 Times Square?

[Jularc]

what is that top chunk doing on the newer render of 440 West 42nd Street?

it looks a bit out of place. :hmmm:

I dont know but I wouldnt be surpice if it is a mansion box... You know like the ones on the new residential Calatrava Tower will have on South Street.