[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Antares41

Elegant design! hope the community board recommends this beauty.

They probably won't...

Members of the community board indicated they wanted any income from the sale of air rights to the project to be used for projects in Lower Manhattan, indicating that they were concerned about schools, a new pedestrian bridge over West Street, and the area's need for more cultural institutions and affordable housing.

Philip Gesue, director of development and acquisitions for Time Equities, told the meeting that it was considering giving a local school 159 laptop computers with four-year maintenance contracts, to help address the area's school needs. Mr. Gesue said that a bridge from Battery Park City over West Street to his company's site would be difficult to accommodate because of the small size of the site. Julie Menin, chair of the community board, said that board needed more time to study what amenities it might seek from the development and scheduled another meeting for June 18, the day before it must make recommendations for the project's Uniform Land Use Review (ULURP) applications.

But it may not matter...

However, Menin (the chair of C.B. 1) isn’t sure just yet what that voice will say. No matter what the community board says, there will be a significant development at 50 West St. Under the area’s commercial zoning, Time Equities can build a 30 to 40 story building on the site’s current footprint. The company has already submitted preliminary applications for the demolition of the 1912 “copper top” 13-story building that currently occupies the space, just north of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The development will contain hotel rooms, luxury condominium units and ground floor retail, all to be designed by well-known architect Helmut Jahn.

If the developer’s ULURP application is approved, the building could gain an additional 180,000 square feet of space, putting it at 63 stories under the current plans. The ULURP would also clear the way for a public plaza on the site, with landscaping and outdoor seating for a proposed café and restaurant. The plaza would be created by enlarging the narrow Ward St. walkway near the garage that leads from West to Washington Sts.