NEW YORK | 1 Manhattan West | 995 FT | 71 FLOORS

[ATLksuGUY]

^^^ wow! This deck construction is going to be amazing to watch. I hope we get a good webcam for observing this engineering spectacle!!

[NYguy]

This continues to evovle...


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...ttan-west.html

Brookfield to Build Residential Tower at Manhattan West

By David M. Levitt
Nov 2, 2012

Brookfield Office Properties Inc. plans to switch one of the two proposed office towers at its Manhattan West development to apartments.

“With a sub-one percent vacancy level, residential is pretty compelling,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Friedrich said today on the New York-based company’s third-quarter earnings conference call.

Brookfield is putting the finishing touches on a plan for the project on Manhattan’s far west side that includes an 850- unit apartment building, Friedrich said. The proposal requires the construction of a platform over railroad tracks that serve Pennsylvania Station to the east of the site.

[Hudson11]

It's not surprising.

[Crawford]

I think the Bloomberg article has it wrong.

There have been rumors of a residential tower for some time now, but the residential is supposed to be behind the two office towers.

I don't think they're eliminating one of the office towers, at least not right now. That would mean everything is radically redesigned, because the two towers share an atrium and the direct rail access.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I think the Bloomberg article has it wrong.

There have been rumors of a residential tower for some time now, but the residential is supposed to be behind the two office towers.

It could be. Initially it was stated that the third would be residential, but until we see the plans, who knows...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...velopment.html

Brookfield May Add Housing to Its Manhattan West Development

By David M. Levitt
May 4, 2012

Brookfield Office Properties Inc., owner of downtown New York’s World Financial Center, may include as many as 900 units of housing at its Manhattan West project, which it has marketed mainly for offices........“We’ve always highlighted the office density because we’re an office landlord,” Friedrich said. “But we have the ability to build 900 units on that site. That market has really taken off, and may drive greater value for us, so we took a little bit of time to study that.”

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.

It will be a tight fit. Even when the residential component was originally proposed (4 towers), I didn't see an easy fit, but it was for a much smaller slice of the development.


It'll be tight...





But with 2 towers of 2 msf, that would leave 1.4 for residential/retail. 850 units would be a pretty tall building there. They'll have great views of the Hudson Yards though.

[NYguy]

A little more info on the change...


http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...manhattan-west

The original plan called for 5.4 million square feet of primarily office space, with some retail and open space included. The tallest building would be 62 stories, according to the project website.

“With the changes we are now able to build two buildings on that project really in the same time frame as opposed to sequentially building office buildings further out in time,” Friedrich said. “The market for residential is robust, you don’t have the same pre-leasing profile. You build more to spec, based upon how confident you feel.”

Rail Agreements

Friedrich didn’t specify a start date for the Manhattan West project. Agreements with railroad operators on the plan to deck over the rails, which move about 100,000 people each weekday into and out of Penn Station, are virtually complete, he said. The tracks serve Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road.

“We’re just getting our last ducks in order,” he said.

It's very possible we could see the residential tower begin first.

[Zapatan]

that rendering has to be the saddest thing I've seen in my life

[Hudson11]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

that rendering has to be the saddest thing I've seen in my life

*massing model

[Dac150]

Makes sense. I'm sure now that Related is gearing up to build skyward, other developers such as Brookfield want to also start visibly establishing themselves in the area - a residential tower is perhaps the quickest way for them to do that.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

that rendering has to be the saddest thing I've seen in my life

If that's true, you have a wonderful life...

Originally Posted by Dac150

Makes sense. I'm sure now that Related is gearing up to build skyward, other developers such as Brookfield want to also start visibly establishing themselves in the area - a residential tower is perhaps the quickest way for them to do that.

Yeah, residential is the quicker way to get the development built, and no doubt developers are salivating over everything that's going on in Manhattan right now. However, I'm not too sold on a huge chunk of this development becoming residential. Remember, the City wants the area around Penn Station to develop into a vibrant business district, similar to Grand Central. And it makes sense to build your biggest office buildings around your busiest transit centers. I don't want to see too much residential being built around Penn Station, the sites are so few. The housing market is a force to be reckoned with, so we don't want to see a repeat of Downtown Brooklyn, where the City rezoned for an expanded commercial district there, and residential forces have taken over instead. It's not as big of an issue there, but Penn Station and its Moynihan annex should be surrounded by office buildings.

We'll see what happens here. It could be that one of the office towers gets bulked up again to consolidate more office space into one building.

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Remember, the City wants the area around Penn Station to develop into a vibrant business district, similar to Grand Central. And it makes sense to build your biggest office buildings around your busiest transit centers. I don't want to see too much residential being built around Penn Station, the sites are so few.

I agree with that, however the current office market unfortunately does not support that vision. I would though hate to see present residential development compromise future office development. Like you said, space is scarce.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

I agree with that, however the current office market unfortunately does not support that vision. I would though hate to see present residential development compromise future office development. Like you said, space is scarce.

Yeah, and vision is what is driving the redevelopment of Manhattan's west side, and the rezoning of the east side - even though all of that won't be built or even needed today. All parties involved just have to be very careful about how they perceive the City's future. Because Penn Station is likely to remain the hub that it is - in fact even more so with the extra tunnels planned. People will live anywhere in Manhattan, but commuters shouldn't have to commute again once they've commuted into the City. High density commercial development is what we want...

[nycaddict]

these towers must have gotten a hair cut correct? how tall will hey be now?

[Hudson11]

Originally Posted by nycaddict

these towers must have gotten a hair cut correct? how tall will hey be now?

We don't know. If they're going with 3 towers would guess two 900ft office towers and a skyscraper (maybe 400-800 ft) residential tower. If were lucky a supertall may come out of this. Its a small place so the towers will be skinny which could lead to some tall towers.

[NYguy]

Went by the site earlier, they are active on both the north and south sides. Also, they've done something to the sides on the inside where the trains pass through,
in obvious preparation for construction. It's the beginning of the end to this bit of daylight when you enter or leave Penn Station, but the beginning of a new and exciting c
hapter for Manhattan and the west side....

[yankeesfan1000]

Thanks for the photos, hopefully the residential tower gets going next year.

[sbarn]

I passed today. There was lots of equipment and workers on site.

[NYguy]

Forgot to mention, for the first time yesterday (thursday) workers were visible from on (or inside) the tracks. Didn't have time to get a photo, but Brookfield clearly means business about building the platform this time.

[mkeit]

A steel erection contractor, Stonebridge is setting up a large Manitowoc crane-possibly a 999 on 31 St. This contractor recently did the steel work for the Sanitation Dept building on Spring St.

[Eidolon]

Apparently, Brookfield is considering building the North Tower to podium height before the decking is completed, which will take about 18 months.