Ok so I decided to do this NYC thread.


Unfortunately for NYC, a city of skyscrapers, a lots of zonings, construction costs and NIMBY's makes it impossible to built too tall in the city. But somehow something tall gets built. And that is all good. Keep in mind that most of the construction boom in the city are conversions from existing buildings like Offices, Hotels and Rental buildings to Condominiums apartments and there is alot of under 12 floors. So I wont post anything below 12 floors here. It is too much work to keep track. I also can't find a few renderings for somewhat tall buildings under construction yet.

If anybody thinks I got the hight in feet or the floors of a building wrong or if I missed a building please let me know. If you have a rendering for a building that I don't have please let me know. I will also try to store renderings in my photo service so I can have easy access for posting them. Hope nobody minds.

I also have not listed the proposing buldings and their renderings yet. But I will do that another time. This has been alot of work and time consuming.

I am posting based on number of floors as oppose to height. Much easier for me. But there are some towers with lesser floors but are much heigher in feet. So keep that in mind.


Hopefully I did this one right and I hope you enjoy it. ;)



==========================================================
Under Construction (Manhattan)
==========================================================



The Freedom Tower: 82 floors - 1,776 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/59500377.jpg

Silver Towers 1: 60 floors
Silver Towers 2: 60 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055371.jpg

123 Washington Street: 53 floors - 583 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/66804062.jpg

Bank of America Tower: 54 floors - 1,200 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58803487.jpg

The Saya (22 East 23rd Street): 51 floors - 617 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304550.jpg

Goldman Sachs Headquarters: 43 floors - 742 ft

http://www.pbase.com/image/58804459.jpg

785 Eight Avenue: 42 floors - 566 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77812154.jpg

Trump Soho Hotel: 41 floors - 454 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066106.jpg

The Rushmore (80 Riverside Blvd): 41 floors - 425 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77812110.jpg

1095 Avenue Of The Americas (Redevelopment): 40 floors - 630 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/65671424.jpg

11 Times Square: 40 floors - 601 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304545.jpg

Chelsea Stratus (735 Sixth Avenue): 40 floors - 491 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77792172.jpg

Hampton Inn/Candlewood Suites/Holiday Inn Express (337-343 West 39th Street): 36 floors - 360 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288441.jpg

Sheraton Four Points (326 West 40th Street): 33 floors - 297 feet
Marriot Fairfield (330 West 40th Street): 33 floors - 297 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288440.jpg

47 East 34th Street: 32 floors - 450 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288418.jpg

510 Madison Avenue: 30 floors - 386 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77340461.jpg

255 East 74th Street: 30 floors - 338 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066019.jpg

808 Columbus Avenue: 30 floors - 326 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90014439.jpg

43 East 29th Street: 30 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77290096.jpg

Fifth On The Park: 30 floors - 310 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334136.jpg

402 East 67th Street: 30 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/72853236.jpg

229-251 West 60th Street & West 61st Street: 27/15/10 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90015043.jpg

Chelsea Hotel (128 West 29th Street): 25 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288421.jpg

Holiday Inn Chelsea (125 West 26th Street): 24 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288430.jpg

Holiday Garden (121 West 28th Street): 24 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288429.jpg

188 Ludlow Street: 23 floors - 232 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/65647170.jpg

453 West 37th Street: 23 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90014431.jpg

US Mission To The UN: 22 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288442.jpg

281 Broadway: 22 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288414.jpg

110 Eleventh Avenue: 21 floors - 250 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77771618.jpg

Maiden Hotel (20 Maiden Lane): 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288432.jpg

Linden78 (On West 78th Street): 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334140.jpg

Avalon Morningside Park (West 110th Street): 20 floors - 204 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055368.jpg

The Brompton (200 East 86th Street): 20 floors - 210 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288411.jpg

Sheraton Four Points (66 Charlton Street): 20 floors - 195 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288435.jpg

200 Eleventh Avenue: 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288413.jpg

1330 First Avenue: 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066034.jpg

Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering: 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066215.jpg

Standard Hotel (848 Washington Street): 19 floors - 233 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066068.jpg
Strand Hotel (33 West 37th Street): 19 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288437.jpg

Wyndham Hotel (37 West 24th Street): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288444.jpg

The Lucida (151 East 85th Street): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288439.jpg

Hilton Herald Square (59 West 39th Street): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288427.jpg

4 West 21st Street: 17 floors - 185 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996124.jpg

Superior Ink (469 West Street): 17 floors - 190 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90014444.jpg

Graceline Court (West 116th Street): 16 floors - 162 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288423.jpg

127 Seventh Avenue: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77792169.jpg

10 Chelse Place: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77065993.jpg

485 Fifth Avenue: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58929926.jpg

East River Science Park (Complex): 15/12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304558.jpg

Columbia Northwest Science building: 14 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90014442.jpg

John Jay College (524 West 59th Street): 13 floors - 236 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334139.jpg

245 10th Avenue: 13 floors - 125 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77771620.jpg

Smyth (85 Broadway): 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288436.jpg

Chelsea Modern: 12 floors - 120 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77066051.jpg

127 Seventh Avenue: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63775890.jpg

122 Greenwich Avenue: 12 floors - 128 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334124.jpg



==========================================================
Under Construction (Brooklyn)
==========================================================


306 Gold Street: 400 ft - 40 floors
313 Gold Street: 35 floors - 367 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/60228581.jpg

The Edge I: 40 floors
The Edge II: 30 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055184.jpg

One Northside Piers (164 Kent Avenue): 29 floors - 297 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/60308904.jpg

Forté Condos (230 Ashland Place): 28 floors - 288 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90056475.jpg

The Sochi (Sea Breeze Avenue): 28 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90065485.jpg

Be@Schermerhorn: 25 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055178.jpg

Sheraton/Aloft Hotel Duffield Street: 23 floors - 244 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055278.jpg

Gold Street Residential Tower: 22 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996224.jpg

Bridgeview Tower: 18 floors - 216 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77929020.jpg

110 Livingston Avenue: 16 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63836828.jpg

The Edge III: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/65662264.jpg

1 Prospect Park Condos: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63778031.jpg

100 Luquer Street: 15 floors - 184 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/61647303.jpg

525 Clinton Avenue: 13 floors - 148 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055177.jpg

The Smith: 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/59503658.jpg

Novo (343-53 & 4th Avenue): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90066087.jpg

The Argyle (410 4th Avenue): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90066991.jpg

The Crest: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90066987.jpg

Park Slope Court (110 4th Avenue): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90068148.jpg



==========================================================
Under Construction (Queens)
==========================================================



East Coast Tower II (5th Street, 47th Avenue): 30 floors - 316 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/60329851.jpg

East Coast Tower III (Center Boulevard): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055323.jpg

The Crescent Club: 17 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055350.jpg

Metroplex on the Atlantic (Beach 26th Street): 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055342.jpg

Flushing Metro Center: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996121.jpg

Vantage @ Purves (44-27 Purves): 14 floors - 151 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/59948603.jpg

10-50 Jackson: 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055304.jpg

Queens Crossing: 12 floors - 149 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055349.jpg

One Hunter Point (5–49 Borden Avenue): 12 floors - 123 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055347.jpg

Hunters View: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055333.jpg

View59 (24-16 Queens Plaza South): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055352.jpg



==========================================================
Under Construction (Bronx)
==========================================================



Riverstone (Arlington Avenue): 13 floors - 133 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055429.jpg

The Towers at Hutchinson Metro Center Tower I(Waters Place): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/90055424.jpg


==========================================================
Under Construction (Roosevelt Island)
==========================================================


Riverwalk Place (455 Main Street): 16 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63836413.jpg

Ok this is a list of alot of proposed buildings over 12 floors in Manhattan. I know there are probably more but I don't have those renderings yet. But if someone has one that I haven't posted please let me know.


Manhattan Approved & Proposed Buildings:


200 Greenwich Street (WTC2): 78 floors - 1,254 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334132.jpg

175 Greenwich Street (WTC3): 71 floors - 1,155 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334128.jpg

150 Greenwich Street (WTC4): 65 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334126.jpg

West Street Residential Tower: 65 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334144.jpg

610 Lexington Avenue: 61 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334138.jpg

440 West 42nd Street: 60 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77340460.jpg

605 West 42nd Street: 60 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/66357396.jpg

160 West 62nd Street: 57 floors - 621 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77340459.jpg

80 South Street: 56 floors - 835 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77799135.jpg

Intercontinental Hotel (On Nassau Street): 55 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304594.jpg

110 West 57th Street: 50 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334123.jpg

70 West 45th Street: 50 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304554.jpg

West 57th Street Tower (Next to 9A): 48 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304570.jpg

301 Forty Sixth Avenue: 46 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334133.jpg

Two Sutton Place North: 41 floors - 421 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304569.jpg

400 Park Avenue Tower: 40 floors - 476 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334134.jpg

Port Authorhority Bus Terminal Office Tower: 40 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304565.jpg

Radisson Financial (99 Washington Street): 40 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304566.jpg

Sheraton Downtown (100 Greenwich Street): 39 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304567.jpg

Gold Street Hotel: 38 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304560.jpg

Global Diamond Exchange Tower: 35 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77340464.jpg

Holiday Inn Financial (50 Trinity Place): 35 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304561.jpg

176 Madison Avenue: 34 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334130.jpg

The Remy (On West 28th Street): 32 floors - 461 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/55386664.jpg

Fairfield Inn (126 Water Street): 26 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304517.jpg

210 West 91st Street: 25 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304508.jpg

1800 Park Avenue: 24 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334131.jpg

Sundari Lofts (On Madison Avenue): 22 floors - 225 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304568.jpg

160 East 22nd Street: 21 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334127.jpg

Horizen (On 23rd Street): 21 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304562.jpg

Museum For African Art Tower (On 5th Avenue): 21 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334141.jpg

4070 Broadway: 20 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304552.jpg

241 Fifth Avenue: 20 floors - 218 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304510.jpg

211 East 51st Street: 19 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304509.jpg

87 Lafayette Tower: 19 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77771615.jpg

2075 Broadway: 19 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304549.jpg

Marriot Fairfield (116 West 28th Street): 17 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288434.jpg

The New School Tower (Corner of 14th & 5th Avenue): 16 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304523.jpg

Delancey Tower: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77346394.jpg

37 East 4th Street: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304511.jpg

The Avant (559 West 23rd Street): 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288438.jpg



*********

Westside Tower (34th Street & 10th Avenue): ? floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77334143.jpg

161 Maiden Lane: ? floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77340646.jpg

Completed (2006 and 2007)


Manhattan:


125 West 31st Street: 58 floors - 615 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58805311.jpg

The Orion: 58 floors - 604 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58856841.jpg

10 Barclay Street: 56 floors - 584 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77812530.jpg

New York Times Tower: 52 floors - 1,046 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58855652.jpg

Seven World Trade Center: 49 floors - 741 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58857115.jpg

Atelier: 46 floors - 478 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58859238.jpg

The Link: 43 floors - 433 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58807974.jpg

Hearst Magazine Tower: 42 floors - 596 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58856754.jpg

325 5th Avenue: 42 floors - 471 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77301594.jpg

One Carnegie Hill: 42 floors - 382 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77240708.jpg

Ariel East: 38 floors - 396 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58808736.jpg

Chelsea Landmark: 36 floors - 368 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58809326.jpg

Millennium Tower Residences: 35 floors - 291 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/57428057.jpg

Place 57: 34 floors - 394 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58873145.jpg

The Centria (18 West 48th Street): 34 floors - 386 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77234573.jpg

1 East 35th Street: 32 floors - 312 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77304458.jpg

Ten West End: 31 floors - 350 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77811985.jpg

Ariel West: 31 floors - 340 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58857324.jpg

Cornell Ambulatory Care (1305 York Avenue): 30 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77812216.jpg

Three Ten: 30 floors - 328 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/55681004.jpg

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Research Laboratory (East 68th Street): 29 floors - 424 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77234503.jpg

200 Chambers Street: 29 floors - 300 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/57422553.jpg

The Cielo: 27 floors - 307 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58864158.jpg

1600 Broadway on the Square: 290 ft - 26 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58946015.jpg

1500 Lexington Avene: 26 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/54161010.jpg

33 West End Avenue: 25 floors - 293 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77876426.jpg

Sutton 57: 24 floors -292 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58945724.jpg

The Verdesian On The Park: 24 floors - 240 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77922386.jpg

Mosaic Downtown & Mosaic Uptown: 24 floors - 275 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58846109.jpg

One Ten 3rd: 22 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/60309261.jpg

225 East 34th Street: 22 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77837817.jpg

Crossing 23rd: 21 floors - 210 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77929537.jpg

The Melar (On Broadway): 20 floors - 210 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58847829.jpg

Arcadia (East 79th Street): 20 floors - 210 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58928971.jpg

Chelsea Arts Tower: 20 floors - 247 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77876243.jpg

88 Leonard Street: 20 floors - 220 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77876217.jpg

11 Central Park North: 19 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/65660296.jpg

Windsor Park (100 West 58th Street): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63775982.jpg

Hudson Blue: 18 floors - 195 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/49023467.jpg

50 Gramercy Park North: 17 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996134.jpg

Blue at 105 Norfolk Street: 16 floors - 169 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58858706.jpg

The Bowery Hotel (4 East 3rd Street): 16 floors - 165 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58872755.jpg

330 East 57 Street: 16 floors - 150 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/63775931.jpg

Cathedral Gardens (West 109th Street): 15 floors - 165 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/78863334.jpg

Courtyard By Marriott: 15 floors - 152 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58873765.jpg

985 Park Avenue: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996200.jpg

985 Park Avenue: 15 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996200.jpg

8 Union Square: 14 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/77288419.jpg

40 Mercer Residences: 13 floors - 173 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58871989.jpg

Chelsea House: 13 floors - 163 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58873142.jpg

Urban Glass House: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/59502780.jpg

The Lenox (380 Lenox Avenue): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63805565.jpg

92 Warren Street: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/59499673.jpg

West 18 Street: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58929068.jpg

Stephen Gaynor School and Ballet Hispanico: 12 floors - 150 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58874252.jpg



Brooklyn:



J Condo: 31 floors - 337 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58864111.jpg

Schaefer Landing North: 24 floors - 234 feet
Schaefer Landing South: 14 floors - 135 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58871208.jpg

Beacon Tower: 23 floors - 297 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58864148.jpg

New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge Expansion: 23 floors - 240 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/59083069.jpg

20 Bayard Street: 16 floors - 201 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58870649.jpg

185 and 191 South 4th Street: 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58928932.jpg

30 Bayard Street: 13 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/58928868.jpg

Court House Tower I: 12 floors - 128 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77928397.jpg

Oceana At Brighton: 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/65662235.jpg

133 Water Street: 120 ft - 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/59955875.jpg



Queens:


Avalon Riverview North: 39 floors - 385 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/63024726.jpg

East Coast Tower I: 31 floors - 299 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58864147.jpg

The Windsor at Forest Hills: 21 floors - 216 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/77927642.jpg

Plaza Northern Blvd (Main Street Flushing): 18 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63778046.jpg

United Nations Federal Credit Union Building (43-35 24th Street): 16 floors - 241 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/59949009.jpg

Citigroup Court Square Two: 15 floors - 221 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/62674733.jpg

Echaelon Condominiums (13-11 Jackson Avenue): 13 floors - 123 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/59951798.jpg



Bronx:


Solaria Riverdale: 19 floors - 208 feet

http://www.pbase.com/image/58996315.jpg


Roosevelt Island:


The Octagon (888 Main Street): 12 floors

http://www.pbase.com/image/63836528.jpg]

New York - STILL the skyscraper king of the world!

Great job Krull!
Although I can report that the Arcadia and Cielo are completed. And so is 7WTC, though it's still empty.
Otherwise, it would be best to put the heights in meters, not feet, like the rest of the world.

holy hell those are alot of projects

Wow, I thought NY was asleep in comparasion with Chi and Dubai, but it is not. Btw, why is 7 WTC empty still?

Wow, I thought NY was asleep in comparasion with Chi and Dubai, but it is not. Btw, why is 7 WTC empty still?

To my knowledge, as of Feb of 2006, Silverstein has signed 3 tenants. So while its not empty, he still has a ways to go.

The tenants will come though.

^NYC builds, but mostly residential towers, and has started to go outside of Manhattan.
The towers aren't as grand as what you see in Chicago, however we already have enough anyway.
As for 7WTC, there's tenants, but very few still. And that's knowing some experts believe Manhattan will run out of office space soon, and the paradox is that the Freedom Tower and other new WTC redevelopment don't cause companies to rush in. It's as if they want to come to New York, just not there.
That's my opinion, and I'm far from being an expert, so do not take my word, at least this post could provoke those who know better to correct me if I'm wrong.

Isn't construction of Freedom Tower supposed to start in a few days? I've been watching the sight. Activity, especially by the base of Freedom Tower, increases every day.

Isn't construction of Freedom Tower supposed to start in a few days? I've been watching the sight. Activity, especially by the base of Freedom Tower, increases every day.
I don't know. It's been supposed to start for years.
Personally I don't want the Freedom Tower built, actually I don't want any towers built at all, but Silverstein is the one making money out of this

The new plan they have will have all five WTC skyscrapers completed by 2012.

Finally Manhattan is sharing with its neighboors. I hate seing that lonesome building in Queens, is there anything tall planned next or around it?

^yup, they're building two towers right next to it.
I personally don't like it, because I love seeing the Citibank all alone.
If you check the construction forum, you'll see a thread by Carlos NYC, with plenty of pictures, about the projects, the place is called Long Island City

Oh, and why isn't Eighty South Street Tower on this list? It's one of the coolest!

^The list is for U/C towers only, and 80 south street might not even be built.

^The list is for U/C towers only, and 80 south street might not even be built.


I hope they built it. It's so starange that it might become a classic.

This is a great list of projects, and thanks for the renderings!

So, New York is reinventing itself by putting up a modern face like Chicago, Hong Kong and the likes?

NY doesn't have to reinvent itself.

i agree, ny doesn't have to re-invent itself. it will remain an icon and stand above all else forever.

and this is ony those currently under construction....crazy!!!

In a few days, Freedom Tower might be on the list!

Nice job krull its about time someone made an NYC thread.

How bout that development with the big coke-a-cola sign or is that in New Jersey?

^you mean the Pepsi sign? That's in Queens, the Long Island city redevelopment, but it's proposed, and the list is for U/C buildings only

Thanks everyone! :)

I will post the proposing renderings soon...

Cool! I can't wait!

Thanks everyone! :)

I added a few more renderings and a few more projects under construction.

Condos, New Retail To Be Added to Times Square Mix


By MICHAEL STOLER
April 20, 2006

Change is afoot at Times Square, the city's iconic neighborhood that now covers an area from Sixth Avenue to Ninth Avenue and 39th Street to 52nd Street.

Before the end of the month, Boston Properties, which owns 5 Times Square, is expected to announce the winning bidder for the 37-story, 1.1 million square-foot office tower that is leased to Ernest & Young. The winning bidder is expected to be Dubai-based Istithmar, which last week agreed to pay about $600 million for the 40-story, 905,000-square-foot office tower at 450 Lexington Ave., which is subject to a 99-year land lease, industry sources say. The seller is a joint venture of Murray Hill Properties, Westbrook Partners, and the Canadian pension plan SITQ.

In May 2002, what was then the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen opted out of its agreement to occupy space in Times Square Tower, the 48-story, 1.2 million-square-foot building at 7 Times Square and Broadway. A director at Cushman & Wakefield, Joanne Podell, said, "After more than three years of discussion, Ann Taylor Loft has signed a lease in the Times Square Tower. We expect the store to be profitable due to its location, hours of operation, and viability of retail in Times Square."

Directly across the street is 1466 Broadway, also known as 6 Times Square. The 15-story, 298,000-squarefoot office building, built in 1907, houses a three-level Gap store. In November 2004, SL Green Realty sold the building, built for John Jacob Astor IV, to Sitt Asset Management and Steven Sutton for $160 million. The property, at the corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, was formerly the fashionable Knickerbocker Hotel that counted as its customers celebrities such as George Cohan and Enrico Caruso. The building was renovated into showrooms and offices in 1982. At the time of the purchase, the new owners indicated they had an interest in converting the top floors into a hotel or luxury condos. Trade sources indicate that an investor from the Middle East might be the winning bidder at a price of close to $1,000 a square foot.

***

One of Manhattan's most active investors, the Moinian Group, was part of a joint venture including the Chetrit Group and Edward Minskoff, that in May 2004 paid about $121 million, or $316 a square foot, for the 42-story, 382,000-square-foot office tower at 1450 Broadway and 41st Street. In November 2005, the owners announced plans to convert the top floors of the buildings into residential condominiums. Last month, the Moinian Group and its partner, MacFarlane Partners, opened the sales office for the Atelier, a 46-story, 478-unit condo tower at 635 W. 42nd St. This building is part of the first phase of a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use complex. The entire project will occupy most of the city block on the north side of 42nd Street between 11th Avenue and the Hudson River. The second phase will include about 300 residential condominiums and 350 rental apartments at 605 W. 42nd St. and 11th Avenue.

The co-president of the Durst Organization, Douglas Durst, said, "I never expected the Times Square and 42nd Street corridor to evolve as a center of office, retail, and residential." Across the street from 1466 Broadway is 4 Times Square Tower, the 48-story, 1.6 million-square-foot building completed in 1999 by the Durst Organization. The office tower is leased to Conde Nast and the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Adjacent to the building is One Bryant Park, also known as the Bank of America Tower. The building is being co-developed by the Durst Organization and Bank of America.

Last month, Bank of America committed to occupying an additional 522,000 square feet of space. The deal expands the bank's occupancy to more than 77% of the space from 53%. The bank will lease about 1.63 million square feet of space, leaving about 450,000 square feet available. Mr. Durst said, "I don't think we'll have any trouble getting $100 per square feet at the top of the building. Right now we have at least 10 companies who are interested the space."

***

Last October, Equity Office Properties Trust closed on a $505 million purchase of the 41-story Verizon Building at 1095 Sixth Ave., which is across from the Bank of America Tower. Verizon kept about 200,000 square feet of the building as a condominium. Equity plans to spend about $250 million to renovate the tower. Office space is being marketed for rents of more than $1,000 a square foot.

According to industry sources, the 25-story, 227,000-square-foot Candler Building at 220 W. 42nd St. - at the heart of Times Square and home to a three-level McDonald's - is in contract to be sold. The building was built in 1912-14 as a commission from Asa Candler, a founder of the Coca-Cola Company. West of the Candler Building is the 444-room Hilton Times Square. Last month, Sunstone Hotel Investors paid $242.5 million for that property. The seller was a partnership of Forest City Ratner and Hilton Hotels, who completed the hotel in June 2000.

Contracts for about 97% of the residential condominiums have been sold at the Orion, a development of Extell Investment Management and the Carlyle Group. The 58-story, 551-unit midblock building is at 350 W. 42nd St., west of the former McGraw-Hill Building. Extell Investment Management is assembling a site at 131-139 W. 45th St., directly behind the Muse Hotel on West 46th Street, The New York Sun has been told. It plans to develop a luxury hotel on the site.

Last month, Vornado Realty Trust wrote off $6.87 million it had spent on development costs for a project at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Vornado had planned to use the air rights of the Port Authority to develop a 39-story tower atop the building on Eighth Avenue from 40th to 42nd streets.

As the Sun reported earlier this month, the Paramount Group has retained Douglas Harmon of Eastdil Secured to sell the 44-story, 1.1 million-square-foot building at 1540 Broadway, Bertelsmann's American headquarters. Based on recent purchases, the property, built in 1990, might fetch $1.1 million, or $1,000 a square foot.

A 46-story, 250-unit residential condo tower is planned for the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 46th Street, with addresses of 301-307 W. 46th St. and 733-763 Eighth Ave. The owner, New Jersey-based SJP Properties, originally had planned to construct an 80/20 residential rental at 750 Eighth Ave., on the northwest corner of 46th Street, which was once home to McHale's restaurant. Due to the strength of Times Square real estate, the company has decided to build a luxury residential condominium. SJP is also building a residential condominium at 45 Park Ave., on the site of the former Sheraton Russell.

On the corner of Eighth Avenue and 47th Street, a New York-based development company is planning to construct a 40-story luxury residential condominium. A third tower is planned for West 48th Street and Eighth Avenue.

A combination of factors, including creative tax subsidies and demand for more residential and office space in Times Square, has aided in the area's resurgence.


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/realestate/16cov.html
How Big Is Too Big?

By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: April 16, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/16/realestate/16cov450.jpg
Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times

Robert M. Scarano's building at 4 East Third Street in Manhattan has drawn fire from critics who say it is too big.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/14/realestate/16cov2190.jpg
Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

FOCUS OF PROTESTS Stephanie A. Thayer has been protesting a building designed by Mr. Scarano Jr. that is going up at 144 North Eighth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/16/realestate/16cov2.190.jpg
Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

Kevin Shea, a lawyer and expediter, is seeking changes in Mr. Scarano's 16-story building, now almost completed at 4 East Third Street, at the Bowery.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/16/realestate/16cov.jpg
Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

One of Robert M. Scarano Jr.'s buildings in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: 78 Ten Eyck Street. His buildings make use of mezzanines, and whether these areas should count as part of the buildings' total square footage is at issue. The city's Buildings Department has accused Mr. Scarano of knowingly ignoring building codes or zoning rules in submitting plans for 26 apartment buildings in several Brooklyn neighborhoods.

IT is not hard to spot the buildings that Robert M. Scarano Jr., an architect, has designed in New York City: they tend to be a lot bigger than the other buildings around them.

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mr. Scarano's building at 78 Ten Eyck Street is about twice as tall as the modest three-story houses on either side of it. In the East Village, the new building at 4 East Third Street, at the Bowery, rises to 16 stories, far above the other buildings on the block, including a row of 18th-century town houses.

Mr. Scarano has played an active role in the city's current construction boom, particularly in Brooklyn, where he has numerous projects in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Brighton Beach. His designs have brought him plenty of business from developers rushing to take advantage of rising real estate values.

But the sheer bulk of many of Mr. Scarano's projects has prompted some residents to complain that he ignores the zoning code and puts up buildings that are simply too big, blocking the light and views of their neighbors. And too often, they say, the city has stood by and done nothing.

Stephanie A. Thayer lives in Williamsburg and has been active in protests over a tall building designed by Mr. Scarano that is going up at 144 North Eighth Street. She was also involved in years of community debate that led to a major rezoning in Williamsburg last year, including lower bulk and density restrictions for much of the neighborhood.

In contrast, she said, Mr. Scarano, with his outsize buildings, seems to have "single-handedly rezoned his own little development plots."

Now Mr. Scarano is beginning to draw greater scrutiny.

The city's Buildings Department has accused him of knowingly ignoring building codes or zoning rules in submitting plans for 25 apartment buildings in several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Mr. Scarano was scheduled to attend a hearing on the charges on Thursday, but the hearing has now been postponed. Ilyse Fink, a spokeswoman for the Buildings Department, said the agency is continuing to look at other projects submitted by Mr. Scarano.

According to the petition outlining the charges before the city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, at least 17 of the buildings cited in the charges were designed with more floor area than was allowed under zoning rules.

At the core of the case prepared by the Buildings Department is the contention that Mr. Scarano abused the honor system that allows architects and engineers to police themselves by approving their own building plans. Known as the professional certification program, the honor system was instituted under the Giuliani administration and was meant to trim costs by cutting the workload for the city's plan examiners. It was also intended to eliminate obstacles to building in a city where, at the time, construction projects could be delayed for months while builders waited for plans to be approved.

By participating in the professional certification program, architects guarantee to the city that their plans meet zoning and building codes. But the city has experienced a tremendous boom in new construction in the last several years, and officials have begun to worry that the honor system leaves too much room for architects and developers to run roughshod over zoning rules and safety regulations.

In response, the Buildings Department has drafted a series of changes to its disciplinary procedures that would make it easier to pursue architects and engineers who it believes are code scofflaws — one proposal would give the department's commissioner the right to pre-emptively strip them of the right to certify their own plans. The proposed changes were presented to a group of industry members last Tuesday.

If the city succeeds in its case against Mr. Scarano, he will be required to have all his plans approved by city examiners. He would be the first architect in more than a year to be barred from signing off on his own plans under the professional certification program, according to data on disciplinary actions posted online by the Buildings Department.

Ms. Fink said one reason there were few recent cases was that several staff members left the department's investigative unit last year. She said that the unit has since hired more investigators.

The complaint about many of Mr. Scarano's buildings is not that they are too tall or break height restrictions. Instead, the city contends that they are too big in another sense: they exceed limits on square footage, making them too bulky.

The building at 78 Ten Eyck Street, which has 11 condos, is typical of many of the buildings designed by Mr. Scarano. In plans submitted to the city in 2003, he described it as a four-story building. But it is at least 55 feet tall, more typically the height of a five- or six-story building, and it dwarfs its two- and three-story neighbors.

That is because Mr. Scarano included three mezzanine floors, turning the apartments into virtual duplexes, with an upstairs and a downstairs and a double-height ceiling in the living room.

But when it came time to calculate the square footage of the building to show that it qualified under the zoning code's floor-area limits, Mr. Scarano said the mezzanine floors were exempt and subtracted their 2,442 square feet from the total.

The Buildings Department reviewed the plans for 78 Ten Eyck early last year and stopped work on the condo project, informing the developer, Lipe Gross, that the building, which was nearing completion, was too big.

In response, city records show, Mr. Gross paid $200,000 to a neighbor to transfer 2,000 square feet of air rights to his property in an attempt to make the building legal. He has also agreed to make some of the mezzanines smaller, further reducing the building's square footage.

Mr. Gross said that when the issue of the floor area arose last year, Mr. Scarano told him that in his understanding of Buildings Department rules, he was not required to count the mezzanines because the low ceiling height, just over seven feet, exempted them from floor area tabulations. "He was understanding that it was kosher," Mr. Gross said.

Mr. Scarano refused requests for an interview. A lawyer for Mr. Scarano, Raymond T. Mellon, said that neither he nor Mr. Scarano would answer questions related to the disciplinary case before the hearing. Mr. Mellon has filed papers with the city denying the charges and saying that the city's interpretation of the building and zoning rules was subjective.

Gloria Sinchi literally lives in the shadow of 78 Ten Eyck, in a rented apartment in an English basement on Leonard Street. She said her three children no longer play in the small concrete yard behind their apartment. That is partly because of the construction, she said, but more because the yard is now deep in the shadow of its towering neighbor.

The building at 78 Ten Eyck, which is called Tower 78 in marketing materials, occupies an L-shaped lot, and Ms. Sinchi's yard is hemmed in by the two legs of the L, with high walls on both sides. "It's all surrounded," she said.

Mr. Gross took his condos off the market last spring after the city audit. But other condo buildings designed by Mr. Scarano have been completed and are now occupied by new apartment owners.

Mr. Scarano designed the buildings at 63 and 69 Stagg Street in Williamsburg, around the corner from 78 Ten Eyck. Here too, Mr. Scarano described the Stagg Street buildings, in documents filed with the city as 55-foot-tall buildings, each with four stories and three mezzanines. In drawings submitted to the city, Mr. Scarano estimated that the maximum allowable floor area permitted for each of the two buildings was 6,600 square feet.

Nonetheless, the drawings indicate each building has a total of more than 10,000 square feet of space. To account for the difference, Mr. Scarano deducted from his zoning calculations for each building nearly 1,800 square feet of mezzanine space and more than 2,000 square feet of basement space that made up the lower level of a ground-floor duplex. Each building contains eight units.

The Buildings Department audited Mr. Scarano's plans last spring and let the work continue, then gave the buildings certificates of occupancy in July.

But now the city contends in its disciplinary complaint that Mr. Scarano's calculations were faulty and that the mezzanine and the basement space should have been counted as part of the overall floor area of the buildings.

Ms. Fink, the Buildings Department spokeswoman, said the city's investigation of Mr. Scarano applies only to the drawings and other documents he submitted. In some cases, she said, zoning violations may have been addressed to bring the buildings into compliance before they were completed. But she said she was not permitted to discuss details of the projects, including the status of finished buildings like the ones on Stagg Street.

While several of the buildings have been completed, some are under construction and work on others has not yet begun. Ms. Fink said the city would eventually have to consider what to do with completed buildings that may have too much floor area or may contain other violations.

The mezzanine has become something of a Scarano signature and has made Mr. Scarano's services very much in demand. Developers, as a rule, are eager to maximize the square footage of their buildings, and in many cases, Mr. Scarano's mezzanines have given them a way to do just that.

Mr. Scarano has been prolific in recent years, and an analysis of Buildings Department data online suggests that the buildings cited in the city's case may be part of a broader pattern. According to the online data, Mr. Scarano has submitted plans for at least 299 new buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island since the early 1990's; 44 of those have been completed.

Among Mr. Scarano's filings are plans for about 150 buildings containing one or more mezzanines, virtually all of those coming in the last six years. Approximately two-thirds of the buildings with mezzanines are described in Mr. Scarano's filings as having four stories and being at least 54 feet tall, suggesting the designs have similarities to the Ten Eyck and Stagg Street projects already targeted in the city's investigation.

Mr. Scarano has incorporated mezzanines into plans for much larger buildings as well. One of his more ambitious projects is a 172-foot-tall condo tower with medical offices planned for 62 Brighton Second Place in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in an area of mostly one- and two-story bungalows. Each of the proposed building's 10 apartments has a mezzanine with a terrace and bathroom.

But in zoning calculations submitted with his drawings, Mr. Scarano deducted more than a third of the building's total residential square footage, including all the mezzanine space. In this way, a 14,000-square-foot building manages to squeeze into a 9,024-square-foot zoning envelope. The building is not one of those cited in the city's disciplinary case against Mr. Scarano, and the project was issued a preliminary permit in January.

Whether mezzanines should be counted for zoning purposes will most likely be a major issue when an administrative law judge decides the case involving Mr. Scarano. Zoning rules include mezzanines in a list of building features that must be counted as floor area. But there is at least one exception. The Buildings Department's guidelines for architects and engineers say that mezzanines intended as storage space can be omitted from floor-area calculations if they have ceiling heights of five feet or less and are accessible only by a ladder.

Mr. Scarano routinely labels mezzanines as storage space in his drawings and related documents. But in case after case, they contain windows and bathrooms or laundry rooms, are reached by a staircase and are clearly intended as living space.

While neighborhood residents accuse Mr. Scarano of breaking the rules, other developers ask if the rules are being applied evenly. Kris Corey is completing construction of a pair of four-story rental buildings at 264 and 268 Devoe Street in Williamsburg. In recent months he has watched as another developer put up a building designed by Mr. Scarano at 270 Devoe next door. Mr. Scarano's building — described in filings with the city as four stories with two mezzanines — is taller than Mr. Corey's buildings and appears to have substantially more square footage.

Mr. Corey said he asked his own architect about the difference. "I said to him, 'Did we shortchange ourselves?' " Mr. Corey recounted. "And he said, 'You're built to the max by the letter of the law.' "

"It's not fair," Mr. Corey said. "If he's allowed to do it, why couldn't we?"

Mr. Scarano's building on Devoe Street has not been audited by the city and is not included in the Buildings Department case.

Kevin Shea, a lawyer and expediter who helps architects and building owners negotiate the labyrinth of zoning rules and Buildings Department procedures, has been waging a campaign against Mr. Scarano's 16-story building on East Third Street at the Bowery.

Along the way, he said, he has confronted what he contends is a willingness of the Buildings Department to ignore apparent zoning violations or to find creative ways to make zoning rules fit Mr. Scarano's building, rather than the other way around.

Mr. Shea submitted a brief to the city's Board of Standards and Appeals last November detailing numerous objections to the building, which he says has many zoning violations and substantially more square footage than should be allowed. This building is also separate from the city's disciplinary case with Mr. Scarano, and largely involves different zoning issues.

To what degree it may be overbuilt depends partly on what the building is used for. That is because the zoning rules allow different amounts of square footage for apartments, for which it was originally designed, than for hotel rooms, for which it is currently being reconfigured.

Mr. Shea contends that it is too big in any case. "I think four floors should come off the top," he said.

An interest in the building was sold last year to the group of developers that created the fashionable Maritime Hotel on West 16th Street at Ninth Avenue. They hired a new architect and a zoning lawyer, and have been in discussions with Mr. Shea and city officials.

"This doesn't seem to be an egregious violation of the zoning," said Richard Born, one of the new investors in the project. "There are issues, but they seem to be resolvable."

Mr. Shea was reluctant to be quoted as saying anything critical of the Buildings Department, since he works with it on a regular basis, but he said he felt compelled to speak up about Mr. Scarano and what he sees as a willingness of officials to bend the rules.

Mr. Shea said he first notified the Buildings Department in May 2004 that he believed there were problems with the design of the East Third Street building. The department conducted an audit that raised numerous concerns, but after a brief halt, city officials let work proceed, and the building is now largely completed.

In his brief submitted to the Board of Standards and Appeals, Mr. Shea accuses the Buildings Department of coining novel interpretations of its own rules in an effort to let Mr. Scarano's building stand. "If the answer to how big a building is or what you can do in the construction industry is 'whatever you can get away with,' then I'm out of business," Mr. Shea said.

He said the Buildings Department had "lost control" of the honor system that allows architects and engineers to sign off on their own work. "The program rests on a promise and a threat," he said. "The promise is that of the professional, that his plans conform to the code and the zoning resolution. And the threat is that, if the Buildings Department finds out otherwise, they're either going to discipline the architect or order remedial measures to bring the building into compliance.

"Four East Third Street is what happens when an empty promise is met by an empty threat."

Dont move to NYC if you dont want to see "huge" 16 story buildings, move to Montana and be quite.
Whats at the top a bell tower?

Great work! I haven't heard of almost half of these until now.

boy krull-- that is one ugly building^

Is 80 South Street still in the drawing boards, ready to start construction? I'm really looking forward to this one.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_154/parkerbeginsdemolition.html

Volume 18 • Issue 49 | April 21 - 27, 2006

Parker begins demolition before approval to rebuild

By Ronda Kaysen

A stand of squat, one-story buildings in North Tribeca will soon be demolished, making way for a controversial residential development project.

The Jack Parker Corporation began cleaning the buildings bounded by West, Washington, Watts and Desbrosses Sts. of asbestos last week and plans to begin demolishing them soon.

Parker recently applied to rezone the block along with three other blocks to make way for high-rise residential developments. The Parker Corp. insists last week’s work is nothing more than what it is: a preliminary demolition, and does not mean that the company is preparing to begin building before it has city approval.

“The buildings have deteriorated to the point that they are not safe standing,” said William Wallerstein, vice president of the Parker Corp. “Rather than repair something that will ultimately be demolished, we decided to bring them down.”

The Parker Corp.’s plans for the area have not boded well with local residents who insist the zoning proposal would open the door for large, bulky buildings. Residents launched a campaign to block the application, which must be approved by City Council and the City Planning Commission. Community Board 1 rejected the application, although the board is only advisory.

The demolition has not ignited anger in the community, however. “We welcome the demolition, we have absolutely no problems with that,” said Andrew Neale, a Community Board 1 member and a member of the Tribeca Community Association, which has spearheaded the fight against Parker. “What is there now? It’s a hideous eyesore.”

Neale was concerned, however, that the demolition would wreak havoc on the Fleming Smith Warehouse, a landmark building located across the street from the property.

Wallerstein insists that his company—which successfully demolished five buildings surrounding a historic Broadway theater in Midtown—knows how to take down buildings safely.

“The demolition work isn’t being done with a wrecking ball, we’re not bringing in dynamite,” he said. “We are concerned about any nearby building, whether it’s next door or down the block.”

— Ronda Kaysen

I swear New York is the NIMBY capital of the world. :bash:

I swear New York is the NIMBY capital of the world. :bash:


I just skimmed through the thread but noticed that there are no proposed supertalls in NYC. Plus there was that post with residents saying that a proposal was TOO BIG. Sadly all they have now is the Empire State building witch was completed way back in 1931 as a building with significant heigt. I hope that they build Trump's idea of the WTC replacement but does the FAR(Floor to Area Ratio) in the NYC lawbooks restrict big buildings like you see in Hong Kong, Chicago, Dubai, Shaghai, Guangzhou and other places with extremely tall buildings? NYC needs to move UP UP UP.

Is 80 South Street still in the drawing boards, ready to start construction? I'm really looking forward to this one.

Not till they sell some units, so far they havent sold any.

NYC doesnt build super tall anymore, didnt you get the memo, their scared.

^^It's the families of the victims that are scared, not New York. :ohno:

Trust me, NY has to build tall, can't believe Miami and Vegas are building taller than NY.

^^It's the families of the victims that are scared, not New York. :ohno:

I wasnt talking just about ground zero, they whole city hasnt put up a decent 1000 footer recently, one that doesnt use a spire.

There are rumours that the Tunnel Garage in the TriBeCa area near the Holland Tunnel could be slated for demolition as another run of the mill highrise would replace it. Residents of TriBeCa, Greenwich Village, and West Village have been rallying against its demolition. According to Forgotten NY, it was said to be the city's very first parking garage, and it was built in anticipation of the Holland Tunnel when it was first oppened.

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/tunnelgarage/tunnelgarage1.jpg

It is a hard thing to decide, both centimental and financial manners are at stake. I say keep the buiding.

April Construction Updates
by me
Listed in height order
all taken on 4/19/06

Bank of America
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5716/pict0025bofaucapr06tothenesmal1.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/1363/pict0026bofaucapr06tothewestsm.jpg

New York Times Tower
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/04/452677.jpg

https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/04/452684.jpg

Goldman Sachs
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6456/pict0115goldmansachsucapr06tot.jpg

7 WTC
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/04/452713.jpg

https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/04/452715.jpg

10 Barclay
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7015/pict008810barclayucapr06lookin.jpg

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1214/pict007010barclayucapr06tothen.jpg

101 Warren
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/4040/pict0145101warrenucapr06tothes.jpg

1 River Terrace
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/7808/pict01281riverterraceucapr06to.jpg

200 Chambers
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9935/pict0113200chambersucapr06toth.jpg

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4623/pict0138200chambersucapr06toth.jpg

Nice, especialy the NYT Tower.

From the recent scaffolding, my guess is that 2 Columbus Circle will be recladded despite the many that opposed it. :down:

Rendering
http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59080576.2ColumbusCircle.JPG

Current site
http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_04_davinci.jpg

i agree, ny doesn't have to re-invent itself. it will remain an icon and stand above all else forever.

Nothing stands above all else forever, nothing ever lasts.

Sure New York will always be a great city, but as with every other city that has been number 1 before, it can't be forever...

Nice towers though:)

Why not, unless a great dissaster, like an earthquake they say might happen. Not forever maybe, but im guesssing for the next 250 years why not?

^^ No doubt it will be for a good few years yet, but have you seen China? The economy is growing so fast they don't know what to do with it! The cities are growing at an alarming rate, one city I think completes something like 20,000 sqmeters of office space per day!

It is getting so powerfull that soon no one will be able to keep up with it, and power= money, and money= big cities and big buildings.

I doubt any chinese city will ever have the heart of cities like NYC, or London, or Paris though, and on alot of levels I guess that is what counts!

Anyway back on topic! As I said great buildings, but it's a shame they werent past 1,000 to roof height, well I guess we will just have to wait for the Freedom tower! Whats the deal with that anyway?

Look differant. http://www.earthcam.net/users/interface.php?id=445&projectid=202&clientid=158

Today, a deal was struck, and construction on Freedom Tower should start within days. WTC Tower Two might have a roof around 1,000 feet.

Really? That's great!

#2 is going to be sweet i have a feeling.

From the recent scaffolding, my guess is that 2 Columbus Circle will be recladded despite the many that opposed it. :down:

Rendering
http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59080576.2ColumbusCircle.JPG

Current site
http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_04_davinci.jpg

WHAT?! ALREADY?!

someone stop this

^^ Is it me or is Columbus Circle reinventing itself http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/mr-fish/Miscellaneous/q.gif

I think Bank of America Tower is one of the coolest, yet most unknown towers.

Staten Island needs stuff too. :bash: Maybe in a decade or so, they will get tall buildings by the waterfront.

Look differant. http://www.earthcam.net/users/interface.php?id=445&projectid=202&clientid=158
I looked at that link, and nobody was there.

I looked at that link, and nobody was there. Exactly

But it looks like they finally made a deal and the government is going to build the freedom tower and another one on Ground zero, Silversteen still is going to build the other 3.

It said they start construction as early as next week.

"I have instructed our construction team to mobilize into the site tomorrow so that we can begin construction of the Freedom Tower immediately." -Larry Silverstein, April 26th of 2006

^Exciting. It's about time.

I think Goldman Sachs is going to mix in okay with FT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/nyregion/27rebuild.html?_r=1&oref=login
A Plan to Rebuild by 2012, and Doubts on the Big Rush

By CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: April 27, 2006

The new plan for ground zero calls for the accelerated construction of a sprawling commercial complex: 8.8 million square feet of office space in four towers 58 to 70 stories high. All would open within a year of each other, by 2012.

Gov. George E. Pataki and others say the conceptual plan, officially approved yesterday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey after months of gridlock, will rejuvenate Lower Manhattan and ensure that it remains the financial capital of the world.

But some construction and real estate industry executives, and some urban planners, hear echoes of the hoopla surrounding the original World Trade Center project more than 30 years ago. They are questioning whether the rapid building of so much speculative office space would have the same destabilizing consequences for the downtown market as the twin towers had in the 1970's.

Some experts are even wondering whether there will be enough steel, concrete and curtain wall to build the four towers by 2012 at the same time that two baseball stadiums, the $2 billion Goldman Sachs headquarters, the $1.7 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Moynihan Station, 10,000 apartments and various subway projects are under construction.

Yesterday, the influential Regional Plan Association and the Fiscal Policy Institute welcomed the plan, but they, like many developers, continued to question the wisdom of building the tallest of the skyscrapers, the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, intended to be a symbol of the city's resilience.

They said the tower would stand too far from public transportation and was unlikely to attract corporate tenants, who view it as a potential terrorist target. Some government officials suggested that the site be brought up to street level and then put into mothballs next year.

"The Freedom Tower is a disastrous idea that should be scratched," said Susan S. Fainstein, a professor of urban planning at Columbia University.

Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, was far more upbeat. "This agreement will provide a significant boost to the economy of Lower Manhattan by eliminating much of the uncertainty regarding the area's economic future," she said, adding that businesses would be lured by the neighborhood's comparatively low business costs.

But one thing is certain: the cost of the buildings, now estimated at $6.3 billion, is going to jump. Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate company advising the Port Authority, has built inflation into the numbers. Construction costs are continuing to escalate, at the rate of 1 percent a month.

"I don't know how long it'll continue," said Frank J. Sciame, the former chairman of the New York Building Congress, "but that's the case for the next year or two."

The World Trade Center, a 10 million-square-foot office complex built by the Port Authority, opened in late 1970 during one of the worst real estate markets since the Depression. To provide anchor tenants for the 110-story towers, state agencies moved into two million square feet of space in one tower, and the Port Authority took 900,000 square feet in the second.

The trade center also offered subsidized rents to lure tenants out of surrounding buildings, angering local landlords.

It was not until the mid-1980's that the state began relocating to other buildings. And a breakthrough came in 1985, when Dean Witter Financial Services leased 24 floors in Tower 2, opening the way for other financial firms. Still, occupancy fluctuated wildly until 1998, when companies fleeing high rents in Midtown pushed the occupancy rate to 98 percent.

In late 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his vision for downtown and drew on some of the lessons of the trade center. He said that it made no sense to rush ahead to rebuild the 10 million square feet of lost office space.

"If we are honest with ourselves," he said, "we will recognize that the impact on our city was not all positive. The twin towers' voracious appetite for tenants weakened the entire downtown market."

But last fall, Mr. Bloomberg started calling for the ground zero project to accelerate. And the plan approved yesterday moves the completion date for the four office towers to 2012, from 2015.

Government agencies — city, state, federal and the Port Authority — are expected to account for 25 percent of the 8.8 million square feet, only slightly less space than they took up in the twin towers in 1972.

"The need to relocate government offices to the World Trade Center in the 1970's was a sign of the economic failure of that project," said David Dyssegaard Kallick, a senior fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute. "It would make more sense to ensure that we fully fund the public spaces, like the memorial and the performing arts center. Then, allow for the gradual development of the office space with market demand."

One downtown landlord, who expects to lose his government tenant to the new trade center complex, said, "They're about to make the same mistake they did in the 1970's."

The executive, who was granted anonymity because he did not want to damage his relationship with his largest tenant, a government agency, predicted: "They'll pull all the city, state and federal agencies out of other buildings and put them in there. It'll take a long time for other owners to relet their buildings."

Barry M. Gosin, chief executive of Newmark Knight Frank, a real estate firm, also said the timetable was too short. "They'll be competing with themselves," he said. "They should leave a few sites zoned and ready to go when demand dictates."

But Bill Rudin, a third-generation developer and a major downtown landlord, said that his family was one of the few in real estate who supported the trade center in 1970, and that he supported the new ground zero plan. He said that while a few downtown companies would move to the new towers, most would come from outside the area.

"There is a need for this type of space," he said. "In the last year or so, we've seen Midtown tighten and companies being priced out. Where are they going to but downtown?"

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that he was still concerned about building all four towers simultaneously, which "may very well lead to too much office space coming on the market at one time." But, he added, the empty holes at the trade center site have become a "great disincentive to rent downtown."

"On balance," the mayor said, "I'd just as soon get everything going."

Still, it may be physically impossible to build all four towers by 2012, as well as the memorial, the museum, the $2 billion PATH terminal and other nearby projects. Even before the accelerated schedule, Charles J. Maikish, executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, estimated that there would be 10,000 to 15,000 construction workers a day on ground zero projects over the next three to five years.

The trade center site will be competing for materials and labor with a dozen other major projects, including the extension of the No. 7 subway line on the West Side and the construction of the Second Avenue Subway on the East Side.

nice work, and NY is was, is and will be the skyscrapercapital of the world

Nice projects here!!! I really love the 15 Central Park West.


But you forgot this shit:
http://academics.triton.edu/faculty/fheitzman/New%20York%20Santiago%20Calatrava%2080%20South%20Street%20Housing.jpg

Calatrava's 80 SS is doubtful.

It like 50 mill for one cube.

Here is a recent shot of the Brooklyn Marriot expansion by Randy Sanford over at SSP, though I don't find it to be that special nor does it look anything like the Marriot Hotel itself.

http://www.pbase.com/randy4au/image/59314543/original.jpg

I really hope that 80 South Street gets built! Anyway, that Goldman Sachs Headquarters tower is getting built right next to the new WTC, right? That will add another scrapper!

Is this the location?
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4456/a5vm.jpg

l love new york

I really hope that 80 South Street gets built! Anyway, that Goldman Sachs Headquarters tower is getting built right next to the new WTC, right? That will add another scrapper!

Is this the location?
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4456/a5vm.jpg


That is the spot alright. Its interesting that people say that downtown is experiencing a low right now. If you stood at the spot where the Freedom Tower is going to rise, in 5 square blocks around you, you have 12 barclay rising, goldman sachs, 200 chamber street, that thing on warren st, 7wtc finishing up. a major remodel for the big subway stations downtown. i dont think downtown has seen this much development since the 70s

Nice projects here!!! I really love the 15 Central Park West.


But you forgot this shit:
http://academics.triton.edu/faculty/fheitzman/New%20York%20Santiago%20Calatrava%2080%20South%20Street%20Housing.jpg

What a idiotic building, lets all pray it doesnt get build since it would ruin the whole, damn cubes stacked on top of each other....how stupid.

It's odd, but not stupid.

It's odd, but not stupid.

Just doesn't fit in with the rest of the skyline, its too empty in a way.

^^ No doubt it will be for a good few years yet, but have you seen China? The economy is growing so fast they don't know what to do with it! The cities are growing at an alarming rate, one city I think completes something like 20,000 sqmeters of office space per day!

It is getting so powerfull that soon no one will be able to keep up with it, and power= money, and money= big cities and big buildings.

I doubt any chinese city will ever have the heart of cities like NYC, or London, or Paris though, and on alot of levels I guess that is what counts!

Anyway back on topic! As I said great buildings, but it's a shame they werent past 1,000 to roof height, well I guess we will just have to wait for the Freedom tower! Whats the deal with that anyway?

People said the same thing about japan in the 1980's so from now on, i am going to yawn to this.

This shot from flickr shows that 40 Mercer St is nearing completion.

http://static.flickr.com/49/137209720_85b7acee5c_b.jpg

Ok sorry about not updating the Freedom Tower on time... I was in Southern California for a week, with no access to the internet unfortunately. ;)

So it is underconstruction! :nocrook:

Residential construction booming in NYC


by Tom Fredrickson
April 28, 2006

At a time when residential construction is cooling nationally, it's on fire in New York City.

New York City builders filed permits to pour $665 million into new residential construction in the first quarter of 2006, 55% more than the comparable period of last year's torrid pace, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The number of units permitted increased by 30% to 7,697 over the same period. "It's pretty much unprecedented," says city Building Commissioner Patricia Lancaster.

The growth is being driven by the surging value of residential property, which makes it easy for builders to make the numbers work on residential projects, Ms. Lancaster says. What's more, the growth is largely unhampered by zoning restrictions because many areas of the city allow for much denser housing than exists presently.

The following is a breakdown by borough:

Staten Island leapt 385% to 296 units, with a 387% increase in residential construction value.

Manhattan experienced a 38% rise in permits, to 2,466, with a 68% increase in construction value.

Queens permits surged 51% to 1,647 units, with a 69% increase in value.

Brooklyn saw a 2% increase in number of units permitted, rising to 2,265, with a 20% increase in construction value.

The Bronx saw a 38% jump in units permitted, rising to 1,074, with a 64% increase in construction value.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

Mike: I'll never west


http://www.nydailynews.com/images/graphics/2westchart.jpg


BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
April 28, 2006

Nearly a year after Mayor Bloomberg's grand plan to bring the Jets back to New York collapsed in a spectacular defeat, the city is moving forward with a massive effort to revitalize Manhattan's far West Side.

"Other than the stadium, there is nothing that's not going according to plan," said Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who is spearheading City Hall's effort to redevelop the area bounded by Seventh Ave., 28th St., 43rd St. and the Hudson River.

"All of the hopes that we had for the Hudson Yards remain as realistic as we would have thought a year ago," Doctoroff told the Daily News. "And a lot of things are moving along."

Doctoroff said the $2 billion extension of the No. 7 subway line from Times Square to the West Side will be a major motivator for development. Construction is to begin by year's end.

"That in many ways is the catalyst. That's what people are sort of waiting on, particularly from a commercial perspective," he said.

Doctoroff told The News the city is "beginning the process" of stitching together an alternative plan for the site of the proposed Jets stadium that was torpedoed last June by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer).

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea), one of the most vocal opponents of the Jets stadium, said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the site's owner, should have solicited new bids by now.

MTA officials and Doctoroff confirmed there is still no timetable to do so. "You want to do something that's thoughtful," the deputy mayor said.

But other than the stadium, Quinn said she is "very happy with the way the rest of the Hudson Yards and the far west Chelsea area is moving forward. "The city rezoned the area, providing for 24 million square feet of office space, 13,500 units of housing and a million square feet of retail.

Construction is to begin soon on the expansion of the Javits Center, and design work on a midblock park and boulevard between 10th and 11th Aves., from 33rd to 39th Sts., is to also begin later this year.

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he wasn't concerned about competition between redevelopment in lower Manhattan and the far West Side.

"What we're trying to do is to develop throughout this whole city," said Bloomberg, adding that the No. 7 line is key to the success of the West Side.

"Once that's there, that will be a very hot real estate market."


All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

NIMBY's are mad!!! :bash:


Fighting New Heights on the Upper West Side


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/01/nyregion/01west.1901.jpg
Ariel East, one of two towers
being built on Broadway, between
99th and 100th Streets. Some
neighborhood groups that oppose
the project are seeking rezoning.


By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: May 1, 2006

When it gets mad, the upper Upper West Side springs fiercely into combat — most of the time, that is.

It was in the book-cluttered apartments between 96th Street and 110th Street where much of the successful plot to defeat a $1.1 billion West Side superhighway was hatched, leaving a governor and a mayor choking in the organizers' dust in 1985. In a smaller skirmish six years ago, residents were upset that a CVS pharmacy had opened on a stretch of Broadway that already had two Duane Reades and a Rite Aid. Petitions, pickets and a boycott followed and, a year and half later, the CVS closed its doors.

Yet, almost no one had any idea about what some see as a much more serious threat to the neighborhood's character. Its zoning is so generous that it allowed Ariel East and Ariel West, two luxury towers — one that at 38 stories would be twice as tall as any other building around it — to be erected opposite each other on Broadway, without the daunting gantlet of a West Side review.

Those towers are inexorably rising, and that is why the neighborhood, shocked into action, is hurrying to rezone before developers begin tearing down shops, supermarkets and other low-rise sites and replacing them with other tall apartment buildings.

"The race is to get it finished before new owners start their projects," said Miki Fiegel, president of West Siders for Responsible Development, a neighborhood group pushing for low-scale zoning.

Time is a factor, because right now any entrepreneur who assembles a lot of sufficient size can — without any community review — match the height of the two towers, and there are at least a half dozen spots ripe for such development.

The battle on the Upper West Side is also being played out in various forms in the South Bronx, in Midwood and Red Hook, Brooklyn, and in other neighborhoods as the city struggles with the blessings of low crime and rising home values. But few neighborhoods can match turnouts like the 700 residents who attended a recent meeting at a neighborhood synagogue, Ansche Chesed. Ethel Sheffer, chairwoman of a Community Board 7 task force that is evaluating new zoning proposals, said older and poorer residents voiced fears that their apartments might be torn down and that they would be pushed out.

"They said, 'There won't be places for people like me,' " she said.

Any rezoning plan must eventually be approved by the City Council.

At stake is the personality of a neighborhood not quite like any of the city's others. It is a raffish mix of writers, leftists, musicians — Judy Collins and Lorin Hollander have apartments here — housing project tenants, the formerly homeless and, increasingly, Wall Street investors. Politically, it is liberal and generates one of the city's largest election turnouts. Ethnically, it crosses the globe, whiter on the affluent east and west margins, more black and Latino residents in the middle.

According to the 2000 census, of the 52,032 residents in the tracts between 97th Street and 110th Street from Central Park to the Hudson River, 43.3 percent were white, 31.8 percent were Hispanic, 16.7 were black and 5.1 percent were Asian.

The stout old co-op buildings are less expensive and sometimes dingier than those to the south between 96th Street and Lincoln Center, and there are fewer brownstones, more tenements and more than 30 single-room occupancy buildings. Even though the median rent is $756, the median value of the owner-occupied co-ops, condos and brownstones is $328,561.

Many onetime socialists are, to their embarrassment, millionaires on paper. Along Broadway, there are plenty of idiosyncratic shops, but a crop of new banks and chain drugstores have piqued fears about Banana Republics or Gaps to come.

This being the West Side, the rezoning push has set off feuding. The differences among the factions sound technical, but they essentially represent a clash between those who want to keep the neighborhood as close to its present scale as possible and those who think it should do its part in building enough housing for the city's swelling population.


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/01/nyregion/01west.1902.jpg
Andrew S. Dolkart of Columbia
University leading a tour of the
Upper West Side for Landmark
West, a group that promotes
the neighborhood's architectural
preservation.



Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

People said the same thing about japan in the 1980's so from now on, i am going to yawn to this.

Well you'll be in for a big surprise, like I said before, nothing lasts forever.

Japan is now probably the most technologically advanced country on the planet anyway.

Downtown keeps getting hotter!!! :cheers:


Aon heads back downtown
Displaced firm signs for Water St.; leasing activity picking up


By Julie Satow
Published on May 01, 2006

A major World Trade Center tenant that relocated to midtown after the terrorist attacks is returning to lower Manhattan.

Aon Corp., which had occupied 400,000 square feet in the south tower, is moving its entire New York City workforce to 199 Water St.

The insurance and consulting company lost 176 employees on Sept. 11, and soon thereafter moved its headquarters to 55 E. 52nd St., between Park and Madison avenues. It also leased a smaller office at 199 Water, between John and Fulton streets. Now it will consolidate the two offices in 400,000 square feet at 199 Water, which will be named for Aon, and give up the 270,000-square-foot midtown office in a sublease.

"Aon's decision to consolidate its workforce in lower Manhattan is a testament to the vitality of downtown," says Eric Deutsch, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York. He called the move "fantastic."

The lease is one of downtown's largest in nearly five years. It comes on the heels of last week's agreement, between government officials and developer Larry Silverstein, aimed at spurring the construction of five towers at Ground Zero by 2012.

In another positive sign for downtown, the Royal Bank of Canada is negotiating for an additional 200,000 square feet at the World Financial Center. The bank already occupies 155,000 square feet at 1 Liberty Plaza.

At 199 Water, Aon is adding 200,000 square feet to double its space. Aon's new lease, a sublet from Wachovia Corp., runs through 2017.

Aon edged out the city's Office of the Comptroller, which was preparing to move into 199 Water. It backed out at the behest of the city's Economic Development Corp., which was eager to lure Aon downtown. Jones Lang LaSalle, which represented Wachovia, declined to comment.

The comptroller, housed in the municipal building at 1 Centre St., is in the market for 250,000 square feet and is looking at several spots, including 100 Church St., 25 Broadway and 26 Broadway. The Staubach Co., which represents the comptroller, declined to comment. The space Aon has vacated in midtown has an asking rent of $79 a square foot and is being marketed by CB Richard Ellis, which declined to comment.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

Development Costs Make Rentals Scarce


By MICHAEL STOLER
April 27, 2006

Take a look at the New York City skyline. Construction is booming throughout the five boroughs. Hundreds of residential units are being developed, and the majority of them are condominiums. Due to the astronomical cost of land, construction, and other costs, less than 2% of all new residential developments are being built as rentals. The director at Eastern Consolidated Properties, Alan Miller, said, "Exorbitant construction costs for high-rise residential development make building a rental tower prohibitive for nearly all ground-up projects in the city. Unless land has been owned for five to 10 years at a minimum - which can be a lifetime in New York City - the lid will remain on any substantial number of new construction rental housing units in Manhattan. Even with city and governmental incentives that may be available today, the high barriers to entry in the N.Y.C. marketplace will limit the amount of new rental product that comes online for the foreseeable future."

The two largest components of residential development are the cost of land and cost of construction. Industry leaders say construction costs have risen more than 30% over the past year. Construction costs in Manhattan today range from $275 to $450 a square foot, depending on the complexity of the project and the finishes within the units. In certain instances, the cost of construction for ultra-luxury condominiums is nearing $750 a square foot. In Brooklyn and Queens, construction costs range from $200 to $300 a square foot, depending on the project, its location, and whether the building is being constructed by a union contractor. The president of Triangle Equities, Lester Petracca, said, "Combined with increased construction costs, sometimes to a level nearing $300 per square foot for hard costs only, the high cost of land has prohibited rental development throughout the outer boroughs."

Mr. Miller said, "With the intense competition to secure land in the Big Apple from local, domestic, and an increasing number of international companies seeking a piece of the rock to construct the best new condominiums, high land prices prohibit new rental product coming online in the near term for the city."

He added, "For the best locations, like corner properties in Midtown - for example Macklowe Properties' recent purchase of the Drake Hotel - the market still seems never-ending.With a strong retail component, you can average down the cost to $300 to $400 a developable foot after carving out value of retail." The cost of the actual land sold for $942 a developable foot.

***

In certain neighborhoods, such as TriBeCa and Chelsea, developable land is selling for more than $450 a foot. Mr. Miller said, "I have under contract a development site on a corner location in Chelsea at $440 and another site selling for in excess of $500 a developable foot, side streets still attaining prices of $300 a developable foot and there are as many new buyers to the market as ever." A partner at a prominent investment sales brokerage company said, "What I've been hearing from developers is that they only want prime locations, in such locations as on West 57th Street. In that way, when the condo market continues to soften, their locations will differentiate their product."

Cost of developable land in Brooklyn is ranging from $125 to $200, with prices of $225 to $250 for waterfront views. A principal at Muss Development, Jason Muss, said, "Land is hovering in the $80 to $120 per square foot range in Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods that offer reasonable access to mass transit into Manhattan and that have enough FAR to allow for efficiencies of scale. Land in areas that are considered hot, such as DUMBO or Flushing, might go for $150. I don't believe people are actually attaining the $200 per square foot price thrown around for Brooklyn and Queens, but everyone wants to start there. As such, those deals won't happen and that land will sit until the given landowner becomes more realistic."

Mr. Miller said that his firm recently sold 447-49 Fulton Street for more than $200 a square foot. Prices in prime Long Island City locations are ranging from $150 to $200 per developable foot and have increased significantly since a city rezoning. Mr. Miller said that in July 2004 his firm sold a site at 45-56 Pearson St. off Jackson Avenue across from Citicorp Tower, for $65 a developable foot. He said that only six months after the closing, the property was resold for more than double the price. "Waterfront sites are selling for 25% to 50% higher," Mr. Miller said. In the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, 60-90 Metropolitan Ave., on the former site of the Old Dutch Mustard company, sold for $25 million, or nearly $200 a square foot.

***

The chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, Robert Knakal, said, "We have seen a noticeable flight to quality in the development business. Only the most prime sites are holding their value. Sites in secondary and tertiary locations are seeing reduction in pricing of 5% to 20%." The president of the City Investment Fund, Thomas Lydon, said, "Overall, land prices are stable to trending downward. There is more flexibility on the part of sellers of land. Construction cost increases and rising interest rates should continue the downward trend - perhaps 10% to 15% - over the next 12 months. Developers are monitoring current sales prices of projects being delivered to see if condominium sales prices can allow them to pass on construction increases. If it stays fairly strong, then landowners will continue to have good liquidity. However, any hiccups in absorption will have direct negative impact because construction lenders are tightening up their underwriting, and will reduce land draws."

The managing partner of the Clarett Group,Veronica Hackett, said, "Lenders are tightening their underwriting for new residential condominiums."A senior broker at Besen & Associates, Larry Ross, said, "Sellers still have unrealistic expectations based on what they have seen over the last year, so much so that they are reluctant to reduce their asking price. This disconnect has slowed down the overall pace at which development sites are trading.What you see are still high asking prices with much lower bids that reflect the increase in construction costs and interest rates."

Mr. Miller summed up the general feeling of industry leaders on the state of the market when he said, "The city has unbelievable resiliency on this limited island, and in my opinion will definitely be facing some resistance in the next six to 12 months. Rising interest rates, end unit condo sales stabilizing, and the meteoric rise in construction pricing will definitely lead to a softening in land per square foot sales. Nevertheless, benchmark pricing records continue to be set for every available buildable site that comes to market."


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

Found this shot of 105 Norfolk St by NYatKnight at Wired NY, and it looks as if it is going to be topped out.

http://www.pbase.com/image/59508123.jpg

^ That is very cool! Yes I guess is almost Top out.

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58858706.Blue.JPG

Crown Molding Is King
Once that nice new-car smell wears off, hot developments don’t always measure up to prewar grandeur.


http://newyorkmetro.com/realestate/realestatecolumn/realestate060501_560.jpg


By S.Jhoanna Robledo
May 8, 2006 issue of New York Magazine

The clients, who were moving from a sleek contemporary building in London, were adamant: “I said I wanted absolutely nothing prewar,” says Simone. She and her husband thought those apartments dark, depressing, and old. Two years ago, even a year ago, they would’ve ended up in one, predicts their broker, Corcoran’s John Gasdaska, so frenzied was the demand for new construction and conversions. “People were more easily persuaded to buy new construction,” he explains. “The mentality was new is better, and old is kind of passé.” In the end, after weeks of fruitless searching—the ceilings were too low in one new development; another at Time Warner was much too small for their large family—the British transplants got exactly what they said they didn’t need: a four-bedroom Park Avenue condo built in 1925.

Could the glass-is-king trend have finally peaked? A few brokers say that their buyers are reacquiring a taste for the traditional. “People are going back to resales, to prewars,” Gasdaska says. (According to a Corcoran market report, condo prices were flat last quarter.) And why not? The traditional charms of prewar buildings, says Warburg Realty’s Frederick Peters by way of reminder, never went away. “They’re just built more solidly,” says Peters, who also lauds their “wasted space, which can be a good thing. The foyer, the butler’s pantry—they make the apartment feel spacious and generous.” (New condos are often hyperefficiently laid out.) Unsurprisingly, a handful of high-profile developments such as 15 Central Park West, 110 Central Park South, and Barbizon 63 are incorporating prewar touches like long galleries, crown moldings, paneled doors, and grand foyers. “People aren’t just looking for stark modernism anymore,” says John Cetra, the architect of Barbizon 63.

That means new condos debuting on the market can no longer rely on the buzz of being new, competing instead on the merits of the apartments themselves. (There’s tons of competition, too; According to PropertyShark.com, there are 32,098 prewar buildings in Manhattan, versus 1,067 constructed since 2000.) “Buyers are pausing more and assessing their options, regardless of what they’re buying,” says Peters. In the end, says Gasdaska, his clients simply found what best fit their needs: “The new stuff just wasn’t quite right. They were almost too glitzy, too new.”


Copyright © 2006, New York Magazine Holdings LLC.

What's up with Hearst Maganize, and its building?

^lol, where have you been hiding? It's completed since a long time

IS int new york always getting new high rise buildings
Question when i see new york i see 2 sperate citys seperated by central park why dont i ever see pictures of the other city way over their

I'm not sure I understand.
You make a lot of grammatical mistakes, so it makes it harder to understand what you mean.
What does Central Park separate? East from West? North from South? Are you talking about Manhattan, or do you mean the other boroughs, or maybe across the Hudson to New Jersey? :dunno:

i just see to big cities sperated by sentral park

NY doesn't have to reinvent itself.


at most, horrbile bad designs for a worldcity like new york.

^ That is your opinion... but I say 'at most'... the desings are ok and some are good. But there are indeed some crappy ones... just like almost all the 'world cities'.

But NYC has plenty off great old buildings... which most cities will always lack.

We are lacking lots of new tall ones... that I will agree.

Nothing new and tall on the West Village (Manhattan) anymore...


Commission OKs West Village landmark status


By Tom Acitelli
May 2, 2006

The Landmarks Preservation Commission today approved landmark status for parts of the far West Village, which should prevent demolition of historic buildings in the area and any new development out of proportion with existing buildings.

The landmark status applies to blocks of the West Village bounded by Greenwich Street to the east, Perry Street to the north, Washington Street to the west, and Christopher Street to the south. Also designated by the commission for landmark status was a part of Weehawken Street between West 10th Street and Christopher along the Hudson River waterfront.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation hailed today's landmark approval. "We fought so long and hard for this, it's almost hard to believe this day has finally come," said society executive director Andrew Berman in a statement. "After 40 years, the city has finally seen the wisdom in stopping the destruction of one of New York's great historic neighborhoods."

The new landmark status includes more than 60 buildings on five city blocks. Some of the buildings date to the early 19th century.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

IS int new york always getting new high rise buildings
Question when i see new york i see 2 sperate citys seperated by central park why dont i ever see pictures of the other city way over their

http://www.fromtheair.com/images/Scenics/Manhattan%20Dntn_Sm.jpg
Its seperated into a Lower Manhatten and Midtown with low rises in between.

^but he's talking about Central Park.
I really have no idea what he's talking about, my best guess is he's trolling, his other posts are in good english, why can't he write properly here is a good indication of his motive

I guess I will add the brooklyn new 40 story tower to the Under construction page...


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59599567.BK306Gold313GoldStreet.JPG


Downtown Brooklyn
306 Gold Street and 313 Gold Street

Developers Ron Hershco and Dean Palin, along with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, broke ground in April on the $400 million, two-tower project. When completed in January 2008, 306 Gold Street will be a 400,000-square-foot tower topping out at 40 stories -- making it Brooklyn's tallest new construction building. Construction on 313 Gold Street -- a 35-story, 250,000-square-foot tower with 214 condo units -- is slated to begin in August 2006. Sales for 306 Gold Street are expected to begin in fall 2006. Prudential Douglas Elliman will handle sales and marketing for the project.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

I am guessing this is under construction already... Anybody knows?


The Edge: A 1,300-unit apartment complex which will span over one million square feet on the Brooklyn waterfront.


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58002405.Edge.JPG


The 'Burg to Get Edge-ier


By Phil Guie
Thursday, March 30, 2006

The first major development on the waterfront in the wake of the rezoning is set to break ground in April, and developers were making their pitch to the local board last week.

Community Board 1 was visited by Vice President Matthew Feldman of the real estate firm Douglaston Development. His team displayed drawings of Douglaston's upcoming 1,300-unit apartment complex "The Edge," which will span over one million square feet and feature 300 units of affordable housing as required by the Inclusionary Housing Program. Rents for the low-budget units have been set at $1,100 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

Feldman said he expects The Edge - which will include two luxury towers as well as mid-size buildings for the affordable housing- to grow the local economy by bringing in "new supermarkets, liquor stores, dry cleaners" and other businesses. He said there would be a waterfront esplanade, along with water taxis to offset the flood of extra passengers on the L-train.

Not everyone in the audience, however, shared Feldman's optimism for the project. For example, Philip DePaolo from People's Firehouse Inc. said $1,100 a month was pretty steep for what is traditionally a working-class neighborhood. "This community board has an average AMI of $28,000," he told the Star. "Who are these apartments aimed at? A family with a $28,000 a year budget can't touch these apartments, or a huge chunk of their income would go towards paying the rent."

DePaolo said he had asked Feldman what it would take to lower the rents. The veep said more subsidies would help - a prospect DePaolo said was unlikely. "The problem is, they're already getting large subsidies from the city," he said. "They purchased the land right after the rezoning, so they bought it for a very low cost."

Overall, DePaolo said he could not blame Douglaston Development for angling to grab as much money as they can - not with the current administration encouraging it. "They're just going to go with what the city gave them, and the city gave them a lot," he said. "But that's just the reality of this nightmare rezoning."


Copyright @ The Ledger.

The to-be-constructed WTC transit hub has great aesthetic value and I believe that the upcoming WTC hub is definitely a new face in modern architecture and design. NYC can definitely use some revitalization and this 21st century building will surely stand out in an old city. However, as always, NYC does not plan for the future very well. This hub will cost an estimated $2 billion*, which instead could be used to improve operations and infrastructure in the city's 25 subway lines(which is absurd since some remote places require practically 2 miles to reach a station while some stops (ie the Bronx's 4 train) are 3 blocks away from each other). True, NYC's subway is more than a century old, so other metros around the globe have an advantage of being newer. But don't you think that this 100 years could be an advantage and an opportunity to learn from and improve itself? The "revitalization" does not justify the huge waste in space and resources from the construction of this transportation hub and neglect of the subway network.
*http://www.lowermanhattan.info/cons...nsportation.asp
__________________

This tall one has officially started construction...


Info: 53-story mixed-use tower one block south of Ground Zero at 123 Washington Street that would include 180 residential condominium apartments and 220 hotel rooms.


123 Washington Street:

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59639414.123WashingtonSt3.JPG


Location:

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59639308.123WashingtonSt2.JPG


Latest article...


Moinian Aims To Build Downtown Hotel Financed in Part by $50M in Liberty Bonds


By DAVID LOMBINO
April 11, 2006

Developer Joseph Moinian is aiming to break ground next month on a 53-story hotel and condominium near ground zero that could be financed in part with $50 million in Liberty Bonds - financing that Larry Silverstein is also seeking.

The city has not yet awarded the bonds to Mr. Moinian, but a city official familiar with the application said the Bloomberg administration supports his project, which it sees as a relatively inexpensive way to encourage mixed-use development in Lower Manhattan.

The official said a hotel condominium could help spur demand at ground zero, and that $50 million in Liberty Bonds is not significant enough to upset negotiations with Mr. Silverstein, who has applied for the remaining $1.67 billion of the city's Liberty Bonds.

The city has not yet awarded any Liberty Bonds to Mr. Silverstein in an effort to compel the developer to renegotiate his 99-year lease on the ground zero site.

A spokeswoman for the Moinian Group, Daphne Viders, said yesterday that the bond application is being held up because Mr. Moinian has not yet submitted all the necessary paperwork to the city. She said a luxury hotelier would partner with the developer in the project; press reports have said it will be part of the W Hotel chain.

Last April, Mr. Moinian applied for $147 million of the tax-exempt bonds. In December, the president of the agency that will award the bonds, Andrew Alper, said the city was considering awarding the developer about $50 million. That amount of tax-exempt financing could save the developer about $2 million a year versus traditional commercial financing. If Mr. Moinian is not awarded the bonds, he has said he will not build the hotel portion of his project and will just construct apartments.

Mr. Moinian's 440,000-square-foot project, estimated to cost about $240 million, is slated to rise on an empty lot behind the Deutsche Bank building, which was severely damaged in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and is now being demolished. An office tower built by Mr. Silverstein is scheduled to occupy the Deutsche Bank building site, but the site has been mentioned as a possible residential building in recent negotiations between Mr. Silverstein and the Port Authority. It also could contain a hotel.

The same month that Mr. Moinian applied for the bonds, Mr. Silverstein applied for the city's remaining allotment of Liberty Bonds, which the developer said he would use to build 10 million square feet of commercial office space in five towers.


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

Well you'll be in for a big surprise, like I said before, nothing lasts forever.

Japan is now probably the most technologically advanced country on the planet anyway.


But that's it. They didn't take over the world, like everyone thought.
Neither will China. I think you are the one in for the Surprise.

And what won't last forever?

Lol @ my "BIG" surprise.... Yuh, ok. :)

Commercial Office Development Returns to the City


By MICHAEL STOLER
May 4, 2006

The metropolitan region is finally seeing a return of commercial office development. Within six years, more than 10 million square feet of office space is expected to be completed in Lower Manhattan. On May 23, Silverstein Properties will officially open the 1.7 million-square-foot 7 World Trade Center. Construction is under way for the 43-story, 1.9 million-square-foot new world headquarters of Goldman Sachs on site 26 in Battery Park City. Goldman is the first company to build headquarters in Lower Manhattan since JPMorgan constructed its Wall Street home in 1988.

Zoning has been approved for 4.5 million square feet of office space as part of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan. An additional 1.9 million square feet is expected to be built by Forest City Ratner at the Atlantic Yards, the proposed home of the Nets. Tishman Speyer Properties plans to build 3.5 million square feet in Gotham Center in Long Island City. Other developers are planning offices in Long Island City, Jamaica, and the Bronx. For the first time in more than two decades, office buildings are planned for Westchester. The New Jersey waterfront, to which many companies from Lower Manhattan and Midtown relocated, has at least 18 million square feet of space and more planned.

Can New York City absorb all the office space that is proposed to be built over the next decade?

A number of leaders in the industry and business weighed in on the viability of office space in the city. The president of Swig Equities, Kent Swig, whose firm owns 4.1 million square feet of office space in Lower Manhattan, said, "The amount of space we are adding over the next 15 years is not much more than the addition to the historic office supply. I do not think buildings in Lower Manhattan will be built without pre-leasing.

"Downtown needs huge, modern office space to attract and accommodate large tenants. Today, the city has a major problem: Rents in Midtown are skyrocketing, and there is a need for alternative spaces to retain companies in New York. How many businesses think they can spend $80 to $90 a square foot in Midtown? Lower Manhattan offers lower price with great incentives."

***

The president of the real estate division of Parish of Trinity Church, Carl Weisbrod - whose church is one of Lower Manhattan's largest owners of real estate - is the immediate past president of the Alliance for Downtown. He said, "I believe the agreement to move forward on the WTC site resolves the major market uncertainty that has made commercial tenants reluctant to commit to large blocks of space in Lower Manhattan. In view of the historic rental price disparity now between Midtown and downtown, together with the available downtown incentives, I believe space in Lower Manhattan will be absorbed as quickly as it becomes available, assuming the economy in New York and in the nation remains strong."

The chairman of the executive committee of GVA Williams, Michael Cohen, said, "I don't believe there is any doubt that 7 World Trade Center will lease successfully. Because of shortage of space in the city, the building should be absorbed during this current market cycle. Tenants will perceive it to be a bargain compared with comparable Midtown buildings. This has been Larry Silverstein's strategy all along, and he's going to be proved right."

The president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Kenneth Adams, said, "Midtown is corporate headquarters, downtown Brooklyn is the home of essential functions for banking and insurance, and Lower Manhattan is Wall Street and a construction site. Incentives, like REAP, help business districts such as downtown Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, and Long Island City to better compete for tenants against New Jersey and Connecticut. The challenge is to create incentives that attract new taxpayers to the city and the state; to continue to drain more from the existing tax base is untenable. Locally, a healthy competition between NYC submarkets is generally a good thing. When that leads to new businesses coming to any one of these districts, the entire city wins."

***

As may be expected, not all industry leaders are optimistic. The co-chairman of the real estate securities portfolio manager Cohen & Steers, Marty Cohen, is cautious about Lower Manhattan. He said, "Initially, this is a very scary since oversupply is the perennial killer. Sometime in the next few years, we could very well have an economic downturn. If oversupply is the killer, then reduced demand is the undertaker. Though it is tempting to believe, I don't believe the real estate cycle has been repealed."

A principal at Koeppel Companies, Caleb Koeppel, whose family has owned the landmark 26 Broadway for more than 50 years, said, "It is history repeated. They're going to throw a ton of space on the market and destroy an already weak market."

The president of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, Mitchell Hersh, said, "Prior to recent announcements, the only real competitive Lower Manhattan building in the market is 7 WTC. This building has had substantial difficulty in leasing space due to a variety of issues, including uncertainty as to the shape of Lower Manhattan redevelopment, infrastructure issues, and the concern among the corporate community relative to future threats of terrorism - and the impact this could have on their businesses and business continuity.

"Jersey City is clearly a preferred market and is being considered by a number of Midtown companies. It has a proven track record, cost of occupancy advantages, as of right incentive programs, a very diverse and wide labor pool, a wealth of affordable housing, great transportation infrastructure, great amenities, and a lot less congestion than New York City."

***

Many real estate leaders are bullish on commercial development in downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City. The president of Shalom Zuckerbrot Realty and a principal at Octagon Properties, Frank Zuckerbrot, said, "Downtown Brooklyn is a mature office market, although it still lacks the real liquidity in terms of leasing velocity. It has excellent mass transportation infrastructure and established retail businesses. The area is in demand and should be able to absorb new office space".

The president of Brause Realty and chairman of the Long Island City Business Improvement District, David Brause, said he is encouraged that Midtown tenants are receptive to the savings offered in new space located a subway stop away from Manhattan.

Mr. Brause said that the effective rents for Long Island City are in the low $20s per square foot, while similar space at the Bank of America Tower across from Bryant Park is projected to lease for $100 a square foot.

"If a major tenant plans to lease one million square feet, the annual savings for leasing in LIC is $75 million per year and over $1.5 billion over a 20-year term," he said.

Mr. Zuckerbrot, said, that Long Island City - while being the city's targeted area for major office development - will have a difficult time competing with downtown because it is not yet an established office market complete with amenities.

"Initially, the city was going to provide incentive for companies to relocate to this new central business district," Mr. Zuckerbrot said, "however, with the same incentives being offered for downtown, this area will have difficult time competing for those occupants. In addition, should city, state, and federal government agencies move to downtown Manhattan, this will be a blow to the LIC redevelopment process which would have benefited from some of these tenancies."

I agree with the executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, Glenn Markman, when he says, "Current estimates are that, with modest job growth over the next 10 years, New York City could see demand for new office space reach 28 million square feet by 2016. To meet this demand, office space has to be developed all over the city. Midtown firms that require large blocks of space will have to be more open-minded regarding alternative locations like downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City."


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

I don't mean to burst the bubble here, but the Atlantic Yds hasn't been given the green light yet nor has the NBA Board of Governors approoved the relocation for the Nets, so I wouldn't be celebrating too early if I were you.

i agree, ny doesn't have to re-invent itself. it will remain an icon and stand above all else forever.
I don't believe that a city should try to have a construction boom just to compete with others. In reality, the city will end up being no better than the ones they are trying to compete. I don't mean to offend those who are happy about what's going on other cities, but I couldn't care less what they get. A city doesn't became the center of the world just b/c of a construction boom and it ends up having the biggest skyscrapers. Please remember that it's quality over quantity that matters. I find it better when cities are more distinctive rather than having so many similar characteristics Honestly, I find the book Learning from Las Vegas to be very overrated. All I can say about trying to compare NYC with other cities is FUHGEABOUDIT!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/415471p-351123c.html
People power vs. tower on W. Side

Pushing grocery carts, waving signs and chanting slogans, more than 100 Manhattan residents rallied yesterday to protest the gentrification of their neighborhood.

Residents expressed disgust that their local C-Town supermarket had been shuttered - claiming it was closed to make way for luxury apartment towers in the area bordered by Columbus and Amsterdam Aves. and 97th and 100th Sts. "This neighborhood was created to accommodate the diverse people who live here," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

"They're taking everything from us," said Joan Sandler, who said she has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years. "It's one of the last diverse communities left."

Jego R. Armstrong and Don Singleton

Originally published on May 7, 2006

Yes Joan Sandler, Everyone is out to get you and make your life miserable. Or maybe perhaps an apartment tower will bring a bigger population to your neighborhood and thus making it more diverse as you so want it.

Trying to get rentals to make sense
City's economic health depends on next generation of renters, say development incentives backers


By Alison Gregor
May 2006

A recent report indicates the absence of new rental housing development in New York City may jeopardize the city's future economic development, and the real estate industry is stepping up to the plate to change that.

The 2005 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey showed that the city has a 33.3 percent home ownership rate, up from 32.7 percent in 2002. But perhaps more revealing, the survey showed a loss of 16,000 rent-controlled units and that the number of rent-stabilized apartments increased by only 1,000.

There goes the (affordable) neighborhood? Not necessarily, but real estate experts agree on a need for more rental housing.

"There's never enough -- like 'never too rich, never too thin' -- there's never enough housing," said Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank and a commercial broker who said he is serving as adviser to an innovative and large new rental housing project that has not yet been announced.

While the city has formed a commission to modify its 421a tax abatement, which provides a property tax break for construction of housing in certain areas of New York City, it is also working with the Real Estate Board of New York and property developers to come up with other incentives for rental housing.

"Obviously there's a concern that you can't buy a piece of land today at the land prices and build a rental apartment building when you throw in construction costs and the tax policies of the city of New York in terms of how they assess property," said Steven Spinola, president of the real estate board.

Spinola said any program to encourage more rental housing -- both market-rate and affordable -- might include two different tax assessment formulae: one for condominiums and one for rentals.

Industry experts say that, at any one time, there is a portion of the population seeking rentals for more flexibility, and not everyone wants to invest in a condominium.

"Condominiums have become very popular, because people also see it as a favorable investment," said Andrew Oliver, a managing director and principal at investment banking firm Sonnenblick-Goldman. "But if the market turns, a condominium can become an illiquid investment."

Also, many people, including the next generation of young residents the city would like to attract, are priced out of the current condominium market.

"As more and more people come into the city, especially young people looking to start their careers, there needs to be more affordable housing and rental units for them just to be able to live and work in the city," said Nick LaPorte, executive director of the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York, a building trade organization. "Otherwise, they'll leave for the suburbs or never come to the New York City area at all."

That means companies may begin looking elsewhere, the suburbs in New Jersey or Upstate New York, for instance, to locate closer to their employees, Gosin said.

"The best thing for the New York City office market, aside from continuing to improve the school system, would be to create an incredible stock of low- and middle-income housing," he said. "Because if people are here to be employed, it will make it more attractive for companies to be here."

Earlier this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to build 92,000 new affordable homes and preserve 73,000 existing affordable homes by 2013. Those 165,000 apartments and houses will be enough to house half a million people, the mayor said. Some will be rentals and others co-operatives. Preserving homes means stanching the conversion of the existing 250,000 units of government-assisted housing in the city to market-rate units.

But residential developers have been lamenting for years that market-rate rental apartments are no longer feasible in New York City, and even affordable rentals -- which can receive a mix of tax abatements, government subsidies, zoning bonuses, and other incentives -- can be an unattractive proposition in the current hot real estate market.

Making things more difficult is that while the prices of condominiums have flattened, the cost of land in New York City isn't going down.

"It's just so hard to build affordable apartments in the city right now," said LaPorte, whose group has many members involved in building and managing affordable housing in metropolitan areas. "Basically, because the cost of land and labor, as well as construction materials, is so expensive that you need help from the government."

Bruce Becker, president of Becker + Becker Associates, served as developer, architect, and planner on the Octagon, a 500-unit luxury rental development that opened on Roosevelt Island April 17. Becker said he developed the complex on land leased from the state's Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, which made the project feasible.

Sonnenblick-Goldman handled financing for the project, Oliver said, and raised $150 million to get it off the ground. "The developer had some tax credits," he said. "There were old buildings on the property that he renovated, so he got a historic tax credit. He was able to sell and count that as equity. He also built a very environmentally-friendly building, so he got green tax credits. And he put in a daycare for even more credits."

While Becker opted out of the 80/20 program -- a city program that uses tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of multifamily rental housing as long as 20 percent are affordable for low-income tenants -- he did choose to dedicate 100 of the units as affordable for middle-income residents.

The project is chock full of amenities, from a swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness center, and 24-hour doorman, while apartments with luxury finishes start at $1,570 a month for a studio with home office. The demand is there, Becker said. As of mid-April, 130 units had been rented. "I'm glad we got started when we did, because the costs have escalated significantly since then," he said. "I would say the project wouldn't be viable today on the same ground-lease terms."

Emily Youssouf, president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation, which issues bonds for affordable housing, said there are a number of financing programs available to developers planning affordable housing. One of the latest, begun about 18 months ago, is a 50/30/20 program, which enables developers to obtain low-cost financing for their projects in return for offering a blend of market-rate, middle-income, and low-income housing.

"What we like about this program is we're economically integrating buildings," Youssouf said. "Then you can economically integrate a neighborhood, and that stabilizes it. You go into these buildings, and you can't tell which apartment is 50, which is 20, which tenants belong where."

Some were skeptical about the program. Oliver said it helps somewhat, but most of those projects are being done north of 100th Street in Manhattan, because it's the only place land is cheap enough to do them.

Gosin said the 50/30/20 program can work especially if combined with other incentives such as zoning overrides where the city gives away air rights for free, thereby undercutting high land costs.

"The one I'm involved in will create an enormous amount of housing, but part of it is market housing," Gosin said. "This will probably be rentals, but one way to do it is to allow market condominiums to be at the tops of buildings where the best views are, and allow additional air rights, in exchange for building some moderate- and low-income housing.

"It's zoning, very aggressive and generous zoning, with some government funding and some tax relief," he said.

Spinola said rentals can be done with condominiums, but it requires a complicated legal process where a building must be a condop.

Gosin said that, in a perfect world, more could be done to promote rentals. "Perhaps one thing to look at would be wider berths of areas where you could transfer air rights," he said. "So you could transfer rights from one location to another, though they're not necessarily adjacent to one another."


Upkeep needed as much as new buildings


Preventing a shortage of rentals in the city means maintaining existing housing as well as constructing new buildings. Many of the government incentives that exist and that are being explored aim to help preserve existing affordable housing.

"If all you did was new construction and didn't help preserve what's already there, you would always be in a losing situation," said Emily Youssouf, president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation. "So we have a lot of programs that target preservation as well."

Maintaining and improving existing rental buildings is a niche that some developers are profiting from.

Ioannis "John" Danalis, principal of Blue Star Properties, for example, said his company specializes in buying under-performing rental buildings, removing low-rent tenants, spiffing up the buildings, and maintaining them as market rentals -- instead of converting them to condominiums.

"Each property is different," said Danalis, a landlord with buildings in Greenwich Village, Soho, and Tribeca, among other neighborhoods. "Some properties need major capital improvements, and by doing that, you're increasing the rent roll you'll be able to charge the tenants. At the same time, you're minimizing your costs, so at the end of the day, there's more money in your pocket."

Depending on the extent of capital improvements, there are tax abatements available, Danalis said. And with rents projected to increase by 15 to 20 percent in the coming year, he said the projects make sense.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

DOWNTOWN'S CONSTRUCTION BLITZ READY TO MOVE ONWARD - AND UPWARD


http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/zgraphic05082006012.jpg


By TOM TOPOUSIS
May 8, 2006

As downtown braces for an onslaught of construction, The Post got a first look at the battle plan being drawn up to keep the massive building projects rolling.

Within two years, lower Manhattan's skyline will become a maze of tower cranes and steel girders, while workers closer to the ground tear up streets, knock down damaged buildings and rebuild the below-ground transit system.

"This is one of the single largest urban programs ever undertaken in America," said Charles Maikish, who has to coordinate the dozens of massive projects as executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center.

"The challenge here is to do it and preserve the vitality of lower Manhattan," Maikish said.

Maikish and his team of engineers and planners are now putting the finishing touches on a plan to coordinate the enormous amount of construction work while at the same time keeping the nation's third-largest business district open.

The plan will coordinate the arrival of 3,000 concrete trucks a month, delivery of enough steel to build the Empire State Building six times over and the arrival of 7,000 construction workers every day.

"Lower Manhattan's resurgence is being forged in concrete and steel," said Gov. Pataki, adding that the projects will "ensure that downtown is positioned as the premier 21st-century central business district."

Altogether, $20 billion of construction will take place downtown over the next six years. The World Trade Center, PATH station and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum alone will account for half of that construction budget.

"It's unprecedented," said City Councilman Alan Gerson, a Democrat representing lower Manhattan whose primary concern is having an independent monitor to watch for potential environmental problems from all the work. Gerson said he's considering action by the City Council to get such an independent monitor.

Much has been made about the 10 million square feet of office space that will be built, but developers are busy with a residential boom that will boost downtown's population by 40 percent over the next four years during the height of construction.

Planned residential towers will add at least 8,000 apartments and condos by 2010, including five buildings slated for Battery Park City and two more across West Street at Chambers and Warren streets.

The project will tax the limits of the city's bridges, tunnels, highways and streets - not to mention the patience of 240,000 people who commute to work in lower Manhattan every day and the 36,000 who call it home.

To keep traffic rolling, the command center will create a satellite office of the city's Long Island City traffic center in lower Manhattan, where they can make immediate adjustments to traffic patterns as problems arise.

Maikish said his group is working with builders to set up staging areas for construction workers so that they won't all try to drive into lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan's voracious appetite for concrete will kick in about six months from now, and at its peak, the downtown projects will consume 3,000 truckloads of concrete a month from plants in Brooklyn and Queens.

Maikish said the command center will have to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and the Police Department to make sure those trucks can reach their destinations within 30 to 45 minutes. Any longer and the concrete is ruined.

The trucks will roll in over the Manhattan Bridge or through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, unless Maikish and his engineers can come up with a plan to build a temporary mixing plant downtown to speed the flow of concrete.

Engineers are studying an alternative plan to mix concrete at a temporary plant in lower Manhattan to speed delivery, but that would likely have to delay construction of parts of the Hudson River Park, the only site that is potentially suitable.

Maikish said his agency has been working with contractors to line up heavy equipment, competing with projects in the Gulf Coast.

Thirty-four massive tower cranes will be needed - four alone at the Freedom Tower - to feed materials to the skyscrapers.

While much of the work will be heading skyward, one of the largest construction projects is digging a massive, 80-foot-deep foundation for three office towers slated for the World Trade Center's Church Street Corridor, beginning by summer.

That project will involve 2,000 trucks a day to haul off the rubble.

Moving pedestrians through the work sites is another challenge, with plans to reroute commuters over bridges and skyways where needed.

Maikish said the command center's main mission is to make sure that each project, public or private, is coordinated through a central agency.

"We've got to get materials in, the labor force in and heavy equipment in. It's an enormous job," Maikish said.


Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc.

Under Construction....


25 Thames Street: 368 ft - 33 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59892044.25ThamesSt.JPG


Construction starting on condo tower at 133 Greenwich Street


08-MAY-06

The Copper Group is developing a 30-story residential condominium tower at 133 Greenwich Street, which is also known as 25 Thames Streeet near Ground Zero.

Costas Kondylis is the architect.

The building will have a low-rise base on Greenwich street with a setback tower with pierrs that extend slightly above the top on three facades.

It will have about 100 apartments.

The site was acquired last year by an investor group led by Hosea Deitsch and Edgar Bronfman for $20 million from YL Real Estate Developers, which reportedly will retain a small interest in the project.

Mr. Deitsch is managing member of the Cooper Group 1 LLC, which is part of Greenwich Street Project LLC, which is developing the site.

The site is to the south of O’Hara’s Bar on Cedar Street and it is near the Deutsche Bank building that is being demolished because of damage sustained in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Lower Manhattan.

The Department of Environment Protection earlier this year revoked a demolition permit for the site because of concerns over possible toxic hazards, but after studies the work was resumed and demolition has been completed.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

I thought the bathtub thats already there at GZ would be sufficient enough for these new towers. Apparently not if they are going to dig 80 feet deeper. They should use the dirt that comes out as more infill for Battery Park City like the original WTC. Maybe extend BPC to the north

Yeah! That's what I was thinking. Then we could build more skyscrapers if the bedrock is in the right sopt.

Under Construction...


188 Ludlow Street: 23 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59923009.188LudlowSt.JPG


Edison Properties breaks ground on Ludlow St. residential project


March 8, 2006

Executives from Edison Properties, LLC broke ground at 188 Ludlow St. to officially begin construction on Edison's first residential building, located at the southeast corner of Ludlow and East Houston Streets.

The 210,000 gross s/f, 23-story, 243-unit residential development will be constructed with Hunter Roberts Construction Company acting as general contractor. The building was designed by Costas Kondylis & Associates.

"2006 marks Edison's 50th anniversary. Entering into residential development in this dynamic location is the perfect way to celebrate this milestone. 188 Ludlow has been designed to complement and enhance this historic neighborhood and to meet the needs of the many people who want to enjoy the area's exciting stores and restaurants," said Gary DeBode, president of Edison Properties.

The $90 million dollar project will be financed through developer equity and tax exempt bonds issued in accordance with the New York State Housing Finance Agency's 80/20 program. The bonds will be credit-enhanced by Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale. In addition to providing 20% low income housing, the developer is setting aside 5% for moderate income tenants.


COPYRIGHT 2006 Hagedorn Publication


Developer Wins $83M Financing


http://www.globest.com/newspics/nyc_188ludlow.jpg


By Barbara Jarvie
May 8, 2006

NEW YORK CITY-Approximately $83 million in construction financing under the New York State Housing Finance Agency’s 80/20 program has closed for a project on the Lower East Side. The owner/developer of the property is an affiliate of Edison Properties LLC and Hunter Roberts Construction Group.

The apartment at 188 Ludlow St., will total 208,000 sf with 6,000 sf of retail space. Once it’s completed in 2008, it will contain 243 units. In addition to providing 20% low-income housing, the developer is setting aside 5% for moderate-income tenants. The joint venture leased the land from Edison Properties LLC under a 99-year agreement. The building was designed by Costas Kondylis & Associates.

The Singer Bassuk Organization arranged the construction leasehold financing including financing provided by low-floater tax-exempt bonds issued by the HFA. It also included a credit enhancement in the form of an $83-million letter of credit for the HFA bonds provided by Helaba. Richard Bassuk, president of SBO, also arranged a forward commitment on permanent financing from Helaba. “This cutting edge financing is the first time a commercial bank has agreed to provide permanent financing on such advantageous terms and is a very positive development for project owners.

In the past, permanent financing has been provided by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac through a DUS lender.” The firm’s James O’Reilly and Evelyn Savino also worked on the financing.

Gary DeBode, president of Edison Properties, said the project was designed to “complement and enhance this historic neighborhood and to meet the needs of the many people who want to enjoy the area’s exciting stores and restaurants.” Other recently completed SBO transactions include the $135-million construction loan financing and $155-million permanent financing for the Marc under HFA’s 80/20 residential program as well as the $120-million financing for 88 Leonard St. under HFA’s Liberty Bond Program. The firm also completed the $104-million construction and permanent financing for Chelsea 27th Apartments under HFA’s 80/20 residential program, the $145.2-million construction loan and $165-million permanent loan for 63 Wall St. under the Liberty Bond Program with HDC in addition to the $82.9-million construction and permanent financing for 90 Washington St. under the Liberty Bond Program.


Copyright © 2006 ALM Properties, Inc.

Under Construction...


45 Park Avenue: 21 floors

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Development Du Jour: 45 Park Avenue


by Matt Lobron
Tuesday, May 09, 2006

A new condo development, known as 45 Park Avenue, is being constructed at the site of the former Sheraton Russell Hotel at Park Avenue and 37th Street. The building is designed by ubiquitous architects Costas Kondylis & Partners and will contain 105 apartments over 15 floors. No word yet on what prices will be, but at least owners won't have to worry about any sudsing issues—the website makes sure to point out that each apartment will have its own full size GE washer and dryer. The building is very conveniently located right near Grand Central, and the Park Ave. address should compensate for any embarrassment you might feel when telling people that you technically live in Murray Hill.


Copyright © 2006 Curbed

Waterfront deals boom in landgrab
Despite fire, prices soar as construction picks up; skeptics doubt demand


By Julie Satow
Published on May 08, 2006

Last week's 10-alarm fire in Greenpoint destroyed a historic former industrial complex and left a planned 2.6 million-square-foot condominium complex in limbo. But even as that 14-acre site lies in cinders, developers are moving ahead with other projects along the north Brooklyn waterfront in what is one of the city's most extensive and lucrative neighborhood revitalization efforts.

One year after city officials approved a major rezoning of the area, the transformation of Williamsburg and Greenpoint is in full force.

Land prices have soared as builders plan a wave of luxury condominiums. A 300,000-square-foot property acquired two years ago for $14 million is on the market for $61 million. A 103,000-square-foot development has sold for $217 a square foot--the first time a large property has broken the $200 mark in this area.

"In just two short years, the vision initiated by Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of City Planning is becoming a reality," says Jeffrey Levine, president of Levine Builders, which will break ground on a 1,000-unit waterfront project in the next 60 to 90 days.

Real estate brokers say they expect 3,000 residential units to go on the market in the next six to 12 months. Smaller condo buildings are already being built on upland blocks, but construction is expected to reshape the low-lying and more valuable waterfront within the next 15 to 18 months.

Some developers are wary and say that the true strength of the neighborhood's renaissance remains to be seen.

"We've seen a few hundred apartments coming to market, but we are about to see several thousand," says Abraham Hidary, president of Hidrock Realty. "The jury is still out whether there will be enough demand."


Use of inclusionary zoning


The 175-block rezoning, approved last May after years of planning, is aimed at reclaiming the faded East River waterfront, once a bustling manufacturing zone. The effort is being watched closely by both civic groups and politicians, largely because it marks the city's most extensive use of market-based inclusionary zoning policies, which let developers build bigger towers if the projects include affordable housing.

Over the past 24 months, as the area changed to a residential zone from manufacturing, land prices doubled, to about $200 a square foot. In the largest deal this year in terms of space, Steiner Equities--which developed the Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard--paid $197 a square foot for the 127,000-square-foot Old Dutch Mustard Factory in Williamsburg.

The hope is that those price tags will be justified when condos are sold for $1,000 a square foot. Luxury condos in Manhattan average $1,362 a square foot, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

Home builder Toll Brothers in Horsham, Pa., has joined with L&M Equities to develop one of the first waterfront projects--three towers with more than 800 units--at 164 Kent St.

"On average, we anticipate the units will be sold for $900 to $1,000 a square foot," says David Von Spreckelsen, vice president at Toll Brothers.

One of the area's larger brokers, Aptsandlofts.com, has been ramping up. "We have hired a lot of people and are looking to open a new office," says President David Maundrell.


Higher interest rates, costs


The Corcoran Group, one of the city's leading residential brokers, recently opened its first Williamsburg outpost.

But higher interest rates and rising construction costs have caused some developers to pause, says David Jurnic, a broker at Greiner-Maltz. He estimates that asking prices for development properties have dropped 5% to 10% over the past few months, but they have since stabilized.

"We were doing a deal for $175 a square foot, but I just couldn't get comfortable that I could make these numbers work on the back end," says Mr. Hidary at Hidrock Realty. He backed out, deciding to build in the more stable Brooklyn neighborhoods of Midwood, Bensonhurst and Kensington.

Mark Lively, a broker at Massey Knakal Realty Services, says, "There are still developers looking for projects, but for the first time you are seeing owners granting a due diligence window or less than 10% down."

Adding to the upheaval, neighborhood groups are complaining. They say that a promised community oversight panel has not yet been established; that most of the funding to preserve industrial space and help displaced businesses has not been spent; and that the city has not yet studied how schools, firehouses, and the transportation network and other infrastructure will handle the expected flood of new residents.

In response, a spokeswoman for the planning department says the city has thoroughly studied the potential impacts of the rezoning.

Despite the uncertainty, one thing is clear: "Five years from now, north Brooklyn will look completely different," says Mr. Maundrell of Aptsandlofts.com. "The entire area will be brand-new, like Battery Park City or Trump's Riverside South."


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

Proposed...


Platinum (247 West 46th Street): 450 ft - 39 floors

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"Historic" first transfer of air-rights in Theater District debated


04-APR-06

In a rather thrilling and almost gladiatorial bout, the land-use committees of Community Boards 4 and 5 last night considered a request for comment from a developer wishing to use air-rights in the theater district for a new residential condominium tower on the northeast corner of Eighth Avenue and 46th Street.

After an impassioned, two-hour meeting on the request, the committees decided to not endorse the project on procedural rather than qualitative grounds and began to draft a resolution outlining their concerns to the City Planning Commission.

Anna Levin, the chairperson of the land-use committee of Community Board 4, chaired the meeting and stated that while the committee was very supportive of the general outlines of the proposed building and transfer of air-rights, it believed that the entire plan should be presented rather than one part and that important issues remained to be resolved regarded a fund set up to manage funds contributed by developers using air rights from the theater district and that concerns about the relocation of theatrical organizations evicted for new projects using the air rights should be addressed.

Paul Selver of the law firm of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel represented the developer, SJP Residential Properties of Parsipanny, N.J., of which Stephen J. Pozycki and Allen F. Goldman are principals, of the planned building at 750 Eighth Avenue on the former site of a building that housed McHale’s restaurant.

Mr. Selver said the application was “an historic occasion” as it was the first project to attempt to utilize transferable air-rights created in 1998 but on the drawing boards for “over a generation.

The proposed building is a 38-story tower with 195 apartments designed by Costas Kondylis that would use air rights from the Al Hirschfeld Theater (formerly the Martin Beck Theater) on 45th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues as well as air rights from the Brooks Atkinson Theater on West 47th Street.

Under questioning, Mr. Selver indicated that while the developer was seeking approval initially only for the “discrete” application before the committees, it had larger plans. Those plans included seeking a zoning text-change to permit the transfer of other air-rights from a theater on 47th Street that would enlarge the building at 750 Eighth Avenue to 42 stories and 220 apartments.

As part of the special district’s air-rights transfer requirements, the developer would contribute $10 per square foot of transferred air rights into a special theater district fund.

Joe Restuccia, the executive director of the Clinton Housing Development Company, suggested that the rate of $10 was perhaps too low as it was set in 1998 and that the market has changed.

Jack Goldstein, a former executive director of Save The Theaters Inc., and the Theater Development Fund, argued that the transfer of air rights should not be permitted until the special fund was created and its purposes clarified. He noted that originally the fund was intended to help finance theatrical productions, but is now apparently being planned to finance theatrical education in the city’s school system.

Representatives of the New Perspectives Theater claimed that it had been evicted from the McHale’s building without any relocation assistance despite assurances to the community board from some local politicians that such assistance would be forthcoming.

Mr. Restuccia suggested that the developer withdraw his application so that the “entire package” could be addressed and resubmitted, but Mr. Selver said “no.”

Val Libin, production director of Jujamcyn Theaters, the owner of the Al Hirschfeld Theater, stressed his organization’s desire to preserve and promote “legitimate theater” in the city.

Mr. Selver indicated that “there is another site” on Broadway at 54th Street that is likely to soon seek to use air-rights from a theater to develop a residential tower.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

Proposed...


The Rushmore (80 Riverside Boulevard): 425 ft - 41 floors (Twin Tower)


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Not bothering to catch its breath, Extell announces new condo project


04-APR-06

The Extell Development Company this week launched its marketing campaign for The Rushmore, a condominium apartment tower on Upper West Side property it recently acquired from Donald Trump and a consortium of investors from Hong Kong.

The new project is located at Riverside Boulevard and 64th Street and presumably will have a 80 Riverside Boulevard address since it is one block south of the Avery at 100 Riverside Boulevard on which Extell only began marketing this year. The Avery is a 32-story building with 274 condominium apartments priced from about $850,000 to more than $3,000,000.

An advertisement in Quest, a monthly magazine that was distributed yesterday, indicated that one- to five-bedroom apartments at The Rushmore will range from approximately $1,000,000 to over $6,000,000. No indication was given of how many stories The Rushmore might have, or how many units, but presumably it will about the same size as the Avery.

The building will have twin towers atop a seven-story base and has been designed by Costas Kondylis.

The Rushmore will have a 24-four concierge and doorman, a garage, a swimming pool, an atrium with adjacent reading room, a “Grand Salon with catering capabilities,” a billiards room, a “Kid’s Creative Studio and Playroom, a La Palestra Spa & Fitness Center, and “Abigail Michaels lifestyle managers, a member of Les Clefs d’Or.”

Extell and the Carlyle Group paid about $1.8 billion recently to acquire 20 acres between 59th and 65th Streets from Donald Trump and a consortium of investors from Hong Kong who have been developing properties to the north along Riverside Boulevard that ends at 72nd Street.

Extell and Carlyle are expected to erect six buildings on their property that overlooks the West Side Highway and the Hudson River.

Extell has recently become one of the city’s most active developers. Some of its other projects include the Orion on West 42nd Street, the Ariel East and West on Broadway at 99th Street, Altair 18 and Altair 20 in Chelsea, the W. Hotel in Times Square.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

there's so much going on around Ground Zero...Freedom Tower will have a lot on neighbors!

Altogether, $20 billion of construction will take place downtown over the next six years. The World Trade Center, PATH station and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum alone will account for half of that construction budget.

"It's unprecedented," said City Councilman Alan Gerson.

Thirty-four massive tower cranes will be needed - four alone at the Freedom Tower - to feed materials to the skyscrapers.



:eek2:

MERRILL MULLS ITS OPTIONS


May 10, 2006

FINANCIAL services giant Merrill Lynch has just begun working out its future headquarters scenario that could include construction of a new downtown skyscraper - perhaps even as part of the World Trade Center redevelopment.

Now located in well over 2 million square feet between World Financial Centers Two and Four, the firm wants to have all its bricks in a row by the time its triple net leases end in 2013.

Merrill occupies all 1.8 million feet of the 34-story 4 WFC and a portion of the 44-story 2.5 million foot 2 WFC while subleasing the rest to firms that include Nomura and Mass Mutual.

"It is exploring all its options," stressed one real estate executive on condition of anonymity.

"It wants to make a decision by the end of the year."

Those options include leasing or constructing its own tower, remaining in place and retrofitting, or moving to Midtown, a boro, Jersey or Westchester. Whew.

One intriguing scenario could have Merrill take over one of the new ground zero hi-rises and have it tweaked to their liking with the latest high-tech trading floors and gadgets.

Attention city and state: a hand is obviously being extended here for retention benefits.

We hear the real estate giant Trammell Crow has been hired to explore the "build," "no build" option while the similarly savvy Jones Lang LaSalle is concentrating on the renew and retrofit vs. rent elsewhere scenarios. The various firms all declined comment.

"The most important thing is that they remain a Lower Manhattan tenant," said Alliance for Lower Manhattan President Eric Deutsch. "They are an important anchor tenant and it is crucial for everything going on to keep them downtown."


Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc.

Building 7 (Queens West): 290 ft - 30 floors

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Aiming high at Queens
West Builder breaks ground for 2d housing tower


BY DONALD BERTRAND
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
May 10, 2006

Things are heating up at Queens West.

Ground was broken yesterday on the second of seven buildings comprising approximately 3,300 units that Rockrose Development Corp. is building at Queens West.

The Rockrose buildings will occupy a 22-acre northern portion of the 74-acre site, which sits across the East River from the United Nations.

Two months ago, another Queens West developer, Avalon Bay, broke ground for its second tower, a 39-story residential tower with 602 rental apartments.

The latest Rockrose structure is scheduled to open in late 2007, and will be 290 feet tall with 394 rental apartments and 825 parking spaces.

"Our first Queens West building is set to open in less than a month, and we have already begun construction on our second building. This gives you some idea of our enthusiasm for this project and for the residential market in Long Island City," said Henry Elghanayan, a Rockrose principal.

"I am firmly convinced that this community of Long Island City which is being spearheaded by the Queens West project is going to be one of the great communities of New York."

Rockrose's first building, located adjacent to a giant Pepsi:Cola sign, is nearing completion and will start leasing in about a month. The first tenants are expected to start moving into that building in the summer.

"With the completion of the first two Rockrose buildings and Avalon Riverview North by 2008, we will have achieved critical mass constructing more than 2,400 apartments between the four blocks between 47th and 50th Aves.," said Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corp.

When completed, Queens West will have 19 residential buildings, an eight-story senior citizen residence, two schools, and more than 20 acres that encompasses waterfront parkland, open and commercial space, Gargano said.

"This development will literally transform this area into a vibrant neighborhood," he said.

"Rockrose is adding something very magnificent and special to this whole area," said Borough President Helen Marshall, who was especially happy about plans to open a supermarket in the second Rockrose building.


All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

More on Queens development...


Patchwork City
The future skyline of Queens bears a superficial resemblance to Jersey City:


Issue 05_03.22.2006

More than a dozen tall buildings are planned to rise along the Queens Waterfront and, as a result of Special District zoning, many others are in the works in Long Island City and Hunters Point. As D. Grahame Shane reports, the Department of City Planning’s surgical approach to zoning is stimulating strategic development throughout the borough, promising a series of dynamic urban patches— as well as some awkward seams.

While New Yorkers witnessed an epic battle for the top-down control of the World Trade Center site, replete with power players channeling Robert Moses, the New York Department of City Planning (DCP) has been quietly leading an urban planning revolution with a small-scale, bottom-up approach throughout the boroughs. The unveiling last month of Richard Rogers Partnership’s design of a massive mixed-use project on the Queens waterfront for Silvercup Studios portends a dense, monumental future for the low-scale, still-industrial area. But various rezonings throughout Queens—including Long Island City, Hunters Point, and a dozen other neighborhoods—are in fact setting the framework for more incremental development in the borough, encouraging a unique fabric of mixed uses, spaces, scales, densities, and textures.

From its colonial beginning New York was part of an archipelago, a network of small patches of European settlements connected by boats, New Amsterdam, Brooklyn, Hoboken, and Harlem. The large open spaces of Queens have always attracted those unable to find accommodation in Manhattan, from the farmers and fishermen of the colonial period to the industrialists of the 19th and 20th centuries who deposited their ports, factories, warehouses, oil refineries, cement plants, and more in the marshy headland bound by the East River and Newtown Creek. With its evolving transportation links—bridges, tunnels, ferries, and rail—heavy industry thrived in the area. The huge spaces that were carved out by industrial uses have taken on new meaning today, with Manhattan’s squeezed housing market and changed attitudes about commuting. Suddenly, the rust-belt patches around Long Island City are attractive real estate.

In 2001, the Museum of Modern Art’s temporary move to LIC highlighted the area’s nascence as a cultural district. The same year, the Group of 35, a panel created by Senator Charles Schumer representing public and private interests, issued a report calling for the creation of a new business district in LIC, suggesting 15 million square feet of office space and citing the benefits of a planned—though sadly now defunct—“word-class intermodal transit station” at Sunnyside Yards. (The yard has a small LIRR stop and a ferry terminal nearby; the plan for the hub would have folded in stops for Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the MTA, whose routes all cross there.)

The intensification of development in Queens has actually been in process for some time. In 1984, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PA) took over a large portion of the Queens docklands and, together with the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), created a 74-acre development patch under the auspices of the Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC). QWDC follows the Battery Park City model of development (also created by the ESDC), with phased parcels bid to separate developers. Two buildings have been completed (one by Cesar Pelli, 1998, and another by Perkins Eastman, 2001), and more than a dozen more are planned. Though far from complete, Queens West already appears to be isolated and out of scale with its surroundings, despite well-intentioned efforts to create open spaces and waterfront views.

By contrast, the DCP has adopted a more targeted approach to the rest of Queens, with timely responses to particular urban actors in particular locations. The DCP is actually building on an approach that was pioneered in the 1960s by Mayor John Lindsay’s Urban Design Group (members included Jonathan Barnett, Alexander Cooper, Jaquelin Robertson, Richard Weinstein, and Richard Dattner), which abandoned masterplanning on a city-wide, regional scale and introduced Special District zoning. Based on a 1916 zoning ordinance addressing skyscrapers downtown, Special Districts under the Urban Design Group began as relatively simple mechanisms to protect small residential communities like Little Italy and Chinatown from large-scale development. Later, the concept was applied to create a Theater Special District, to protect Broadway theaters and allow the transfer of their valuable air rights to neighboring sites. This system of controlled zoning patches evolved into a complex, three-dimensional, multifunctional, incentive-based design methodology that paved the way for Cooper and Eckstut’s 1978 masterplan of Battery Park City.

Under Amanda Burden, who has been planning commissioner and director of the DCP since 2002, Special Districts zoning has evolved further still, to encompass micro-patches of upzoning, downzoning, mixed-use, and historic and industrial preservation. Her LIC Mixed-Use Special District was in fact her first exercise, and presaged similar strategies in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, East Harlem, and Chelsea.

This finely calibrated approach to zoning can be seen in three of current “hot patches” of development in Queens:


Queens Plaza Special Improvement District


Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s Adult Entertainment Zoning of the late 1990s exiled some of Times Square’s porn shops, strip clubs, and prostitution to this long-neglected industrial gateway. Few paid attention to the area, until 2000 when Michael Bailkin and Paul Travis of the Arete Group tried to buy two large sites, including a large city-owned garage, at the junction of Queens Plaza and Jackson Avenue. The same developers bought the air rights to part of Sunnyside Yards. Their moves prompted the DCP (then directed by Joseph Rose) to devise the Queens Plaza Special District (approved in 2001) that featured incentive bonuses and Urban Design Guidelines that called for broad setbacks, new parks, and ground-floor retail to enliven the street. The lots that Arete sought (which have since gone to Tishman Speyer) were upzoned to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) 12, signaling a dense future for LIC.

The city has also responded to pressure from public interest groups, like the Municipal Arts Society, the Regional Plan Association, and the Van Alen Institute. The latter organized the Queens Plaza competition in 2001–2002, which addressed the need to do something about the gloomy stretch of roadway beneath the noisy Queensborough Bridge. In 2002, the city selected Margie Ruddick as a lead consultant (on a team that initially included Michael Sorkin and Michael Singer) to develop a landscape design that would improve the public spaces, lighting, traffic flow, and general streetscape of Queens Plaza. Ruddick, who is now collaborating with Marpillero/Pollak, described her intention to make “the left-over spaces legible as a landscape that helps you get from one place to another, making connections across the space under the bridge.” Her scheme emphasizes improved circulation; bicycle and pedestrian paths and crossings abound. Near the waterfront section, she has planned a cathedral-like space under the bridge, which will act as a seam between the planned Silvercup West project and the Queensbridge Houses, a massive housing project built by the New York City Housing Authority in 1941. The plan is currently under review by the Fine Arts Commission.


Long Island City Mixed-Use Special District (2004)


Compared to the crude zoning of Queens Plaza, the LIC Mixed-Use Special District is more finely textured and varied. The DCP divided the area into three sub-districts, which form a triangle around a gritty industrial core that will be preserved: The Long Island City Core Sub-District is a small enclave driven by developers and already contains Citigroup’s skyscraper at Court Square, the borough’s first tall building. This very compact, high-density patch (zoned at FAR 12) has many tax incentives and has already attracted a second Citigroup tower and United Nations Federal Credit Union building, both under construction. The 1989 Citigroup tower, with its interior cafeteria and attached car park, never sponsored street life. Under the revised Urban Design Guidelines, both the new buildings will have street level retail to foster pedestrian activity and new plantings, furniture, and parks. The neighboring Jackson Avenue Mixed-Use Sub-District (approved 2004) borders the Sunnyside Yards. Here, warehouses and factories, like the 254-unit Arris Building, are being converted to residential lofts and offices. The upzoning to FAR 7 and Urban Design Guidelines under study by the Volmer Group are aimed at remaking Jackson Avenue into a densely built commercial boulevard, containing 3 million square feet of offices stretching from Court Square to Queens Plaza’s subway node. “The aim is to create a vibrant street life, with cafes, restaurants, and stores,” said Burden. The plan calls for widened sidewalks, tree planting, kiosks, seating, and night lighting.

The density on Jackson Avenue decreases in the Hunters Point Mixed-Use Rezoning Sub-District (approved in 2004). Individual urban actors predominate in this area, with small-scale housing, auto-body shops, galleries, and artists’ studios. Burden saw this area as containing the “soul” of LIC. Fearing the large scale of development on the nearby waterfront, residents have been organizing themselves into groups, like the 49th Street Block Association and the Hunters Point Community Organization. The city downzoned this patch within a general FAR 5 intended to protect the arts area around the P.S.1 cultural center.


Queens Waterfront (1980s to present)


The small-scale flexibility of LIC’s new mixed-use subdistricts is nonexistent on the waterfront. As a state agency, the ESDC formulated Queens West with almost no community input, though pressure from Hunters Point residents did ensure that a continuous landscaped riverfront would be publicly accessible.

The completion of the 42-story City Lights tower by Cesar Pelli for Manhattan Overlook Associates (1998) and 32-floor tower by Perkins Eastman for Avalon Bay (2001) have skyscraper-shocked local residents into paying attention to what is happening to the rest of the waterfront. Local groups are starting to pressure the QWDC to break down Queens West’s 1980s masterplan and work at a smaller scale. To deflect criticism, in 2004 the ESDC revised Phase II of the 1980s masterplan, which includes seven buildings by Rockrose, with designs by Arquitectonica and Handel Architects. Last year, State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan was quoted in the Queens Chronicle as saying, “I think it is appropriate and past due time for Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg to review the plan for Queens West and begin a dialogue with the community as to the importance of affordable housing for the work soon to be scheduled on the southern portion of the site.” The southern portion, known as Queens West South (Phase III), was most recently publicized as the site of the proposed Olympic Village, with a winning masterplan by Morphosis. Though New York lost its Olympic bid, the exercise offered a vision of the area as a new vibrant neighborhood.

Burden is currently negotiating with Frances Huppert, the design director of the ESDC, to get the corporation to break down the scale of their development into more manageable patches, including mixed-income housing, which could link to the surrounding Hunters Point Special District. Burden also hopes that a pedestrian bridge across Newtown Creek can someday connect the Queens West esplanade to the waterfront planned for Greenpoint-Williamsburg.

North of Queens West lie two of the hottest patches in Long Island City. The first project is River East, a scenographic, set-piece street of mixed-use townhouses and lofts with two glass-skinned 30-story towers at the riverside, designed by Jay Valgora and developed by Vernon Realty. The buildings bracket a street that frames a view of the United Nations. Beyond River East lies an empty Con Edison site, and next to that is Silvercup West, the expansion of Stuart and Alan Suna’s film and production studios. The Sunas took advantage of an extension of the upzoning of the Queensborough Bridge Plaza Special District to create a 2-million-square-foot, hyper-dense, mixed-use matrix of film studios, roof gardens, office and residential towers spread over 6 acres, unveiled by the Richard Rogers Partnership last month after the plan received its Uniform Land Use and Regional Planning Review (ULURP) letter of certification. The scheme offers a 40-foot-wide riverfront esplanade designed by the Laurie Olin Partnership that will link to Margie Ruddick’s Queens Plaza landscape scheme.

Queens waterfront demonstrates the limits of the patchwork approach, where heterogeneous patches are connected by a weak link, the waterfront.

The advantage of a patch-by-patch approach is its specificity and its ability to capture the dynamic of relationships between various actors in various patches. The complex narratives of LIC actors and their efforts to shape their sites shows that there are multiple ways to develop a patch, ranging from top-down utopian masterplan that is fixed and inflexible to the bottom-up approach where every actor has a distinctive voice in the polyphonic dialogue. Long Island City shows this range, and it is to the DCP’s credit that it has tried to deal with each situation individually. Eventually, an emergent system of urban design will be able to provide the means of balancing and managing the flows between the fragments. Until then we will have to rely on our intuition to sense the flows between the patches in the emergent ecology of the urban archipelagos that constitute our cities.


Copyright © 2005 The Architect's Newspaper, LLC

Development Descends on Queens


http://www.archpaper.com/images/feature_05_06/patch03.jpg


RESIDENTIAL

1 Silvercup West
Owned by Alan and Stuart Match Suna and designed by Richard Rogers Partnership, Silvercup West is a $1 billion mixed-use project spread over 6 acres, and includes residential, commercial, cultural, and civic spaces, in addition to 1 million square feet of film-production studios.

2 River East
44–02 Vernon Blvd.
Developed by Vernon Realty and sited on 6 acres just south of Silvercup West, River East will contain 1.2 million square feet of residential and commercial space. Rows of townhouses will lead to two 30-story towers on the river and a newly landscaped esplanade. The WalkerGroup of New York and its in-house V Studio, led by architect Jay Valgora, are masterplanning the site and designing the buildings.

3 Queens West
The Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC), a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, has divided their large waterfront site into four development phases.

Phase II, contracted to Rockrose Development Corporation will contain seven buildings with 3,000 residential units and 20,000 square feet of commercial space. The first two buildings have been designed by Arquitectonica; one will be completed in May, and the other broke ground this month. Handel Architects have designed a third building, with construction to begin late 2006. Arquitectonica will design at least one more building, and the other two are as-yet uncommissioned.

Avalon Bay Communities is developing phase I, just south of Rockrose’s. Its first residential tower was completed in 2001 and the second broke ground early this year, and will be completed by May of 2007. Both were designed by Perkins Eastman. A third lot on Avalon Bay’s site will likely serve as either a public park or a branch of Queens’ Public Library.

Phases III and IV, located partially on the Olympic Village site, have no developers attached, but will likely see the type of mixed-use projects as the first two phases. The QWDC is considering keeping parts of the Olympic site plans.

4 Power House
50–09 Second St.
Cheskel Schwimmer and CGS developers will add 100,000 square feet to the former Pennsylvania Railroad Power House’s existing 150,000, converting the structure into a residential complex. The new building, designed by Karl Fischer Architect, will contain 190 condominiums.

5, 6 The Gantry
5–15 49th Ave. and 48–21 5th St.
The Milestone Group, based in New York City, will develop an existing warehouse into 64 condos, designed by local firm Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects. The Gantry will be ready for occupancy early this summer.

7 50th Ave. and 5th St.
Developers Joseph Escarfullery and Joseph Palumbo are planning an 11-unit, high-end co-op on the site of a current parking lot.

8 5–49 Borden Ave.
535 Borden LLC has been working with New York architect Juan Alayo to develop a 12-story, 132-unit residential building. The project’s backers are presently closing on the sale of the lot to another developer. The sale includes the architectural plans, which, as of now, will remain unchanged.

9 East View Condos
10–40 46th Rd.
The East View Condos are in development by owner Henry Khanali and the New York architecture firm Bricolage Designs. The ground-up construction will be five stories, with an as-yet undetermined number of units, and should be completed by the summer of 2007.

10 41–43 47th Ave.
No information available.

11 Vantage Jackson
10–50 Jackson Ave.
This 13-story building is being developed by the Lions Group with Emmy Homes, and will contain 35 to 40 units.

12 10–63 Jackson Ave.
MKF Realty is planning a 40-unit building just west of the Polaski Bridge. Completion expected in early 2007.

13 Badge Building
10–55 47th Ave.
Bricolage Designs is designing an eight-story ground-up building that will be attached to an exisiting and soon-to-be-refurbished four-story factory, which once manufactured medallions and badges. The building complex will contain 44 condos; interiors will be designed by Front Studio. Badge Building Development LLC is a group of independent investors led by the building’s current owner, who has been sitting on the property for the last ten years.

14 12–01 Jackson Ave.
Hentze-Dor Real Estate is developing a 35-unit rental on an irregularly shaped lot on Jackson Avenue.

15 Echaelon Condominiums
13–11 Jackson Ave.
Ron Hershco of Jackson Realty LLC is planning a 52-unit condominium designed by ****** Design Group of Cold Spring Hill, New York. Occupancy is scheduled for late spring of 2006.

16 Venus Site
Queens Plaza North and 24th St.
Developer Moshe Feller is reportedly working on a condo building that will house 320 units.

17 24–15 Queens Plaza North
Karl Fischer Architect is planning alterations to an existing 50,000-square-foot office building for an unnamed developer.

18 42–37 Crescent St.
Owner Ruben Elberg of Royal One Real Estate and Karl Fischer Architect are planning a 16-unit condominium building with two ground-floor commercial spaces. Completion is expected mid-2007.

19 42–59 Crescent St.
Adjacent to 42–37 Crescent Street, the same developer-architect team will build another residential project with retail space. 42–59 Crescent will be slightly bigger, at 24 units, and completed by early 2007.

20 45–56 Pearson St.
Rosma Development of New York is set to build a 20-story project on a 30,000 square-foot site, creating 120 condos that should be ready by 2007.

21 Arris Condominiums
27–28 Thompson Ave.
The Andalex Group is planning an $80 million conversion of a 1920s warehouse into a mix of 237 lofts and 17 studios. Costas Kondylis and Partners is completing the design, which will involve a total overhaul of the interiors as well as exterior restoration.

22 Vantage Purves
44–27 Purves St.
Another development in the area by the Lions Group and Emma Homes Partnership, the Vantage Purves will have 57 units.

23 42–51 Hunter St.
A small group of investors under the name 42–51 Hunter Street LLC is developing a seven-story condo building with Manhattan firm Israel Peles Architects.

24 41–23 Crescent Street
No information available.

25 The Queens Plaza
41–26 27th St.
The Developers Group of New York is planning a 10-story, 66-unit condo building just north of the Queens Plaza Improvement Project.

26 27–14 41st Ave.
41st Avenue Property LLC, with Queens-based architect Surja Widjaja of Maison Design, is planning a 24-unit, 8-story residential building.

27 Gaseteria Site
Northern Blvd. and Queens Blvd.
Oil company Gaseteria has partnered with Lowe Enterprises Real Estate to develop a site bordering Long Island City’s Sunnyside Yards into a mixed-use complex with a projected 400 housing units, in addition to office and retail space.


COMMERCIAL


1 Silvercup West
(See above.)

2 United Nations Federal
Credit Union
24th St. and 45th Dr.
With a tentative completion date of this September, the $65 million United Nations Federal Credit Union building, designed by HLW international, will be the second all-commercial highrise in Long Island City, after the 1.4-million-square-foot Skidmore, Owings and Merrill– designed Citigroup tower, completed in 1989.

3 Citigroup, Phase II
Citigroup is several months into the construction of its second office buidling in the neighborhood, next door to its 48-floor tower, the tallest building in the boroughs. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the second building will be significantly smaller, at 475,000 square feet and 14 floors. An estimated 1,800 Citibank employees will be housed in the new building, which will be completed in 2007.

4 Queens Plaza Municipal Garage
Tishman Speyer recently signed a 99-year lease for the city-owned parking lot, and plans to raze the lot to build an office building with underground parking. Recently upzoned to 12 FAR, the site could accept 1.5 million square feet of development.

5 QP Site
Tishman Speyer is razing several low-scale commercial buildings and a parking lot, the former site of the QP flea market, and likely building office space in addition to that across the street at the Queens Plaza Municipal Garage. The lot is owned by businessman Bill Modell.

6 Gaseteria Site
(See above.)


OPEN SPACE


Queens Plaza Improvement Project
In 2001 the Department of City Planning began implementing a plan to improve Queens Plaza, the boulevard that runs from Sunnyside Yards to the Queensborough Bridge. The plan includes extensive infrastructural improvements, including new roadways and subway station renovations, as well as an extensive landscape scheme by Philadelphia-based Margie Ruddick, which would extend a lush, pedestrian-friendly esplanade to the East River waterfront.


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59969398.QQueensWestDev.JPG


Copyright © 2005 The Architect's Newspaper, LLC

Long-Delayed Projects To Get A Pataki Push


http://www.therealdeal.net//breaking_news/2006/05/10/images/5324.jpg
The future Javits Center, if Pataki
and others have their way


By DAVID LOMBINO
May 10, 2006

Governor Pataki will use the last six months of his term to push for expanding the Javits Convention Center and turning the Farley Post Office into Moynihan Station, $2.5 billion worth of long-delayed development projects on the West Side of Manhattan.

"We want to begin this year," the state's leading development official, Charles Gargano, told The New York Sun.

Delays for both projects have been measured in years rather than months, but both plans are scheduled for final public hearings in the next three weeks.

Although financing is already in place, the projects require approval from the Public Authorities Control Board - which includes representatives of the Governor Pataki, the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, and the State Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno. The legislative leaders used their positions on the board to block last year's plans for a West Side stadium.

Spokesmen for both Mr. Silver and Mr. Bruno yesterday expressed support for expanding the convention center, but said the Moynihan Station plan was still being reviewed.

The $1.7 billion expansion of the Javits center would make New York's convention center the fifth biggest in the country - up from the 19th spot - and has the support of Mayor Bloomberg, the City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, and several business and tourism groups.

But the plan has also encountered its share of critics, including Senator Schumer, who called the plan too small and too expensive.

The current plan will extend the center north along 11th Avenue one block to 40th Street, and will increase exhibit and meeting room space to more than 1.3 million square feet. Much of the additional square footage will be achieved by building another floor on top of the existing structure. The state is also planning to sell an entire city block to the south of the center for private commercial and residential development to generate additional project funds, and move the truck marshalling yards to the center's northern end. The plan includes a 1,500-room hotel nearby.

The Municipal Art Society, which opposes the Javits expansion, filed a lawsuit last week to halt the plan. The plaintiffs, who include neighborhood groups, claim the state failed to update the environmental impact statement.

Other planning advocates have said the expansion plan, which will largely be upward, will leave the center with an awkward configuration for conventioneers who prefer contiguous space. There are also questions whether the block to the south will generate as much money as the state has predicted.

A spokesman for the Regional Plan Association, Jeremy Soffin, said that none of the project's flaws are necessarily "fatal", but he said that the most recent design seems to cost more but accomplish less.

"It is worrisome that the cost is going up and the final product is getting decreasingly effective at solving the original problem," Mr. Soffin said. "If you think long term, you really need to think about moving Javits altogether. It sits on some of the most valuable real estate in the world."

Mr. Gargano, the chairman of the state agency shepherding the project through the approval process, said that Javits' lack of space forces the city to turn away between 50 and 60 shows a year. He said a vertical expansion is "much, much cheaper" than expanding to the north - which would require buying a bus garage from the Metropolitan Transit Authority for an estimated $600 million.

Mr. Gargano said the vertical configuration would work "as long as there are enough escalators and elevators."

Even if Mr. Pataki is able to win the necessary approvals and begin preparation work on both the Javits Center and Moynihan Station, there is no guarantee the next governor will not block or revise the plans.

The first designs for Moynihan Station, an expansion of Pennsylvania Station into the Farley Post Office across the street, were drawn up in 1992. Plans have been delayed by the September 11th attacks and drawn-out negotiations with the Post Office over site acquisition, among other factors.

The latest designs, rendered by architect David Childs, were released last month. The plan, estimated at about $880 million, is for new train halls for New Jersey Transit and Long Island Railroad, a post office, and a mixed-use development that could include a hotel, big box stores and restaurants. The commercial portion will be developed by two of the city's most active developers, the Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust.

Penn Station is currently the busiest transportation hub in America, with about 550,000 people daily, and the dark, dingy underground labyrinth is calling out for renovation or demolition.

A public hearing over Moynihan Station is scheduled for June 1, according to Mr. Gargano.

The owners of Madison Square Garden have expressed some interest in moving into the back portion of the post office, along 9th Avenue. Mr. Gargano said yesterday that the sports arena could be added to the project after the current plans are approved.

Amtrak has not agreed to move to Moynihan Station from Penn Station, which Mr. Gargano said was a disappointment.


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

I've always thought they simply wanted to expand the Javits center, but looking at the render, it seems like they're going to change even the existing structure.

34 cranes eh.....should be fun to watch:D:D

This article is from last year but they are clearing the lot to start construction soon...


MANHATTAN BIDS FOR BIOTECH


http://www.theslatinreport.com/content/pictures/East_River_Science_Park_HillierArchitecture.jpg
The East River Science Park, to be built - after 20 years of institutional wrangling


Steve Garmhausen
NYC 12 20 05

Maybe it’s the fact that the East River Science Park will be New York City’s largest biotech campus. Or it could be that the $700-million project is being built on spec. Whatever the reason, its 872,000 square feet seems like an awful lot of space to fill.

Then again, if the planned science park fulfills the city’s goal of jump-starting a true commercial bioscience industry, the 3.7-acre campus, in the Kips Bay neighborhood between First Avenue and the FDR Drive, could start to seem very small to its tenants.

“Where do these companies go when they become bigger?” asks Patricia Ardigo, director of the life sciences group at CB Richard Ellis, who envisions the new park eventually spawning satellite research hubs in Long Island and Westchester.

It would be a nice problem to have, but the city, which will lease the site on Bellevue Hospital’s campus to Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., must first overcome challenges to landing tenants. Those include established competition in Boston and New Jersey as well as Manhattan’s high rental rates.

The good news is that recruiting work is well under way. The city has already spoken with 500 companies worldwide, says Bill Fair, managing director of healthcare and bioscience for the New York City Economic Development Corp, which was the major driver behind the project.

“Conceptually, people don’t think of New York as bioscience,” admits Fair. The city is playing up four strengths in its recruiting efforts: its deep, skilled employment pool; entrepreneurial talent; and access to capital for all stages of a company’s growth.

But the biggest muscle group in the city's armature is its collection of 11 major academic medical research institutions, including NYU and Columbia’s schools of medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Together, these institutions filed more biotech patents between 1992 and 2002 than the institutions of Boston, Cambridge and the San Francisco Bay area combined, says Fair. But because of the city’s dearth of lab space, the people behind those patented ideas are forced to go elsewhere to try to commercialize them.

“The great ideas are already here,” says Fair. “It’s just that the companies haven’t stuck here. We’re good at spinning out companies to places like La Jolla.” (He might have mentioned New Jersey as another popular destination; perhaps it’s too close for comfort.)

The feedback from biotech companies has been that these strengths could offset the high cost of setting up shop in New York City, Fair says: “Cost is definitely an important factor, but not the most important factor for companies making location decisions.”

Ramping up biotech in the city has been talked about for a good 20 years. But for various reasons?among them the rivalries between the research and academic institutions?it remained talk.

Upon taking office four years ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg commissioned a market study that identified all the ingredients for biotech success. The administration, determined to follow through, had a key assist from several business-world heavy hitters, including Jerry Speyer and Henry Kravis, who reportedly used some muscle on their own to persuade directors on the boards of the city’s universities and hospitals to put aside their turf concerns and form a consortium to bring biotech into the city.

When the city’s RFP process for East River culminated in August with the selection of Alexandria, mere talk had congealed into reality. The Pasadena, Calif.-based real estate investment trust is a pioneer in building, running and acquiring lab and office complexes; it owns 127 properties with 8.2 million square feet. Alexandria has the “deep pockets and the wherewithal for a long stay,” says Ardigo, who served on the EDC and New York City Partnership’s biotech task force that helped bring about the science park. (Read about Alexandria in the November Forbes/Slatin Real Estate Report, available by subscription on our Publications page).

Bringing in a private developer also relieves the city’s institutions of driving economic development &emdash;which is not, after all, their mission. What’s more, the REIT is financing the park and building it on spec. What makes Alexandria CEO Joel Marcus, so confident that he took on blue-chip REIT Boston Properties for the right to build East River? Good question; he isn’t talking to the press. But his company’s bioscience parks are full of institutional users as well as corporations like Merck and Quest Diagnostics, and Alexandria should be focused on getting such heavy hitters to pre-lease space at ERSP.

“They have to go after large users right out of the box,” says Peter Waldt, senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, and a veteran of city government, who notes that the bioscience plan in the Giuliani era focused on institutions, while Bloomberg’s plan expands the mix to include corporate tenants. By contrast, the 100,000-square-foot Audubon Biomedical Science and Technology Park, part of Columbia University Medical Center and housed in the historic Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was assassinated, is mostly filled with incubator-sized companies and organizations.

The science park will also provide lower-cost lab and office space for entrepreneurs, who would now find a dry well, says Fair: “If someone called my office today, I’d have no place to put them.”

Subsidies are sure to be key to filling the space. The New York City Partnership has pledged $10 million to help small and medium-size companies fit out their space. Labs’ specialized needs&emdash;everything from extra-thick walls to emergency wash stations&emdash;add a tidy premium to their costs, explains Bob Von Ancken, the head of consulting and evaluation at Grubb & Ellis, which is conducting a pricing study for the EDC.

The state aid needed to compete with well-subsidized life science space like that in New Jersey may be hard to squeeze out of Albany because biotech companies&emdash;even though they create high-quality jobs&emdash;tend to be loss leaders, often investing for years before seeing any profit, notes Ardigo.

The park’s first phase, slated for groundbreaking in 2006, includes two laboratories and office towers totaling 542,000 square feet, with the first tenants anticipated in 2008. Designed by Hillier Architecture, It’s to include a glass-enclosed retail area with 43,000 square feet of public open space, including a riverfront esplanade, and 520 underground parking spaces. The second, 330,000-square-foot phase is slated for completion by 2009, and it will have additional open space and 200 more parking slots.

There’s a potential snag for the second phase. The city’s office of the chief medical examiner must first vacate the site; that is problematic because the office is storing 9,000 unidentified remains of victims from the September 11 attacks there. The remains are to be moved to the planned memorial at the World Trade Center site – whenever that is completed.

But if all goes well, the second phase will have a line of would-be tenants waiting to move in. The EDC’s Fair acknowledges that the city’s plans for biotech are not unique. In fact, all 50 states have biotech initiatives in their economic agendas. But unlike most of them, New York actually has what biotech firms are looking for, he says.

“Most places pin their hopes on biotech as a hot, sexy area, thinking they’ll see great stock increases, lots of employees and cures for diseases,” he says. “What we’re doing is the opposite of the way most places approach biotech.”


(c) 2003 - 2005 The Slatin Report.

Proposed Gehry design for Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn... The site is currently in demolition stage...


http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_atlanticyardsgehry2.jpeg


Architect Frank Gehry Presents Designs For Atlantic Yards Project


May 11, 2006

Developers unveiled new designs Thursday for a scaled back plan for the Atlantic rail yards complex in Brooklyn aimed at winning over critics of the project.
The plans are almost the same as the original, but the buildings are smaller and the project is about a half-million square feet smaller.

The change is intended to end an on-going feud between the developers and residents who say the $3.5 billion project will only increase congestion. They're also concerned about the look and feel of the borough.

Famed architect, Frank Gehry, says the borough inspires his vision for the area.

"We're trying to understand what is Brooklyn, what is the body language of Brooklyn and trying to emulate it without copying it,” said Gehry. “Copying it would trivialize it."

Supporters say the sports complex will bring jobs to the borough and revitalize Downtown.

Some buildings are already being demolished at the site.

Plans call for the arena to be open by 2009.


Copyright © 2006 NY1 News.


http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_atlanticyardsgehry.jpeg

:) More...


New Design for Atlantic Yards Presented


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/11/nyregion/11yardspan.jpg
The Atlantic Yards design, unveiled today by the developer Forest City Ratner, faces opponents with a
different vision for Brooklyn.


By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: May 11, 2006

From across the room, the new plastic-and-wood model of Brooklyn's proposed Atlantic Yards project — unveiled by the developer Forest City Ratner at a news conference today — looked a lot like the old one sitting a few feet away: A 22-acre swathe of glass, brick and metal towers that will loom over the surrounding neighborhoods and forever alter the borough's otherwise sparse skyline.

But in an hourlong presentation, Frank Gehry, the project's architect, and Laurie Olin, its landscape designer, emphasized details that they said would harmonize the project's scale with the neighborhoods it would border. They described shorter and thinner buildings on Dean Street, where the project abuts a mostly low-rise neighborhood, extensive use of glass walls at street level, and what Mr. Olin described as "the biggest stoop in Brooklyn," a sort of public porch planned for the southeast corner of Flatbush and Atlantic.

"It still feels like Brooklyn," Mr. Olin said.

But Mr. Gehry, Mr. Olin and Forest City Ratner officials made clear that the developer and its opponents still have vastly different visions of what, exactly, Brooklyn should feel like, at least in this corner of the borough, where the bustling downtown commercial district shades into a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of brownstones.

"They should've been picketing Henry Ford," Mr. Gehry said today, dismissing critics who oppose high-density development in the borough. "There is progress everywhere. There is a constant change. The issue is how to manage it."

Opponents of the project have criticized the height and scale of Mr. Gehry's designs, among other issues, and the possible use of eminent domain to make room for them. They have backed alternative plans for the site, including proposals by rival developers that would include mostly low-rise buildings and would not require eminent domain. (Forest City Ratner is the development partner of The New York Times Company in building its new Midtown headquarters, a project that itself involved government condemnation of private property.)

Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, which opposes the project, said the new design "puts a Gehry sheen on top of repudiated 1960's-style urban renewal. It's still way too big, and does not change the fact of 16 skyscrapers slammed on top of and next to low-rise, historic neighborhoods."

Mr. Goldstein also criticized Mr. Gehry for declining to meet with residents of the communities surrounding the proposed site. The project "remains an urban planning disaster," he said, because "Mr. Gehry and Mr. Ratner continue to ignore the community."

Today's carefully-orchestrated presentation — Junior's, the famed Brooklyn cheesecake mecca, catered breakfast — came amid one of the most contentious periods yet of what has been a two-and-a-half year battle over the Atlantic Yards, which would be the largest Brooklyn real estate development in decades.

The Empire State Development Corporation, which is sponsoring the project, is in the midst of a state-mandated review of its potential environmental impacts, the final result of which is almost certain to be the subject of legal action. Today, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, an association of about 40 Brooklyn community groups, announced that it had hired Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, a real estate planning firm, to conduct an independent review of the pending study.


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

That is amazing! I like it more then the original. The massing in the main tower is brilliant :cheers:

More on this Atlantic Yards project...


May 11, 2006,


Gehry, Gehry Everywhere...


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20at%20Night.jpg


The big Forest City Ratner high-security press conference today produced little news but lots of images: fewer crooked buildings and more straight lines, more titanium siding and less Las Vegas. This is all about how it looks, so take a peek inside.

By comparison to the latest version above, here's a shot of last year's model that led a Brooklynite to ask the Daily News, "Why is it crooked?"


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20NYT%20Version.jpg


The most iconic building in the 16-tower complex is the Miss Brooklyn, at 620 feet tall (650 with mechanicals). Gehry said that when he transported the model via airplane from Los Angeles to New York he had to give it a name so it could get its own seat. He likens the tower to an actual Brooklyn bride he saw walking around one day. "She's a bride," he said of the tower, "with her flowing bridal veil--I really overdid it. If you had seen the bride you would--I fell in love with her." The tower to the right is her husband, and the second shiny one to the left is the man she will have an affair with, according to Gehry. Developer Bruce Ratner must really love having an architect who designs unfaithful buildings and tells the press about it!

Here is the bride at its most flattering angle, with the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower (512 feet tall) in the lower left hand corner (given what's on that tower's top, maybe he's the one she will run off with!):

Gehry said that he and his team spent a lot of time studying Brooklyn and its "body language," in order to make the complex fit in, and also how his children live or have lived in Brooklyn. Then what exactly does he think of Brooklyn? "I like it.... It's a very friendly city. It has a different sense of scale. It's got a fabulous street life. It's got an ethnic mix that seems to coexist."

That different sense of scale, of course, is a lot smaller than the type of bulding he has been commissioned to design here. He does make a few token gestures to fit into the borough, however, but they definitely are tokens. The main one is the "largest stoop in Brooklyn" at the point of Atlantic and Flatbush, in front of the arena. One is supposed to be able to see through the lobby and a large window into the arena and make out the scoreboard from this angle (provided someone is not standing in front of you):


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20Largest%20Stoop%20in%20Brooklyn.jpg


The complex will have seven acres of publicly accessible open space, but it will be inside the interior courtyards formed by Gehry's buildings and dwarfed by their height. Laurie Olin, the landscape designer, discounted the idea that hiding the open space would keep New Yorkers from using it. "I don't think one has to draw people into open space in New York City. They will find it." The swamp and pool will collect stormwater and reduce runoff.


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20Inside%20Superblock.jpg


Whether the complex will fit into the surrounding neighborhood of three- and four-story brownstones is very much in the eye of the beholder--and the angle of the camera. Here is Forest City's take on the view north from Carlton and Park Place, with trees in full bloom. (This is a better view of building No. 7, the paramour.)


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20Carlton.jpg


Here is a similar view, just one block closer, imagined by onNYTurf, a website critical of the project. (It's based on specs from the project that have since been slimmed down a bit.)


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20OnNyTurf.jpg


Finally, the real reason to root for Ratner. Isn't that the Starbucks logo there on the left?


http://therealestate.observer.com/Gehry%20Starbucks.jpg


copyright © 2006 the new york observer, L.P.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/416914p-352232c.html
A trim for Yards work

New & smaller look for B'klyn buildings

BY JEGO R. ARMSTRONG and ELIZABETH HAYS
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Architect Frank Gehry now has a kinder and gentler vision for Brooklyn.

Nearly a year after his futuristic designs for the controversial Nets arena complex sent shudders through parts of the borough, Gehry released revised plans yesterday.

"We've tried to break down the scale," Gehry said, and mirror "the messiness of Brooklyn - messiness in a good way."

The adjustments make the massive project fit in better with surrounding neighborhoods, he said at a briefing with officials from Forest City Ratner, which is developing the 22-acre site at Atlantic and Flatbush Aves.

"We spent an enormous amount of time studying Brooklyn ... trying to get a sense what it is," Gehry said.

The centerpiece glass building, dubbed Miss Brooklyn, was inspired by a bride he spotted in the area, he said. The Atlantic Yards project has sparked criticism that its 16 high-rise towers are too big and will create a traffic nightmare. The new designs are about 5% smaller than before. Gehry and Ratner officials said they have been tweaked to be more open and less dense.

Some buildings were streamlined to be less bulky, Gehry said, while landscape architect Laurie Olin's designs aim to make the site more inviting. Other buildings are now less slanted than in the original designs released last July.

Gehry said the project's critics "would have been picketing Henry Ford."

"There is constant change. The issue is how do you manage change," he said.

The $3.5 billion project has not yet been approved. Ratner officials hope to have it okayed by October and the arena open for the 2009-2010 basketball season.

Reactions to the new designs were mixed.

Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, which has been battling the project, was unimpressed.

"It's still way too big and does not change the fact of 16 skyscrapers slammed on top of and next to low-rise, historic neighborhoods," said Goldstein, calling the project "a land grab by a wealthy sports baron developer."

But Jennifer Baffle, 34, liked the changes and said the new design "looks more like it suits Brooklyn."

"The old design just seems a little too much," said Baffle, who is unemployed and lives in Clinton Hill. "Who wants that kind of look for Brooklyn? That's more Manhattan."

Paris Crawford, 68, said he preferred the original look.

"The old design looks more futuristic, a sign of things to come, which sets Brooklyn apart," said the retiree from Fort Greene.

"This is Brooklyn. We deserve to be on the cutting edge."

Originally published on May 12, 2006

Im a fan of the project but not the look of the buildings. Miss Brooklyn is b-fugly. ugly enough to make me flip flop on the whole deal

yeah, Miss brooklyn isnt very good looking... Still, anything is better the the huge gapping hole in the ground we have there now. (Talking about the LIRR

It's a sham!
The entire project is a disgrace to Brooklyn. :down:

Sure, its not very beautiful, but you can say its original at least..

I think they should desing something less "cartooned".

I like this whole development... Here is another rendering of the tall one...


http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry6.jpg

Here are views from street level....


http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry18.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry13.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry16.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry15.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry10.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry17.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry12.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry14.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry9.jpg

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry11.jpg

and a mini-skyline will be born....

http://www.atlanticyards.com/graphics/may06/gehry3.jpg

The first five are unbelievable, they just look so amazing

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/nyregion/16mbrfs-brief-001.html
Smaller Size Proposed for Atlantic Yards

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: May 16, 2006

Assemblyman James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday that would require the developer Forest City Ratner to reduce the size of its proposed Atlantic Yards real estate development by about three million square feet, or roughly a third. In exchange, the bill would offer up to $15.4 million a year in state money to subsidize below-market-priced housing in the project, a 22-acre residential, commercial and arena development near Downtown Brooklyn. The bill would also relieve Forest City Ratner of about $310 million in costs associated with renovating and buying building rights over the railyards on the site of the project. Five other Brooklyn members of the Assembly are also sponsoring the legislation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/nyregion/16mbrfs-brief-001.html
Smaller Size Proposed for Atlantic Yards

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: May 16, 2006

Assemblyman James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday that would require the developer Forest City Ratner to reduce the size of its proposed Atlantic Yards real estate development by about three million square feet, or roughly a third. In exchange, the bill would offer up to $15.4 million a year in state money to subsidize below-market-priced housing in the project, a 22-acre residential, commercial and arena development near Downtown Brooklyn. The bill would also relieve Forest City Ratner of about $310 million in costs associated with renovating and buying building rights over the railyards on the site of the project. Five other Brooklyn members of the Assembly are also sponsoring the legislation.


That is F**king great. :bash:

Proposed...


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60228628.785EigthAve.JPG


785 EIGHTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY


In the heart of Manhattan, in the so called “Movie District” of 8th Avenue and close to Times Square section of Manhattan, ILA crafted a beautiful residential glass tower. The featured design responds to the challenge of an oddly shaped site which results in a 40-story building with a still, rigorous geometry, defying the difficulties of the site: irregular shape and very small footprint. The angular nature of the site is exacerbated in the triangular shapes of the penthouse. The volumetric composition is complemented by the addition of cascading balconies with glass railings. The abstract sculptural quality of the whole resonates with the nearby very dynamic theater district. The slick curtain wall will reflect the setting sun and calming waters of the Hudson River.

The tower has 110 condominium units distributed on forty floors above ground level, a cellar and partial sub-cellar. The Ground Floor consists of residential lobby and a commercial space which extends to the outdoor garden in the rear. The building has two entrances with the Main residential lobby being accessible from 48th street and Eighth Avenue providing access to the retail and residential functions. The Ground floor residential entry has a skylight and a waterfall. The cellar also has a fitness center, lounge space, changing rooms and bicycle storage. Each apartment unit features high ceilings, floor to ceiling glass, wood floors and interior finishing in stone and marble. The apartments on second and seventh floor have outdoor terraces and from each of the units from the 8th through 40th floors have balconies. The rooftop has outdoor terraces with hot tubs and is part of 40th floor penthouse and 39th floor apartments. The northern portions of upper floors offer wonderful views of the northern and eastern parts of Manhattan as well as the Hudson River.


New condo tower in Theater District


16-MAY-06

A 40-story, mid-block condominium tower with 110 apartments is planned by Espanade Capital LLC, of which David Scharf is a principal for 785 Eighth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.

The very slim, glass-clad tower will have balconies facing the avenue, according to a rendering on the website of Ismael Leyva Architects P.C.

According to the website, the design “responds to the challenge of an oddly shaped site which results in a 40-story building with a still, rigorous geometry, defying the difficulties of the site: irregular shape and very small footprint.”

“The angular nature of the site is exacerbated in the triangular shapes of the penthouses. The volumetric composition is complemented by the addition of cascading balconies with glass railings. The abstract sculptural quality of the whole resonates with the nearby very dynamic theater district,” it continued.

The ground floor will have commercial space that extends to an outdoor garden in the rear and the residential entry will have a skylight and a waterfall. A fitness center, lounge space and bicycle storage with be in the cellar. Apartments on the second and seventh floors have outdoor terraces and apartments on the eighth through the 40th floor have balconies.

The roof will have outdoor terraces with hot tubs. The building will have residential entrances on Eighth Avenue and 46th Street, but the rendering indicates that a low-rise building will remain on the southwest corner at 46th Street.

As rendered, the design would be one of the most dramatic “sliver” buildings in the city and a poster, “krulltime,” on wirednewyork.com likened the design to a "dead" design by Jean Nouvel for a very tall, slim, dramatic and impressive tower along the High Line in Chelsea. Another poster, “Fabrizio,” liked the balcony edge to “the chain-saw aesthetic.”

Calls by CityRealty.com to Mr. Scharf and Mr. Leyva were not returned today so it is unclear if the building is “as-of-right” and what is the size of the units and the exact shape of the building.

Records on file with the city indicate that the project has an air rights easement from Letterbeg Restaurant Inc., and that the project’s site begins 32 feet 4 inches south of 48th Street and extends 23 feet 7 inches south along Eighth Avenue where it extends 100 feet deep into the block and “THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue 44 feet six inches; THENCE Westerly parallel with 48th Street, 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Northerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 100 feet 5 inches to the southerly side of West 48th Street, THENCE Easterly along the Southerly side of West 48th Street 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 8 feet 4 inches; THENCE Southeasterly along a line forming an interior angle of 256 degrees, 30 minutes, 15 seconds with the previous course, 102 feet 10 1/8 inches to the westerly side of 8th Avenue to the point or place of BEGINNING.”

City documents indicated that Esplanade Condominiums LLC has arranging financing with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Inc.

Recently, planning for two other residential condominium towers on either side of Eighth Avenue at 46th Street has advanced, suggesting that the dramatic transformation of this once tawdry area of West Midtown is accelerating.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

As rendered, the design would be one of the most dramatic “sliver” buildings in the city and a poster, “krulltime,” on wirednewyork.com likened the design to a "dead" design by Jean Nouvel for a very tall, slim, dramatic and impressive tower along the High Line in Chelsea.

That is me Krulltime. :)


I was comparing it to this dead tower...


http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire1840/zwire/images/ACF6CB.gif

Under Construction...


164 Kent Avenue: 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60308904.BK164KentAve.JPG


Williamsburg
164 Kent
164 Kent Avenue

The FX Fowle-designed condominium will be the first of three high-rise towers on the waterfront built by a joint venture of Toll Brothers, L & M Equity, and RD Management. The building's 180 units will range from studios to three-bedrooms, the Times reported. No information on the other two towers was available at press time.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

Under Construction...


164 Kent Avenue: 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60308904.BK164KentAve.JPG

Wow wth, a 30 floorer there? I am surpised as I used to live there, now after the rezoning they changed the whole place around. I might be stopby on the weekend and take a picture of the construction.

Proposed...


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60228628.785EigthAve.JPG


i want to see more of this building

I see alot of people talking about NY getting its skyscraper status back, or being on par with Chicago, HK, Dubai, etc.

I dont understand it. When the hell has NY ever been outta the loop? When did all these cities pass NY? I mustve missed the memo.

Supertall this supertall that, that my friends, is oversaturated im afraid. Its less of an accomplishment because more and more are getting supertalls, and it is far easier than before.

NY has held the worlds tallest for decades, I think its sealed itself as the best architecturally, remember, quality not quantity.

Im sick of seeing these people writing about NY getting back on its feet. One dimensional cities like Dubai seem to get built overnight and it steals the crown from NY? Get real. Skyscrapers in cities doesnt automatically symbolize greatness, contrary to popular belief (aimed at ppl living in 'booming cities'). What city has more architectural history than NYC? Its just like music, the shit out today wouldnt be here without all the old music. Value doesnt come overnight, so to be honest, I dont see whats so special about Dubai. Taipei's got a supertall, I guess that makes it a world class city. I can imagine the skyline, like a toothpick. It just pisses me off how people are writing off NYC. The countries around the world that are growing, more power to you, your cities are building, your economies growing, but America isnt all outta the loop itself, so dont let it get to your heads.

Downtown Manhattan is back on track and ready to take over once again.$20 billion, 6 six years, cant wait to see it all complete. Is there really any other place in the world getting as big a makeover???????

Ok im done bitching. First time viewing this page, job well done krull, its good to see some NYers getting some play on this site. We need more WNYers here so NY has a bigger presence on the intl scale. Educate the world on whats really going on in NYC.

Wow, New York City is booming with lots of new projects. It's good to see they are demolishing some of the old buildings that are starting to decay. :)

I see alot of people talking about NY getting its skyscraper status back, or being on par with Chicago, HK, Dubai, etc.

I dont understand it. When the hell has NY ever been outta the loop? When did all these cities pass NY? I mustve missed the memo.

Supertall this supertall that, that my friends, is oversaturated im afraid. Its less of an accomplishment because more and more are getting supertalls, and it is far easier than before.

NY has held the worlds tallest for decades, I think its sealed itself as the best architecturally, remember, quality not quantity.

Im sick of seeing these people writing about NY getting back on its feet. One dimensional cities like Dubai seem to get built overnight and it steals the crown from NY? Get real. Skyscrapers in cities doesnt automatically symbolize greatness, contrary to popular belief (aimed at ppl living in 'booming cities'). What city has more architectural history than NYC? Its just like music, the shit out today wouldnt be here without all the old music. Value doesnt come overnight, so to be honest, I dont see whats so special about Dubai. Taipei's got a supertall, I guess that makes it a world class city. I can imagine the skyline, like a toothpick. It just pisses me off how people are writing off NYC. The countries around the world that are growing, more power to you, your cities are building, your economies growing, but America isnt all outta the loop itself, so dont let it get to your heads.

Downtown Manhattan is back on track and ready to take over once again.$20 billion, 6 six years, cant wait to see it all complete. Is there really any other place in the world getting as big a makeover???????


:applause: well said!

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/418280p-353292c.html
Brooklyn Bridge Park building booed

Private use of public land

BY ELIZABETH HAYS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Nearly 18 months after luxury condo towers were added to the upcoming Brooklyn Bridge Park, outraged advocates sued in a bid to stop the private development in a public park.

Charging that housing in the park would set a dangerous precedent, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Legal Defense Fund filed the lawsuit against state planners yesterday in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

"This is a test case for parks," said Defense Fund President Judi Francis, adding it would be the first new park in New York State to have private housing built within its borders.

"This is a scheme to help condo developers and give them public land for development," she charged.

The suit was endorsed by nine nearby community groups, including the Cobble Hill Association, the DUMBO Neighborhood Association and the Fort Greene Association.

The suit is the latest salvo in the ongoing struggle over the park, which community leaders began pushing for two decades ago.

The park has always been slated to be "sustainable," meaning that commercial development inside would help pay its maintenance costs.

A 2000 master plan called for a hotel, restaurant and recreation center to help pay for the 85-acre park's upkeep.

But in December 2004 - after a public hearing had already been held and Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg had signed off on the proposal - state planners quietly added six high-rise condos with more than 1,200 private apartments, and a luxury marina.

One building at 360 Furman St. - now dubbed "One Brooklyn Bridge Park" - has already started marketing its luxury lofts.

"I deeply believe we have been railroaded into something that we shouldn't be railroaded into, and I hope we can stop it or change it," said Bronson Binger, a former City Parks Department assistant commissioner who has joined the opposition group.

State Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Deborah Wetzel downplayed the lawsuit.

"Litigation often occurs for such projects. We are reviewing the papers and we will proceed as we usually do with such litigation," said Wetzel.

The lawsuit also charged planners failed to adequately study traffic impacts on the park by excluding other large-scale projects planned for the area, such as Atlantic Yards.

Marianna Koval, co-executive director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, which supports the current plan, called the plaintiffs "a few irresponsible people who are attempting to manipulate our legal system to prevent or delay this park."

Opponents said the nine groups combined represent 40,000 people.

Originally published on May 17, 2006

There is also this under construction 35 floors tower by Fow and Fowle, across the new Times Building.
Times Square Plaza :

http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2005/09/393317.jpg

^ That is not underconstruction yet. That site has been empty for a long time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/19/nyregion/19condo.html
80 Tenants Face Eviction for a Teardown in Midtown

By JOSH BARBANEL
Published: May 19, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/19/nyregion/19condo.450.jpg
Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times

The 20-story building at 220 Central Park South, second from left, would be replaced with a 41-story tower of condominiums.

In a sign that the real estate boom may be far from over, 80 tenants in a postwar high-rise building on Central Park South, many with spectacular park views, were notified yesterday that they could face eviction proceedings so a developer can tear the building down.

The developer intends to replace the 20-story white brick building at 220 Central Park South with a 41-story glass condominium tower.

The announcement set off a wave of anger, defiance and sadness among tenants, many of whom have enjoyed below-market rents for many years under the state's system of rent stabilization and were unaware that they were in jeopardy.

State officials said the demolition plan, if approved, would displace more rent-regulated tenants than any other demolition in recent memory. And real estate executives said the plan to demolish one postwar high-rise for a bigger one was extraordinary, if not unique, in the annals of New York real estate.

"Why should they tear up a beautiful building like this?" said Marjorie Cantor, a retired professor of gerontology at Fordham University, who has lived in a one-bedroom apartment with a terrace at 220 Central Park South for 27 years. When the building, constructed in 1954, was sold last year, she said she assumed that it would be converted into condominiums, but was shocked to learn of the planned demolition. She said she was ready to fight.

But Veronica W. Hackett, the managing partner of the Clarett Group, one of the development partners, said the existing building, just west of Seventh Avenue, was obsolete and had many maintenance problems. She said it would be replaced with a tower that was twice the height and 25 percent larger, with two glass-walled apartments on most floors, almost all with park views. The building was designed by the Pelli Clarke Pelli architectural firm to compete with some of the most expensive condominiums in Manhattan.

"The bigger issue," Ms. Hackett said, "is how to deal with obsolete buildings in the city."

Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry group, said the plans reflected the increases in prices and values that make even large buildings more valuable demolished than standing.

"All over the suburbs people are busy buying a house, demolishing and building another," he said. "This is the same thing on a bigger scale. We have reached a critical point."

William Gibben, a tenant lawyer who is handling several demolition challenges in New York City, said: "This is new territory. It's a scorched-earth policy. If this gets done, it is open season on every building in the city."

Under state law, developers can evict even rent-stabilized tenants when their leases expire from buildings they plan to demolish if they demonstrate that they are acting in "good faith" to carry out their plans, typically by showing that they have approved building plans and financing in place. The eviction of the small number of tenants in the city protected by the older rent-control system is more difficult.

But David Rosenholc, a lawyer who has represented many tenants who have fought eviction over the years, said that tenants can delay projects, sometimes for years, by questioning whether a developer is acting in good faith. He said tenants in one Upper East Side building delayed a project for 10 years before they settled.

But Ms. Hackett said the project owners were committed to acting in good faith with the tenants, and were prepared to offer "six-figure" settlements with the 47 rent-stabilized tenants who occupy a total of 50 apartments. She said the remaining 34 or so market-rate tenants would be asked to leave when their leases expire or possibly to remain on month to month until the plan is completed. No tenants in the building are protected by the stricter rent-control laws. The remainder of the 123 apartments in the building, roughly 40 units, are vacant.

Yesterday the process began, when the state's Division for Housing and Community Renewal received the developer's application for permission not to renew the leases of rent-stabilized tenants, and the developers sent letters to each tenant informing them of the plan.

The application cannot be processed until the building plans are submitted and approved by the city's Buildings Department, and Ms. Hackett said those plans would be filed soon.

Many tenants, however, were skeptical of the notices that went out yesterday, and viewed them as a scare tactic, intended to persuade some tenants to move. Don Glasgall, a semiretired fabric broker who has also lived in the building for 27 years, said the demolition plan was "a way to vacate the people."

"When people move into this building, they don't want to leave," he said.

Balazs's Plans for Hotel on the High Line Draws Fire From Neighborhood

BY DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
May 18, 2006

Preservationists and neighbors who have seen designs for hotelier Andre Balazs's boutique hotel that will straddle the High Line in the meatpacking district have likened the 25-story glass and white brick tower to something one would find in Miami Beach or Las Vegas.

They are asking Mr. Balazs to scale back the designs - which have been shielded from the public thus far - but the hotelier is saying that it is too late to make changes.

The director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Andrew Berman, and the local restaurant owner Florent Morellet, met with Mr. Balazs last week. Mr. Berman called the designs "nauseating."

"It basically looks like a Las Vegas casino or an Atlantic City hotel dropped into the meatpacking district," Mr. Berman said."The design is about as far from contextual as you could imagine."

Mr. Balazs, calling from Los Angeles, defended the designs that were drawn up by local architect, Polshek Partners. He said that he has met regularly with Mr. Berman and others about the project, and he was surprised at the attacks.

"We can't alter the design. It's in the ground. It is what it is," he said. "I don't know if there is a political agenda here that I'm not aware of."

"There are no surprises in the design," he said. "What we do is contextual projects."

"The Standard, New York" is a 330-room hotel set to open by 2008, according to Mr. Balazs. The hotelier, a regular on Page Six, owns the Mercer Hotel and recently developed a luxury condominium project in the SoHo historical district called 40 Mercer Street. His boutique hotels in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles are popular celebrity hangouts.

The building site near Washington Street and West 13th Street has long served as a battleground between developers and neighborhood groups.

In 2002, developer Stephen Touhey proposed building a 45-story condominium on the site, designed by the renowned French architect Jean Nouvel. After outrage by neighborhood activists, including Mr. Berman and Mr. Morellet, Mr. Touhey refashioned his plans into a hotel. After more pressure, he sold out to Mr. Balazs in 2004 for $24 million.

In 2003, the city's Landmarks and Preservation Commission designated a large swath of the low-rise, cobblestoned streets as the Gansevoort historic district. Even though that designation would have prevented Mr. Balazs's current design, the site was excluded from the boundaries.

Mr. Balazs is under no obligation to change the designs because the planned building fits within existing city regulations. He said that he is "sad" about the pace of change in the area, much like the way that most boutiques have vacated SoHo because of its high rents. Mr. Balazs said that that he is heartened by the city's decision to subsidize some of the remaining meatpacking businesses in the area.

Despite the city's historic designation, Mr. Berman says that the meatpacking district is still facing a "host of issues" stemming from a rapid transition, skyrocketing rents, and the city's most crowded nightlife scene.

"There are efforts underway to bring the neighborhood back to a balance, an even keel, to keep it from becoming this B&T nightlife Disneyland," Mr. Berman said."We fear this hotel will only add to this problem."

© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

I think it is great that after such a terrible experience all New Yorkers had with the Sep 11 attacks the city is getting back on track hopefully New York may once again hold the title for having the tallest building not only here in America but the world :cheers: :) :eek2: :runaway: :bash:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/nyregion/thecity/21witn.html
Side by Side

By JAKE MOONEY
Published: May 21, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/21/nyregion/21witn.xlarge1.jpg
Uli Seit for The New York Times

The site of four planned towers, for 1,600 Jehovah's Witnesses, in hip, happening Dumbo.

THERE are fences along both sides of Jay Street on the block that is most visitors' first view of the Dumbo section of Brooklyn. One, backed up against the Manhattan Bridge just outside the F train stop, is ramshackle blue plywood, covered with photocopies of building permits and signs for construction companies. Through peepholes and gates, passers-by in recent weeks have been able to see the frame of the 33-story J Condominium, the neighborhood's newest luxury high-rise, growing taller by the day.

Across Jay Street to the east, toward the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is another fence, 10 feet tall, of gray corrugated metal. It is impenetrable, except for a small metal door tightly locked, and featureless, except for a blue-and-white sign marked with its address: 85 Jay. At the moment the site is a vast, unpaved parking lot owned by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, more commonly known as the Jehovah's Witnesses; their plan is to build four residential towers ranging from 9 to 20 stories and housing about 1,600 people.

If there is a steel-and-concrete metaphor for the future of Dumbo, the patch of land down under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, it is here, on the stretch of Jay Street between York and Front Streets: headlong private development on one side and the Jehovah's Witnesses on the other.

And what is notable about this and other Witnesses buildings, in the eyes of many local residents, is the extent to which they stand apart from the life around them. A particular sore point has been the Witnesses' refusal, on religious grounds, to include ground-floor retail space in any of the buildings.

"The issue," said Michelle Whetten, president of the Dumbo Neighborhood Association, who has a perfect view of 85 Jay Street when she looks out her living room window, "was just that they weren't willing to share or intersect with us at all within the site. It's really that they don't interact with the community. So to have such a big piece of the heart of Dumbo just for them, that's what's frustrating."

Responding to criticism that shops should have been incorporated into the buildings, a spokesman for the Witnesses, Richard Devine, said: "It's not retail because we're a noncommercial entity. We don't engage in commercial business, so retail on the site we can't do. But the idea of blending it in with the streetscape, making it open, well lighted and comfortable, that's what we're interested in doing."

Whose Dumbo is it, anyway? Twenty years ago, the question was easier to answer. Dumbo belonged to the factories and the handful of loft-dwelling artist pioneers sprinkled among them, with the Jehovah's Witnesses perched warily on the edge.

Today the artists remain — though, given real-estate pressures, their numbers are dwindling — and with 85 Jay Street the Witnesses are poised to establish a beachhead in the heart of the neighborhood. But in place of the working factories, there are new apartment buildings and loft conversions, filled with residents who are prosperous, highly educated and comfortable in well-cut business suits.

This small patch of land hemmed in by bridges, a highway and the water is in demand from several directions. There are grocery stores now, and plenty of places to get a fancy meal, but for the first time there is not enough space to go around.

Mr. Devine, who arrived at a Witnesses residence in Brooklyn Heights from Detroit in 1979 and moved into the group's largest housing complex, 90 Sands, on the edge of Dumbo, in 1993, remembers the old days.

"In the late 80's and early 90's," he said, "it was empty. It was a ghost town."

Now there are shops like Prague Kolektiv, which opened last fall on Front Street near Pearl, around the corner from 85 Jay. It specializes in furniture made in Czechoslovakia from the 1920's to the 1960's. Giovanni Negrisin, an Italian architect who is the store's co-owner, said he and his business partner, Barton Quillen, settled in Dumbo because of the large spaces, the closeness to Manhattan and the neighborhood's reputation as a design-oriented place, a reputation that has spread far and wide. As he put it: "I had people from Europe, from Italy, from Japan even, come in with articles: 'This is Dumbo; we heard this is the new SoHo.' "

Red Wine and Hyper-Realism

On a recent Friday night, it certainly looked like the new SoHo at Jan Larsen Art, a gallery on Pearl Street almost directly under the Manhattan Bridge. Jan Larsen, the owner, was tidying up for his weekly open house. Around the room were pieces by artists whom Mr. Larsen, bald and wearing a crisp white shirt and a tie, described as "some of the most talented in the neighborhood." Toward the front hung sculptures of animals — an eagle, some fish and a piece that was half fish and half machine — that had been bolted together out of metal. On the walls were hyper-realistic close-up paintings of padlocks.

Among those admiring this display was Eric Hoisington, a dancer who has lived in Dumbo on and off for six years.

"There's a lot of dance here," said Mr. Hoisington, who lives downstairs from a dance studio. He held a cigarette and a plastic cup of red wine in one hand while gesturing with the other. "There's a lot of cooking here, a lot of fine restaurants, and a lot of painting, furniture making, a lot of craftsmen. And a lot of fine art."

Not to mention room. The vast living space available in the former factory district is what drew Michael M. Thomas, longtime columnist for The New York Observer, to the neighborhood. Mr. Thomas, also a novelist and a former Lehman Brothers partner and Metropolitan Museum of Art assistant curator who grew up on Park Avenue, was living in Sag Harbor on Long Island in 1999 when he decided to move back to the city. Flipping to the lofts section of the real estate ads, he noticed a place at 66 Water Street, for rent by Two Trees Management, a company owned by his old friend and business associate David Walentas.

Intrigued, Mr. Thomas got out his map of Manhattan and searched, fruitlessly, for the address. He called Mr. Walentas and asked, "Where the hell is this place?"

On his first visit to the building — where Two Trees says a one-bedroom unit with an office would rent for at least $3,400 a month — Mr. Thomas was struck by the noise from the highway and the two bridges. But when he saw the long, spacious apartment, Mr. Thomas fell in love. In April 2000 he moved in, and within months he was comparing Brooklyn to Paris.

"The water's right here, the light is fabulous, the buildings are low — look at this space!" Mr. Thomas said, gesturing to a vast expanse of books and paintings, and a window that looks out over an old warehouse toward the Brooklyn Bridge. "I couldn't get anything like this space in TriBeCa for what I'm paying. I've got a big bedroom!"

The Paris comparison may be apt, because he lives upstairs from the chocolate shop run by Jacques Torres, the former pastry chef at Mr. Thomas's old hangout Le Cirque, and across the street from Almondine, run by Mr. Torres and Herve Poussot, a former pastry chef at Le Bernardin.

Liked or Just Respected?

Long before Michael Thomas or Jacques Torres arrived, the Jehovah's Witnesses were a force in Dumbo, or at least on the edge of the neighborhood. For decades, four tan buildings with green trim west of the Manhattan Bridge and south of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway have been at the heart of the group's mission: translating its version of the Bible into hundreds of languages, and printing it and distributing it worldwide, along with supporting texts such as the magazines Watchtower and Awake!

One of the buildings, 117 Adams, was a printing plant when Tom Combs first arrived from Oregon as a Witnesses volunteer in 1958. Next to the building, in an area ringed by the expressway and the on-ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge, sat an area of chest-deep brush that Mr. Combs helped clear. After a while, he started to cut the grass there in his free time, and now, at age 67, on warm days, he still does.

In the beginning, he said as he gazed from the building's sixth floor, the only people he saw in the neighborhood were day laborers arriving in vans to work at local factories. Mr. Combs, who lives in a Witnesses residence on Livingston Street in Brooklyn Heights, would walk down to the water even then, when the Witnesses had the neighborhood mostly to themselves.

"A lot of us are from out of big cities, so just to get anywhere there's a little quiet is nice," he said. "You can get the same thing in a park, but there wasn't a park then."

There wasn't much of anything but factories, and the streets were littered with trash and industrial debris. In the last few years, things have changed significantly.

"We're seeing a lot more people walking dogs or baby carriages," he said.

Mr. Combs, who has tidy white hair and pale blue eyes smiling behind bifocals, has grown accustomed to seeing people out on the lawn — one man greets him as Papi, and a woman, who knows he is a minister, sometimes asks for advice. Still, he realizes that some people are less eager to approach a Jehovah's Witness. "To say that we're well-liked by everyone. ..." His voice trailed off. "I'd say respected by most, liked by some."

The World of Brooklyn Bethel

In 1909, when Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, moved the organization to Brooklyn from Allegheny, Pa., it was the area's hospitality and reputation as a borough of churches, along with its access to shipping lanes, that impressed him. Over the years, the group grew to worldwide prominence as a religious organization and became one of the city's largest landowners. Brooklyn Bethel, as the Witnesses call their headquarters, soon spread across Brooklyn Heights, and in the early 1980's, the group finished its sixth building in the area, the towering residence at 90 Sands, on the southern border of Dumbo, that houses 1,000 residents.

Halcyon, a record store on Pearl Street, is two blocks down from the Witnesses' buildings, and its owner, Shawn Schwartz, sometimes sees groups of the Witnesses' volunteers — recognizable because of their dark suits and short hair — headed to the waterfront. They don't stop in; the store caters mostly to D.J.'s. But Mr. Schwartz, who moved the store to Dumbo two years ago from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, says he bears the Witnesses no ill will.

"They were here in a large way before any of the others of us were here," he said, "so if anybody's got a claim to the neighborhood, they invested in this neighborhood a long time ago."

Still, the presence of so many Witnesses, coupled with their low profile, strikes some Dumbo residents as odd. "They are silent in the neighborhood," Mr. Schwartz said. "I've told a couple of people that their giant buildings up there are like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory: Nobody ever goes in, nobody ever goes out."

But in the opinion of Robert Warren, 36, a volunteer in the Witnesses' communications department, the group is misunderstood.

"I think one of the misconceptions that people have about us in this area is that because we have our own dining rooms and take care of our own services, that we don't go to places out in the neighborhood," Mr. Warren said the other day over a communal lunch of whitefish scampi, rice and asparagus in the basement of 90 Sands.

"The thing that's important to remember about why we have the functions in here," Mr. Warren said, referring to the regularly scheduled morning and weekend prayers and the group meals, "is that it saves us a lot of time, so we can concentrate on what we're here for, which is our assignments."

A Change of Focus

The Jehovah's Witnesses are in the midst of a large-scale recentering, away from Brooklyn Heights and toward Dumbo and upstate New York. Their last printing press in Brooklyn, in a building on Dumbo's southern edge, came to a stop in April 2004, replaced by printing facilities in Wallkill, in Orange County. Last year, the organization sold its laundry building at 360 Furman Street in Brooklyn Heights and moved those operations into space vacated by some of the old presses. Plans are for the new buildings at 85 Jay Street to house Witnesses currently living in Brooklyn Heights.

Jan Larsen, the gallery owner, wonders if the organization's low-key, professional approach to relations with the neighborhood, particularly during the contentious approval process of 85 Jay Street, was a mistake.

"I was always surprised that they didn't see it as an opportunity to have interaction with a vibrant community," he said.

J. R. Brown, the Witnesses' national spokesman, sees an irony in complaints that the group is not outgoing enough, given its weekly door-to-door outings around the city. And he said the Witnesses had a lot to offer as neighbors. "We try to get people to be fair and look at what's being contributed here," Mr. Brown said. "You're going to know for a fact that you're going to have good neighbors who are going to be honest, they're not going to try to break into where you are or start a petition against you. But we're going to pursue our mission."

Mr. Larsen, walking around his studio on a chilly day in late March, thought back to all the time he spent cleaning, painting and putting up walls four years ago. "You're creating your own world," he said, "similar to what the Jehovah's Witnesses have done. They created a world around the way they see the world, and I'm doing the same. The same goes for Prague Kolektiv, and Halcyon. We're all creating our own scenes."

Occasionally the scenes intersect. One evening earlier this spring, in a basement studio across Front Street from Mr. Larsen's gallery, an artist named Jaimie Walker was applying chalk and silver spray paint to a canvas as she sipped from a glass of cabernet. Jamie Jared, a burly plaster restorer and Jehovah's Witness, watched the proceedings with interest.

A native Oregonian who lived and worked at the Witnesses' headquarters for six years in the 1980's before settling in Brooklyn for good, Mr. Jared is building a series of display and work spaces downstairs from the restaurant Superfine, to sublet to local artists like Ms. Walker, who might otherwise be priced out of the neighborhood.

To Mr. Jared, the biggest threat to the neighborhood's current mix is not 85 Jay, but the development of luxury condos. "By the time the Witnesses get down here," he said, "there's already going to have been a cultural shift that's going to have happened, from all the Manhattanites moving in."

One of those Manhattanites is Jill Montaigne, who moved to 70 Washington Street in October with her 7-year-old son, Schuyler. After living on the Upper West Side for 19 years, she looked at 85 places up and down the West Side before buying a 1,400-square-foot apartment in one of Mr. Walentas's buildings. Units that size in the building are being offered for at least $1 million.

Ms. Montaigne, who is a partner at a consulting and design firm in Manhattan, appreciates Dumbo's funkier side. "This is not a sterile neighborhood," she said. "It's very vibrant in terms of the arts community, and the mix of people is so much more citylike than in the city, where the neighborhoods feel so homogeneous."

Her concern about the new construction is outweighed by the positives of her new home. One of those is the view, which includes the Statue of Liberty, just beyond the Witnesses' Brooklyn Heights headquarters. "There's not a day that goes by," Ms. Montaigne said, "that I don't walk into this apartment and thank God I live here."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/magazine/21wwln.essay.html
The Manhattanville Project

By DAPHNE EVIATAR
Published: May 21, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/18/magazine/21dispute.450.jpg
Brenda Ann Kenneally

One evening in the spring of 2004, the Rev. Earl Kooperkamp attended a presentation at a community board meeting by the celebrated architect Renzo Piano. Unveiling preliminary sketches, Piano laid out his vision for the campus he's designing for Columbia University's president, Lee Bollinger. In contrast to the gated, stone Beaux-Arts-Renaissance campus built more than a century ago in Morningside Heights, the new West Harlem campus would tell a more contemporary story: filling almost 18 acres parallel to the waterfront, it would open Columbia to the surrounding community. Some buildings could reach 25 stories, and the streets would remain publicly accessible. A walkway would extend from 125th to 133rd Streets, cutting through the length of the campus. And in the center of a square of buildings there would be a large, open space. "It is a piazza," Piano said, in his lilting Italian accent. "The people will come, there will be discourse."

Kooperkamp, the Kentucky-born minister of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in West Harlem, was skeptical. "You're talking about being a 21st-century university," he recalls telling Piano. "And this looks like 12th-century Christ Church Oxford. It's a quad. That's not a piazza. That's not open space for a community. If it were, it would be a big lawn on 125th Street or Broadway."

The dispute over Piano's piazza encapsulates a larger conflict Columbia is now having with its neighbors to the north. When Columbia announced its plans to build a much-needed new campus in a corner of Harlem called Manhattanville, it saw a gritty neighborhood of auto-repair shops, tenements and small manufacturers that would probably pose little obstacle to its ambitions. Columbia says that the project will advance a vital public interest and help revitalize parts of Upper Manhattan. Yet the university has met remarkable resistance. One man's urban improvement, it seems, is another man's urban debacle.

The divergent views of the project may arise from the very different situations of its beholders. Since becoming Columbia's president in 2002, Bollinger has committed himself to restoring the international stature the university held half a century ago, when Columbia boasted such luminaries as Daniel Bell and Lionel Trilling and almost half the faculty of its physics department either had won or would win a Nobel Prize. To do that, Bollinger's administration has been recruiting hard, hiring, among others, some 10 star economists and 18 science and engineering professors.

"As knowledge grows and fields grow, we need more faculty, you need a certain scale," Bollinger says. "And we need places to put them. Now, a number of young faculty share offices. Our science departments have lab conditions that don't compare to what other top universities have." As Bollinger often points out, Columbia has 194 square feet per student; Harvard boasts 368.

Certainly Columbia's plans are ambitious: across a large swath of Upper Manhattan, the university wants to create an academic enclave that will both nurture intellectual progress and revitalize an urban area. Piano's design aims to accomplish both. The campus will have wide, open streets that offer a broad view of the waterfront. Along the main thoroughfares, the lower floors of the academic buildings will be mostly glass — "they will be floating," as Piano puts it — filled with shops, restaurants and arts spaces serving the broader public of Harlem and the Upper West Side. The designs are still preliminary, and plans for specific buildings have yet to be developed. But Piano, who also designed The New York Times's new headquarters, now under construction, and a well-received addition to the Morgan Library, is committed to designing the space to promote these integrationist aims. "You will feel part of the community," Piano told me when we met at Columbia's Prentis Hall, a white-tiled former milk-bottling plant on Manhattanville's southern edge. Indeed, Piano's drawings, on display in the sunny ground-floor workshop, depict transparent skyscrapers lining ample boulevards with ethereal-looking pedestrians ambling along them.

But in the eyes of many local residents, Piano's optimistic rendering obscures the fact that to fulfill its vision, the university will have to bulldoze almost everything that's already there. About 1,600 people are currently employed in this part of Manhattanville, and some 400 live there. Many residents are disturbed by the placement of the campus between a park being built at the West Harlem Pier and the community that fought for years to have that park created. Meanwhile, most everyone expects that the university's arrival will accelerate the gentrification that is already transforming the historically black neighborhood of Harlem — to the benefit of some residents and the harm of others.

That places Columbia in an awkward position. "If Columbia were like another private developer, most would say it has no responsibility," says Peter Marcuse, a professor of urban planning at Columbia. "Developers are private-sector entities whose purpose is to make money. But Columbia is a nonprofit institution. It gets substantial public benefits and thus has substantial public obligations as a property owner." Of course, those public obligations are hard to define. If a development creates thousands of worthwhile new jobs, mostly for outsiders, while eliminating hundreds of local jobs, has it served the public good?

http://www.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/b.gifollinger came to Columbia with the respect of many in Harlem who had long regarded the university with suspicion. As president of the University of Michigan, he won renown for defending a challenge to its affirmative-action program all the way to the Supreme Court. And from the start, he presented Columbia's plan as promoting the integration of a public-service-oriented university with its diverse surroundings. "There was a time when Columbia really turned its back on where it was located," Bollinger says. "I wanted to take exactly the opposite approach."

That presented Columbia with a complex architectural challenge. "A university is a place where young people take a step back from the world so that when they re-enter, they do so with great intensity, care and responsibility," says Mark Wigley, dean of Columbia's graduate school of architecture. "So the university must be a defined space. The fascinating challenge is how to make that a space of withdrawal and reflection and at the same time integrate that space in the richest way possible in the very heart of vibrant New York City." In Bollinger's view, that sort of space benefits not only the university but also its neighbors. A hallmark of the new campus will be a center featuring Columbia's impressive array of neuroscientists. Bollinger also wants to bring the School of the Arts to Manhattanville, linking the arts with the physical and the social sciences. "We're looking for a new kind of intellectual paradigm," Bollinger told me, seated in his spacious office in Low Memorial Library, an imposing domed edifice in the center of the Morningside Heights campus. "Now we don't have the facilities to really achieve this intellectual ambition."

Columbia has promised to relocate residents directly displaced by its $7 billion plan, which it expects will create nearly 7,000 new jobs over 25 to 30 years — including academic, technical, maintenance and support positions, plus those at any new restaurants and shops. It has reserved space on the campus for a public school specializing in math, science and engineering. And Bollinger says he's willing to negotiate other benefits, like local hiring preferences. But to Bollinger, who describes his approach to development as "somewhere between the Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses views of the world," the interests of Harlem residents are only one concern among many. "We are not a profit-making institution looking out for our own advantage," he said. "We are trying to do things that help the world more broadly. The community is not everything." Above all, he seems unwilling to compromise on one thing: he wants the entire space. Indeed, Piano's design requires it. Much of the campus is to be built into a sort of bathtub that could reach seven stories underground. "The factory," as Piano calls it, would hide the facility's more noxious needs — like parking, loading docks and energy equipment — allowing the campus itself to be serene.

Columbia has already purchased more than half the property it would need. But some owners have refused to sell, and Columbia says that eminent domain remains an option if negotiations fail. It's a dicey option, however. Throughout the country, public opposition to eminent domain has mounted since last summer, when the Supreme Court ruled that private property can be seized by local governments for private development. Virtually every state has considered changing its eminent-domain laws; at least 13 different bills on the subject have been introduced in Congress. As Justice Clarence Thomas noted in his dissent in the recent Kelo case, concerning New London, Conn., an expansive definition of "public use" in the 50's and 60's permitted local governments to eliminate entire minority neighborhoods through eminent domain in the name of "urban renewal" — soon known as "Negro removal" among blacks. Not surprisingly, Columbia's talk of seizing property does not go over well in Harlem. Still, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has come out in strong support of eminent domain — which also figures in the developer Bruce Ratner's controversial efforts to construct a basketball stadium and condos in the Atlantic Yards area of Brooklyn. Without it, "every big city would have all construction come to a screeching halt," Bloomberg said recently.

It doesn't help Columbia's reputation in Harlem that it wants to use part of the space for a lab with a security clearance that would allow research on highly dangerous substances like anthrax. (Columbia says that it has no plans to actually do such research on the new campus.) Since Sept. 11, many people have warned that such labs could become terrorist targets. And given that Harlem has long been a depository for the city's unwanted environmental hazards — including a sewage-treatment plant and three-quarters of Manhattan's bus depots — many residents are immediately suspicious of large government-supported projects. "You never know when an accident can happen," says Sarah Martin, president of the residents' association at a housing development in Manhattanville. "Where do a lot of deadly viruses come from? They're airborne sometimes. I heard something about the AIDS virus being made in a dish. So that's a possibility." Indeed, many are quick to mention an outbreak last year of Legionnaire's disease at the Columbia-affiliated NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital or that Columbia has been fined for mishandling hazardous waste. Local residents also repeatedly reminded me that Columbia scientists participated in the original Manhattan Project — leading some to dub Columbia's campus plan "the Manhattanville Project."

Columbia hopes that the benevolent aims of the institution, and its modern campus featuring open spaces that local residents can enjoy, will eventually assuage local concerns. "This is creating a neighborhood," says Bernard Tschumi, a former dean of Columbia's school of architecture. "Students bring street life, they bring safety. Maybe not when universities built themselves as fortresses, like Columbia did a century ago. But the attitude today is very different. Renzo and Lee have exactly the right idea."

Still, other architecture critics are skeptical. "If it's driving out existing businesses and driving up real estate prices, then the specific character of the architecture has very little impact," says Michael Sorkin, director of the Graduate Urban Design Program at City College. "I don't think that glassy facades have much to do with the loss of low-cost housing." In Sorkin's view, Columbia will have to offer the community more than a pleasing design to address that: "What they do to mitigate that disruption is a measure of the conscience and intelligence of the university."

The greatest fear of West Harlem residents is that they'll eventually be driven out. "The central thing to understand is that Harlem is terrified of gentrification, and rightly so," says Herbert Gans, a Columbia sociologist. Columbia's arrival is only intensifying those fears. "Columbia is an important cog in the wheel that is driving gentrification in Harlem," says Nellie Bailey, executive director of the Harlem Tenants' Council. "This is not just a neighborhood struggle. What will happen to the city's mosaic if the working and middle class can no longer afford to live here?" But many, including Gans, think that if the university handles the project well, Columbia could bring much-needed jobs, affordable housing and other improvements to Manhattanville — an area Gans calls "an industrial slum."

http://www.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/a.gift a packed forum last fall at the Municipal Art Society in Midtown Manhattan, it was clear that Columbia's efforts to win over its neighbors were faring poorly. "We welcome Columbia to our neighborhood, but not to bulldoze us," announced Anne Whitman, owner of a moving and storage business situated in the proposed construction site. It was not possible to know how representative those in attendance were of the Manhattanville community. That said, business owners, planning experts and West Harlem residents alternately described Columbia's plan as "abysmal," "criminal," "greedy" and "heartless." At a city hearing a month later, 70 speakers stood up over a period of six and a half hours to denounce "Hurricane Columbia" for a plan many claimed would force out longtime residents, eliminate skilled manufacturing jobs, drive up Harlem housing costs and segregate the racially diverse neighborhood. Columbia has presented its new campus designs to a range of West Harlem community organizations. So far, though, the plans don't seem to have calmed their concerns. "Columbia is going to be between the community and the park," says Peggy Shepard, executive director of We Act for Environmental Justice. "Will people feel comfortable going over there, or will it be only for Columbia students?"

In part, the problem may be that the general public — and particularly the immediately surrounding neighborhood — doesn't always view architectural designs the way architects do. "In theory, a brilliant design can overcome social reservations on the part of the community," says Alex Krieger, professor of urban planning and design at Harvard. "But such conflicts are as much emotional as they are rational. A neighborhood that feels itself disempowered by comparison to the power of a university is always going to have its guard up."

Given Columbia's history, that guard is particularly high here. In 1968, when much of the world was in turmoil, Columbia University had its own reckoning. Although campus protests were common for the day, the uprising at Columbia was striking for its scale and brutality. And the spark had much to do with a university expansion plan: to construct a gymnasium in Morningside Park in Harlem. In a concession to the community, the university agreed to provide gym facilities for local residents — with a separate entrance on the Harlem side.

The so-called Gym Crow didn't sit well with Harlem neighbors, or with many students on campus. And it fueled tensions over other expansion efforts, as throughout the 60's Columbia had been purchasing apartment buildings all over Morningside Heights, displacing thousands of poor, mostly black and Puerto Rican residents.

In April 1968, students took over five major campus buildings in protest. A week later, the standoff ended in bloodshed: police stormed the buildings, beating and arresting students. Nearly 200 were injured.

"It was a war, and it had devastating consequences," Bollinger told me recently. "Many faculty left because they were bitter that the university had allowed an anti-intellectual group to take down the university; others left because the response was so brutal."

Community Board 9, composed of about 50 people appointed by the borough president who represent a broad cross-section of West Harlem residents, activists and business owners, does not oppose Columbia's expansion to West Harlem per se. But it wants Columbia to conform to a very different West Harlem plan that the board has developed — after community meetings and consultations with urban-planning experts — over the last decade. In Manhattanville, the board's plan would retain some manufacturing, preserve more historic architecture and allow current property owners to remain. The university would have to build around them. The city, now reviewing both proposals, has asked Columbia and the community board to try to reconcile their differences.

That may be difficult. Although Bollinger acknowledges that Columbia has an obligation to its surrounding community, he says he believes that Columbia's nonprofit status also works the other way around: "We're not here to make money, we're here to discover knowledge. So there's a larger public interest here that's extremely important to keep one's eye on."

Columbia has agreed to negotiate with a development corporation and the community board over providing a broad range of benefits. Across the country, such agreements are increasingly encouraging private designs to encompass the concerns of public planning. If successful, the Manhattanville project could become a model for responsible urban development — balancing the university's global ambitions with some of its neighbors' more immediate concerns.

Back when he was championing affirmative action, Bollinger described diversity as "trying to understand what it is like to be in the mind of another person who has a different life experience." The success of his latest endeavor may depend on whether he can generate that kind of empathy now.

Daphne Eviatar has written widely about economic development. Her last article for the magazine was a profile of Jeffrey Sachs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/nyregion/thecity/21stre.html
Surprisingly, Silence Reigns in a Hospital Construction Zone

By JENNIFER A. KINGSON
Published: May 21, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/21/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/21stre190.jpg
Costas Kondylis & Partners, L.L.P

ORDINARILY, if one of the five megalithic medical institutions near the East River in the 60's and 70's planned to rip down low-rise buildings and replace them with a 20-story glass-and-concrete tower, the neighborhood would roll up its collective sleeves in preparation for a scrap.

Not this time. So far there has been no organized opposition to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's plan to replace a street front of 10 modest walk-ups with a residential building for its doctors, nurses and staff. In a city where every stone turned seems to provoke a battle, that is indeed news.

The old buildings, on First Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets, are scheduled to be demolished by August; the new apartment house should be ready for occupancy in early 2008. According to Robert S. Vollard, a senior vice president of the hospital, tenants of the 120 apartments in the walk-ups, which the hospital owned, have been relocated, mostly on the Upper East Side.

Given the all-out brawl over Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's construction of a 23-story research laboratory on 68th Street between York and First Avenues, one might have expected that a comparable development in a more central location would provoke a revolt.

But community opposition to the NewYork-Presbyterian project has been almost nonexistent. Asked if there had been opposition, David G. Liston, the chairman of Community Board 8, said, "I haven't heard anything" and had to consult the board's land-use committee for details of the project. "So far this is not something that has generated any controversy," he said. "But you never know. It could."

One reason for the silence may be that the hospital did not need any special permits to proceed with construction, although it did get permission from the city to build "a little bigger than we would normally," Mr. Vollard said, in exchange for setting aside 13 of the 253 units for low-income tenants.

Then, too, NewYork-Presbyterian has been bending over backward to be a good neighbor. The hospital has met twice with the community board, and the heads of the co-op boards of buildings adjacent to the project were given the phone number of Martin A. Cohen, the hospital's vice president for real estate, with the suggestion that they call him with questions or concerns.

And during last winter's holiday shopping season, a wall, built to partition the empty buildings from the sidewalk, was made to hug the structures closely, so as not to impede pedestrians. It would have been better for the construction work to have built it wider, Mr. Cohen said, and it has since been widened.

Neighborhood residents can also look forward to seeing some familiar faces when the new building opens. Some of the old retail tenants may return to the stores on the ground level of the new building, Mr. Vollard said.

One tenant who had to vacate was Councilwoman Jessica Lappin. But she, too, had kind words for how she was treated by hospital officials.

"My dealings with them were very pleasant," Ms. Lappin said. "Any kind of big development like this is going to be an inconvenience, but they have tried to be responsive to the community."

Some of the motley low-rises, soon to be leveled, have been wrapped, cocoonlike, in a dark mesh screen and will be reborn as 1330 First Avenue.

Shown as a rendering, the new, light-filled structure was designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners. Its projects have included the 72-story Trump World Tower, across from the United Nations on First Avenue, which Donald Trump has called the tallest residential building in the world.

Providing nice apartments in a good neighborhood, Mr. Vollard says, is an important way for NewYork-Presbyterian to attract and retain skilled people.

"The mission of the hospital is to provide great medical care," he said. "You're not going to recruit many world-renowned medical doctors to go into a four- or six-story walk-up."

Certainly Columbia's plans are ambitious: across a large swath of Upper Manhattan, the university wants to create an academic enclave that will both nurture intellectual progress and revitalize an urban area. Piano's design aims to accomplish both. The campus will have wide, open streets that offer a broad view of the waterfront. Along the main thoroughfares, the lower floors of the academic buildings will be mostly glass — "they will be floating," as Piano puts it — filled with shops, restaurants and arts spaces serving the broader public of Harlem and the Upper West Side.


I hope Columbia manages to pull this off. That area needs alot of attention. But without a doubt that NIMBY's will put out a fight.

NEW YORK CITY IS THE GREATEST CITY IN THE FUCKING WORLD, BUT I DON`T LIKE THE YELLOW TAXIS.

That remy appears to have lost the plot! love it!

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/419789p-354459c.html
$62M office towers are in the works

BY BILL EGBERT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

With a new Yankee Stadium complex and a huge shopping mall set to rise in the South Bronx, a new office park on the other side of the borough is in for a growth spurt of its own.

The developer of Hutchinson Metro Center in Pelham Bay is planning to more than double the space available with two new office towers.

Tower One, a 10-story, 260,000-square-foot office block, will break ground this fall, and the project is expected to create 500 construction jobs. Plans for the second tower are still in the works. Together, The Towers at Hutchinson Metro Center will cost $62 million and add 520,000 square feet of space to the 460,000-square-foot office park.

"With a wave of new office and residential projects under way as well as plans moving ahead for a new Yankee Stadium, the Bronx economy is currently enjoying an unprecedented renaissance," said Hutchinson Metro Center developer Joseph Simone.

The $60 million first phase of development at 1200 Waters Place - the largest Class A office park in the borough - was nearly 100% leased within two years of the start of construction in 2001, making Hutchinson Metro Center one of the most successful new office projects in the New York metropolitan area.

The Visiting Nurse Service was the first to move in, in 2003. It was followed by the Internal Revenue Service, the New York City Housing Authority and the new Bronx campus of Mercy College.

Simone Development Cos. acquired the original 18.2-acre site of the decrepit Bronx Developmental Center from the state in 2001 and has expanded the site to 42.5 acres through a succession of acquisitions. The company plans to develop the entire site, creating a total of 1.8 million square feet of office space.

Although the East Bronx may sound like a remote spot for Manhattan-quality office space, Hutchinson Metro Center's location - near most of the region's major highways, including the Hutchinson River Parkway, I-95, the Bronx River Parkway, New York State Thruway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, and just a few minutes from LaGuardia Airport - makes the office park more accessible than many other parts of the city.

Hutchinson Metro Center also runs its own private shuttle bus service linking workers to city subways.

Tara Stacom of Cushman & Wakefield, which handles leasing for the office complex, said that although the first phase of development attracted mostly businesses connected with Westchester, rising Manhattan rents will make The Towers more attractive to expanding businesses priced out of midtown.

Originally published on May 22, 2006

I think it is great that after such a terrible experience all New Yorkers had with the Sep 11 attacks the city is getting back on track hopefully New York may once again hold the title for having the tallest building not only here in America but the world :cheers: :) :eek2: :runaway: :bash:

its not that big a deal anymore.

Honestly it's not such a big deal to have the World's Tallest Building anymore.
Any country in the world can build a WTB, unlike in the first half of the 20th century when only two cities were competing, and NYC kept the crown for so long.
Nowadays quality and density is the word, of course height is important, but you don't need to go as far as the kilometer.
Although I still would like to see a 1km tall tower in Manhattan, but there isn't much space left :D

Here is something I took out of a paper today, these are those 62 million towers...

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/6684/towerswcopy2pq.png

DOWNTOWN TOWER PLAN


May 23, 2006

THE Frank Gehry-designed project that Forest City Ratner is developing on the NYU Beekman Downtown Hospital parking lot is starting to shape up.

The tower's just-revealed 876-foot height will top off as the tallest City Hall area structure - yes, taller than the nearby venerable 792-foot Woolworth Building. Nevertheless, despite earlier reports, it will be shorter than all the new buildings at ground zero.

It will be taller, however, than the 740-foot Goldman Sachs headquarters being designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners at the World Financial Center in Battery Park City.

Plans just refiled with the Dept. of Buildings call for a 75-story building with residences above a new public school whose funding has been in doubt.

The 1.147-million foot project is being built in the middle of the block bounded on three sides by Nassau, Beekman, Spruce and Gold Streets. For all you development junkies out there, you can follow its progress on the DOB Web site with an 8 Spruce St. address.

The most intriguing nugget is a triplex unit at the top that will become one of the highest residences in the city. While it will share part of the 72nd floor with two other units, it will encompass the entire 73rd and 74th floors as well.

You can be sure its eventual price and occupant - Bruce Ratner or not - will end up being widely reported in the coming years.

These residences will all have unobstructed views of City Hall - and should we dare to say it - likely cast shadows on the park during a brief portion of some days.

Along with lobbies for each use, the first four floors host a school cafeteria, classrooms, a gymnasium and a library.

Medical offices for the hospital next door take up the fifth floor. The sixth is reserved for mechanicals such as the elevators. But above it is a pool on a building setback on the seventh floor, along with two community rooms for 150 people each.

The midsection includes what will likely be smaller luxury rental apartments - between 17 to19 units per floor.

Starting at the 37th floor, the sprawling condos take over with eight per floor. At the 44th floor, the count changes to four apartments, plus a gym and community room - which does not really mean open to anyone but the condo community. There are five units per floor from the 49th through 70th floors, three on 71 and then two plus the bottom of that triplex on 72.

Although no renderings have been released, it is likely that the top will taper gradually and that, unlike the uptown Trump World Tower, the upper floors won't be the same size as the lower ones.

Gehry's spirited and wavy designs are slowly taking shape as buildable ones for Forest City's other huge project in Brooklyn for the Nets and Atlantic Yards.

A Forest City spokesperson was unaware of the details and had no comment.


Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc.

Anything in NYC will take forever to build. The recent bickering between developer Larry Silverstein and the city delayed the project for about 2 months, and now there are rumors that the city is sueing him for not progressing fast enough? By the time the Freedom Tower is finished in 2012, another building will probably surpass it. The world's current tallest building, Taipei 101, took only 4 years to build. More buildings around the world are constantly being designed and approved.The clock is ticking...

Beekman Street Tower (Gehry): 876 feet - 75 floors (Proposed)


http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_curbedgehry1.jpg

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_curbedgehry2.jpg

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_05_curbedgehry3.jpg

It's kinda weird...I'll have to get used to it. Though, I love the height coming to downtown.

like i said in an other thread, this tower is a shit. I hope that it will just be a proposal, than after it becomes a cancelled tower.

But i like the idea to build a new tall (without the new WTC) at lower manhattan*.

Here is something I took out of a paper today, these are those 62 million towers...

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/6684/towerswcopy2pq.png
The online version didn't have a rendering, which surprised me. Now that I have seen it, it looks like it belongs in an office park. Then again, Pelham Bay is a remote part of the city, so it will probably fit in. My guess is that new parking garages, lots, are incorperated parking are only disallowed in Manhattan, while the other boroughs can have them after seeing a shot of a new garage being built in the Kew Gardens sections of Queens.

Proposed...


Silvercup West project (Tower 1): 588 ft - 57 floors
Silvercup West project (Tower 2): 538 ft
Silvercup West project (Tower 3): 517 ft - 49 floors


http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1148507858_silvercup2.gif



City Planning holds hearing on Silvercup West project on the East River


24-MAY-06

The City Planning Commission held a hearing today the draft environment impact statement of the large mixed-use waterfront development known as “Silvercup West,” which is also submitting eight applications for various zoning amendments, text changes, authorizations and certifications.

The project would develop about 2,100,000 “zoning” square feet on a site immediate south and adjacent to the Queensborough Bridge in Long Island City.

The impact statement indicated that project “would result in no unmitigated significant adverse impacts.”

The applicant is Terra Cotta, LLC, of which Stuart Match Suna and Alan Suna, the heads of Silvercup Studios, are the principals.

The project would erect 8 large television and film studios at its center flanked by an office tower to the north and two residential towers to the south.

The architect for the large project is the Richard Rogers Partnership of London. Lord Rogers, one of the world’s most famous “high-tech” architects, designed with Renzo Piano the famous Centre Pompidou in Paris and on his own Lloyd’s Bank in London and he was recently selected to redesign the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and to design one of three office towers that are to be developed by Larry Silverstein at Ground Zero.

In addition to about 1,000 market-rate apartments in the two south towers, the project would have about 650,000 square feet in the office building at the north end of the site and the eight film studios in the center of the site would be about 18,000 square feet. The studios would be topped by a catering facility with sweeping views of midtown Manhattan. The project, furthermore, would have a cultural/community facility in the base of the office tower of 126,401 square feet, 77,000 square feet of retail space and 1,400 parking spaces.

The tallest residential tower would be 588 feet high, although Stuart Suna told the commission today that the Federal Aviation Agency had authorized a building height at this location of up to 600 feet. (The finials of the elegant Queensborough Bridge are about 354 feet high.) Lord Rogers told the project’s design relates to the “language” of the “fantastic” Queensborough Bridge, adding that office tower’s setbacks were designed to respect the ornate towers of the nearby bridge. Some speakers at the hearing, however, suggested that the project’s mass competes strongly with the bridge. After the hearing, Lord Rogers told CityRealty.Com that the size of the office building was determined in large part by the perceived market need for large floor sizes.

The project would restore the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company building, and provide considerable public open space. Silvercup Studio’s main facility is located in the former Silvercup Bakery Company building that is about half a mile east of the 6-acre, “Silvercup West” site.

Commissioner Camilla Battaglia asked Alan Suna what provisions were being made to include “affordable housing” in the development. Mr. Suna said that while “we’re basically big supporters of affordable housing, it is not economic for this project,” which he emphasized was private, not public. Commissioner Battaglia did not retreat, however, and suggested that the developers seek out subsidies.

Under questioning, Mr. Suna said off-site possibilities for such housing was being researched.

“That’s far less than perfect,” Commissioner Battaglia retorted, adding that she would like to see something specific in writing before the July 18 deadline for the commission to vote on the proposal.

At one point during the hearing, Amanda Burden, the chairman of the City Planning Commission, said that “we’re all very eager to get this built.”

Joel Shapiro, the well-known sculptor, told the commission that it should be careful to ensure that the project does not “homogenize both sides of the river.”


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

I like the whole silvercup project and i really hope it goes through

WOW! I love it. Nice work Krull. NYC isn’t going to look anything like it did when I moved to Seattle. NYC is the greatest city in the world. Keep it going.

MAY 27, 2006 by me!
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/931/bild13qe.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9710/bild24wc.jpg

Chelsea Landmark
May 27, 2006 by me.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1223/project13av.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/582/project23sl.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5048/project38gp.jpg
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/5214/project46nf.jpg

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/849/uc17vt.jpg

Wow Amazing

How can you possibly dig up collection of these construction projects going on in NYC.? it's wild :)

Random Buildings, I walked from 23rd to 72nd street and took some random shots.


http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6172/untitledw19rx.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2379/wwe1lw.jpg
Hearst Magazine Tower
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8365/project44nk.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/34/untitled10vb.jpg
Time Warner Building
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/7132/untiwtled13gf.jpg

^^ Cool shots, SaRaJeVo-City!

I'll be in the city tomorrow with my new camera.

I'm going to bring my tripod with me (which I don't normally do). :okay:

^^ Cool shots, SaRaJeVo-City!

I'll be in the city tomorrow with my new camera.

I'm going to bring my tripod with me (which I don't normally do). :okay:

tnx :)


Man, I had this perfect view of NY Times tower but traffic was too crazy I had to run across the street and I didn't feel like going back, damn it :D!

nice pictures,but what am I looking at?

^^ Cool shots, SaRaJeVo-City!

I'll be in the city tomorrow with my new camera.

I'm going to bring my tripod with me (which I don't normally do). :okay:fish, if you're going to be in the Columbus Circle area, can you take a pic or two of 15 Central Park West (under construction next to Trump International) and The Link (also u/c on W. 52nd St. just off 8th Ave.)?

Here are my other suggestions, if you have the time and don't mind, of course.

- the former McHale's Bar site, which is being demolished for a new condo tower (NE corner of 8th Ave. and 46th St.)

- 1600 Broadway in Times Square (the former Studebaker building) that is now a new condo tower, it has the Corona beer signs, esp. the base.

- the base of 505 Fifth Ave. (NE corner at 42nd St. across from the library).

- the new Centria condo, esp. the base section (across from Rockefeller Center on 48th St. bet. 5th and 6th Aves.)

Thanks

Fantastic

Proposed...

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1148507858_silvercup2.gif



these buildings are fun, hope they get made

A blogsite known as Test of Will has gotten some recent shots of some of the projects.

23 Thames St
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060525%20042.jpg

10 Barclay St
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060522%20003.jpg

Some digging by Grace Church
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060527%20057.jpg

Either 297 or 300 Driggs St
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060513%20028.jpg

Constructing another typical apartment in Williamsburg
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060513%20021.jpg

Something will replace the garage that stood here at Greenwich/Hubert Sts.
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060507%20043.jpg

whats the latest with the Con-Edison site?

Emporis says these are proposed:
708 1st Avenue Tower 1 - 864 ft - 57 floors
685 1st Avenue Tower - 836 ft - 67 floors
700 1st Avenue Tower 1 - 792 ft - 63 floors
700 1st Avenue Tower 2 - 643 ft - 50 floors
616 1st Avenue Tower 1 - 578 ft - 45 floors
616 1st Avenue Tower 2 - 578 ft - 45 floors
708 1st Avenue Tower 2 - 528 ft - 40 floors


if nobody knows where this is, its right near the UN building on the east river, just south a bit.

^ NIMBYs.

http://www.nypost.com/business/64699.htm
DOWNTOWN DONALD PLANS LUXURY SOHO CONDO-HOTEL

By BRADEN KEIL

http://www.nypost.com/photos/bizlede06052006.jpg
SUMPTUOUS IN SOHO: Donald Trump, daughter Ivanka and son Donald Trump Jr. are taking their developing act to SoHo. Above is a rendering of their planned 45-story luxury hotel tower.
Photo: WireImage

June 5, 2006 -- Donald Trump is submitting plans to construct a 45-story luxury high-rise condominium hotel on the outskirts of SoHo, The Post has learned.

And barring any glitches in the approval process, groundbreaking on the structure at 246 Spring, between Varick St. and Sixth Avenue, is expected to begin before the end of this year, according to Donald Trump Jr. - who, along with his father and sister Ivanka, is overseeing the project.

It will also be one of the two projects that will be offered to tonight's winner of "The Apprentice."

Included in the plans for the development, whose working name is Trump International Hotel & Tower SoHo, are more than 400 hotel condo rooms and suites, a spa facility and a high-end restaurant. It also calls for 28,000 square feet of retail space.

While the hotel will have the typical Trump glitz, with the public rooms designed by renowned architect David Rockwell, Trump Jr. said the vibe will be a younger "downtown chic" version of Trump International Hotel & Tower at Columbus Circle.

The building, which will rise in a fringe area of SoHo - about three blocks from the Holland Tunnel - will tower above the nondescript neighborhood.

"You're going to get incredible 360-degree views from about the 12th floor up," said Trump Jr. "They're almost like the views in Jersey City of Manhattan, but you're still in New York."

"I'm very excited to hear about it," said developer Steven Witkoff, who has several downtown projects in the works including the condo conversion of the Woolworth Building and Cipriani Club Residences now being marketed at 55 Wall St.

"[Trump's] very creative and he always brings sizzle to an area."

The developers of the building include Tamir Sapir, the former cab driver who made headlines by paying $40 million for the Duke Semans mansion.

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/comm/69644.htm
FIXING A HOLE ON 42ND ST.

http://www.nypost.com/photos/comm0606036.jpg
TIMES SQ. TOWER
Milsteins' plan.

June 6, 2006 -- IT looks like a different developer will get to fill Howard and Edward Milstein's gaping hole in the-ground at Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street.

A number of power players are said to have their eyes on the Milstein brothers' precious pit, which is not formally for sale but for which sources say CB Richard Ellis is quietly sifting offers.

The intersection's vacant southeast corner is the missing link on the reborn "Deuce" between Seventh and Eighth avenues, which is thriving with new office towers, theaters and shops.

It stands on the avenue between the rising New York Times tower, where law firm Seyfarth Shaw just rented 100,000 square feet for more than $80 a square foot, and the Westin Times Square hotel.

It's been a hole ever since Gov. Pataki presided at a groundbreaking in October 2002. It was a parking lot before that, when the site was owned by members of the Milstein family and partners.

In January 2001, the brothers bought out the others, paying $77.7 million for the share of the L-shaped lot they didn't yet own. At that time, it was valued in total at $111 million - far less than it's worth today.

But although Howard Milstein showed a rendering of a 35-story office tower in June 2002, nothing ever happened.

Now, after several changes of direction, something's afoot. Sources say several major developers are hot for the site, and the Milsteins may well be receptive.

Meanwhile - in a step that sounds contradictory but might not be - Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano said yesterday the agency will complete a "memorandum of understanding" with the Milsteins "within 30 days." Once signed, it will commit them to "start work on the project within 12 months or incur stiff penalties," Gargano said.

Gargano said the Milsteins want the option of building the project as either mixed-use or all-commercial. He said ESDC has agreed to let the Milsteins build 850,000 "rentable" square feet, about 120,000 larger than zoning allows.

Unless the Milsteins have secretly snared an office tenant, the site seems more ripe for an apartment and/or hotel project.

The sudden urgency on the part of the Milsteins combined with word of a possible sale has real estate circles buzzing that the brothers will flip the property to a new owner who would then proceed with the scheme pre-approved by ESDC.

Gargano said he knew nothing of any flip plan. A Milstein spokesman, George Arzt, said the Milsteins "are gratified there have been so many offers" for the corner, "but, the family has held the property since 1976 and to sell would be a major departure from its long-held position."

One name that's come up as a prospective buyer is Joseph Moinian, whose Moinian Group has built a number of major new projects on both Eighth Avenue and 42nd and also owns some prime development sites there.

But sources said late yesterday that he was now a long shot. Through a spokesman, Moinian would neither confirm nor deny talks. In a statement, he said, "The Moinian Group is always interested in potential development opportunities along 42nd Street and the far West Side."

Gargano, who was a driving force behind getting four new office towers built on 42nd Street, has been frustrated waiting for the Eighth Avenue corner to bloom as well. "We're anxious to complete this last corner," he said.

Earlier optimistic forecasts fizzled out. In June 2004, Howard Milstein told The Post he was "looking forward to coming out of the ground by year's end."

In February 2005, the project went back to square one when the Milsteins submitted four new alternatives with various commercial-residential combos. A proposal to include a giant public aquarium sank to the bottom.

Some sources say Howard Milstein now seems more interested in running Emigrant Savings Bank, of which he is chief executive officer. Last year, a billboard at the 42nd Street site touting the new building was taken down and replaced with a sign for Emigrant.

Robert K. Futterman, the project's retail leasing agent, said he's unaware of anything going on. "What's in Howard's mind when he wakes up in the morning - development or the bank? I don't know," Futterman said.

"Retail tenants need a certainty about dates. Without a set plan, you can't really go too far down the road."

But Douglas Durst, developer of mammoth One Bryant Park, a short stroll to the east, said the waiting game "shows how smart Howard is. If he'd done something earlier, it would have gotten less value."

CB Richard Ellis chief Mary Ann Tighe, who's marketing the remaining office space in the Times tower for developer Bruce Ratner, said that site was once considered a "pioneering" location for new offices.

Now, "given that the Times has already pioneered that location, no one coming to the Milstein site is pioneering anything."

steve.cuozzo@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/comm/69703.htm
CONDO HOTEL IN THE WORKS

June 7, 2006 -- LINCOLN Property Company of Dallas is working on early plans to develop a new condo hotel mid-block by the Peninsula Hotel on W. 55th Streer right off Fifth Ave.

The townhouses already combined are at 12-18 W. 55th St. and will include and the air rights from the landmarked 9 W. 54th St.

Other nearby air rights purchases are possible to tip the future development up over the current 120,000 buildable feet.

No one returned calls for comment.

It all means that couture-quality evening gown and bridal designer Miriam Rigler is moving after 55 years at 14 W. 55th St. to 41 E. 60th St. this fall.

Faith Hope Consolo, Joseph A. Aquino, and Andrew Becerra Jr. of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Leasing and Sales Division found the dressmaker the 1,800-foot, long-term lease. Robert Hinds of Eastgate Realty worked for the building in negotiations.

Either 297 or 300 Driggs St
http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060513%20028.jpg

Well this one came out of nowhere, lol, I remember there used to be a parking lot on the exact same spot.

And yet another Hotel/Condo in the plans...


50-story hotel and condo tower planned for West 45th Street


http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1149269554_45w66.gif


02-JUN-06

A 50-story, mid-block, mixed-use tower has been designed by TEN Arquitectos to replace three low-rise buildings on West 45th Street.
Retail spaces in the buildings have recently been closed. The site consists of the 4-story building at 66 West 45th Street that housed the Vega House Chinese Restaurant, the 5-story building at 68 West 45th Street that housed Kitchen Provance, and the four-story building at 70 West 45th Street that housed Pizza Paradise.

A full-page, color rendering of the planned tower appeared today in the June, 2006 issue of New York Living Magazine in an article by Steven Cutler on Enrique Norten, the head of TEN Arquitectos. The article said that the building will have a 40-room hotel and 88 condominium apartments and that construction is expected to begin in the fall.

TEN Arquitectos has several other major projects underway in New York including One York Street in TriBeCa, Harlem Park, a mixed-use project on Park Avenue at 125th Street, and a new Library of the Visual and Performing Arts on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

The article also indicated it is designed “an ultra-high-end residential tower at 11th Avenue and 24th Street overlooking the Hudson River.

The firm was founded in 1986 in Mexico City and opened an office here in 2001. It was the subject of a major exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York last year.

The rendering of the 45th Street project indicates that it will have a low-rise base that holds the street-wall on 45th Street and a set-back tower that is white with an asymmetrical fenestration pattern that includes corner windows on alternate floors. The asymmetrical fenestration pattern, which has not yet been finalized, is somewhat reminiscent of the design by Bill Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox for 122 Greenwich Avenue, a residential project of Hines Interests and Aby Rosen.

The 45th Street project is two doors to the west of the Sofitel Hotel and it is across the street from the black skyscraper at 1166 Avenue of the Americas, which has a large and lushly landscaped mid-block plaza.

Further west, Extell Investment Management was recently reported by The New York Sun to be assembling a site at 131-139 West 45th Street for a luxury hotel.

According to records at the Department of Buildings, the buildings at 66, 68 and 70 West 45th Street, are owned by Waterscape Resort LLS, which has a New York address in care of Jump Shot Sportswear Inc., at 15 West 34th Street of which Salim Assa is a principal. Waterscape Resort acquired the three buildings late last year for more than $20 million. The planned building is "as-of-right," that is, it can be built within existing building and zoning regulations. CityRealty.com placed a call Mr. Assa today but it was not returned.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

This shot from arbiter over at SSP shows that Schafer's Landing is either completed or is nearing completion.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/matthyou/williamsburg/IMGP2322a.jpg

^^What's the building just behind the new proposed tower? The one with the circular top. I don't think I've ever seen it before.

http://www.nypost.com/photos/bizlede06052006.jpg

Sumptuous? rather Contemporary IMO, me like!!! :okay:

2006 Manhattan Hotel Market Overview


06-07-2006

Manhattan market exhibits double-digit RevPAR growth every month in 2005 and exceeds former peak year 2000

HVS International, a global hospitality consulting firm, in conjunction with New York University's Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, recently completed the 2006 Manhattan Hotel Market Overview.

"In 2005, a record 41 million visitors experienced the excitement of New York City and NYC & Company projects another banner year in 2006," expressed Christyne L. Nicholas, President & CEO of NYC & Company. The strong demand for accommodation in Manhattan resulted in a strongly growing lodging market, registering a RevPAR increase of roundly 18.0% compared to 2004. Overall occupancy of 85.0% and average rate of $232.31 exceeded the historical peak achieved in 2000 (83.7% at $222.53); these 2005 performance figures are also higher than in any other year for which STR data for Manhattan is available. Continued RevPAR growth of ±12.0% is expected in 2006, primarily fueled by a strong growth in average rate, caused by an overall improved economic climate, strong barriers to entry, limited new supply, and increased compression.

In 2005, four new hotels entered the Manhattan market: the 140-room Hotel QT, the 125-room Holiday Inn Express, the 357-room Residence Inn, and the 136-room Hampton Inn. The opening of three branded hotels (the Holiday Inn Express and the Residence Inn are the first of their kind in the Manhattan market) demonstrates the appeal of branded limited- or focused-service hotels in Manhattan. While all four properties are located in the Midtown West area, three of them are located in the Times Square area. The Stanhope, the Plaza, the Melrose, and the Wyndham closed in 2005 for full or partial conversion to residential use.

Furthermore, 3,119 rooms, or 19 properties, may enter the Manhattan market in 2006 and 2007, including ten limited-service and seven boutique hotels. Significant barriers to entry, including high construction costs, prohibitive land costs, and a lack of available sites, continue to remain key factors when considering construction of lodging facilities in Manhattan.

Also included in the overview are the aggregate operating results of four distinct hotel segments and three neighborhoods. The boutique segment registered the strongest growth in supply from 1999 to 2005. Due to the very strong performance of the Manhattan lodging market in 2005, all four segments showed positive growth in terms of occupancy and double-digit growth in average rate, resulting in RevPAR growth of over 20% for all four segments.

In 2005, all of the neighborhoods recorded significant growth in their respective occupancies, with all neighborhoods exceeding their 2000 occupancy levels. The Downtown neighborhood experienced the most rapid supply growth between 1999 and 2005, while the Midtown West neighborhood experienced some growth and the Midtown East neighborhood decreased slightly during the same period.

Fourteen hotels were sold in 2005, exceeding the previous peak in transactions achieved in 2004, and two transactions occurred in the first quarter of 2006, while a third sale was pending. "As a result of the strength of the Manhattan lodging market, hotel values increased between 30% and 50% in 2005 compared to the previous year. In most cases, hotels are again the highest and best use for Manhattan properties today," states Steve Rushmore, President and Founder of HVS International.

Hotel investors continued to have an upbeat perspective of the Manhattan lodging market, as average rate experienced significant growth in 2005. In addition, financing continued to be readily available during this past year, as lenders also seemed to be optimistic about the Manhattan lodging market. Although we expect the Manhattan hotel market to remain active in terms of transactions in 2006, we anticipate the number of hotel sales to decrease gradually over the next few years.


© 1998 - 2006 Hotel News Resource

Vesta 24: 153 ft - 14 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873665.Vesta24.JPG





:wtf:

^ Yes I know is the dumbest rendering but that is all I could find. I think it was in a real estate website selling the unit condos. LOL!

Ok some new stuff under construction...


Manhattan:


New Museum of Contemporary Art: 7 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647307.FJFYWrgd.NewMuseumContempAr235Bowery.JPG


Brooklyn:


The Edge (Tower 1): 40 floors

The Edge (Tower 2): 30 floors


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59618154.BKEdge.JPG


230 Ashland Place: 28 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647305.ijNlWxZb.BK230AshlandPlace.JPG


100 Luquer Street: 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647303.vdOrxIj6.BK100LuquerSt.JPG


45 Caton Place: 8 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647301.OinmbFXy.BK23a45CatonPlace.JPG

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1149269554_45w66.gif
It has a good design and the white cladding will cause impact in the vicinities.
I hope the 3 buildings to be replaced are not of architectural value.

625 West 42nd Street (June 10th, 2006)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1777/625west42ndstreet9zq.jpg

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/nyregion/thecity/11bank.html
For Brooklyn's Beacon, the Luxe Life

By JEFF VANDAM
Published: June 11, 2006

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/06/11/nyregion/12bank.span1.jpg
"FRED'S VIEW" One of about 50 images of the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank painted by Robert Goldstrom.

IT'S all gone: every diamond ring, every stack of bills and birth certificate. Today, the safe deposit boxes in the subterranean vault of what used to be the Williamsburgh Savings Bank lie empty in haphazard piles on the dusty floor. The massive vault doors, several feet thick, stand open. No calls will ever go out to Mrs. Helen Massone, whose number is still listed on the wall in case of emergency.

The 512-foot tower of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, at the intersection of Hanson Place and Ashland Place, has, since its completion 77 years ago, been by far the borough's tallest building. It was the flagship of Brooklyn's leading financial institution, one of the nation's largest banks. For many Brooklynites, it was also the place to go to get your teeth fixed — home to legions of dentists, orthodontists and periodontists.

Now, after months of publicity, the tower is poised to begin a new life. Workers are already transforming the space into luxury condominiums, which go on sale starting Tuesday, carrying price tags from $350,000 to $3 million. The building's name now is just One Hanson Place, although it has been given a marketing slogan: "Own a piece of history."

What all this means to the people of Brooklyn is hard to assess. A fortunate few will buy new homes in the old bank, with splendid views. Others have objected, contending that no one who needs affordable housing will be able to live in this architectural icon.

To most Brooklynites, it is surely the building's exterior, especially the four illuminated clock faces below the dome, that matters most. But there is some question about how visible these images will be in the future. A 22-acre plot of land around the corner is the site of the proposed Atlantic Yards development, including a basketball arena and more than a dozen new towers, which some critics of the Atlantic Yards proposal say could obscure the bank building's pride of place as the grandest light on the borough's skyline. After three-quarters of a century, they fear, the classic skyscraper that has been Brooklyn's beacon could disappear from view.

When Adam Pacelli was growing up in Park Slope in the late 1970's and early 80's, he was one of those youngsters who as they fell asleep looked out bedroom windows at the four faces of the clock tower. But the young Adam didn't just use the building as his second wristwatch; he created a comic-book superhero who lived inside it.

"He would stand out under the arches, under the dome — his living room was in the dome before I realized how small the dome was," said Mr. Pacelli, an animated man of 35 who can still see the building at night, now from his house in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. "He'd go into the arches down below and survey the city." The hero was named Dig, adopted from the bellow ("Caaaaan yooouuu dig it?") of the character Cyrus in the 1979 film "The Warriors."

Dig's enemy, Mr. Big, lived behind the clock on top of 1 Main Street in Dumbo, which has since been turned into the Clocktower condominiums. Dig led a band of underground musicians who battled the minions of Mr. Big, the corporate ruler of the record industry.

"Everyone knew it existed," Mr. Pacelli said of the dome atop the tower, "but no one knew what went on up there." The space hung, like fate, over the lives of countless Brooklyn children with cavities when they were taken for drilling. In Mr. Pacelli's comic universe, the hero Dig went to see a dentist in the building one day and managed to sneak upstairs.

Today, Mr. Pacelli is a vice president at the Corcoran Group, the firm marketing the building, and part of his job is to lead tours of One Hanson Place. But he also seems to enjoy having the chance to explore every nook and cranny of the building that so dominated his childhood imagination.

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Pacelli, looking dapper in a pink shirt and a pink-and-black-striped tie, took a few visitors from the dank vault up to the airy interior of the dome. While no masked guitarists lurked in the shadows, Mr. Pacelli invited his guests to climb onto a catwalk and stick their heads out between the steel slats that make up the face of the dome, just below its apex. The whole of Brooklyn stretched out below.

The small dome space will not become a living room for a tenant, superhero or otherwise. And so far the 10th floor, which will house the sales office and model units, is the only one where renovations are nearly complete. The space, once divided into dental and medical offices, has been gutted to create an expansive, high-ceilinged interior, flooded by the light poring in from the large windows. The rest of the apartments in the building, which will have 189 units in all, are scheduled to be completed in a year. But the task of taking a tall, somewhat narrow 1920's office building and carving apartments out of its innards will not be easy.

"It's sort of like a giant jigsaw puzzle," said Andrew Macarthur, a principal of the Dermot Company, which bought the building last year with Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a development group whose managing director is the former basketball star Magic Johnson. "As you wend your way through this old structure, you have to figure out how to remold the interior into something totally new and different while retaining all the features that make it a unique building."

On the tour, Mr. Pacelli also took visitors to the great banking hall, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission has described as a "cathedral of thrift." The building's owners hope to rent the landmark-designated space to Borders, the book-selling chain, but on this day the teller windows stood empty and a few crumpled deposit slips littered the banking tables. A tile mosaic depicting the sun of commerce, shining its rays down on the original Dutch towns that joined to form Brooklyn, loomed over the empty scene below. "It smells like a church," one visitor said.

'A Cursed Little Part of Brooklyn'

Exactly what stood at One Hanson Place before the tower began rising on the site in 1927 is not certain. There may have been a church there, and before that, a doctor's office. (Historical records mention a Dr. Maddren, who in 1879 treated a family on Atlantic Avenue for trichinosis.) What is clear is that the neighborhood around Hanson Place was never a hot spot for business, though the Long Island Rail Road terminal was nearby, along with several subway stops.

"It's almost like a cursed little part of Brooklyn," said Francis Morrone, a historian who is the author of "An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn." "It's been a big transit hub forever, and for some reason it has never attracted the development everybody assumed it would."

The overwhelming stench of the old Fort Greene Meat Market probably didn't help matters. In any case, most of the borough's business was concentrated about a mile away, in the area around Borough Hall.

Yet in the years after World War I, the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, which had outgrown the building in north Brooklyn it had occupied since 1875, saw an opportunity at One Hanson Place. In 1926, the bank's managers commissioned the firm of Halsey, McCormack & Helmer, architects of the grand Beaux-Arts building of the Dime Savings Bank on nearby DeKalb Avenue, to design a modern office tower for the site. As the building went up and the Roaring Twenties careened forward, it was widely assumed that a new Brooklyn skyline would rise with the bank tower, whose marble base and carved stone pelicans, beehives and owls at eye level were impressive images even before the building was finished.

The tower opened on April 1, 1929; the hands of its clocks, at the time the country's largest, were illuminated by red electric lights, and the dome was lit against the Brooklyn sky. But the dream of a new skyline died with the stock market crash, which occurred just seven months later.

Where Old Fish Stowed His Money

Unlike similar institutions, Williamsburgh Savings prospered during the Depression, and the tower became the symbol of its success. By 1936, images of what was praised as "Brooklyn's Best Known Building" dominated its advertisements.

On Christmas Eve of that year, a man known as Old Fish died of pneumonia at Cumberland Hospital in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. People didn't know much about him, according to an article published five days later in The New York Times, except that he lived in a small attic on Cumberland Street, peddled fruit, vegetables and fish, and was cheap. (When his landlady proposed that he buy a $1 chicken, he suggested she buy the chicken and he would pay 10 cents for every bowl of broth it produced.)

Old Fish, too, could be seen as a symbol of the bank's success. He died because he wouldn't pay the $3 it cost to see a doctor, but he did entrust Williamsburgh Savings with his money. Among his things, police detectives found a key to a safe deposit box, which led to the bank's vault, seven blocks from his home. The box contained bankbooks and mortgage documents showing that Old Fish was worth more than $80,000, a fortune during those Depression years.

Old Fish was hardly the only one who saw the bank as a safe place for his money. By 1940, Williamsburgh Savings was the country's fourth largest bank, with a staff of 230 and assets of $263 million. But the building was destined to receive further notice for another sort of tenant.

The dentists for whom the tower became known arrived as a likely result of a marketing effort by the bank, Mr. Morrone said. By the 1960's, almost every floor not dedicated to banking was occupied by offices of more than 100 dental practitioners. Some boosters claimed the building was the world's largest dental center.

Among the early dental occupants was Joseph Franzetti, who started a practice in the building in 1960, according to his son, Louis, a periodontist and dental implant surgeon who still occupies the space his father first rented — Suites 1209 and 1210, both of which have sweeping views of New York Harbor. "He went to St John's Men's College nearby, which no longer exists," Dr. Franzetti said of his father. "He thought this was a very special building. For him, it was the best of the best that was in Brooklyn at the time."

As it turned out, the dentists outlived the bank, which began to suffer financial troubles in the 1970's. In 1986, it was sold, and the company that bought it was itself bought in 1999 by HSBC, an international financial services organization. HSBC operated a bank branch in the building for a time, but put the tower on the market in 2004. The next year, the Dermot Company and Canyon-Johnson bought the building and announced its conversion to condominiums.

Many of the dentists will lose their offices in the conversion (Dr. Franzetti is among only 16 who will stay on), but they weren't the only ones unhappy with the building's new role. In April, nearly 100 protesters gathered outside the tower to demand low-income housing in return for the city tax breaks for which the development, as a rehabilitation project, will be eligible.

"When they invited me to their grand opening, I told them I am not going," said City Councilwoman Letitia James, who participated in the protest and whose district office occupies a storefront just down Hanson Place from the tower. "Downtown Brooklyn is becoming very homogeneous. We need to preserve the diversity of downtown Brooklyn. We need to advance it."

In response, Mr. Macarthur of the Dermot Company said it would not be financially feasible for his company to include subsidized housing in the building.

Meanwhile, the latest renderings for Atlantic Yards, the arena and towers project proposed by Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner, show the bank tower next to several taller new office and residential towers, leading some residents to wonder just how visible the tower will be once it is joined by the new high-rises.

"It would be obliterated in its current form from many views in many neighborhoods," said Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for the group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. (The architect for Atlantic Yards is Frank Gehry; Forest City Ratner is the development partner of The New York Times Company in building its new headquarters on Eighth Avenue.)

"Could you imagine if somebody proposed to block or obliterate most views of the Empire State Building?" added Mr. Goldstein, whose group opposes Mr. Ratner's plans. "Can you imagine the uproar?"

A rendering on www.atlanticyards.com, a Web site run by Forest City Ratner, shows what several of the new buildings would look like from Flatbush Avenue at Prospect Place, but the bank tower is not visible. In a current photo taken from the same location on the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Web site (www.developdontdestroy.org), the tower stands alone. And today, from Bay Ridge to Brooklyn Heights, from Borough Park to Boerum Hill, the dome and the clock of the old bank still dominate the sky, just as in the days of Old Fish.

^ It looks like our new developer Magic Johnson wants to built a new tower next to the Williamsburgh Saving Bank Tower (or the 1 Hanson Place Tower.)


Getting into B'klyn housing game
Group led by `Magic' Johnson converts Williamsburgh tower, offers Park Place units


By Erik Engquist
Published on June 12, 2006

Basketball star-turned-developer Earvin "Magic" Johnson's first forays into the city's sizzling housing market are ready to bear fruit--and the hoops idol is coming to Brooklyn to celebrate.

He will attend a gala and model-unit unveiling Tuesday at 1 Hanson Place--the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, which is being converted to condominiums, medical offices and a Borders bookstore.

Half a mile southeast, at the edge of Park Slope, 47 condo apartments went on the market this month at 145 Park Place. Corcoran Development Group is selling the units for Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds--Mr. Johnson's investment group--and Anderson Associates, the New York developer that built them. They range from a 1,060-square-foot one-bedroom for $645,000 to a 1,825-square-foot three-bedroom with a terrace for $1.536 million.

The Park Place development would be unremarkable if not for Mr. Johnson's celebrity. Not so the $200 million 1 Hanson Place project, which is transforming the interior of Brooklyn's tallest and most iconic building.

The 34-story Williamsburgh tower was built in 1929 and designated a landmark in 1978. In recent decades, it became a kind of mall for dental offices. Canyon-Johnson and Manhattan-based builder The Dermot Co. bought it from HSBC Bank in May 2005 for $71 million.


Views of Manhattan


Most of the 189 new condo units--especially the 2,400-square-foot duplex on the 26th floor, priced at $3.5 million--will have sweeping views of Manhattan and New York Harbor. Some, however, will face the site where Forest City Ratner Cos. and architect Frank Gehry are trying to build a basketball arena and 16 residential and office towers, many taller than the bank building.

One of Canyon-Johnson's stated missions is to boost the "underserved residents of the urban neighborhoods in which it invests." Mr. Johnson's partner, Los Angeles businessman Bobby Turner, concedes that downtown Brooklyn and Park Slope are not exactly blighted areas. But he says that the two projects address a pent-up demand for housing.

Besides, he adds, redeveloping areas that other builders neglect is only a secondary goal of his fund, after making money. "We are opportunistic, for-profit investors," Mr. Turner says. Mr. Johnson was unavailable for comment last week.

While the building will include no affordable housing, an adjacent parking lot might. Under current zoning, Canyon-Johnson could build 40,000 square feet of apartments on the lot. But Mr. Turner says he and Mr. Johnson will consider offering some units at below-market rates in exchange for permission to construct a bigger building than existing zoning allows. Talks with the Bloomberg administration and local City Councilwoman Letitia James are expected in the next three months.


Lobby remains


Meanwhile, renovation of the former bank building continues, with occupancy slated for spring 2007. Its grand lobby was saved, as required by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but the rest of the edifice was gutted. In place of cramped dental offices will go luxurious dwellings with 11-foot ceilings, gourmet kitchens, mosaic stone-decorated bathrooms and Brazilian teak floors.

Building amenities will include a gym, business center, children's playroom, library and sky lounge. Finally, the building's dental tradition won't be completely lost. Above the bookstore will be 24,000 square feet of medical offices. At the same time, Mr. Turner says, his group will scour the city, looking for more cavities to fill.



©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

625 West 42nd Street (June 10th, 2006)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1777/625west42ndstreet9zq.jpg


Great shot!!, Looks almost like a rendering!

^^ Thanks! :D Interestingly, I didn't use my tripod for that particular shot.

Manhattan Hotel Deals, With Foreign Accents


By ALISON GREGOR
June 11, 2006

THE New York City hotel market, which struggled after the dot-com bust and then after 9/11, has been steadily rebounding: occupancy rates now hover around 80 percent, compared with 67 percent just three years ago. And the shift has not gone unnoticed by foreign investors, who see the market as crucial to their international hotel operations, as well as a haven for their money.

"I think all the stars are aligned for foreign investors to be investing in hotels in the United States and, in particular, New York City," said Daniel H. Lesser, a senior managing director who leads the hospitality group at CB Richard Ellis, explaining how hotels were once considered somewhat risky, specialized investments, but are now more mainstream.

In New York, the most recent transaction involving foreign investors was announced just last weekend, when Istithmar Hotels, which is controlled by the royal family of Dubai, said it had agreed to buy the former Knickerbocker Hotel in Times Square, at Broadway and 42nd Street, for around $300 million. Although the 16-story red brick building had been turned into office and retail space and includes a Gap store, Istithmar says that it plans to convert it back to a luxury hotel.

Joe Sita, the chief executive of Istithmar Hotels, called the Times Square district "extremely buoyant."

Last October, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of the Saudi royal family bought back a stake in the Plaza Hotel, which he had sold in 2004 with his partner at the time, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels of London, for $675 million to El-Ad Properties, which has its offices in New York and is backed by an Israeli investor. The Plaza, at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, is being redeveloped into condominiums, hotel rooms and condo hotel rooms, and the prince will focus on the hotel part.

Another big transaction was the purchase last fall of the Essex House, at 160 Central Park South, by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, now the ruler of Dubai, for around $440 million. It was one of the most expensive hotel deals in the nation last year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting and consulting firm. The hotel will be the first of his Jumeirah chain in North America.

Last July, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces of India assumed management of the Pierre Hotel, at Fifth Avenue and 61st Street, from Four Seasons Hotels. Taj Hotels agreed to pay an annual lease of $5 million to the co-op owners of the property and to spend around $40 million on hotel renovations. The hotel has been renamed the Taj Pierre.

"It is a very strong market now, so certain people are presumably taking advantage of this cycle and selling into the strength of the market," said Bruce Blum, an executive vice president and principal of the Oxford Lodging Advisory and Investment Group, which advised Sheik Mohammed on the Essex House deal. Mr. Blum said that it was unusual for these opportunities to become available all at once.

Taj Hotels had been looking to enter the luxury market in New York City for several years, having made unsuccessful bids for the Carlyle and the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, according to Raymond Bickson, the company's chief executive and managing director.

"If you're not in New York or London in some way, shape or form, you're really not on that global platform," Mr. Bickson said. "We look to the key gateway cities, which are our main feeder markets. You need to have a presence in New York if you want to have brand cognizance of any hotel chain."

Other deals involving foreign investors are advancing. Mark Gordon, principal and managing director of the lodging group at the investment banking firm Sonnenblick-Goldman, which put together the Essex House deal, said his team was preparing the sale of two New York City hotels to a new European hotel investment fund, which does not yet have a name. Mr. Gordon would not reveal which two hotels were being sold.

"They have a nonrefundable deposit to acquire two hotels," he said. "They were so excited by this opportunity, they actually pursued these assets before they even had time to finish creating their vehicle, which is an interesting commentary on market demand."

When a hotel management contract becomes available, fierce competition often ensues. "There were over 15 or 16 hotel companies that were considered for the Pierre," Mr. Bickson said, "so we're obviously pleased that we're able to enter the New York market."

The competition has helped to drive up prices for the hotels. Kirk Reed, a manager of the hospitality and leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: "If it's an international brand wanting to come to New York, they might take terms or buy in at a price that would be less desirable than a regular hotel investor might take, in the interest of getting brand presence in the States." After the deals are completed, international chains are likely to make significant renovations along with other changes, said Jose C. Alvarez, a senior vice president who leads the hotel group of the Trammell Crow Company.

"They may increase service levels, as many of them are luxury operators, which are trying to distinguish themselves in the very competitive New York City market," he said.

So what does that mean for domestic hotel operators in New York City? Art Adler, a managing director of the hotels division of Jones Lang LaSalle, the commercial real estate services firm, says the market is so underserved with hotel rooms that it probably won't have a huge effect.

WITH about 3,700 hotel rooms lost to condo conversions since 1999, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York City actually runs the risk of having a shortage of rooms to meet demand. That demand has already driven up room rates, to $211.80 a night, on average, in the first quarter this year, compared with $189.41 a year ago.

"When the city's busy, you get a room wherever you can get a room," Mr. Adler said. "It's very tight in New York right now."

Few new hotels are being built, especially in the luxury category. The high price of land, climbing construction costs and a robust condo market have discouraged hotel development in general.

"There's plenty of international money, but the basic economics in New York City, even with a lack of supply that is not getting better, still make it difficult to get the economics pointing in the right direction for development," said Richard Bassuk, president of the Singer & Bassuk Organization, which arranged financing for a W Hotel currently under development in Lower Manhattan.

But Mr. Gordon of Sonnenblick-Goldman says he thinks that the opportunity is there for foreign hotel developers. "The deals may have a residential component, just because the economics are so favorable," he said, "but I think there will be some meaningful luxury hotel development in the city in the next three years."


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

The site in Yorkville where Extell Developement will build a luxury apartment is now being demolished.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Regular_John/86th%20Street/S4020007small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Regular_John/86th%20Street/S4020009small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Regular_John/86th%20Street/S4020011small.jpg

How could they knock down something so beatifull

I like the circular balconies on the high rise behind the demolition site. Not something you see very often.

the process NYC goes through everyday today. how many other cities have to demolish as much as we do?

Here is a rendering of one of those new buildings.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/31/business/lex.184.1.jpg

the process NYC goes through everyday today. how many other cities have to demolish as much as we do?


Yeah, we took out Radio Row for the WTC, and we'll never stop! I just love it when crappy, small buildings get destroyed for better, taller ones.

Liberty Bonds approved for three WTC towers


by Catherine Tymkiw
June 14, 2006

The Liberty Development Corp. gave preliminary approval for $1.67 billion in Liberty Bonds to help build three of the five towers at Ground Zero.

The City is expected to give preliminary approval for an additional $921 million in Liberty Bonds for the towers next month.

“We expect that this [approval] will not only help leaseholder Larry Silverstein finalize the balance of his financing, but will facilitate the expenditure of funds at the World Trade Center site and accelerate real progress of construction,” said Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano in a statement.

The site’s owner, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Mr. Silverstein originally entered into a 99-year ground lease for the site in the summer of 2001, shortly before the destruction of the original World Trade Center. A revised ground lease is in the process of being negotiated.

The two sides butted heads earlier this year over who would have control over rebuilding efforts. Gov. George Pataki had made the release of the bonds contingent upon an agreement between the Port Authority and Mr. Silverstein.

They came to an agreement in April, with Mr. Silverstein giving up development of the Freedom Tower in exchange for these three towers. Port Authority agreed to occupy space in one of the towers and to secure leases for 1 million square feet at the Freedom Tower.

Construction of Towers Two, Three and Four, which will comprise 6.2 million square feet of space, is slated to start later this year. The whole project is estimated to cost $4.38 billion.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

Milstein Properties to build last two Battery Park City apartment towers


14-JUN-06

The board of directors of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority announced today that it had designated Milstein Properties as the developer for two “green” resident towers on the authority’s last remaining undeveloped residential site.

The towers will have a total of 421 condominium apartments and a 50,000-square foot community center with a swimming pool, gym, class rooms, kitchen and auditorium. The community center that will extend through both towers.

The site is on North End Avenue between Warren and Murray Streets and west of the authority’s ballfields.

“This project, which achieves a gold LEED standard, is one of the last steps we will take towards achieving our goal of 4.5 million square feet of sustainable development in Battery Park city, making us the largest ‘green’ neighborhood in the world,” declared James Gill, the authority’s chairman.

One of the towers will be 230 feet high and the other 320. Construction is scheduled to begin next spring with completion anticipated for the fall of 2008. The community center is expected to open in the spring of 2009. The average size of the new apartments is 1,142 square feet. The buildings will have garages.

The Battery Park City Authority was created in 1968 to develop a 92-acre site on landfill created by excavations for the nearby World Trade Center. Battery Park City contains 9.3 million square feet of commercial space, 7.2 million square feet of residential space, 9,000 residents, 52 shops, 35 acres of parks, 20 works of public art, three public schools, two hotels, a marine, the Irish Hunger Memorial, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the New York City Police Memorial, the Skyscraper Museum and a 1.2-mile esplanade along the Hudson River.

Milstein Properties has erected several other residential buildings at Battery Park City including Liberty Court at 200 Rector Place, Liberty House at 377 Rector Place, Liberty Terrace at 380 Rector Place, and Liberty View at 99 Battery Place.

No renderings were made available.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY.COM INC.

NYC approves $179M for affordable housing


by David Jones
June 15, 2006

More than 5,000 apartments in the South Bronx, upper Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens well be renovated or developed with the help of $179 million in financing from the city's Housing Development Corp.

The HDC will provide $70.5 million to gut eight vacant buildings in Mott Haven that were previously owned by the city's Housing Authority, as well as to build five new buildings in the South Bronx.

In Harlem, HDC approved $63.1 million to help build a new mixed-income rental development, called Beacon Park, along with two other new buildings. Some of the Harlem funding will help rehabilitiate three vacant buildings and one five-story senior's building. The Selfhelp Houses, a senior apartment building in Bayside, will be rehabilitated for $9.1 million.

About $36 million will be used to preserve 4,226 apartments in 18 Mitchell-Lama buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

"As concerns about affordable housing continue to mount across the city, HDC is responding by issuing record amounts of financing for affordable housing," said HDC President Emily Youssouf.

About $156 million will be in the form of taxable and tax-exempt bonds, with the remainder coming directly from the agency budget. The Mitchell-Lama renovations will be in the form of repair loans or mortgage refinancing.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

B.P.C.A. looks to expand east


By Josh Rogers
Volume 19 • Issue 5 | June 16 - 22, 2006

On the day the Battery Park City Authority designated its last two development sites, its chairperson told Downtown Express the agency wants to take over the financially-stalled Greenwich Street South project to add parks and better walkways just to the east.

Jim Gill, the authority’s chairperson, said the agency has air rights to sell, bonding authority and the wherewithal to make the plan happen. The project in Lower Manhattan’s southwest corner includes building a platform over the entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, adding park space, building five residential buildings, an east-west walkway and parking garage for commuter buses. The area is hard for pedestrians to navigate because of the tunnel, Route 9A and a large parking garage.

“We could get as much as we need for the platform, the infrastructure and the park,” Gill said in a telephone interview Wednesday. He said he had not talked to any of the agencies and officials that would have to agree to the deal yet, but he planned to begin making the rounds.

Gov. George Pataki, who controls the B.P.C.A., last year set aside $80 million toward the project — $40 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and $40 million from federal 9/11 transportation funds. The money was to help pay for the bus garage, which was estimated to cost $125 million. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority owns several of the devlopment sites and they would have to agree to sell the sites to someone before the plan could proceed.

Madelyn Wils, a director of the L.M.D.C., said the Battery Park City Authority was a “logical” group to do Greenwich Street South and the idea was discussed briefly a few years ago.

“I’m a fan of the idea of bridging over the highway [tunnel entrance] and making Battery Park City and the Financial District accessible,” Wils said. She said the bus garage was desperately needed with 350 commuter buses expected to come Downtown every day.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg first suggested the Greenwich St. idea at the end of 2002 in a speech outlining his vision for Lower Manhattan and the city would have to agree with Gill before the plan could proceed.

“They have to be a full partner on this,” Wils said.

A Bloomberg spokesperson did not return a call for comment.

“It’s a big vision but it is something that could be done,” Wils said.


© 2006 Community Media, LLC

god, i would love to get rid of or at least completley redo that parking garage. what an eyesore

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/nyregion/15yards.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Developer of Atlantic Yards Is Cited for Failing to Stop Demolition Work

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: June 15, 2006

The city's Buildings Department issued a violation yesterday to Forest City Ratner Companies, the developer of the proposed Atlantic Yards project near Downtown Brooklyn, on the ground it did not obey an order to stop demolition work on a building on the project site.

The stop-work order was issued on Saturday, after inspectors responding to a complaint about the demolition work found several building code violations, including a defective safety fence at the demolition site, formerly home to small auto garages at 622 and 620 Pacific Street.

Though Forest City Ratner contractors fixed the fence after getting the stop-work order and resolved other problems, they did not seek a required reinspection to lift the order, said Jennifer Givner, a Department of Buildings spokeswoman.

The violation issued yesterday — fines run from zero to $2,500, as determined by an administrative judge — was the latest step in a running battle between Forest City and the residents of 624 Pacific, a building adjacent to the demolition site and also owned by the developer.

Forest City Ratner is the development partner in building a new Midtown headquarters for The New York Times Company.

Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project, an 8.7-million-square-foot residential, office, and arena development, have been stymied in their attempts to stop the demolition of the Pacific Street properties and and several others. A resident of 624 Pacific, Leigh Anderson, was among the plaintiffs in that lawsuit, and is also a member of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, a group opposed to the project.

Contractors began tearing down the vacant Pacific Street buildings with hand tools — as required by the Buildings Department — on May 30. A backhoe was brought to the site on June 7 to help clear debris and level the ground, company officials said.

But Ms. Anderson and other residents say the backhoe was also used to demolish the exterior walls of the two lots, violating the building code and endangering residents living in 624 Pacific. They filed complaints last week with the city and took pictures of the backhoe at work.

Their tenant lawyer, George Locker, complained to officials at Forest City Ratner and at the Empire State Development Corporation, which is reviewing the project's environmental impact and approved the demolitions late last year.

"My clients are being assaulted by a huge piece of mechanical equipment," Mr. Locker said on Tuesday, adding that Ms. Anderson and others had refused earlier settlements offered by Forest City in exchange for moving out of 624 Pacific. He said the demolition work was intended to intimidate them.

No one was injured by the demolitions. Forest City officials said that the infractions cited by the Buildings Department were minor and that 624 Pacific, which the company owns, suffered no structural damage.

Norman Oder, the author of a blog devoted to the Atlantic Yards, posted some of the pictures on Tuesday, along with a report on the demolition.

The pictures taken by Ms. Anderson and another resident, David Gochfeld, appeared to show the backhoe pulling down first-story sections of the buildings' exterior walls. But Ms. Givner said that inspectors visiting the site on several occasions did not see the backhoe being used unlawfully.

In a letter sent to the Empire State Development Corporation in response to Mr. Locker's complaints, Jeffrey L. Braun, a Forest City lawyer, said the company was looking into whether contractors had disregarded instructions not to use the backhoe to demolish walls. If that was done, he said, the company would "take appropriate action."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/nyregion/16yards.html
Group Calls for Major Changes in Atlantic Yards Plan

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: June 16, 2006

A leading architectural and design association called yesterday for significant changes to the proposed Atlantic Yards project near Downtown Brooklyn, saying that the current plan would overwhelm the surrounding neighborhoods and burden the area with more traffic.

Members of the Municipal Art Society, an association of architects, designers and planners founded in 1893, leveled the criticisms during a presentation last night at a church in Fort Greene, not far from where the developer Forest City Ratner Companies wants to build an 8.7 million-square-foot residential, arena, and office project.

"Does this project work for Brooklyn?" asked Kent Barwick, the society's president. "As it currently stands, we don't think it does."

Mr. Barwick laid out five principles for improving the plan, including changes to avoid eliminating city streets — which the current plan would do — and making the development's park space more accessible and inviting to residents of adjacent neighborhoods.

James P. Stuckey, the Forest City executive in charge of Atlantic Yards, was lukewarm on the presentation, saying that it was "a nice thing to say that we're going to come up with five design principles but ignore the fact that there's a billion dollars of cost in infrastructure and land acquisition" associated with the project.

Forest City Ratner is the development partner of The New York Times Company in its new headquarters building on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, and the developer has made charitable donations to the art society in the past.

The presentation, which drew about 300 people, focused strictly on design and planning, and Mr. Barwick acknowledged that there were "other issues" in play. He also conceded that the society had not considered how changing the project's design might affect its costs.

Because Forest City has not yet released financial projections for Atlantic Yards, however, only the company itself knows precisely how the project's costs are driving its scale.

The society often convenes panels of architects and planners to review significant development proposals in the city. Last night's presentation came after weeks of negotiations between the society and about a dozen local politicians and neighborhood associations, which agreed to sponsor it.

But the sponsors were careful not to endorse the society's principles, which conspicuously eschewed any discussion of eminent domain or housing, two issues that have driven debate over the project in the past. Several of the sponsoring organizations and individuals, including the Fort Greene Association and the Park Slope Civic Council, are also aligned with Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, an umbrella organization that has taken a much harder line against the project.

Mr. Barwick said that the sponsors had had some influence on the society's decision to steer clear of issues beyond design and planning. "The community groups felt there had been enough discussion of those issues, and they wanted to have a mature discussion on the design issues," he said.

Details of the presentation had apparently circulated among members of the umbrella group in recent weeks. On Sunday, the group sent an e-mail message to supporters charging that the arts society planned to endorse the arena, the use of eminent domain and a 20 percent reduction in the project's size, positions the e-mail message described as "unacceptable." (No such endorsements were included in last night's presentation, however.) The e-mail message urged members to turn out and provided a script of questions to ask after the presentation.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Brooklyn group said it hoped the society would "respect" a more stringent and far-reaching set of development principles, including opposition to eminent domain, negotiated among a number of neighborhood groups last year.

Daniel Goldstein, the group's spokesman, said yesterday, "We don't think that because Forest City has proposed something that that should be the framework for starting a conversation about what's best for the area as far as development."

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/427522p-360556c.html
Magic's luxury condos ripped

Advocates urge affordable housing

Magic Johnson and his partners are considering building affordable housing on an empty lot next to their upcoming Williamsburg Savings Bank luxury condos - but outraged advocates want more assurances.

"They're thinking about? They need to stop thinking and start acting," said ACORN Executive Director Bertha Lewis during a protest outside the iconic bank building last week as real estate brokers attended a swanky party inside.

"They come into neighborhoods that are changing and they accelerate it," she said, as protesters chanted, "Come down, Magic," and "Sweetheart deals stink."

"Magic Johnson should be ashamed of himself," Lewis added.

Johnson's Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds and its partner, the Dermot Company, have come under sharp criticism for failing to include affordable housing at the site - though Johnson's group bills itself as helping "underserved areas."

The project - which includes units ranging from a $350,000 studio to a $3 million penthouse duplex - also has been singled out by ACORN for getting lucrative tax breaks.

Johnson and his partners said last week they cannot afford to build subsidized apartments at the site.

"When you think of the money we have to pay for the building and the build-out, too - whew!" exclaimed Johnson. "We have to get a return."

After the empty lot idea was floated by Borough President Marty Markowitz at the glitzy gathering, the developers confirmed they are studying the possibility of building affordable units on a back parking lot.

"It's something that we're going to start focusing on now to see if it's feasible," said Andrew MacArthur of Dermot. "But we don't want to make any commitments at this juncture because we don't know if it's feasible yet."

The 77-year-old building, the tallest in Brooklyn, is known for its signature clock face.

It previously housed mostly dentists' offices, but is in the process of becoming 189 condos - complete with "Brazilian teak flooring," "lava stone counters and lacquer cabinetry" and bathrooms "laden with custom vanities and Kallista fixtures." The units are slated to be ready in mid-2007.

There also will be a gym, 24-hour business center, children's playroom, and sky lounge for tenants, while a Borders Books is expected to move into the grand bank space below.

City Councilwoman Letitia James (WF-Prospect Heights), who also has been lobbying for affordable housing at the site, said she won't stop fighting until there is a guarantee.

"They're getting tax subsidies for these million-dollar condos," said James. "We're paying for them, and there's not one set aside for low-income people."

Local residents also said they would like to see affordable housing added to the mix.

"I thought Magic Johnson was supposed to look out for low-income people," said Clorine Edwards, 53, a school nurse who lives nearby. "They're pushing people out. I'm worried they're going to push me out, too."

Originally published on June 18, 2006

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/comm/condo_site_set_to_sell_comm_steve_cuozzo.htm
CONDO SITE SET TO SELL

QUICK DEAL SEEN AT E. 29TH STREET

http://www.nypost.com/photos/comm061306049.jpg
SNEAK PEEK: Here's a rendering of what the site at 39 E. 29th Street will look like.

June 13, 2006 -- SOME development sites are easier to develop than others - depending on such niceties as zoning obstacles, whether tenants are still in place and how much work has to be done to maximize permissible square footage.

But at 39 E. 29th St. between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, a residential development site now being offered by current owners the Lawrence Ruben Co. and Jonis Realty, there's nothing to it if you've got the dough.

Not only is the property a vacant lot, it's "completely entitled" for a 140,000 square-foot condo building that's already designed, said Studley Capital Transactions Group chief Woody Heller, who's fielding offers. Bids are due June 28.

The once gloomy East 20s, between Park Avenue South and Fifth Avenue, are coming into their own with new apartment buildings, hotels and restaurants. The 8,500 square-foot site at 39 E. 29th "has no possession or zoning risk," Heller said.

The owners have cleared the land and added to the planned tower's size through air rights, purchases and a bonus achieved under the city's inclusionary-housing program.

"It's rare for a site to come pre-packaged this way," Heller said. He added the asking price is $400 per buildable foot.

Market sources said they "expect" the site to sell for between $350-$400 a foot.

The land is half-a-block east of the thriving Carlton Hotel. Since the area is so hot, why do the owners want to sell?

"The development process is all about adding value, and there are a variety of ways to do that," Heller said.

"In this case, they created enormous value by assembling all the pieces and are less inclined to realize the development process than to sell."

amazing new projects for an amicing city....!!!!

W'BURG SOAR POINT
ANGER ON PLAN FOR 28 TOWERS


By ANGELA MONTEFINISE
June 18, 2006

A proposal to bring 28 soaring towers to north Williamsburg is the latest in a line of high-density projects supersizing the neighborhood's skyline - and it has fed-up residents shaking their heads.

Quadriad Realty Partners, a development company that counts former Rep. Herman Badillo as a partner, presented its vertical vision of Williamsburg at a community meeting last week, and it includes 28 towers ranging from 12 to 40 stories. The towers would be built over seven blocks between North Third and North Sixth streets and Bedford and Kent avenues. Most of the buildings would stand between 16 and 18 stories.

The area's zoning allows a maximum of only six stories, but Quadriad plans to request a zoning change to permit the development, which would yield about 2,500 units of market-rate luxury housing and 1,000 units of affordable housing.

"This is the only way I know for affordable housing to get built without using any government dollars," said Quadriad managing member Henry Wollman.

Under Quadriad's grand plan, each of the seven blocks will have four towers, a public park, retail stores and community facilities, like schools, theaters, day care and health care.

"In an area where land costs $250 to $300 per square foot, the only way to build everything, including amenities for the community, is to build higher," Wollman said.

Residents, however, say the area is already overwhelmed by massive projects. In fact, 20,000 units are predicted for the Brooklyn waterfront.

The area Quadriad is targeting was down-zoned last year to compensate for the influx of waterfront towers.

"We drew a line knowing this neighborhood was going to face higher density," Stephanie Thayer said. "We wanted this part of Williamsburg to stay affordable and protected."

Michael Kriegh asked, "What's going to stop other developers from seeing what you're doing and doing the same thing?"

The company currently owns only one of the seven blocks. That block will hold 650 units and will be called Williamsburgh Square.


Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/realestate/18deal.html
Dumbo Is Humble No More

By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: June 16, 2006

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/06/18/realestate/18deal190.jpg
1 Main Street in Dumbo

A FORMER executive with Goldman Sachs and J. P. Morgan Chase paid $5.8 million this month for two adjoining apartments at 1 Main Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The two units, with a combined 4,790 square feet, have views of the East River and Manhattan. The buyers were Mino Capossela, the former executive, and his wife, Maura McDonnell.

The building, a converted cardboard box factory between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, was the first in the area that the developer David Walentas converted to condominiums, about eight years ago. Since then the neighborhood has been completely transformed, with a binge of residential construction.

Mr. Walentas, who lives on one of the top floors of 1 Main Street, said that if the buyers of the two condos used them as a single residence, the total purchase price would be the highest paid for a home in the neighborhood. After the condos first went on sale in 1998, Mr. Walentas said, the two apartments sold to separate buyers for a total of $1.55 million.

"That's a good return," Mr. Walentas said of the nearly fourfold increase in the value of the apartments. "I made a lot of people rich. I'm happy for everybody. Dumbo has been a huge success for everybody."

One of the apartments was resold in 1999, and the new owner of that apartment then bought the second one in 2004. Karen Heyman, a broker at Century 21 Kevin B. Brown who represented Mr. Capossela and Ms. McDonnell, said the couple planned to combine the units eventually.

Mr. Walentas said the $1,215 a square foot paid for the two apartments was at the very upper end of prices in the neighborhood.

He is now in the process of creating a 6,000-square-foot triplex penthouse within the 16-story building's clock tower.

"That apartment, when complete, maybe we'll sell it for $25 million," Mr. Walentas said. "It's very special, one of a kind in the world."

Mr. Capossela was a managing director of Goldman Sachs when, in 2001, he jumped to its rival J. P. Morgan Chase and was named head of that company's North American cash equities business. Less than two years later Mr. Capossela and J. P. Morgan parted ways. Mr. Capossela and Ms. McDonnell did not return phone calls seeking comment.

A Hedge in Harlem?

WHAT if there were a different way to buy real estate? One that helped ease anxiety for buyers by helping to protect them against the risk of buying into a softening market? And one that provided potential benefits to the seller as well?

Suppose the buyer and seller agree on two prices for a property: a maximum, and a minimum perhaps 5 or 10 percent lower. The buyer pays the minimum price at the closing, and the balance is put in escrow.

Next, they wait about six months and then consult the most recent quarterly sales figures for the local housing market. If the average sales price of a home in the area has risen by an agreed upon amount, measured on an annualized basis, then the seller gets the money in escrow. If prices haven't risen that much, then the buyer gets the escrow money back.

In this way, the buyer creates a hedge, a kind of insurance policy against the market's softening after the purchase. And if prices continue to rise, the seller presumably achieves a higher price than he otherwise might for his property, in effect benefiting from the overall market appreciation after the sale.

Sound implausible?

Well, something along those lines appears to have occurred in the sale of a Harlem town house in March, which set a record for a residence in Upper Manhattan.

The buyer of the five-story home on Convent Avenue was John Geanakoplos, a Yale economics professor and a managing director of an investment firm. The seller was Robert F. Van Lierop, a lawyer whose clients have included Halle Berry and Spike Lee.

When the sale was first reported in The New York Times on May 21, Professor Geanakoplos would say only that the $3.89 million price recorded on the deed was a "maximum," and that the final, adjusted, sale price could be significantly lower. Beyond that, Professor Geanakoplos and Mr. Van Lierop have refused to disclose the full terms of their deal.

Since that article appeared, however, two people who discussed the deal with the principals while it was being negotiated said in interviews that its basic outlines were similar to the hypothetical transaction just described. According to one of those people, a minimum price was to be paid at the closing, and later in the year the two sides would base the ultimate price on sales figures, probably for the third quarter.

Robert J. Shiller, a colleague of Professor Geanakoplos at Yale and a noted expert on the behavior of stock and real estate markets, said Mr. Geanakoplos consulted him during his negotiations over the town house, when he was looking for a price index that would reflect the Harlem market. Professor Shiller said that he was not familiar with the final details of the deal, but that he believed it was intended to provide a hedge against prices' tapering off after the sale. "People don't want to buy a house at the peak," Professor Shiller said. "They feel bad about that."

He has proposed two types of products that could ease the anxiety of home buyers: home equity insurance, which would protect people against falling home values; and price warranties for home buyers, where "if prices fall, you get some money back."

Such products would achieve the same aim as the deal worked out by Professor Geanakoplos. "I think this is a future trend that he's just at the beginning of," he said.

A Partnership Evolves

THE Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev and the Brooklyn-based developer Shaya Boymelgreen have teamed up for some high-profile residential projects since they first became partners in 2002.

Now, acting through his holding company, Africa Israel, Mr. Leviev has made his first significant move here without Mr. Boymelgreen, buying 111 Fulton Street, a commercial building at the corner of William Street in Lower Manhattan, which he plans to convert to condominiums.

But Mr. Leviev said the venture did not indicate differences with Mr. Boymelgreen. "Our relationship is very good with Mr. Boymelgreen," Mr. Leviev said last month during a visit to 20 Pine Street, one of the financial district buildings that he and Mr. Boymelgreen are converting to condos.

The partners have also worked together on the conversion of 15 Broad Street and 60 Spring Street, as well as in the construction of new condo buildings in TriBeCa, downtown Brooklyn and Dumbo. They also have ambitious projects under way in Miami and Las Vegas.

Mr. Leviev said he had other partners in the Fulton Street project but would not say who they were. Records filed with the Department of Buildings, however, give the names of two partners: Joseph Klaynberg, a developer, and Ricky Cohen, whose family owns the Conway Stores chain.

Those documents, filed on June 6 by the architect Karl Fischer, call for nine stories to be added to the existing eight-story building. But Dan Avidan, the head of finance for Africa Israel, said on Wednesday that plans had been scaled back and now only two stories would be added.

A deed filed with the city says the sale price of 111 Fulton Street was $21.8 million. But Mr. Avidan said the company had paid $59 million for the building and he was not sure why the deed showed a lower price.

Mr. Boymelgreen said he and Mr. Leviev had been working under a five-year agreement that required him to offer any new projects exclusively to Africa Israel. That expires next year. "The relationship is a beautiful relationship, but we're not married for life; we're married for five years," he said. He said they would continue to work together for several years on a number of projects, like a planned condo complex on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

He also sounded a note of caution on the New York market, saying he had been reluctant to start more new condo projects here. "I didn't buy for a while, maybe more than a year and a half, anything in condos in New York because it's a little bit overbuilt."

Instead he has begun to focus on markets he considers undervalued, like Israel, where he is completing the $500 million acquisition of Azorim, a company that develops condos and houses.

Plan to Move Garden Augurs Change for Midtown


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/06/20/nyregion/20garden.xlarge1.jpg
Under a developer's plan, Madison Square Garden, as seen from 2 Penn Plaza, would move into the James
A. Farley Post Office.


By CHARLES V. BAGLI
June 20, 2006

Steven Roth, the chairman of a company once known for operating suburban shopping centers, made a startling move nine years ago when he plunked down more than $2 billion for office towers, a hotel and retail space surrounding Madison Square Garden on a bet that the neighborhood was ripe for transformation.

Now, Mr. Roth is quietly circulating a $7 billion plan detailing just how radical a transformation he envisions for the district, including moving the Garden to a new home on Ninth Avenue. He wants state officials to rethink the plan they have hired him to develop, an expansion of Pennsylvania Station under Eighth Avenue into the landmark James A. Farley Post Office, which is to be renamed Moynihan Station for the senator who championed the project.

Not only would Mr. Roth build Moynihan Station, but he would remake the cramped and dreary Pennsylvania Station itself, turning it into a monumental gateway to New York under a sweeping glass canopy.

The Garden would move a block west to the rear of the Farley building, allowing Mr. Roth, the chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, and his partner, Stephen M. Ross, the chairman of Related Companies, to build a commercial complex on top of Penn Station akin to Rockefeller Center, with five towers and seven million square feet of office space, apartments and stores.

The city's history is littered with hugely ambitious and ultimately unrealized plans, but while this one faces obstacles, it has been gaining momentum in the past few months. The two men have a nonbinding agreement with the owners of the Garden to move the arena, something other developers sought in vain for more than two decades.

A battle royale like the one that doomed the Jets stadium on the Far West Side last year seems unlikely. The Regional Plan Association and Community Board 4, which opposed the stadium, both like the Roth-Ross plan. And six of the city's business organizations heartily endorsed it at a public hearing on May 30, even though it was not on the agenda and has yet to have a formal public debut.

Transportation advocates say the Roth-Ross plan provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reconfigure and expand the busiest rail station in the country, where 550,000 passengers struggle through a maze of underground passageways each day. Under the current Moynihan Station plan, 80 percent of passengers would still use the old, crowded quarters.

To win approval, the project would have to run a gantlet from City Hall to Albany to Amtrak, which operates Penn Station. The state preservation commission would have to approve the Garden's move to the rear of the Farley post office in order for the developers to get valuable tax credits. Finally, it is unclear who would pay for the estimated $1 billion cost of renovating Penn Station.

There are political obstacles. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is displeased with the owners of the Garden, who ran a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against him last year that helped kill his plan for the $2.2 billion football stadium on the Far West Side. And state officials are moving quickly with the simpler Moynihan Station plan, because Gov. George E. Pataki wants a groundbreaking before he leaves office.

If the larger project is approved, it would mean billions for Mr. Roth and Mr. Ross — the two Steves, as they have become known. It would enormously enhance Mr. Roth's holdings, which include the skyscraper at 1 Penn Plaza and the Pennsylvania Hotel. He would also solidify his hold on an area where his company already owns or controls seven million square feet and plans to double that figure.

"We are about making money here on a grand scale," said Mr. Roth, who has a reputation for refreshing boldness, at an investors' conference earlier this month.

But some say the Roth-Ross plan would serve the public, too. "It's actually a real convergence of public benefits and private interests, assuming the Garden fits without breaching the grand historic space," said Lynne B. Sagalyn, a professor of real estate development and planning at the University of Pennsylvania. "There's the potential for another high-density cluster of commercial activity connected to transportation, like Times Square and Grand Central."

Not everyone is a fan. The Farley post office was designed by McKim, Mead & White, the architects of the original Penn Station, which was torn down in 1963 to make way for the current Garden. Now some fear that history is repeating itself.

Peg Breen, the president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, called the proposal to move the Garden into the Farley building akin to "Cinderella's stepsisters trying to jam their feet into the glass slipper."

Mr. Roth and Mr. Ross were selected last year to build Moynihan Station and a major block of space for retail, office or residential use. The developers, who would pay the state $313.8 million and a yet-to-be negotiated annual fee, would also transfer about 1 million square feet of unused development rights from the Farley building across Eighth Avenue to the northeast corner of 33rd Street for two residential towers.

Then, earlier this year, the two men struck a tentative deal with James L. Dolan, whose family controls Cablevision, the Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers. By moving the Garden, the developers would gain the enormously valuable right to build three new skyscrapers above Penn Station, with a mix of apartments, offices, a hotel and stores, while generating up to $75 million a year in property taxes for the city. The Garden, which has considered renovating, would get a modern, egg-shaped arena with many more luxury boxes.

There is no final design for the Roth-Ross proposal, but the developers' current models show two buildings bordering Eighth Avenue — Moynihan West, in the Farley building, and Moynihan East, a sunny, rebuilt Penn Station with a monumental, glass-walled entrance and grand staircase at 31st Street. A commuter would be able to look up the stairs, through the glass entrance and across Eighth Avenue to see the 20 Corinthian columns, each 53 feet high, across the two-block front of the Farley building.

A soaring multistory glass canopy would stretch diagonally to 33rd Street, near Seventh Avenue, bringing sunlight to a hall leading to transit and subway platforms. The new towers would be built atop a retail building at street level.

The relocated Madison Square Garden, on Ninth Avenue, would take up as much as two-thirds of the Farley building, eliminating an intermodal hall in the current plan. The glass-topped great hall, which is slightly larger than the comparable space at Grand Central Terminal, would still be renovated as a public space. The Garden would rise 50 feet, or nearly five stories, above the roof. The post office would move its remaining operations, and the historic stamp windows would be used to sell tickets to Garden events.

The owners of the Garden want a major presence on Eighth Avenue — perhaps banners hanging among the columns, similar to those at the Metropolitan Museum, or an expensive set of electronic signs.

That is an image sure to stir up the critics and even alienate supporters. Opponents placed an ad in The New York Times last week with the headline: "Don't let it happen again," a reference to the demolition of the original Penn Station.

The issue has gotten so heated in landmark and preservation circles that critics have chastised the senator's daughter, Maura Moynihan, who has championed her father's vision for the Farley, for narrating a media presentation of the new proposal. The developers have quietly shown the presentation to Mayor Bloomberg and various business, civic and news media figures.

"We've got to be open-minded, because chances like this don't come along very often," Ms. Moynihan said in an interview. "The only thing I've ever cared about is a bigger, better train station that liberates New Yorkers from the horror of the pit, Penn Station."

The developers contend that their plan would accelerate what has been a slow transformation of a dowdy area south of the garment district. "The larger Moynihan plan would serve as the catalyst for the transformation of Manhattan's West Side, ease overcrowding at Penn Station and create a much more functional and architecturally distinct gateway to New York City," Mr. Roth said.

Critics do not see it that way. "Clearly, from the developer's point of view, this is about mega-development and mega-bucks," said Ms. Breen of the Landmarks Conservancy. "But we all started with the notion of a great train station for New York City. That's gotten lost in the shuffle."

But Robert D. Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, said that an intermodal hall at a reconfigured Penn Station would provide for far more efficient transfers among subways, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road. With the Garden suddenly willing to move, Mr. Yaro said the city should not pass up the chance.

And city officials are clearly intrigued. Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff said: "It's undeniably a good idea, in terms of generating tax revenues, creating a train station and its impact on the development of the West Side. The question is whether we can make it work financially."

In all likelihood, the government officials would ask the developers to pay for at least part of rebuilding Penn Station in return for approving what is potentially a very lucrative project.

Despite his dislike for the Dolans, Mr. Bloomberg has indicated that he would not block the move, although he will not let the Garden keep a $10 million a year property tax exemption, Mr. Doctoroff said: "It doesn't automatically travel to a new site."

The biggest obstacle may be the governor, whose appointees are moving fast to approve the simpler Moynihan Station plan as early as next month, after 14 years of stops and starts. The money is in place, and the post office has agreed to move. The prime tenant, New Jersey Transit, has agreed to operate the public spaces.

State officials want Mr. Roth and Mr. Ross to wrap up the negotiations on the Moynihan Station plan, put up an initial $150 million and break ground in the fall. A separate deal with the Garden and the city would mean delays for public hearings and an environmental review.

"Moynihan Station is critical to improving and enlarging the gateway to New York," said Charles A. Gargano, chairman of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation. "While a new sports arena would be a vast improvement, the building of Moynihan Station is more important than whether Madison Square Garden moves, or new high-rise buildings are built."


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/06/20/nyregion/0620-met-webGARDENmap.gif


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Silence Rare Among NYC Construction Boom


By AMY WESTFELDT
Associated Press Writer
June 20, 2006, 1:59 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- The biggest burst in construction in New York in decades is making it tougher than usual for people in the City That Never Sleeps to get a little peace and quiet.

In many neighborhoods -- especially around the World Trade Center site -- residents are assaulted by the noise of jackhammers and bulldozers and confronted by orange traffic cones at practically every turn. Rush-hour commuters have to wade into traffic to get around construction equipment on the sidewalks. Trucks clog the narrow streets, their horns blaring. And the digging often starts before the morning cup of coffee is ready.

"After you've worked a full week, you really don't want to wake up at 7 a.m. to the drilling," said Lisa Hanock-Jasie, who with her husband moved to lower Manhattan a year ago, attracted by the prices and a building that would take in their 85-pound Belgian Shepherd. "We love living down there. We just hope that it ends one day."

Overall, the city is spending $20 billion on construction, more than it ever has. More than 30 projects are under way or planned in lower Manhattan alone, including a half-dozen at the trade center site.

To residents who complain they live day and night in a construction zone, officials warn it is going to get worse before it gets better.

"There's just no peace," said Jan Larsen, general manager of the 569-room Millennium Hilton hotel, across the street from the trade center site.

He said some guests have complained about the noise at night, while the restaurant inside the hotel has seen a drop-off in business because of the construction that surrounds the hotel. Work on a huge train-and-subway hub project has closed off the hotel's front entrance.

"It's all good news, once it gets done," Larsen said. "While it's under way, it's a little bit painful."

The projects at the trade center site include the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower that will replace the twin towers; three more skyscrapers; a Sept. 11 memorial; the $2.2 billion transit hub; and a performing arts center.

Also, contractors are dismantling a 41-story skyscraper damaged by the terrorist attack, and a $2.4 billion Goldman Sachs Group Inc. headquarters is being built nearby. On Wall Street, where Hanock-Jasie lives, city officials are replacing water mains. And in nearby Battery Park City, several residential buildings are going up.

Elsewhere in New York, the conversion of an abandoned rail line into a park and the building of 30,000 housing units and several schools are under way. Also, an expansion of Penn Station is planned.

Officials overseeing the construction boom say the heaviest work is still ahead, and they are predicting three to five years of major rebuilding downtown.

Charles Maikish, executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, which is coordinating dozens of projects in the area, has been working for close to two years on maintaining air quality, controlling traffic and keeping the noise down for residents.

He said as many as 8,000 construction workers will eventually be working downtown and will need to take mass transit and not cars. "We'll tow," Maikish warned.

One of the biggest challenges will be dlivering more than 2 million cubic yards of concrete and thousands of tons of steel to the right places at the right time.

When contractors begin excavating to build three new towers at the trade center site, Maikish said, "they're going to be running trucks every three to five minutes for a period of 12 months."


Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

Ok so I decided to do this NYC thread.

Keep in mind that almost half of all the construction boom in the city are conversions from excisting buildings like Offices, Hotels and Rental buildings to Condominiums apartments. But ofcourse I wont post those here.

I will not post alot of small buildings. Even though there are ALOT of small building (sometimes really interesting) construction in all of the boroughs in the city right now.

If anybody thinks I got the hight in feet or the floors of a building wrong or if I missed a building please let me know. If you have a rendering for a building that doesn't have one please let me know. I will also try to store renderings in my photo service so I can have easy access for posting them. Hope nobody minds.

I also have not listed the proposing buldings and their renderings yet. But I will do that another time. This has been alot of work and time consuming.


Hopefully I did this one right and I hope you enjoy it. ;)



=========================================
Under Construction (Manhattan):
=========================================



The Freedom Tower: 1,776 ft - 82 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59500377.FreedomTower2.JPG


Bank of America Tower: 1,200 ft - 54 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58803487.BOA.JPG


New York Times Tower: 1,046 ft - 52 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58855652.NYTimes.JPG


Goldman Sachs Headquarters: 742 ft - 43 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58804459.GoldmanTower.JPG


Seven World Trade Center: 741 ft - 49 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58857115.SevenWorldTradeCenter.JPG


125 West 31st Street: 615 ft - 58 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58806300.125West31st.JPG


The Orion: 604 ft - 58 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58856841.Orion.JPG


Hearst Magazine Tower: 596 ft - 42 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58856754.HearstTower.JPG


Sky House: 588 ft - 55 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58806093.SkyHouse.JPG


10 Barclay Street: 584 ft - 56 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58806708.10Barclay.JPG


123 Washington Street: 583 ft - 53 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59639414.123WashingtonSt3.JPG


The Tower of 15 Central Park West: 550 ft - 35 floors

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/48580851.15cpw2.JPG


Atelier: 478 ft - 46 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58859238.Atelier2.JPG


325 5th Avenue: 471 ft - 42 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58807628.325Fifth.JPG


The Link: 433 ft - 43 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58807974.Link.JPG


101 Warren Street: 428 ft - 35 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57422533.101Warren.JPG


Memorial Sloan-Kettering Research Laboratory (East 68th Street): 424 ft - 25 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60035369.MemorialSloanKetteringEast68thStreet.JPG


Ariel East: 396 ft - 38 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58808736.ArielEast.JPG


Place 57: 394 ft - 34 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873145.Place57.JPG


The Centria: 1 386 ft - 34 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/56187569.CentriaNYC2.JPG


One Carnegie Hill: 382 ft - 42 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58942008.OneCarnegieHill.JPG


25 Thames Street: 368 ft - 33 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59892044.25ThamesSt.JPG


Chelsea Landmark: 368 ft - 36 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58809326.ChelseaLandmark.JPG


Remy: 352 ft - 32 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/55386664.Remy.JPG


Element: 350 ft - 33 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58958660.Element.JPG


Ten West End: 350 ft - 31 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57818600.10wea.JPG


The Avery: 344 ft - 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/56932180.Avery2.JPG


Ariel West: 340 ft - 31 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58857324.ArielWest2.JPG


Veneto: 335 ft - 32 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/55678849.250East53rd.JPG


Three Ten: 328 feet - 30 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/55681004.310East53rd.JPG


1 River Terrace: 320 ft - 32 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58864113.1RiverTerrace.JPG


1 East 35th Street: 312 ft - 33 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58810079.1East35th.JPG


The Cielo: 307 ft - 27 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58864158.Cielo.JPG


200 Chambers Street: 300 ft - 29 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57422553.200Chambers.JPG


33 West End Avenue: 293 ft - 25 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60836848.33WestEndAve.JPG


Sutton 57: 292 ft - 24 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58945724.Sutton57.JPG


Millennium Tower Residences: 291 ft - 35 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57428057.MillenniumTowerResidences.JPG


1600 Broadway on the Square: 290 ft - 26 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58946015.1600Broadway.JPG


Mosaic Downtown & Mosaic Uptown: 275 ft - 24 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58846109.MosaicTowers.JPG


Chelsea Arts Tower: 247 ft - 20 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59041047.ChelseaArtsTower.JPG


The House at 15 Central Park West: 231 ft - 19 floors

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/48580851.15cpw2.JPG


Sundari Lofts & Tower: 225 ft - 22 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996097.Sundari.JPG


88 Leonard Street: 220 ft - 20 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996147.88LeonardStreet.JPG


The Melar: 210 ft - 20 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58847829.Melar.JPG


250 East 49th Street: 209 ft - 20 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58850636.250East49th.JPG


The Hudson Condominiums: 195 ft - 18 floors

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/49023467.HudsonCondo.JPG


4 West 21st Street: 185 ft - 17 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996124.4West21Street.JPG


40 Mercer Residences: 173 ft - 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58871989.40Mercer.JPG


Blue at 105 Norfolk Street: 169 ft - 16 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58858706.Blue.JPG


4 East 3rd Street: 165 ft - 16 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58872755.4East3rd.JPG


Chelsea House: 163 ft - 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873142.ChelseaHouse.JPG


Vesta 24: 153 ft - 14 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873665.Vesta24.JPG


Courtyard By Marriott: 152 ft - 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873765.CourtyardbyMarriott92nd.JPG


Stephen Gaynor School and Ballet Hispanico: 150 ft - 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58874252.BalletHispanico.JPG




Unknown number of feet:



402 East 67th Street: 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58857836.402East67th.JPG


1500 Lexington Avene: 26 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928945.1500LexingtonAve.JPG


188 Ludlow Street: 23 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59923009.188LudlowSt.JPG


One Ten 3rd: 22 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60309261.OneTen3rd.JPG


225 East 34th Street: 22 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996160.225East34thStreet.JPG


45 Park Avenue: 21 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59936402.45ParkAvenue.JPG


Arcadia: 20 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928971.Arcadia.JPG


170 East End Avenue: 18 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928903.170EastEndAvenue.JPG


50 Gramercy Park North: 17 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996134.50GramercyParkNorth.JPG


485 Fifth Avenue: 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929926.485FifthAvenue.JPG


985 Park Avenue: 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996200.985ParkAvenue.JPG


92 Warren Street: 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59499673.92WarrenStreet.JPG


West 18 Street: 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929068.West18Street.JPG


Urban Glass House: 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59502780.UrbanGlassHouse.JPG


Spring Street Condos: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996498.SpringStreetCondos.JPG


255 Hudson Street: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996112.255HudsonStreet.JPG


125 Central Park North: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996150.125CentralParkNorth.JPG


Chelsea Club: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929021.ChelseaClub.JPG


The Sutton Coop: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996524.TheSuttonCoop.JPG


InterActiveCorp Headquarters: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929030.InterActiveCorp.JPG


2 Columbus Circle (Redesign): 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59080576.2ColumbusCircle.JPG


40 Bond: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59081696.40Bond.JPG


100 West 18th Street: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59499700.100West18thStreet.JPG


Loft 25: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996430.Loft25.JPG


The Oculus: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59564455.Oculus.JPG


110Bway: 10 Floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59030827.110Bway2.JPG


Gateway Condominiums: 9 Floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996383.GatewayCondominiums.JPG


139 Wooster Street: 8 Floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59499734.139WoosterStreet.JPG


Harlem Horizon: 8 Floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996413.HarlemHorizon.JPG


New Museum of Contemporary Art: 7 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647307.FJFYWrgd.NewMuseumContempAr235Bowery.JPG



No Renderings:


25 West 51st Street: 268 ft - 26 floors

Holiday Inn Express-Midtown-45th Street: 239 ft - 21 floors

1115 1st Avenue: 236 ft - 19 floors

200 Allen Street: 223 ft - 18 floors

144 North 8th Street: 222 ft - 16 floors

519 West 42nd Street: 216 ft - 19 floors

Four Points by Sheraton Soho Village: 195 ft - 20 floors

Wingate Inn Midtown Manhattan: 183 ft - 18 floors

M&R Hotel Times Square: 171 ft - 18 floors

330 East 57th Street: 150 ft - 16 floors



=========================================
Under Construction (Brooklyn):
=========================================


306 Gold Street: 400 ft - 40 floors
313 Gold Street: 350 ft - 35 floors (Construction to start in August 2006)

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60228581.BKGoldStreetTowers306a313.JPG


J Condo: 337 ft - 31 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58864111.JCondo.JPG


Beacon Tower: 297 ft - 23 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58864148.BeaconTower.JPG


New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge Expansion: 240 ft - 23 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59083069.BKMarriottAddition.JPG


Schaefer Landing North: 234 ft - 24 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58871208.BKSchaeferLanding.JPG


20 Bayard Street: 201 ft - 16 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58870649.20BayardStreet.JPG


1515 Avenue Z: 156 ft - 14 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58873377.BKAvenueZ.JPG


Schaefer Landing South: 135 ft - 14 floors - TOP OUT

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58871208.BKSchaeferLanding.JPG


133 Water Street: 120 ft - 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59955875.BK133WaterSt.JPG


The Nexus (84 Front Street): 120 ft - 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59955595.BKNexus84FrontSt.JPG




Unknown number of feet:



The Edge (Tower 1): 40 floors

The Edge (Tower 2): 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59618154.BKEdge.JPG


164 Kent Avenue: 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60308904.BK164KentAve.JPG


230 Ashland Place: 28 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647305.ijNlWxZb.BK230AshlandPlace.JPG


Gold Street Residential Tower: 22 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996224.BKGoldStreetResidential.JPG


11 Broadway: 20 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928850.11Broadway.JPG


100 Luquer Street: 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647303.vdOrxIj6.BK100LuquerSt.JPG


The Smith: 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59503658.BKTheSmith.JPG


185 and 191 South 4th Street: 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928932.185A191South4thStreetBK.JPG


30 Bayard Street: 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928868.30BayardStreet.JPG


Lookout Hill Condos: 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59499737.BKLookoutHillCondos.JPG


383 Carlton Avenue: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59600381.BK383CarltonAvenue.JPG


30 Bayard Street: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58928993.BK50Bayard.JPG


184 Kent: 10 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929017.BK184Kent.JPG


Park Circle at Prospect Park: 9 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59503680.BKParkCircleatProspectPark.JPG


Boerum Heights: 8 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59601354.BKBoerumHeights2.JPG


45 Caton Place: 8 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/61647301.OinmbFXy.BK23a45CatonPlace.JPG


=========================================
Under Construction (Queens):
=========================================



Avalon Riverview II: 385 ft - 39 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59952353.QAvalonRiverview2.JPG


East Coast Tower I: 299 ft - 31 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58864147.EastCoastTowerI.JPG


Building 7 (Queens West): 290 ft - 30 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/60329851.QQueensWestBuilding7.JPG


United Nations Federal Credit Union Building (43-35 24th Street): 241 ft - 16 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59949009.QUnitedNationsFederaCreditUnionBuilding.JPG


44-27 Purves: 151 ft - 14 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59948603.Q4427Purves.JPG


Echaelon Condominiums (13-11 Jackson Avenue): 123 ft - 13 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59951798.QEchaelonCon13a11JacksonAve.JPG


One Hunter's Point (5–49 Borden Avenue): 123 ft - 12 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59952631.QOneHuntersPoint49BordenAve.JPG


Badge Building (46-48 11th Street): 80 ft - 8 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59951796.QBadgeBuilding59a47thAve.JPG



Unknown number of feet:



Flushing Metro Center: 15 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996121.FlushingMetroCenter.JPG


Powerhouse Queens: 11 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58929033.PowerhouseQueens.JPG


43rd Avenue (& Cresent Street): 9 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59954153.Q43rdAvenue.JPG



No Renderings:


45-56 Pearson Street: 321 ft - 20 floors

Park Lane Condominium: 166 ft - 17 floors

133-53 37th Avenue: 158 ft - 13 floors



=========================================
Under Construction (Bronx):
=========================================



Solaria Riverdale: 208 ft - 19 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996315.BXRiverdaleTower.JPG



=========================================
Under Construction (Staten Island):
=========================================



Unknown number of feet:


Edgewater Terrace: 8 floors

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/58996092.SEdgewaterTerrace.JPG

NY Gets bigger and better than before.

NY Post: June 20, 2006 --June 20, 2006 -- After years of delays in rebuilding lower Manhattan, downtown officials are launching a bold new ad campaign that paints a rosy view of what the area will look like in just four years.
Signs posted on construction sites and pay-phone kiosks feature visions of skyscrapers, a Ground Zero memorial, transit hubs and tree-lined esplanades.

The campaign, "This is 2010. It's happening now," won't be officially launched by the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center until next week, but signs have been going up for the past few days.

"These are the projects that will be at or near completion by that time," said Jennifer Nelson, spokeswoman for the center.

what i love about those projects is that not one looks the same. granted most of those residentials are just fillers. im just glad theyre not group projects of the same design. variety is the spice of life.

Update!!!!

New 7 Tower Complex Named "Con-Ed Redevelopment" is proposed. 176m-263m.
Link to Emporis: http://www.emporis.com/ge/wm/cx/?id=115593

@skyscraperhighrise, PLEASE, edit your post, and delete the quote, we don't need to go through ALL the pictures.
Thanks!

Since the rendering of Park Circle was shown, it was recently completed, though it came out looking less like the rendering.

http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/IMG_8728.JPG

Update!!!!
New 7 Tower Complex Named "Con-Ed Redevelopment" is proposed. 176m-263m.
Link to Emporis: http://www.emporis.com/ge/wm/cx/?id=115593Forget it. Fierce community resistance will kill this one, at least in its proposed configuration. Look for a few less towers and a considerable reduction in heights.

@skyscraperhighrise, PLEASE, edit your post, and delete the quote, we don't need to go through ALL the pictures.
Thanks!

I agree. Please. :)

Tower o' Penthouses: Is Something Actually Happening?





Friday, June 23, 2006

For a building that threatens to alter the future of New York City forever (or something), we've spent remarkably little time on Santiago Calatrava's 80 South Street project lately. Mainly that's because there's been nothing to report. Developer Frank Sciame wants his $7 million deposits, and nobody wants to give them to him. Case Closed. Until...

I was walking back from the river after lunch yesterday, when I noticed that there were new signs in the window of the shuttered lunch place on the corner of Maiden and South st. The signs now talk about having left due to a building demolition. Isn't this where Calatrava's tower o' White Elephants is supposed to be? Could it be that the tower might actually be happening now?

Can it be? CAN IT BE? We'll go Nancy Reagan on your asses and just say no. But still, wow. Our pulse is racing a little.


Copyright © 2006 Curbed

^ here is the photo from Curbed about "new signs in the window of the shuttered lunch place on the corner of Maiden and South st"...

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006_6_calatrava.jpg

good projects

Update!!!!

New 7 Tower Complex Named "Con-Ed Redevelopment" is proposed. 176m-263m.
Link to Emporis: http://www.emporis.com/ge/wm/cx/?id=115593


Yes... here is the update... The heights of the towers have been lowered...


Revised E. Side plan facing opposition
Developers shorten towers; critics seek more public space


By Erik Engquist
Published on June 26, 2006

Radically downscaled plans for the largest Manhattan development tract outside of Ground Zero will get their first official viewing today. The proposal envisions eight towers--one more than originally proposed--that top out at 600-plus feet instead of at 864 feet.

Even that reduction might not be enough.

"A 600-some-odd-foot building is still a big building," says Edward Rubin, land-use chairman of Community Board 6. "This [project] may be, overall, just too dense.

The fight over the nine-acre site that sprawls along the East River just below the historic home of the United Nations promises to be heated. Community leaders and others insist that the very character of the neighborhood is at stake.

Among other things, they want the developer, Sheldon Solow, to guarantee public access to the waterfront and to the open space amid the towers. In addition, they want Mr. Solow to restore block-long sections of East 39th and East 40th streets that were eliminated more than a century ago when Consolidated Edison erected its huge granite-and-brick Waterside Steam Plant on much of the site.

The revised design that Mr. Solow will present to a community board subcommittee today addresses earlier criticisms by shortening the towers, by making the project's three acres of open space more accessible to the public and by increasing the space allotted for retailers along First Avenue. The new plan also includes a three-block promenade along the FDR Drive. But East 39th and East 40th streets would remain private.


Crucial links


"The two streets that run through the Con Ed superblock would be the main access to any kind of waterfront development, which we feel is crucial there," says Frank Sanchis, vice president of the Municipal Art Society, a private planning organization.

More controversially, critics accuse the city of squandering a chance to work with the developer to build an East Side waterfront park. They want a coordinated project extending beyond the four parcels he purchased for approximately $630 million. They would like him to kick in money for a $190 million landscaped deck over the FDR Drive that would be built in part with public funding. Calls for the city to exert pressure have been rebuffed by the Bloomberg administration, which insists it cannot compel the developer to consider another proposal.

A fierce tug-of-war, with freshman Councilman Daniel Garodnick pulling on the community's side against Mr. Solow, is taking shape. The rest of the council is likely to side with Mr. Garodnick and another local community ally, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. But sources say Amanda Burden, the city planning commissioner, is concerned about making demands that could unfairly delay a project that has already taken five years to get going and won't be finished before 2014.


Key player


The project's fate ultimately rests with the City Council, which will vote on the developer's request for a zoning variance to build his planned 6 million-square-foot project. It would include a large commercial office building, market-rate housing and a modest retail component. The need for a variance gives the city crucial leverage. Most of the site is zoned for manufacturing.

Michael Gross, a spokesman for the developer, says the environmental review should be completed this year and the seven-month land-use review process would begin in early 2007. Construction would follow.

A rocky future would be nothing new for the project. In 2001, an architect was selected for the development through an international competition, only to be rejected by Mr. Solow. Instead, he hired the well-known Richard Meier, who is working with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, designer of 7 World Trade Center, the Time Warner Center and many other projects.

Mr. Solow may also have alienated one of his neighbors. Nearly two years ago, he reportedly lobbied the state Senate to kill the U.N.'s plan to build a new office building on a 1.3-acre playground between Mr. Solow's site and the U.N. Secretariat.

The U.N. intends to renovate the Secretariat and would have used its new building as interim office space. Without it, the U.N. might wind up renting space in Mr. Solow's new development, which is too far east for many other office tenants.


©2006 Crain Communications Inc.

See? What did I say? I was right.
Don't think this is the end.
They will ask for more height reduction.

Has anyone else noticed that the Freedom Tower looks like a big "up yours" from this angle? Appropriate I suppose.
http://img.thefreedictionary.com/thumb/b/b1/Middle_finger.JPG http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/59500377.FreedomTower2.JPG

I've noticed that. It even looks better from a different angle. The other towers will be higher so it will look great.

lol!!!!
Your right, shaggers_jr.
It does. Ive seen that pic a dozen times and never noticed.
So how long did it take you to notice?
;)

:lol: LOL! I also can see the resemblance.

lol!!!!
Your right, shaggers_jr.
It does. Ive seen that pic a dozen times and never noticed.
So how long did it take you to notice?
;)
I noticed almost immediately. I have a filthy, filthy mind.

Whats with the name, too much Austin Powers?

On the Waterfront: South Street Seaport, Treasure for the City, Is Suddenly in Play


BY ROBERTA WEISBROD - Special to the Sun
June 26, 2006

South Street Seaport, the area of Manhattan shoreline just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, is in play, and what happens over the next few months will set its future for decades.

The opportunity is a result of two shifts in real estate: A year ago, General Growth Properties, a major publicly traded REIT that owns or operates 200 shopping malls nationwide, acquired the Rouse Co., including the South Street Seaport properties that it developed - Pier 17 and four other assemblages - a total of 385,000 square feet of retail space.

And a half year ago, the city relocated the 180-year-old Fulton Fish market to the Bronx, leaving behind an estimated 140,000 square feet of vacant selling space. GGP intends to exercise its option to acquire the city-owned landmarked "Tin Building" as well as a block of privately owned market stalls that were also vacated.

A spokeswoman for GGP, Cheri Fein of Rubenstein Associates, said the developer plans "to service the growing residential population as well as the people that work there."

The city's Economic Development Corporation will now have to decide how to develop its remaining parcel, the non-landmarked "New Market Building."

The city's planning commissioner, Amanda Burden, is effusive about the possibilities. "South Street Seaport is unique in New York City. It's unique among all American cities," she said. "The wonderful scale, the texture, with access to the water and a view of the Brooklyn Bridge."

It's a treasure for the city, she said - "and an important amenity for the financial district - their respite and recreation."

The seaport is where 200 years ago New York became a great global city through innovations in technology, financing, and business models, the latter best exemplified by the initiation of the world's first scheduled cargo shipping line, leaving on time, and half empty, in a January snowstorm.

The City is developing three plans for downtown, all involving South Street Seaport. All three of them have good prospects for being accomplished.

The Mayor's Harbor District links Brooklyn Bridge Park, Governor's Island, the Battery-Statue of Liberty, and the South Street Seaport by water - with the Seaport an obvious embarcadero for ferries.

In addition, the city's planning department and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation have created the Fulton Street Revitalization Plan, an upgraded corridor from the Hudson River to the East River, encompassing the new World Trade Center and the new Calatrava Transit Hub, and culminating with a park at the old Burling Slip in the South Street Seaport.

Most ambitious of all is city planning's East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project, with $150 million of LMDC funds earmarked to create a two-mile walkway-bikeway along the entire tip of Manhattan. Innovations include enlivening the dreary underside of the FDR Drive with lighting, traffic-muting cladding, and pavilions for community, culture, and commerce. At the South Street Seaport section, the dismantled Pier 15 will be rebuilt as a public open space, to be used for historic vessel tie-ups.

Peck Slip, where huge oceangoing sailing vessels once pulled in for unloading is now a cluttered parking lot. But under the city's plan it will become a great plaza. The north side of Pier 17, now neglected, but breathtaking in its sweep of the East River, will become a small boat marina.

Civic groups have been actively engaged in shaping the course of the South Street Seaport. SeaportSpeaks, an energetic group composed of residents, architects, preservationists, developers, builders, cultural leaders, residents, and government officials, convened a one-day charrette, a workshop to develop ideas. The charrette's 70 participants agreed that the Ssaport's scale, texture, sense of history and maritime connection have to be preserved and promoted to attract unique, appropriate retail.

"With the removal of the Fulton Fish Market, cultural institutions and venues become the living, working link to the Seaport's rich narrative," said the co-chair of SeaportSpeaks, Lee Gruzen. "They should be the honey to attract New Yorkers to come, stay and return again and again."

The charrette's conclusions are available on the group's Web site, seaportspeaks.org. They include ideas like "Attract the finest restaurateurs-seafood first - as better quality restaurants will be an attraction." And "Put the SEA back into the SEAport." And create a "real neighborhood" with groceries, food, and shopping, so that residents of the neighborhood "don't have to leave."

The main issues are maintaining the momentum and creating an entity to coordinate agencies, lobby for funds, guide development, oversee spending, and assure businesses get the services they need. Right now the civic groups are thrashing out governance options, whether a Local Development Corporation, an Economic Development Corporation Task Force, or other public private structure, to sustain the enterprise and keep alive at the seaport the spirit and energy that were there when it began.


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

Those other buildings that make up the world trade center, (new one), how tall are they, I know the freedom tower is 1776 ft, around there, are those two large ones near it 900ft to a 1000ft?

The heights, for the Triplet Towers, are supposed to be around 1,150 feet, 1050 feet, and 1,000 feet. The fifth tower will most likely be 950 feet.

New Super-Group Plans a World-Class Downtown
DUMBO ORGANIZATION ALSO MAKES ITS DEBUT


by Dennis Holt
06-23-2006

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — It is called the New Partnership for Downtown Brooklyn, a culmination of sorts of the ongoing effort to build a new Downtown.

Beginning as soon as various legal matters are completed, the partnership will be responsible for coordinating, leading, and planning all relative efforts for the continued evolving of creating a world-class Downtown.

Rumored for weeks, the establishment of this unit, which will report directly to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the Mayor’s Office, was announced at the combined annual meetings of the Downtown Brooklyn Council, the Fulton Mall Improvement Association and the MetroTech Business Improvement District, held yesterday morning.

It was also announced the night before at the first meeting of the DUMBO Improvement District, a new BID without the word “business” in its title.

At both meetings, Josh Sirefman, the new president of the city Economic Development Corporation, made the announcement. Sirefman became known in Brooklyn for being on the planning team to create Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The executive director of the partnership will be Joe Chan, who lives in the Sweeney Building in DUMBO and formerly worked for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Lately he has been the senior policy advisor in the Deputy Mayor’s Office.

In explaining why the new organization was created, Sirefman noted all the development going on in Downtown Brooklyn, and said that “it is time that these various efforts, and those yet to come, have one place and one person to oversee all activities.” (Also, to have this function reporting directly to the mayor is not to be overlooked.)

Technically, the new entity will be a Local Development Corporation/ Business Improvement District. It will have an initial $2 million operating budget. It will be responsible for for coordinating matters with the BIDS for general planning, for marketing Downtown Brooklyn, for design and construction, and for efforts involving the BAM cultural district.

At the meeting that drew a sizeable number of Brooklyn’s leaders — in part because of the anticipation of announcement of the Partnership, and partly because the guest speaker was City Council Speaker Christine Quinn — it was also announced that the Fulton Mall Improvement Association, the city’s first BID, is 30 years old.


DUMBO Meeting


The previous DUMBO meeting on Wednesday night, at the St. Ann’s warehouse on Water Street, was the first meeting of this new organization. It was presided over by Tucker Reed, the organization’s new executive director.

He pointed out that most BIDs stress the business element — making it more appealing to shop within their areas — over others. In DUMBO, however, everybody is in the same boat, businesses, residents and visitors.

He highlighted some of the area’s needs — the buildings are old, and the infrastructure is out of date. Two critical situations that can cause floods have been documented by the Department of Environmental Protection. A study is being completed on public parking needs. While Sanitation pickup is only three days a week, a throwback to the industrial days, it will soon go to six days.

The MTA admits that the High Street and York Street subway stations need a complete overhaul, but this can’t be undertaken until 2010 at the earliest.

Beginning this fall, however, Washington Street will be completely overhauled with new sewer lines, new sidewalks, and new Belgian block street paving. Reed said that he hopes this will be “an example of what we can expect for other streets here in the future.”

The DUMBO organization will come under the new umbrella of the Partnership.

At the Thursday morning meeting, District Attorney Joe Hynes summed up where things were by saying, “In 1989, the bad old days for Downtown Brooklyn, no one thought we would be talking about such a bright future.”


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006