Site 5C Developments

[New Jack City]

More opposition by the community...

Downtown Express

Resnick gets earful on Tribeca development plan

By Elizabeth O’Brien

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_44/resnick.jpg

Builders of the residential tower proposed for Chambers St. presented their landscaping designs to Community Board 1 on Wednesday, as board members grilled them about the project’s anticipated impact on the neighborhood.

Community members have long objected to the height and bulk of the 35-story residential tower planned for the city-owned lot known as Site 5C, bounded by Chambers, Warren and West Sts. But their concerns have taken on a heightened urgency since the city began its formal review of the project on Feb. 20. The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP, is required every time the city considers building on its land, and the typically six-to-seven-month process allows for public comment.

At an executive committee meeting on March 10, C.B. 1 members accused the developer, Scott Resnick, and his associates of downplaying the shadows and congestion the building is expected to bring to the neighborhood. The environmental impact statement the city released on the project states that there are no practical ways to lessen the shadows the building will cast over Washington Market Park, for example.

“Let’s be real here, this is going to be very, very difficult,” Madelyn Wils, chairperson of C.B. 1, said referring to the planned construction in the neighborhood. Wils said the building was out of scale for the community and rejected the builders’ assertion that 5C was designed in context with the World Financial Center to the south and Independence Plaza North to the north.

“It’s an insult to this community to come in and compare this to the World Financial Center and I.P.N.,” Wils said.

Construction on the 5C project is slated to begin in early 2005 and to take about 18 months, Resnick said. He added that efforts would be made to mitigate the impact of construction on the surrounding community, which will also experience the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site to the south and the reconstruction of Chambers St., a Department of Transportation project slated to begin this summer. The builders will try to avoid pile driving in favor of another construction method, Resnick said.

Resnick and his associates stressed the amenities that the building would offer the community, including a 10,000-square-foot public plaza on street level and an 18,000-foot community center on the ground and basement levels. The plaza will feature a lawn of real grass and lawn chairs that will likely attract college students from neighboring Borough of Manhattan Community College, said Thomas Balsley, the project’s landscape architect.

Community members have requested an increase in the size of the community center, which builders said would include a “major swimming pool.” The original, pre-Sept. 11 plans for the building called for a 135-foot building with an 18,000 square-foot community center. Plans for the building stalled after the terror attack, and the Washington Street Urban Renewal Plan, which limited the height of construction on the lot, expired in 2002, clearing the way for a taller development. But the size of the community center was not altered to reflect the increased height.

When asked after the meeting whether he would consider creating a bigger community center, Resnick said, “This is the first presentation we’ve made since being certified, so we’re early in the process,” referring to the certification of ULURP. “But we want to work with the community,” Resnick added.

Resnick also offered new details about the types of apartments planned for the building. The 456 units will be about 17 percent studios of 475 to 500 square feet, 60 percent one-bedroom units of 650 to 760 square feet, and 23 percent two-bedroom units of 950 to 1,100 square feet. In response to community fears of overcrowding at the P.S. 234 elementary school directly beside the development, Resnick has said that he does not expect this configuration will attract many big families.

The community has also voiced fears about the combined impact of 5C and the city-owned 5B lot, across from 5C and bounded by Warren and Murray Sts. on the north and south and Greenwich and West Sts. on the east and west. No plans have been finalized for 5B, but the development will likely include a residential tower taller than 5C, city officials said on Wednesday.

Wednesday night’s meeting set the tone for what will likely be a contentious public meeting on the 5C development later this month. The meeting, part of the ULURP process, will be held March 30 at 6:00 p.m. at P.S. 234 at Greenwich and Chambers Sts.

There is still time to incorporate public feedback into the design, said Janel Patterson, a spokesperson for the city Economic Development Corporation.

Elizabeth@DowntownExpress.com

[New Jack City]

I know this was the old Foster proposal for the site...

http://www.tribecatrib.com/photos/news/july03/5c-rendering-w.jpg

So, from what I get, the Foster tower and design won't be built, correct? If so, will Foster still be the architect, and have any other renderings of the tower been released?

[New Jack City]

Tribeca Trib had these new models...

http://tribecatrib.com/photos/news/mar04/5c-model-of-bldg.jpg
http://tribecatrib.com/photos/news/mar04/5c-model-of-bldg-cap.gif

http://tribecatrib.com/photos/news/mar04/5c-plaza-horizontals.jpg
http://tribecatrib.com/photos/news/mar04/5c-plaza-horizontals-cap.gif

[FerrariEnzo]

The building looks liek its from the 70's.

[New Jack City]

Here's a model with a new article, this model looks so much better!

Downtown Express

Tribeca tower draws united opposition for divided reasons

April 5, 2004

By Elizabeth O’Brien

Community members vented their long-standing objections to the 35-story residential tower planned for Chambers St. at a public hearing where they faced off with the developer and city officials.

More than 300 people packed the P.S./I.S. 89 auditorium on March 30 for the hearing, required under the city’s formal review of the development. The city owns the lot known as 5C, bounded by Chambers, Warren and West Sts., and it plans to sell the land to developer Scott Resnick for the construction of a tower that neighbors fear will bring undue shadows and congestion to their community.

Community Board 1 has lobbied for a 100-foot reduction in the building’s size and the expansion of the planned community center from 18,000 square feet to 40,000. Tuesday’s hearing highlighted the split between those who favor lowering the building at all costs and those who believe that an expanded community center should take precedence in negotiations with the developer and the city.

“My point is that the land is presently owned by the citizens of this city, and we need to give back something to the local community as well as to the citizens of New York City,” said Bob Townley, director of the youth services provider Manhattan Youth and a big proponent of the expanded community center.

Manhattan Youth workers passed out white painter’s hats to people entering the hearing, and the caps contributed to the pep rally atmosphere in the auditorium. The audience cheered community speakers and heckled the developer and his associates.

Some believed the focus on the community center made people lose sight of the building’s considerable height. Before Sept. 11, 2001, the 5C proposal called for a 135-foot building, but the urban renewal plan that limited its height expired in 2002, clearing the way for a taller development. The original plans included an 18,000-square-foot community center within the 135-foot building.

Susan Sonz, the 20-year manager of Washington Market Park, protested what planners called the “significant” shadows that would engulf the park after construction of the 5C project. From May through August, much of the popular Tribeca park would be in shadow from 2:45 p.m. to 6:18 p.m., according to the environmental impact study prepared by the developer’s contractors.

“We cannot trade this quality of life for a community center,” Sonz said.

Others agreed.

“While it’s very tempting to say we need a community center, so let’s agree to this, it’s really not about that,” said Bernard D’Orazio, a member of Community Board 1 and president of Save our Space, a community group against large-scale development. “Let’s be patient. Let’s oppose this. This is the wrong project at the wrong time. Let’s stand united.”

D’Orazio said that after 9/11, the city dropped the cost of the 5C lot by 30 percent. Resnick declined to comment on the price of the land; a spokesperson for the city Economic Development Corporation said she could not comment because the city was still in negotiations with the developer.

City Councilmember Alan Gerson, whose district includes the site, said after the meeting that it was not likely the community would have to choose between a smaller building and a larger community center. As part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, the City Council and the Department of City Planning will vote on the proposed 5C project, while Community Board 1 and the Manhattan Borough President each make advisory recommendations. If the City Council rejects the plan, the proposal goes back to City Planning, Gerson said.

Unless the developer reduces the size of the building and increases the community space, “I’m absolutely confident that proposal isn’t going anywhere,” Gerson said.

Still, in his remarks at the hearing Gerson stressed the importance of a united front.

“The worst thing that can happen is for this community to divide into two camps,” Gerson said.

Resnick declined to say whether he would make specific alterations to his plan as a result of the public hearing.

City officials also did not promise any changes.

“We do our best to work with the community, the developer and all stakeholders to come up with a plan that’s acceptable,” said Janel Patterson, a spokesperson for the Economic Development Corporation.

One alternative to expanding the community space in site 5C, Gerson and others have said, is to put a larger recreation center on site 5B across the street. The city-owned 5B lot, bounded by Warren and Murray Sts. on the north and south and Greenwich and West Sts. on the east and west, is more than double the size of 5C.

City officials have said that the 5B development would likely include a residential tower taller than 5C, and community members have expressed concern about the combined impact of the two buildings. Edward Minskoff, the developer of 5B, declined to comment on whether he would consider including a community center on the site.

“The overall conceptual plan has not been formulated,” Minskoff said in a telephone interview.

George Olsen, a member of C.B. 1., also favors putting a larger community center on 5B. He said he is not optimistic that Resnick will alter his plans for 5C, since the developer did not respond to suggestions in the months leading up to the public hearing.

The day after the hearing, Olsen said, “We’ve asked and we’ve asked and we’ve asked… and what did they present last night?”

Elizabeth@DowntownExpress.com

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_47/tower.jpg
3-dimensional model of Resnick’s proposed 360’ tower on West St. beyond P.S. 234.

[Jasonhouse]

on an aside, seeing models like that one makes me feel pretty good about my own model building skills.

:)

[New Jack City]

I can't believe these people who live in NYC, which is filled with tall buildings, are complaining about a 360 foot/110 meter skyscraper and want it reduced another 100 feet/30 meters!

This quote by Councilmember Gerson stood out...

Unless the developer reduces the size of the building and increases the community space, “I’m absolutely confident that proposal isn’t going anywhere,” Gerson said.

Horrible.

[Agglomeration]

Gerson's comment is one reason why construction projects often are pushed forward without much public input, and also how we got the Freedumb Tower. His fellow NIMBY's also attempted to derail the AOL Time Warner Twin Towers from being built, complaining that it was too tall and bulky (!) >( and would bring traffic to the Columbus Circle Area. Some of them actually wanted to keep the all-but-useless New York Coliseum as it was!

Seriously if you were a developer planning a 70-floor building in Midtown West and were facing local NIMBY's in a community board going directly to court to derail the building project from breaking ground, would you even consider politely considering their opinions? :wtf:

[New Jack City]

Oh no, not shadows!

Downtown Express

C.B.1 rejects Site 5C plan, negotiations continue

APRIL 23-29, 2004

By Elizabeth O’Brien

Community Board 1 rejected the Bloomberg administration’s intended sale of the city lot on Chambers St. to a private developer who plans to construct a 35-story residential tower on the site.

The community board has long fought what it calls excess development of the site known as 5C on Chambers St., bounded by Chambers, Warren and West Sts. But it made its opposition official when it passed a resolution on April 20 as part of the city’s formal review of the development. Community boards make non-binding recommendations under ULURP, or the city’s uniform land use review procedure.

In the resolution, the community reiterated its demand that the building be reduced to 25 floors and that the public recreation space be increased from 18,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet. Residents remain concerned about the shadows that the proposed building would cast on nearby parks and elementary schools, and also about the congestion that the project would bring to the community.

“Community Board 1 supports reasonable development on Site 5C but strongly believes that any such development should be subject to appropriate restrictions…,” the resolution read.

The board added to the resolution an amendment, proposed by board member Rick Landman, which criticizes the city for failing to sell the site by public auction. A public proceeding would be a more appropriate way to dispose of the land, he argued, since the government originally obtained the lot about 40 years ago by confiscating private property through the right of eminent domain.

Janel Patterson, a spokesperson for the city Economic Development Corporation, did not return a call for comment on the city’s regulations for disposing of its land. She told Downtown Express several weeks ago she could not reveal the cost of the land since that matter was still under discussion.

The community continues to press its points in negotiations with the city and the developer, Scott Resnick.

“There are a lot of issues that we need to discuss in detail,” Madelyn Wils, chairperson of C.B. 1, said at the April 20 monthly meeting of the full board.
Wils said discussions would continue until the parties reach an agreement or until the ULURP. process expires, which will happen in approximately four months.

Scott Resnick and his associates attended the community board meeting on April 20, but none of them spoke. Immediately afterwards, Resnick’s attorney, Michael Sillerman, told Downtown Express, “We’re in discussions with community representatives and elected officials, and with the cooperation of the administration we’re hopeful of bringing those discussions to a mutually successful resolution.”

As part of the city’s land review, the City Council and the Department of City Planning will vote on the proposed 5C project, while Community Board 1 and the Manhattan Borough President each make advisory recommendations. If the City Council rejects the plan, the proposal goes back to City Planning, said City Councilmember Alan Gerson, whose district includes the site. He also said negotiations are continuing.

At a March 30 public hearing on the development, Gerson said that unless the developer reduces the size of the building and increases the community space, “I’m absolutely confident that proposal isn’t going anywhere.”

Not everyone in the community objects to the tower. Lawrence Jenzen, 47, a museum worker who lives a few blocks east of the site on Broadway, said the project should proceed as planned. “It’ll bring construction jobs down here and give the neighborhood a shot in the arm,” he said.

Elizabeth@DowntownExpress.com

[New Jack City]

Downtown Express

310 feet at Site 5C?

The proposed Tribeca tower at Chambers and West Sts. is likely to be about 310 feet, although there are remaining sticking points in the negotiations between developers, community representatives and the city, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

The city is planning to sell the vacant lot known as Site 5C to developer Scott Resnick, who had hoped to build a 360-foot apartment building. Community Board 1 opposed the project, calling for a 250-foot building at the site that is behind P.S. 234 and bounded by Warren, West and Chambers Sts. Resnick, Madelyn Wils, chairperson of Community Board 1, Dep. Mayor Dan Doctoroff and Councilmember Alan Gerson are the principal negotiators on the deal. The project requires City Council approval.

According to the source, Wils and Gerson are trying to get 5,000 to 6,000 more usable square feet in the building’s proposed recreation center for a total of 28,000 and to expand the center’s swimming pool to a regulation size 25 meters, or just over 75 feet. The source said there is general agreement on the building’s size, about 310 feet, although it may be closer to 320 feet if you include the mechanical equipment on top.

[FerrariEnzo]

A very well designed 320 footer could be good.

[TalB]

I know I am late on this thread, but not too long ago, there was a ground breaking for Site 5C otherwise known as 200 Chambers St.

Originally posted by Edward from Wired NY
http://www.wirednewyork.com/real_estate/200chambers/200chambers.jpg

[TalB]

http://www.nypost.com/realestate/52784.htm
CHAMBERS' CHAMBERS

By MAX GROSS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nypost.com/photos/re09032005039a.jpg
A rendering of 200 Chambers.
Photo: N.Y. Post/Jim Alcorn

September 3, 2005 -- ALONG the southern tip of the West Side Highway, an enormous blue sign juts up in the air advertising condominiums going up at 200 Chambers St. At the bottom of the sign is the tagline, "Sales office opening soon" - always the harbinger of a long wait before making a deposit on any U-Hauls. Well, the sales office actually opened at the beginning of July, and long wait or not, condo sales at 200 Chambers are as brisk as Nobu's dinner traffic.
The 30-story, 258-unit building isn't slated to open until the fall of 2006, but 48 units were sold in its first three days on the market.

"We identified this site five years ago ... and we started the bidding process in mid-2001," says Scott Resnick of developer Jack Resnick & Sons. Back then, the empty lot was earmarked as part of an urban renewal plan, and the Resnicks planned to just put up a 13-story condo. But, Resnick says, "After the dust of 9/11 settled literally [and] figuratively, we wanted to be a part of the revitalization."

In addition to the condo, the developers are creating a 30,000-square-foot community center (complete with an Olympic-size pool) and a new preschool for P.S. 234.

The condo building was originally designed by the British architect Lord Norman Foster and finished by Costas Kondylis; it looks to be an ultramodern glass-and-steel structure. There will be doormen and concierges, a landscaped garden and an on-site garage. The studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units range in size from 573 square feet up to 2,300 square feet, with units starting at $500,000 and going up to around $3 million.

The neighborhood, home to now iconic restaurants like Nobu and Odeon, is getting primed for a revival on multiple levels. Hudson River Park is being redeveloped, and there's been talk of a Whole Foods store opening in the area.

"Everything is here," says Jacqueline Urgo, executive vice president at The Marketing Directors, which is handling 200 Chambers.

Urgo was so impressed by the building that she bought a two-bedroom. "I said to my kids, you're going to get a pool, get a gym ... they can't wait!"

[TalB]

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_124/editorial.html
Tribeca 5B decision

The City Council will vote soon on the Tribeca development project across the street from P.S. 234. Councilmember Alan Gerson has delayed the vote on Site 5B in order to get developer Ed Minskoff to come up with a construction plan and schedule — particularly as regards to pile driving — that is not overly disruptive to the school. That Minskoff has not done, citing “prohibitive” costs.

The vote delay days are numbered and if Minskoff cannot come up with an acceptable plan to build his luxury apartment buildings, the Council should stand with Gerson against Minskoff and the mayor. Minskoff will lose lots of money if the project is delayed or blocked. If he doesn’t want to spend some of that money to reduce the hugely negative impact that pile driving will have on kids across the street trying to learn, then the project shouldn’t be approved.