NEW YORK | Manhattan West | (3 towers ) FT | 60+/60+/57 FLOORS

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Yeah, and while we're at it, we can also get rid of the countless parking lots throughout the city to make it truly a pedestrian's paradise.

I think it would be bad for the economy to scrap all or many of the parking lots. Even in the NYC metro area there are tons of people who absolutely loathe public transportation (I'm pretty much one of them). I'd rather drive to my friends house in Inwood and pay for parking than take a bus, a ferry, and 1 or 2 trains.

[599GTO]

Originally Posted by Duck From NY

I think it would be bad for the economy to scrap all or many of the parking lots. Even in the NYC metro area there are tons of people who absolutely loathe public transportation (I'm pretty much one of them). I'd rather drive to my friends house in Inwood and pay for parking than take a bus, a ferry, and 1 or 2 trains.

I think all parking lots should simply be buried underground. There should be no surface parking lots in Manhattan.

[BStyles]

A surface parking lot doesn't do much to aid the transportation system, especially when it only consists of one surface level. By either building up or down, the parking space is drastically increased(which is one of the reasons why so many residential and hotel buildings are going up, as opposed to office towers). My main concern is what they put on said parking lot, whether it be a skyscraper or a simple low-rise. Appearances mean everything in this city, and boring boxes don't cut it.

[Guiltyspark]

Originally Posted by BStyles

A surface parking lot doesn't do much to aid the transportation system, especially when it only consists of one surface level. By either building up or down, the parking space is drastically increased(which is one of the reasons why so many residential and hotel buildings are going up, as opposed to office towers). My main concern is what they put on said parking lot, whether it be a skyscraper or a simple low-rise. Appearances mean everything in this city, and boring boxes don't cut it.

I agree, but tell that to 432 Park and 250 West 55th Street.

And Manhattan hardly has any above ground multi story car parks. They don't like them. Chicago has a ton, and personally, they do not bother me.

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by 599GTO

I think all parking lots should simply be buried underground. There should be no surface parking lots in Manhattan.

-
Oh I don't mind if they're underground, I just want to be able to drive in to the city. Of course I'd never do that between 7-6 on a business day, but otherwise the drive is usually quite quick and convenient. I and many other PT-dislikers spend money in the city. I think anti-parking lot nimbys are nearly as bad as anti-skyscraper nimbys.

Originally Posted by Guiltyspark

I agree, but tell that to 432 Park and 250 West 55th Street.

And Manhattan hardly has any above ground multi story car parks. They don't like them. Chicago has a ton, and personally, they do not bother me.

-
Somehow all of the typically ugly things found in urban areas (parking lots, ramps, alleys, train tracks, power-lines, chemical plants L-trains that cut right through residential blocks) are aesthetically pleasing in Chicagoland. I can't quite explain why either.

[jd3189]

Originally Posted by BStyles

A surface parking lot doesn't do much to aid the transportation system, especially when it only consists of one surface level. By either building up or down, the parking space is drastically increased(which is one of the reasons why so many residential and hotel buildings are going up, as opposed to office towers). My main concern is what they put on said parking lot, whether it be a skyscraper or a simple low-rise. Appearances mean everything in this city, and boring boxes don't cut it.

Agreed. Parking lots can still exist, but they can't take up valuable space in the city. They have to be a few levels underground The west side of Manhattan as well as most or all of Miami north of Brickell bother me because these areas are both close to highly dense areas and are filled with acres of parking lots. Many of the ones in Miami are desolate during periods without or even with a Heats game and the city is thinking of demolishing a existing building to raise up a supertall? It doesn't make sense to me.

[NYguy]

Somehow the discussion has moved to parking lots, but let's keep it where it's supposed to be.

Chief Executive Officer Ric Clark said the company is “on the verge” of starting the deck, pending completion of negotiations with authorities. Any housing would be “within the envelope” of the 5.4 million square feet (502,000 square meters) of development planned for the site, Friedrich said.

Any apartment tower would be on the west end, between Brookfield's big office towers and Related's massive towers.

[RobertWalpole]

Brookfield may add 900 apartments to this site due to an "uncertain" office market, as per today's news.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Brookfield May Add 900 Apartments to Manhattan West
Monday, May 7, 2012, by Sara Polsky

"Come to Work," invites the signage at Manhattan West, developer Brookfield Properties' Hudson Yards-neighboring project. Or, perhaps, come to live. The Journal reports that Brookfield is thinking about adding up to 900 residential units to the project, which stretches from 31st to 33rd streets between Ninth and Dyer avenues. (The apartments would replace some of the planned office space, since the residential market appears to be a safer bet than the office market right now.) Details are virtually nonexistent, but here's one piece of evidence supporting residential development at Manhattan West: Brookfield just hired Phil Wharton as its new director of U.S. development, and Wharton comes to the job with experience working at AvalonBay, a major residential developer. The plot thickens!

Wharton shared with the Journal one other tidbit about Manhattan West: it will include "a pedestrian plaza with a significant retail component that will connect with the High Line." We won't hold our breath for either the plaza or apartments, since Brookfield is only just about to begin construction on the deck over the rail yards.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/0...attan_west.php

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...upHC78nyXQDIlK

Speaking at the Bisnow Tech Summit last week, which was held on the 12th floor of the building, Brookfield’s David Cheikin said the developer wanted to take advantage of the 14-to-16-foot slab-to-slab heights as well as the views.

There are massive floors available, including the third floor of 138,680 square feet; the 11th floor of 91,431 square feet; and the full 12th floor, with 110,955 square feet. Asking rents range from $35 to $45 a square foot, sources said. The former John Hancock Building has views to the west over the Hudson Yards, the High Line and the Hudson River. Those to the east are of the company’s own upcoming three-tower Manhattan West project of 5.4-million-square feet.

Now that Phil Wharton has arrived to head its development, Brookfield is considering options that may now include 900 apartments and, according to a spokeswoman, even a hotel in one of the towers. “We are fortunate to have a lot of flexibility,” said Brookfield’s Melissa Coley.

[J. Will]

That's unfortunate. 450 W. 33rd St. is hideous. It will really stick out like a sore thumb when Manhattan West and the Hudson Yards development are complete if it's still standing.

[RobertWalpole]

Originally Posted by J. Will

That's unfortunate. 450 W. 33rd St. is hideous. It will really stick out like a sore thumb when Manhattan West and the Hudson Yards development are complete if it's still standing.

450 W 33rd eventually will be razed.

[NYguy]

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012...e-not-so-much/

What’s the Deal: Apartments Are Hot; Office, Not So Much



By Laura Kusisto
May 7, 2012

Brookfield also is beefing up its residential staff. On the call, it announced it has hired a new director of U.S. development, Phil Wharton, who was most recently vice president of development for AvalonBay, one of the country’s largest residential developers. “The idea…that it was good to have a mix of uses was part of the logic of my coming over,” Wharton said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Wharton, a Wharton School grad, also said Brookfield plans to create a pedestrian plaza with a significant retail component that will connect with the High Line. He’ll take over in the role previously filled by Veronica Hackett, co-founder of the Clarett Group, who left late last year.

Brookfield said on the call that the residential units were an option to replace some of the office space that had been planned, and added that it is on the verge of starting construction of the deck for the site.

This is something that I've wanted, but didn't expect would happen. If they can connect the pedestrian plaza somehow with the High Line spur, then the development will be complete!

[meh_cd]

This entire area of Midtown is going to be quite the place in 20-30 years. I won't be an old fart yet, so I can't wait!

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by meh_cd

This entire area of Midtown is going to be quite the place in 20-30 years. I won't be an old fart yet, so I can't wait!

It will be an entirely new Manhattan experience.

[NewYorkDominates]

Originally Posted by NYguy

It will be an entirely new Manhattan experience.

-Hudson Yards Buildings
-One57
-432 Park Ave.
-225 57th
-250 W. 55Th St.
-1715 W.
-Gotham West
-7th Bryant Park(most excited)
-Clinton Park
-250 E. 57th St.
-237 W. 54th St.
-Hotel Willow

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...nt=Residential

West assured
Midtown sees a rental boom

By KATHERINE DYKSTRA
May 17, 2012

Brookfield Office Properties is known for developing office space. This makes the recent announcement that Brookfield is considering devoting a portion of an upcoming, four-tower project to residences something of a surprise. The huge site will span from 31st to 33rd streets and from Ninth to Dyer avenues.

“Everyone was thinking that it was going to be office space, and now they’re thinking about 900 units of residential,” says Jeff Katz, CEO of Sherwood Equities, which develops both commercial and residential properties. Katz points to the Brookfield announcement as a bellwether, while implying that, to anyone who has followed the trajectory of the surrounding neighborhood — specifically, the blocks on the far west side sandwiched between Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen — it’s really no surprise at all. This area has historically been a no-man’s land quilted with parking lots and laden with exhaust fumes, but within the past five or so years, it’s become known more for rental apartments than rental cars.

“[Our land is] across from what will be Moynihan Station,” says Phil Wharton, senior vice president of development at Brookfield. “So, one of the rationales for residential development is that you’re across from the biggest transport hub in the US, for convenience to the subway, Amtrak, NJ Transit, all of that. There’s also the proximity to Chelsea. It’s a block north of the High Line.”

It wouldn't surprise me if the residential component became the tallest of the towers here. I know that residential is hot in Manhattan right now, but I still believe that this site, so close to Penn Station, needs to attract more offices.



__________________________________________________



http://www.globest.com/news/12_353/n...t/-321597.html
Up Close With Phil Wharton, Brookfield’s New Development Guru




By Jacqueline Hlavenka
May 17, 2012

Wharton, a 30-year veteran of commercial real estate development, talked with GlobeSt.com about the company's latest progress at the 5.4-million-square-foot Manhattan West site, and other core markets across the globe.

GlobeSt.com: Brookfield is known for class A office buildings. But what’s in the pipeline for the company in terms of new multifamily development?

Wharton: On the Far West Side, we are looking at the alternative that would include an apartment tower to go along with the office buildings. We think there are parts of the site that lend themselves better to multifamily. They are a little more secluded and we also think the proximity to the High Line is a nice alternative. We also like the idea of having the mixed-use element to create a more 24/7 environment. We are also going to have a pretty big retail component. We think a mix of uses would be beneficial to the project as a whole, so we are definitely looking at it.

GlobeSt.com: What is the status on construction activity at Manhattan West? Has the plan changed in any other way?

Wharton: In terms of the reduction of office space, we have flexibility in the zoning. We can substitute some residential for commercial. With 5.4 million square feet, we think there’s room for reducing the office and replacing it with the residential. In terms of the timing, we haven’t changed our plans. We are still intending to go forward with the platform over the track quite soon. We are going to go forward with the first office building as soon as we secure an anchor tenant. One of the nice things about the residential is that we can build it simultaneously with the office, so we could do the two of those at the same time. The residential demand we know is there. It becomes more of a north Chelsea location for the residential, and certainly for rental apartments, demand is very strong. We can seeing doing the two together.

GlobeSt.com: Any word on a potential anchor tenant?

Wharton: There are a couple of large tenant requirements that are in the marketplace, and Manhattan has a deep pool of office users. It’s 400 million square feet. As big as it sounds to have 5.4 million square feet, to have some pre-leased tenants is not that big of a stretch. The other thing that we look at is the stock of the New York City office market pre-dates 1980 in terms of the vintage of the building. There’s certainly demand for modern office space.

GlobeSt.com: Do you think new office construction is viable in NYC despite the sluggish leasing market?

Wharton: New construction offers value, and we are very positive on the outlook for office demand. We think New York City will continue to be a vibrant environment and a place where not only financial services, but media and technology companies are growing. There’s always a vitality to New York City, even when other office markets in other parts of the country may not be as strong. New York City seems to have its own resilience.

[yankeesfan1000]

Originally Posted by NYguy

It wouldn't surprise me if the residential component became the tallest of the towers here. I know that residential is hot in Manhattan right now, but I still believe that this site, so close to Penn Station, needs to attract more offices.

It's really surprising how underdeveloped the area around Penn Station. But it will be interesting to see how Brookfield try and fit this much new square footage on such a relatively small lot, and market it. Seems there are going to be a fair amount of views of other peoples offices, or other peoples apartments within spitting distance.

Edit: Good to hear they have some flexibility with the zoning. I wonder how much they can substitute though.

[NYguy]

http://www.rew-online.com/2012/05/30/7285/

By Al Barbarino
May 30,2012

Brookfield, meanwhile, hired a Cushman & Wakefield team led by global chairman Bruce Mosler to lease up its nearby Manhattan West development, a 1.5-acre site at Ninth Avenue and 31st Street.

Mosler told REW yesterday: “We are in serious discussions with a number of tenants in a wide variety of industries from 500,000 s/f all the way up to two million square feet.”

[Dac150]

^^^ That's excellent!