New York City Development News

[germantower]

225 West 57th Street

Originally Posted by germantower

http://observer.com/2012/05/check-ou...roadway-tower/







IT BEGINS, the excitement for a design......

[desertpunk]

Mother of God!!

I'd LOVE to see that get built!

[desertpunk]

Developers Announce New Apartment Projects


225 Rector refurbish

Two New York developers, workhorse Related Cos. and newcomer Naftali Properties, this week unveiled plans to take advantage of the city’s tight condo market with in-demand new condos.

Related Cos. is redeveloping the 181-unit 225 Rector Place, a luxury condo by the designer Clodagh, in Battery Park City. And former Elad boss Miki Naftali has announced a deal to build an apartment building in Brooklyn, where a dearth of new apartments is pushing prices back to pre-recession highs. “316 Bergen Street will be one of the premier buildings in the neighborhood,” said Naftali, who left Elad last summer to start his own company.

New development supply has diminished throughout the city, particularly at the high-end of the market, according to most recent market reports. New developments in prime locations are being absorbed quickly, and, according to StreetEasy.com, the median listing in Manhattan has increased 12.6 percent since January 2011, to $1.42 million from $1.26 million.

[desertpunk]

At Least One Huge Housing Development Is Still on Track: Hunters Point South Will Break Ground This Fall

It may seem as though there has been limited tangible progress since Related Companies was tapped to develop the project in February of last year, but that is because most of the work is being done below the surface—with on the banks of the East River and the banks of housing finance.

Since last spring, HPD and the city’s Economic Development Corporation have been at work on building new infrastructure in Hunters Point South, which had been a Daily News printing plant until a few decades ago but otherwise little else. “There was nothing there,” an HPD official told The Observer.

According to the EDC’s construction report for May, sanitary sewers are 100 percent complete, storm sewers are 96 percent complete and water mains are 82 percent complete. Parks infrastructure is coming along, as well, with subsurface work more than halfway finished and features like a dog run, playground, concession building and waterfront walkways taking shape.

Furthermore, the department has pegged financing to be wrapped up this fall for the first phase of the project—project financing usually closes in May and June, but given the cost and complexity of this deal, more time is being set aside to get it done. After that, a groundbreaking is scheduled for October.

At full build out, Hunters Point South will have 5,000 apartments, 60 percent of which are to be affordable, with a particular focus on middle class housing. Related is developing the first phase with Phipps Houses and Manadnock Construction, a builder of affordable housing throughout the metro area. The two towers are being designed by SHoP Architects and KPF and will house 950 units.

All images: http://observer.com/2012/05/at-least...und-this-fall/

[desertpunk]

JLL joins hunt for Hudson Yards tenants

image hosted on flickr

A top level team from Jones Lang LaSalle is set to join the hunt for West Side tenants after being tapped by Extell to lease its new 1.7 million square foot Hudson Yards tower.

Derek Trulson, Frank Doyle and Randy Abend will lead the effort to fill the new tower that Extell is calling One Hudson Yards. “There have been few things more exciting in my 25-year career in Manhattan real estate than being part of the emergence of a vibrant, new commercial district,” said Doyle. “We are pleased to represent Extell in leasing One Hudson Yards, which will be the first project delivered within the Hudson Yards district.”

Extell announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it would revive its plan to build the office tower that will occupy the eastern side of 11th Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets, facing a new four-acre park and sitting behind the entrance to the new Hudson Yards No. 7 subway station.

...

According to Gary Barnett, president of Extell, “If you looked at a map of the Hudson Yards district, our site is dead center, smack in the middle. “In addition to great architecture and a superb location, we’re also offering the most competitive rents in the Hudson Yards district.”

Derek Trulson, managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle, said, “One Hudson Yards will rise on the most strategically situated site in the up-and-coming Hudson Yards district. This state-of-the-art office tower will benefit from having direct access to the No. 7 line subway station, the beautiful new Hudson Boulevard Park and the main 34th Street corridor.” Trulson said the team has already begun targeting high profile, large scale tenants looking to establish a flagship presence in the new Class A tower.

The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and will feature a pointed tower with a glass and metal curtain that will wrap the floor plates then peel away from the tower at the base, according to Extell. “The diagrid structure is revealed three-dimensionally as it reaches the ground with lobby entries and storefronts set between large diagonal steel members, dramatically juxtaposing the monumental scale of the tower with the finer textured pedestrian surfaces,” read a statement from the company.

The building will obtain LEED-certification and offer “leading-edge telecommunications and energy management systems,” high speed elevators and a state-of-the-art security system, according to Extell. A spokesman for Extell said construction would get underway once half of the tower had been pre-leased.

[desertpunk]

Avalon's "West Chelsea" gets Underway


An illustration of what Avalon's "West Chelsea" project may look like. (see article)


The site at 11th Ave and 28th St.

On the NE corner of 28th Street and 11th Avenue, and along 28th east nearly to the High Line, work continues on what will be the future "Avalon West Chelsea". The building is to peak at 27 stories on the corner and taper back to 13 stories mid block. It is a large lot so the final product, though not particularly tall will contain an impressive 700 units and 25,000sf of retail for a total of 583,000sf. The building, designed by SLCE or Fogarty Finger (or both?) looks like an Avalon building- plenty or red brick, steel, and plenty of curtain glass facing west. It is much like Avalon Christie but with a tall tower and a little more glass. It is widely believed that SLCE is the architect, yet the rendering above is found on Fogarty Finger's website.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

There's no information about the height of this structure, but between the rezoning and the small foot print, it will easily exceed 300m.

http://professional.wsj.com/article/...&mg=reno64-wsj

NY REAL ESTATE COMMERCIALJune 3, 2012, 10:26 p.m. ET SL Green's Dreams of Development .

By LAURA KUSISTO and ELIOT BROWN





SL Green Realty Corp., SLG -3.61%New York's largest office building owner but a relatively untested developer of new buildings, has taken a step forward in its ambitious plans to build a trophy office tower across the street from Grand Central Terminal.

SL Green has brought in one of the country's most prominent office developers, Hines of Houston, Texas, to act as a consultant on the 1.2 million-square-foot project. The team is in the preliminary stages of drawing up plans for the block-long site on Madison Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets, according to people familiar with the matter.

Above, the block west of Grand Central Terminal where SL Green is planning to build a 1.2-million-square-foot office building.
.
SL Green has assembled the prime development site across from Grand Central Station by buying up low-rise buildings over the course of more than 10 years. It closed on the purchase of the last building, at 51 E. 42nd St., in December.

Of course, SL Green will need cooperation from the economy to be able to break ground. Typically developers don't move forward with major office projects without pre-leasing a big chunk of the space. Given the weak recovery and the rival developers who also have projects on the drawing board, it could be many years before the SL Green tower is built.

Still, SL Green executives clearly want to move forward. According to the transcript of an investor conference in December, Edward Piccinich, SL Green's executive vice president of property management and construction, said the company plans to build "a spectacular trophy asset with designs inspiration from around the world," drawing on iconic modern towers such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the International Commerce Centre tower in Hong Kong.

"I imagined how the lines and the curves of these designs will make a huge impact on the city skyline. I thought about how great it would be [to] construct one of these tower[s] over Grand Central Terminal," Mr. Piccinich said.

While SL Green owns more than 25 million square feet of office space in the city, most of its development experience has been with overhauling existing office buildings.

Development of new buildings "is not in their DNA," says Michael Knott, an analyst at Green Street Advisors. "I don't think that they have an intention to dive headlong into ground-up development. It's more of a one-off, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Hines, in contrast, is known for designing ambitious office towers with star architects, including Philip Johnson's Lipstick Building and the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed 450 Lexington Ave. Indeed, fewer than five blocks away from the SL Green site, Hines has plans to build its own office tower overlooking Bryant Park.

SL Green's site would likely be included in a proposed rezoning of the area around Grand Central that would allow larger office buildings. The details of the rezoning haven't been settled.

The city is poised to see millions of square feet of new office space hit the market in the coming years, but much of it is at the World Trade Center and on the far west side. In the past two decades, there's been very little new construction in the Grand Central area, a highly desirable location because of its proximity to the commuting hub.That's, in part, because the current zoning makes it difficult for developers to build tall new office towers. "The fact that there's someone who's willing to build a modern office building [near Grand Central], that's sending a message that this will continue to be the most important business district in the city and around the world," says Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Write to Laura Kusisto at laura.kusisto@wsj.com and Eliot Brown at eliot.brown@wsj.com

The combination of high-profile site, small footprint and transferable air rights and incentives will easily push this development over 300 meters!

[desertpunk]

NYU Expansion Gets Planning Approval



Amanda Burden approved!

[germantower]

Yankeesfan reported over at SSP, that the ON HOLD Nobu Tower is reanimated. Equipment and machinery was seen at the site.

Another skyscraper for Manhattan.

[yankeesfan1000]

^

Yup! The site was very active today. There was a crawler backhoe on site, and probably a dozen or so workers as well. It's significant because it's the first time I've seen anyone on site since probably 2007-08. This site is going to be an absolute nightmare when construction starts, but here's a reminder of what it looks like at 709 feet and 216 meters.


http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2008/0...all_skinny.php

Also, demolition is partially underway for this building, on the northern end of the block.


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

[desertpunk]

Related Gets $240 Million For High Line Tower

The Related Companies landed $240 million in financing today to begin construction on a 386-unit residential development near the High Line, Crain’s reported. The financing for the project, which will have 77 units permanently reserved for low-income tenants, came from a mixture of tax exempt bonds, tax credits and taxable bonds provided by the New York State Housing Finance Agency.

Related is developing the 32-story building, at 500 West 30th Street near 10th Avenue, with Abingdon Properties. The 32-story property will include 7,293 square feet of retail space, a 78-car garage and parking for 194 bicycles. Construction is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2014.

[desertpunk]

CB4 Approves Chelsea Market Expansion

Manhattan Community Board 4 voted 24-14 last night in favor of the controversial Chelsea Market expansion, Curbed reported. Their support was conditional on developer Jamestown’s commitment to create 90,000 square feet of affordable housing inside the new building.

The proposal will now go to Borough President Scott Stringer, then to City Planning and finally to the City Council, where the project will receive its final say.

As previously reported, CB4 was expected to either reject the plan or urge Jamestown to adopt a series of costly modifications. DNAinfo reported that Jamestown had already agreed to not oppose efforts to landmark the Chelsea Market building, to shrink the expansion’s overall size and to eliminate the Ninth Avenue hotel. In addition, the site reported, Jamestown could not immediately commit to the board’s request for affordable housing.

[desertpunk]

AMEX Building Redeveloper Working With LPCX On Hotel Conversion

While the Landmarks Preservation Commission comes under fire from multiple angles, one Financial District landlord is working with the agency on the designation for his building. The New York Post reported that Allan Fried, who bought the vacant 15-story American Stock Exchange building at 86 Trinity place for $17 million last year with Michael Steinhardt, wrote to the LPC saying he has no objection to designating the building’s exterior — even as he plans a hotel conversion of the building.

The Post said Fried’s GHC Development plans to lease out the lower floors of the building, including the former 60-foot-tall ground-floor trading area, to retailers, while transforming the upper floors into 174 hotel rooms. In order to unlock the retail value, Fried and Steinhardt would need to enlarge the street-level windows and make other alterations to the facade.

But the owners are trying to minimize confrontation with the LPC, whose aggressive landmarking was the impetus for the recent creation of an activist group lobbying against the committee, and will support the landmarking process while seeking a “certificate of appropriateness” to make changes to the lower floors once tenants are in place. The Post said the LPC will likely designate the building later this month but only after working with the ownership group.

Possible skyscraper plans for the site remain in the background of this "friendly association" between Fried and the LPC...

[desertpunk]

AMEX Building Redeveloper Working With LPC On Hotel Conversion

While the Landmarks Preservation Commission comes under fire from multiple angles, one Financial District landlord is working with the agency on the designation for his building. The New York Post reported that Allan Fried, who bought the vacant 15-story American Stock Exchange building at 86 Trinity place for $17 million last year with Michael Steinhardt, wrote to the LPC saying he has no objection to designating the building’s exterior — even as he plans a hotel conversion of the building.

The Post said Fried’s GHC Development plans to lease out the lower floors of the building, including the former 60-foot-tall ground-floor trading area, to retailers, while transforming the upper floors into 174 hotel rooms. In order to unlock the retail value, Fried and Steinhardt would need to enlarge the street-level windows and make other alterations to the facade.

But the owners are trying to minimize confrontation with the LPC, whose aggressive landmarking was the impetus for the recent creation of an activist group lobbying against the committee, and will support the landmarking process while seeking a “certificate of appropriateness” to make changes to the lower floors once tenants are in place. The Post said the LPC will likely designate the building later this month but only after working with the ownership group.

Possible skyscraper plans for the site remain in the background of this "friendly association" between Fried and the LPC...

[desertpunk]

Two Trees In Contract For Domino Sugar Factory


Ted Walentas orf two Trees ande the Domino Sugar Refinery

Two Trees Management is in talks to purchase the Domino Sugar Factory site on the Williamsburg waterfront for $160 million, the New York Daily News reported. The property’s owners, Community Preservation Corp. and the Katan Group, have engaged in a legal battle over development plans in recent months, and Katan is planning to block a sale to Two Trees.

The site was first reported to be hitting the sales block in March as CPC faced financial difficulties on the site, in part because of rampant real estate speculation during the boom. Consequently, Katan Group filed suit against CPC alleging mismanagement of the property.

The plan for the sugar factory calls for the $2 billion development of 2,200 housing units, including 600 affordable ones, on the waterfront. Katan and CPC acquired the development site for $55 million in 2005 and spent years clearing development hurdles at the property. Katan believes CPC is undervaluing the asset and that it should get $200 million in a sale.

Crain’s reported that Two Trees has already signed a preliminary term sheet for the purchase. “Two Trees understands waterfront development, is well-capitalized and is the best chance for this site to get developed into the mixed-income, mixed-use community it was intended to be,” said CPC CEO Rafael Cestero, who added that proceeds from the sale will enable CPC to fund affordable projects elsewhere.

Will Walentas stay true to all this?

[desertpunk]

...dbl post

[Simfan34]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

The combination of high-profile site, small footprint and transferable air rights and incentives will easily push this development over 300 meters!

But that's such a nice block!

[desertpunk]

Moinian's Long-Stalled 605 W.42nd St Tower Being Rewvived by Starwood, Rose

[desertpunk]

Brookfield Weighs Massive Renovation Of Former Daily News headquarters At 450 W.33rd St.

In an effort to better integrate its existing West 33rd Street tower with its forthcoming multi-billion-dollar Manhattan West project, Brookfield Office Properties is considering undertaking a massive renovation of the former home of the New York Daily News, according to the New York Observer. The 1.7 million-square-foot tower, at 450 West 33rd Street, is adjacent to the rail yards where Brookfield will begin construction in the coming months on a $300 million deck that will serve as the base of a four-tower development. Brookfield has yet to lay out specific plans for the potential renovation, although Jerry Larkin, Brookfield’s senior director of leasing, noted that it could include installing an all-glass facade, a new lobby and upgrading other building systems.

However, the developer does have the potential benefits of that renovation fully planned out. It would allow the Cushman & Wakefield team marketing Manhattan West to offer potential tenants the ability to take some pricier space in the brand new office towers and complimentary cheaper space at 450 West 33rd Street.

[Renna Hazel]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Moinian's Long-Stalled 605 W.42nd St Tower Being Rewvived by Starwood, Rose

How tall is this one supposed to be? It wont let me read the article.