New York City Development News

[yankeesfan1000]

That article puts the height of it at 45 stories, but this from October of '11 puts it at 65 stories. So with the number of floors not really finalized it's hard to say what the height will be, but I'd guess something in the 500-600 foot range given the area, similar developments, etc.

[yankeesfan1000]

Once-stalled boutique hotel back on track

English private equity firms buys 31st Street site for $13.5M
June 20, 2012 06:30PM



"Commune, a joint partnership between Thompson Hotels and Joie De Vivre Hotels, will manage the 33-story, 260-room boutique hotel, which is slated to have a 125-seat restaurant and a rooftop bar...

Construction is slated to begin in early 2013, with the hotel opening in 2014 or early 2015, according to Simon."

[desertpunk]

One57 Tops Out


http://www.newyorkyimby.com/2012/06/...-one57_19.html

[desertpunk]

New 432 Park Ave Renderings: It's Really THAT Tall


NYO


NYO

[CF221]

I think that building is too high O.O

We can only hope the space around it gets some equally tall builds. so it can be balanced out.

[ThatOneGuy]

225th and a few others will balance it out.

[600West218]

Walked down 57th Street yesterday and noticed a huge building that will be demolished at 101 West 57th. It also has a vacant lot next to it and so will be a large square site.

Anyone know what is planned for that space?

[yankeesfan1000]

107 W 57th. 697 foot residential building.

The building with the construction netting on it is just being renovated, assuming that is what you're referring to. This is a small site even for NY. Credits to sbarn on SSP for the photo.

image hosted on flickr

[desertpunk]

dbl post...

[desertpunk]

Zuckerman And Boston Properties Plans New Midtown Tower

Mortimer Zuckerman said he’s been surprised by the high rents media and technology companies are paying for older office stock, and that his Boston Properties may try to cash in on the trend. Still, he’s got a second new office building in the works for Midtown, he said today on Bloomberg TV’s “Market Makers” (see video above).

Zuckerman regularly touts his company’s focus on “‘A’ buildings in ‘A’ locations.” When analyzing commercial real estate, Boston Properties’ goal is “always to imagine that it is possible that the economy doesn’t go up all the time,” he said.

But with technology and media companies expanding into older buildings, he hinted that his property firm might look to acquire real estate that attracts the new generation of high-tech workers. “These people aren’t interested in the conventionality of high-rise office buildings in financial districts,” he said.

However, he still views traditional financial and law tenants as the chief drivers of real estate, and considered their needs when building 250 West 55th Street. He said his company found there were 19 companies in upper Midtown whose leases of at least 200,000 square feet were expiring. He wanted to lure those companies, and said he’s found success — although would not confirm that Microsoft is a possible tenant — to the point that he’s on the verge of announcing more new Midtown office construction in the near future.

[Bond James Bond]

Nordstrom coming to Manhattan

Went to google maps to try to find the exact spot, but it's hard to tell from the description in the article.

Great news though!

[Bond James Bond]

^
A little more sleuthing and it looks like this one.

[desertpunk]

City Council Likely To Demand More Modifications from NYU

New York University’s expansion plan passed through the Department of City Planning mostly in tact, but according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s unlikely to overcome the next hurdle — a review by the City Council — without enduring significant changes. City Council Member Margaret Chin, who represents the Greenwich Village area, said she supports, and would seek to implement, many of the changes for which local community groups are advocating.

Chin will push for more open space, dedicating more of the new construction to academics and shrinking the block-long “zipper building.” The Journal said the entire council would likely support Chin’s initiatives.

“I have made it known that the amount of density that has been proposed is out of scale with the surrounding community,” Chin said. “The final plan should reflect only what is appropriate for the Village and only what the university needs to achieve their academic and programmatic needs.”

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer believed he had brokered many of these changes in a meeting with NYU, but the proposal approved by City Planning did not include all of the changes he demanded.

[desertpunk]

TRD

Across from Willets Point, massive development could rise in Flushing



Willets Point could be getting a neighboring development project directly to the east. The Queens Chronicle reported that a local development group presented plans to the Flushing community last week that called for large-scale development on 60 acres of downtown Flushing land across the Flushing River from Willets Point.

The plans, crafted by the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corp., were funded by a $1.5 million grant from the state’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program and aim to upzone the area to allow for mixed-use development.

[...]

[desertpunk]

State Of New York Paves way For $1 Billion Hallets Point Development In Astoria


http://www.licjournal.com/pages/full..._news_1st_left

Hallets Point, a proposal by developer Lincoln Equities Group to build 2,300 residential units, a park and a supermarket along the East River in Astoria, got a boost from the state legislature recently, DNAinfo reported.

Last week, the legislature transferred the ownership of the land from the State Parks Department to the New York City Housing Authority, which will make it easier to rezone the area, DNAinfo said.

The $1 billion development calls for seven towers with 1,900 market-rate units and 400 units reserved for affordable housing.

[desertpunk]

Domino Plan May Not Include Affordable Housing


Jed Walentas of Two Trees Management and the Domino site.

Jed Walentas of Two Trees, which last week signed a $185 million contract to buy the Domino Sugar Factory plant in Williamsburg, told the New York Observer that there may not be affordable housing at the waterfront development.

“I know there is a lot of interest in affordable housing in the community,” Walentas told the Observer. “If we can reach a broad level of support for more, and it is buildable, that is something we would consider.” The property’s former owner and developer CPC Resources had promised to make 30 percent of the 2,200 units affordable, though zoning did not mandate it. The promise was made official in a CPC-signed memorandum of understanding.

“That MOU was not signed by us and the zoning is what it is,” Walentas told the Observer.

However, Walentas said he still has no idea what Two Trees will do with the site. He said that affordable housing is not at the top of his list, but there are also other features the site can provide, such as schools or community space.

[desertpunk]

Children's Museum Rising Uptown Receives Major Grant

An under-construction, $80.5 million development on West 155th Street that’s slated to become a children’s museum, an affordable-housing residence and a preschool education center, has won a $350,000 arts grant to help fund the museum’s exhibits, the New York Daily News reported. The museum, named the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Arts & Storytelling, could attract other major donors thanks to the grant from ArtPlace, a coalition of arts groups and foundations.

[desertpunk]

McCarren Park Pool Officially Opens



Just in time for the big heat wave!

[desertpunk]

Columbia Unveils Diller-Scofidio Designed Medical Center


From left: Elizaveth Diller, the Columbia University Medical Center rendering and an interior rendering

Columbia University has unveiled plans for its medical center’s new education building in Washington Heights, the New York Times reported. The university tapped architecture firms Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler to design the 14-story tower planned for Haven Avenue between West 171st and West 172nd streets. The result is a tower with a wide base that slopes inward with each higher floor. The southern side of the building’s exteriors will be exposed through a transparent glass facade.

“It’s like a vertical landscape, a vertical living room,” said Elizabeth Diller, one of the firm’s principals. “For us it was a great opportunity to think about an educational building that had a different kind of logic and take advantage of a fantastically small footprint.”

Construction will begin in early 2013 and should be completed in three and a half years, the Times said. The building wil include an auditorium, event areas, student lounges, cafes and outdoor spaces.

The New York Observer noted that the design project marks a rare vertical one for DS+R, which typically focuses on designing cultural venues such as the High Line and Lincoln Center.

Archpaper

[desertpunk]

Development could claim graffiti-covered 5 Pointz building by next fall

If property owner David Wolkoff’s plans for redeveloping the Long Island City outdoor graffiti gallery 5 Pointz into a 980,000-square-foot residential project are approved, then the building, which is covered in spray paint murals created by artists from around the world, could be demolished by September 2013, the Sunnyside Post reported. Wolkoff said he hopes to get his plans certified by the Department of City Planning this fall. As previously reported, Wolkoff has been mulling plans for erecting two residential towers on the site for years, but he wanted to wait for the economy to improve. The plan currently includes towers of 47 and 41 stories with 1,000 rental units between them, 25,000-30,000 square feet of retail space and display space for graffiti artists. According to Curbed, the plan does not include affordable housing. The rents will go for market rate, which is around $30 per square foot, the Sunnyside Post said.

If City Planning approves his plan, which calls for over five times the amount of permissible development in the site, it would then undergo the uniform land use procedure, which is a seven-month process.