Lend Lease to Construct 750-ft Condo Tower on Fifth Avenue

Condominium construction in the area just north of Madison Square Park, from 24th to 30th streets and Lexington to Sixth avenues is booming. Now construction giant Lend Lease, which has worked on building the city's tallest residential towers at One57 and 432 Park Avenue, is getting into the development game. The company plans to construct a 750-foot ultra-luxury apartment spire at 281 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of East 30th Street, and has purchased a stake in the $400 million project which it will co-develop with Victor Group.

Victor purchased the development site last June for $99 million and hired Lend Lease to handle construction of the 51-story condo tower. Talks eventually progressed to have the construction giant take an ownership stake.

Lend Lease and Victor Group will have equal control and remain sole owners of the Rafael Vinoly designed project on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and East 30th Street.

The new 250,065 square foot tower will have retail at its base and ultra-luxury residences on the upper floors. Vinoly is also the architect of 432 Park Avenue, which is being built by Lend Lease.

The current wave of construction projects in the neighborhood is expected to boost the area’s profile considerably. Just down the block, an 830-foot residential tower will soon be going up at 15 East 30th Street, while a 777-foot tall condominium is slated to rise eight blocks to the south at 45 East 22nd Street.

The partners are in the process of securing a construction loan for the 140-unit building, on which they expect to break ground by the end of the year.

"We think the NoMad neighborhood is one of the most dynamic parts of the city, an intersection for the tech sector, food and nightlife, and everything that's happening in the midtown south market," said Melissa Burch, who recently joined Lend Lease from developer Forest City Ratner.

Victor Group has been in the process of raising money for the building through the EB-5 program, in which foreign investors can put at least $500,000 into U.S. development deals in exchange for permanent green cards.

Lend Lease is currently preparing the site for demolition of the existing buildings. Construction on the new building is expected to get underway by the end of this year.


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Developer Selected for Flushing Affordable Housing, Retail Project

The city’s department of Housing Preservation and Development has selected a development team for a 208-unit affordable housing and retail project on a Flushing municipal lot at 133-45 41st Avenue, near Main Street. The project, called One Flushing, will be constructed by a team comprised of Brooklyn-based Monadnock Development, nonprofit Asian Americans for Equality and HANAC Inc., which was selected following a request for proposals process.

The development, which will be built according to the design principles of feng shui, is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s initiative to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in 10 years.

The development is part of an effort to build housing on vacant or underutilized property, and this particular plot was sold to the developers at an undisclosed price that was well below market value.

The Bernheimer Architecture-designed building will have large windows that are reinforced to reduce noise from the LIRR station behind the property.

The complex will have eco-friendly features such as solar panels on the roof. Amenities will include a gym, community room, laundry rooms, a 15,000-square-foot second-floor terrace and a green roof.

The complex, which will include 208 units including 60 for seniors and 147 for families with varying income levels, will be built according to the design principles of feng shui.

Feng Shui (or Wind and Water) is the Chinese practice of arranging your environment so that energy or “chi” flows gently and smoothly through your home or business environment. In this way your space just feels good–and supports what you want out of life-whether it’s a better career, new romance, improved health, or more income.

The apartments will be available to individuals earning between $24,200 to $72,600 annually and $34,520 to $103,560 annually for a family of four. Housing in the building will be divided between 60 apartments reserved for senior citizens and 147 for low and moderate-income households. There is also one unit for a superintendent.

The current parking lot on the site has 156 parking spaces on 43,200 square feet. When complete, the project will have more than the current amount of parking spots, according to HPD.

“The One Flushing development plan is an example of a dynamic proposal that encompasses affordable housing, supportive senior housing, and services for the community as a whole,” HPD Commissioner Vicki Been said.

“I look forward to seeing this development take shape and will be thrilled to welcome future residents to their new homes.”

Under the deal, the city sold the land to the developers at a price that is well below market value, making the affordable-housing project financially feasible.

The city has also been looking to rezone part of the neighborhood to the north of the project site. In November, the administration announced it would study an industrial section of Flushing that sits along a polluted creek to encourage more development there and require the construction of affordable housing.

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Two Big Construction Projects to Break Ground on Coney Island

Over the past year, Brooklyn residential projects have dominated the New York City construction scene, and with two new projects slated to break ground in Coney Island, the momentum doesn’t seem to be letting up. Cammeby’s International will soon begin construction of 691,400 square foot mixed-use building at 532 Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, while ARC Electrical & Mechanical Contractors is planning to build its own 86-unit mixed-use building at 2885 West 15th Street.

532-543 Neptune Avenue

Cammeby’s International is preparing to tear down the Trump Village Shopping Center and replace it with a massive 691,405-square-foot mixed-use residential tower.

The new building will have 44 floors, making it the tallest building in Coney Island.

Plans call for 513,850 square feet of residential space divided among 544 rental apartments,  three stories of retail space fronting West 5th and West 6th streets and spanning 162,220 square feet, as well as a 15,521-square-foot community facility.

Amenities for the new building include a fitness center, spa, game room, as well as additional recreation space on the 44th floor. Plans also include construction of a 750 space parking garage.

The development, which will rise more than 430 feet, would be located at 532-543 Neptune Avenue near West 6th Street, right next to the elevated tracks, just half a block from the Neptune Avenue D and F train stop.

SLCE Architects is designing the new building, while Apex Companies, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, and Consentini Associates will consult on environmental issues, structural work, and mechanical work, respectively.

The existing businesses at the Trump Village Shopping Center will be relocated to a bathhouse at 614 Sheepshead Bay Road, which Cammeby's also owns.

The developer purchased the property for $25 million in 2013.

Cammeby’s owns roughly 15,000 units across the city. President Rubin Schron made a $2 billion offer to buy the Empire State Building in 2013.

2885 West 15th Street

Brooklyn-based ARC Electrical & Mechanical Contractors is planning to develop a new, 95,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Coney Island.

The contractor plans to build an eight-story building that will feature 80,269 square feet of residential space across 86 residential units.

The project will also include 12,730 square feet of commercial space with four retail stores on the lower level, as well as 2,441 square feet of community space.

The building, designed by Noesis Designs Architecture, will hold 19 apartment units on each of the second through fourth floors, as well as 14 units on the fifth floor, 11 units on the sixth floor and four units on the seventh floor.

ARC Electrical acquired the vacant residential lot, on the corner of Mermaid Avenue and West 15th Street, in 2012.

The contractor has developed several Brooklyn projects in the past, including an 80-unit rental tower at 574 Fourth Avenue.

ARC Electrical & Mechanical Contractors specializes in electrical and general construction projects for public and private institutions. Since 1995, ARC has provided services to school, universities, hospitals, airports and water treatment plants. The contractor has been involved in projects such as reconstruction of the Queens mid-town tunnel, Kings County Hospital, and an MTA train depot.


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Mega Project Celebrates Groundbreaking on Staten Island

Developers celebrated the groundbreaking of Empire Outlets, a catalytic project that will create over 1,800 jobs and bring millions in private investment on the North Shore of Staten Island.  A 340,000 square foot retail complex, Empire Outlets will offer increased amenities and shopping opportunities for residents and visitors at 100 designer outlet stores. The project will feature a 630-foot observation wheel - billed as the largest in the Western Hemisphere - with a view of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline. The development, which will be built with union labor, will dramatically reshape the St. George waterfront. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2016.

What will be the world's second tallest observation wheel - adjacent to the shopping center - will be largely constructed off-site before being erected on the waterfront.

Combined, the two projects will represent roughly $535 million in private investment and attract what its supporters claim will be 4 million new visitors a year to the area. Empire Outlets is to consist of 100 stores, generally higher-end retailers.

Public officials called it a "momentous day for Staten Island," saying it will create 1,800 jobs and draw millions of visitors each year.  (see ElectricWeb | Blogger, May 2, 2013)

The project will result in the creation of the 630-foot-high observation wheel and will include restaurant space, a 190-room hotel, two 4D theaters, a catering facility, an exhibition hall and a parking structure for more than 1,200 vehicles. The 16-acre site currently features at-grade parking lots. Empire Outlets will also feature pedestrian walkways to the water and a sustainable green roof.

Along with 100 designer outlet retailers, the development will have a gourmet dining destination with a variety of restaurants and cafes.

Among the national brands joining Empire Outlets are Nordstrom Rack, H&M, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Store, White House Black Market, Guess Factory Store, U.S. Polo Assn., Columbia Sportswear, Innovation Luggage, Wilson's Leather, G.H. Bass & Co., Lids, Obey Your Body, Starbucks and Walgreens.

The Empire Outlets and New York Wheel developments flank the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the minor league Staten Island Yankees, and rise from the site of two large surface parking lots at the ferry landing.

SHoP Architects designed the $285 million mixed-use outlet mall-entertainment-hotel complex at Empire Outlets to relate to the surrounding Staten Island community while still providing a monumental presence on the waterfront and ferry landing.

The Ferris wheel on the north side of the ballpark will top the current title holder, the Singapore Flyer, by 84 feet and dwarfing other iconic wheels like the London Eye which stands just over 440 feet tall. The $250 million wheel will contain 36 football-shaped pods carrying 40 passengers each for the 38 minute ride. (see ElectricWeb | Blogger, Sept 27, 2012)

Initially, differences over labor agreements for construction of Empire Outlets appeared to pose the greatest risk to the project.

BFC Partners had maintained that the economics did not allow for fully-unionized construction, even if unions were to submit to a project-labor agreement offering cost savings from the typical unionized project with its complex work rules and robust wages.

The developer's stance changed after government funding was added to the deal to help offset the cost of union labor. (see ElectricWeb | Blogger, July 1, 2012)

The developer also intends to hire 25 percent minority and women-owned business enterprises. The 100 stores that will call Empire Outlets home will also hire locally.

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Developer’s ‘Immaculate’ Concept for Closed Jamaica Hospital

A proposal is in the works to revitalize the former Mary Immaculate Hospital complex in Downtown Jamaica, which has been vacant since the facility was closed in 2009. The project plans to completely rebuild the two main structures of the hospital, located at 150-13 89th Avenue, into a new 16-story luxury rental with 324 apartments. A nearby four-story historic building, the Townhouse, which is also part of the rundown complex, would be converted into 15 apartments. The new 298,000-square-foot development will span an entire city block, facing Rufus King Park.

The Chetrit Group, which is developing the property, purchased the bankrupt hospital in 2009 for a mere $4.8 million, or less than $12 per buildable square foot.

The former hospital complex will be “completely redone,” according architects Goldstein, Hill & West.

The plans come on the heels of several other projects planned for the neighborhood which has been undergoing a number of changes in recent years, attracting new retailers and developers.

Two of the two main hospital buildings, which are currently seven stories and 94 feet tall, would be transformed into a 16-story apartment building that would be 196 feet tall.

The original hospital building, which fell into disrepair over the years, will have its limestone and brick facade restored, while the new structures will be clad in a contemporary metal and glass skin.

The complex will also include a 237-space underground parking garage. The project is the first phase of a master plan for the block that will later expand to include four other buildings.

The 298,000-square-foot complex, which spans an entire city block directly north of Rufus King Park, is zoned as an R6 residential area, so no commercial space can be built on the land.

Demolition of the interior of the main buildings started in 2013.

The buildings have been deteriorating ever since the 1980s, and community leaders hope that after years of neglect, the site will eventually become an asset.

“It’s a beautiful space right near the park,” said Rhonda Binda, executive director of the Jamaica Center Business Improvement District.

"And it’s sitting there just wasting away.”

This is the second major hospital conversion happening around Jamaica, the other being the T Building at the Queens Hospital Center. That one includes 205 units, 75 of which will be reserved for Queens Hospital Center patients transitioning out of care.


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Midtown Developer to Build 113-unit Rental in Clinton Hill

Developer Slate Property Group plans to demolish a Key Food grocery at 325 Lafayette Avenue, near Grand Avenue, and construct a new eight-story, 113-unit apartment building. Twenty percent of the apartments in the Clinton Hill property will be set aside as affordable units, while the ground floor will house 15,000 square feet of retail space.

The Midtown developer is partnering with the property’s current owner, Dan’s Supreme Supermarket, in an effort to develop the residential building without paying for the land.

Slate’s principal, David Schwartz, didn’t want to acquire the development site given the soaring land prices, and the landlord didn’t want to sell, so they teamed up.

Development sites in the Clinton Hill neighborhood presently sell for upwards of $300 per buildable square foot.

The project, located between Classon Avenue and St. James Place, will have 113 rental and condominium apartments spread across 80,000 residential square feet, with 15,000 square feet of retail and 1,200 square feet of community space on the ground floor. The building will also house a 55-vehicle underground garage.

The lack of grocery stores in the area has some residents nervous.

Although the developers said they might reserve space for a grocery store in the new building, the move has made some in the neighborhood anxious because it leaves few options for food shopping.

The partners hired Ariel Aufgang Architects to design the 120,000-square-foot building, which will be clad in a mix of brick, glass and panels, typical of new construction in the neighborhood.

Aufgang also designed the nearby building at the former location of an Associated Supermarket at 490 Myrtle Avenue.

The prolific developer is also preparing to build a 157-unit apartment building at 1 Flatbush Avenue, where twenty percent of the residential will be reserved for affordable housing, with the bottom two floors holding 20,000 square feet of retail space.

The city gave the partners a go-ahead to demolish the one-story structure this week.

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In Memoriam: Passing of a Lighting Industry Legend

Joel Spira, founder of Lutron and a widely respected lighting industry icon, passed away April 8. The consummate entrepreneur, Mr. Spira was one of the lighting industry's true legends, inventing the world's first solid-state dimmer in his New York City apartment in 1959. He is credited with more than 300 design and utility patents in the U.S. and 2,700 patents across the globe. Spira had been at work the previous day developing a new product with Lutron colleagues. He was 88 years old.

“His work in lighting controls established a new industry sector. In turn, that industry became the means to significant energy savings,” said NEMA President Kevin J. Cosgriff.

Joel was born in New York City on March 1, 1927 to Elias and Edna Spira. After proudly serving in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946, he attended Purdue University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1948.

At first, Spira worked for a defense contractor on projects that ultimately led him to think about lighting control – ideas that led to the commercialization of the dimmer for household use.

Spira and his wife Ruth invented the world's first solid-state dimmer from their New York City apartment in 1959. Since then, Spira expanded the company’s offerings to include the first dimming ballast, the first reliable wireless lighting control system, and other innovations that have been widely adopted as lighting control standards and integral aspects of energy efficiency and high-performance buildings.

Today, Lutron makes some 14,000 products that can be found in over a hundred countries in residences, palaces, universities, hotels, museums, and offices, including the Empire State Building.

Joel and Ruth moved the company to Coopersburg, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Even as Lutron grew into a global company, with sales in more than 100 countries, he continued to run the business with a personal touch.

In 2010, Joel’s accomplishments, inventions, and prominent role in helping develop an entirely new industry dedicated to lighting control were honored when items from Lutron’s 50-year history, including Joel’s first engineering notebook, product prototypes and early advertising materials, were donated to the Electricity Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, as part of the collection that also includes Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.

He will be remembered as an entrepreneur and took great pride in everything he did, from working on the early stages of an engineering project, to creating and growing a global business.

Joel Spira is credited with more than 300 design and utility patents in the U.S. and 2,700 patents across the globe."

Joel will be remembered as a wonderful, loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his beloved wife Ruth Rodale Spira, to whom he was married for 60 years; his sister Miriam Spira Poser; daughters Susan Spira Hakkarainen, Lily Spira Housler, and Juno Spira; and grandsons Ari Hakkarainen, Max Hakkarainen and Bailey Malanczuk.

Services will be private.  The family has requested memorial donations in lieu of flowers:

The Joel S. Spira Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Education Fund
P.O. Box 850, 
Coopersburg, PA 18036

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2 New Midtown Towers Planned to Light-up Broadway

Two tall, mixed-use skyscrapers are taking steps toward becoming reality along Broadway in Midtown. C&K Properties is in the final stages of assembling air rights to construct an 80-story tower, rising nearly 1,000 feet at 1710 Broadway, while in Lincoln Square, AvalonBay is planning to raze the 12-story American Bible Society headquarters, overlooking Central Park at 1865 Broadway, and replace it with a 37-story luxury condominium tower with chic retail space.

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1710 Broadway

C&K Properties has nearly completed assembling a package of air rights that would allow for a brand new skyscraper at 1710 Broadway in Times Square.

The developer already owns the 52,000-square-foot commercial building located at the northeast corner of 54th Street and Broadway, and has plans to build a larger building than the 8,850-square-foot site allows.

C&K is in the final stages of acquiring roughly 115,000 square feet of development rights from three neighboring parcels: the Dream Hotel at 210 West 55th Street, a building at 204 West 55th and a mixed-use building at 856 Seventh Avenue.

The air rights acquisitions combined with development rights presently available for 1710 Broadway, will allow for a skyscraper rising more than 1,000 feet.

Goldstein, Hill & West is designing the new 80-story mixed-use tower which will include hotel and residential components, as well as retail space and LED signage on the lower levels.

The new building will be in good company: the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere rises at 753 feet across the street at 1717 Broadway.

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1865 Broadway

 

The developer plans to knock down the bulky 12-story concrete building and break ground next year on an ultra-luxury condominium tower rising 37-stories and covering more than 300,000 square feet, including between 55,000 and 60,000 square feet of high-end retail at its base.

This prime property is located within two blocks of Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and Central Park.

The architecture firm of Goldstein, Hill & West is designing the new tower.

The American Bible Society, an organization that translates bibles into different languages, has been around for 199 years, and has had its headquarters at 1865 Broadway for over 50 years.

The nonprofit is planning to move to Philadelphia at the end of this year.

Virginia-based AvalonBay beat out 25 other bidders for the longtime home of the American Bible Society on the corner of Broadway and 61 Street. The company is paying an extraordinary $300 million for the site at 1865 Broadway the Upper West Side.

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65-Story One Vanderbilt Approved by City Planners

The city’s largest office landlord moved one step closer to construction of its planned 65-story tower directly west of Grand Central Terminal at 41 East 42nd Street this week, as the City Planning Commission unanimously approved SL Green's plans for the 1,514-foot-tall One Vanderbilt and a rezoning of the Vanderbilt Avenue corridor. The 1.6-million-square-foot tower, which will be more than 450 feet taller than the nearby Chrysler Building, will occupy the entire block bound by 42nd and 43rd Streets between Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues, and would be the corporate home for TD Bank. 

The new zoning would only regulate density and square footage on new construction projects, with no restrictions on building height.

One Vanderbilt will be the first tower to rise as part of the Vanderbilt Avenue corridor re-zoning.

When completed in 2020, the skyscraper's roof will reach 1,414 feet -- with its spire extending to 1,514 feet -- making it the city's third-tallest building, after One World Trade Center and the soon to be built Nordstrom Tower.

The project would transform the block between East 42nd and 43rd streets into a pedestrian plaza and create an underground connection between the new skyscraper and Grand Central.

The plan includes a public waiting room in the lobby of the tower for commuters, which would serve as a street level extension of the terminal, with its own train board.

The tower is part of a plan by Mayor Bill de Blasio to allow for new, taller office towers in one of New York’s premier office districts, while addressing the need for better transportation around Grand Central.

“We are going to keep New York City competitive, and do it through strategic investments and ground-up planning,” Mr. de Blasio said.

“These are the kind of policies that won’t just pay off today, but will lay the groundwork to keep districts like East Midtown thriving and attracting new business for decades to come.”

The initiative is designed to ensure that property owners provide for much-needed improvements at Grand Central Terminal to relieve subway station bottlenecks and create new public open space sought by local stakeholders.

SL Green will spend $210 million on transit infrastructure, which would help alleviate congestion in an area mainly served by the overburdened 4/5/6 line.

The city’s proposal revives a plan by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to rezone a 73-block area surrounding Grand Central.

During his election campaign, Mr. de Blasio promised to have his own plan and address community concerns.

As part of first stage, city planners have approved a zoning change for what is called the Vanderbilt corridor, from 42nd to 47th Streets along Vanderbilt Avenue.

Developers would be allowed to build taller and larger buildings than currently permitted in exchange for substantive transportation improvements.

SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord, dusted off its plan to build a 65-story tower on the 42nd Street block it owns, which had been a part of the Bloomberg proposal.

Developers could buy air rights from two landmark properties, Grand Central Terminal and the former Bowery Savings Bank building at 110 East 42nd Street.
 
In exchange for its package of transit improvements, the city is granting SL Green 535,644 square feet of extra development rights. The company also intends to transfer the air rights above the Bowery Savings Bank building, which it owns, to construction of One Vanderbilt.


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New Mega-Development Preparing to Rise in Flushing

While the Willets Point Redevelopment project is nearing construction, progress is also imminent at another major development site across Flushing Creek, dubbed Two Fulton Square. Developer F&T Group, which constructed One Fulton Square, and is working on the huge Flushing Commons project, is preparing to construct Two Fulton Square on the site at of the old Flushing Mall at 133-15 39th Avenue in downtown Flushing.

Two Fulton Square is a Flushing mega-project that includes residential, office and commercial space.

The project is the latest exciting development to come to downtown Flushing, and will play an important part in the growth and development of the surrounding area.

Two Fulton Square will be constructed in two phases;  The first phase of construction will bring a 13-story condominium building with 192 units. The new building will include more than 190,000 square feet of residential and retail space.

The second phase will include construction of 200 additional condominiums, a 200,000 square foot commercial component for entertainment and international retail, plus a 240-room themed hotel.

The project will be built atop of a three-level glass retail podium, and feature expansive roof-top outdoor gardens and an indoor swimming pool located on the top floor of the tower with spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, accessible only to hotel guests and residents.

Building amenities will include a fitness center, a game room, daycare center and a laundry facility. The developers are also building a 377-car garage on the property.

The plaza at Two Fulton Square provides a public space for local events and gatherings, bringing the community together through concerts, family activities, and cultural festivals, in addition to the expansive shopping experience that the retail spaces will provide.

The new plans follow completion of F&T’s One Fulton Square, designed by architect Daniel Margulies, which is one block away.

It includes 43 condominiums, a 10-story and 168-key Hyatt Place, and a three-story retail podium, totaling over 346,000 square feet.

F&T Group is presently updating its plans to make full-use of the site’s potential.

Two Fulton Square will be significantly larger, and will nearly occupy two entire blocks. The retail podium will dominate the streetscape, though cut-throughs will open up the entirety of the site to pedestrian access.

F&T’s plan will be a major improvement compared to the parking lots and low-rises that are currently on-site, and multiple levels of outdoor space will activate the development’s significant retail component, energizing the surrounding neighborhood.
 

The buildings will appear drastically different depending on the viewing perspective; vantage points will reveal undulating structures uncharacteristic of new construction in Flushing.

Elevated parks will be interspersed throughout the complex, and solar panels will sit prominently atop the high-rise component.

Phases I and II are designed to link with waterfront luxury residential towers with pedestrian bridge access to Willets Point, CitiField and the USTA National Tennis Center.

The Willets Point’s redevelopment presents a significant opportunity for Queens, and current plans for Two Fulton Square are no less than impressive. Both projects promise to revitalize a stagnant area of Flushing.

Demolition at the site of the old Flushing Mall is now underway. No completion date has been announced for Two Fulton Square.

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