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Old Posted Jul 28, 2011, 6:35 PM
John Q. Public John Q. Public is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 50
According to Steve Cuozzo in the NY Post, it's going to become a busier block than it already is:

The W. 50s are ready to rumble
By STEVE COUZZO
Last Updated: 11:34 PM, July 25, 2011
Posted: 11:19 PM, July 25, 2011
TWO sets of Buildings Dept. approvals issued yesterday paved the way for full-bore work on two big projects on the block bounded by Broadway and Eighth Avenue and West 54th and 55th Streets -- soon to be Manhattan's noisiest construction site except for the World Trade Center.

At 250 W. 55th St., Boston Properties' 900,000 square-foot office tower is set to rise after a two-year hiatus. The DOB approved plans for a "heavy-duty," 712-foot-long sidewalk shed to wrap the L-shaped site on three sides.

Law firm Morrison Foerster recently signed on for 200,000 square feet, reviving the project that Boston froze at the foundation two years ago.

Also yesterday, the DOB green-lighted plans it had initially rejected for Joseph Moinian's as yet unflagged, 34-story hotel at 237 W. 54th, to rise on the site of a small building he's nearly finished demolishing.

No rendering of the Gene Kaufman-designed hotel was available. That's led to speculation that, rather than build, Moinian would prefer to be bought out by Harry Gross, who's putting up the block's third giant project -- a 60-story Marriott hotel next door at 1717 Broadway.

Moinian's project would likely block views from the Marriott's lower floors. Moinian's rep blamed the lack of an image on a confidentiality agreement with an unidentified partner.

Meanwhile, the 54th Street block will be closed to traffic this weekend and next, to set up a crane for work on the new Marriott.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...#ixzz1TQL3UmwM

Construction permit #120583145 identifies it as 27 floors, so ambitions appear to be scaled back. But what's this nonsense about "an unidentified partner" and a "confidentiality agreement" on the design? For one thing, once a construction permit is issued, the design elements must be available to the public. And why would the identity of a partner be hidden? (Cue Twilight Zone music).