As big a city as New York is, it may be surprising to hear that there isn’t enough room for all who wish to live there. A report from last October showed that residential construction in the greater tri-state area was failing to keep up with job growth - in New York City alone, there were 363,000 more jobs created than new apartments or homes built. One year later, the economy is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts to contain it, but demand for attainable housing remains. A recent editorial in Crain’s New York Business by Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, calls on New York to update the zoning code to allow for more multi-family buildings, reform the property tax system, and advance other policies to make housing easier to build and create a more equitable housing market.
In the meantime, city developers and designers continue to pursue new developments and design new buildings. We take a look at the latest renderings of new projects, some of which will require the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (“Landmarks”).
In the meantime, city developers and designers continue to pursue new developments and design new buildings. We take a look at the latest renderings of new projects, some of which will require the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (“Landmarks”).
In this article:
Pace University/SL Green
15 Beekman Street
Neighborhood: Financial District
Building Type: Academic
A new academic and dormitory tower is being planned at 15 Beekman Street at the corner of Nassau Street in the Financial District. To be developed by Pace University and SL Green, plans call for a 27-story tower to accommodate student dorms, a dining facility, classrooms, and a library. Once completed, Pace University's Maria’s Tower will be demolished and its 867,000 square feet of development rights will be sold to a developer.
The controversial aspect of the 15 Beekman project pertains to the demolition of an 1893 office known as the Vanderbilt Building at 126-132 Nassau Street. The early skyscraper was designed by the renowned architecture firm McKim, Mead & White, and is sited within the federally and state-designated 10-block Fulton-Nassau Historic Districts. Locals and preservationists are aiming to calendar the building for a landmark hearing and a petition to save the structure with more than 1,600 signatures can be found here. Even with the outcry by locals, the Landmarks Preservation Commission appears unconvinced the 130-year-old building is worthy of designation. Furthermore, demolition permits for both buildings at the site have already been filed.
1323 Chisholm Street
Neighborhood: Crotona Park East
Building Type: Residential
Construction permits were filed in December 2019 to erect a seven-story residential building at 1323 Chisholm Street in the Crotona Park East neighborhood of the Bronx. Sited between Freeman and Jennings Streets, plans call for a 74-foot-tall building designed by S. Wieder Architect with 23 apartments inside. A rendering of the project shows many of the apartments will have balconies and residents will be treated with a common roof deck, laundry room, and bike parking.
Rendering via St. James Church Fordham for Landmarks Preservation Commission (Credit: SLCE)
2500 Jerome Avenue
Neighborhood: Fordham, Bronx
Building Type: Mixed-Use
On Tuesday, October 6, Landmarks will hear St. James Episcopal Church’s application to demolish a 1960’s fellowship hall and construct a new 13-story building at 2500 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. The church was constructed in 1863 and designated an individual landmark. The ground floor of the proposed new building will house the St. James Community Center, which will expand the church’s soup kitchen and food pantry, host after-school programs, and financial wellness seminars, and provide event space for the community. Permits show that apartments will start on the second floor, and the Landmarks presentation shows that non-profit Concern for Independent Living will be at the helm. Amenities will include a courtyard, central laundry room, lounge, and bike room.
Renderings show the new building looming over the church and easily visible from all angles, but the stone facade looks more congruous with the church than the existing parish house with bright red doors. The presentation cites 1010 Park Avenue, 100 Barrow Street, and The Enclave as examples of new construction on landmarked church properties. Moreover, in addition to constructing the new building, the church is seeking Landmarks’ permission to restore the belfry, windows, and doors, upgrade the interiors, and rebuild the south entrance vestibule. SLCE are the architects of the project.
405 Vanderbilt Avenue via von Dalwig for Landmarks Preservation Commission
405 Vanderbilt Avenue
Neighborhood: Clinton Hill
Building Type: Residential
On Tuesday, October 6, Landmarks will hear actress Carmen Ejogo's proposal to put a rooftop addition on her Romanesque Revival-style townhouse, which was once a carriage house and is located in the Clinton Hill Historic District. Renderings in a presentation show a brick wall extension to match the existing brick as well as a new standing seam metal facade. The operable chimney will remain, and new solar panels will be installed under the separated application. The newness of the rooftop addition is evident in renderings, but the carriage house’s new height does not disrupt the local skyline or cast the neighboring buildings in shadow.
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Credit: Rise Architecture
15 Ocean Avenue
Neighborhood: Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential
Rise Architecture has released renderings of a new high-rise for an underdeveloped lot at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Empire Boulevard in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Overlooking Prospect Park, the new tower is envisioned to stand approximately 15 stories tall and incorporate a series of terraces, roof decks and ground-floor commercial space in its design. The building would feature an entrance to the Prospect Park subway station serving the B,Q, and S lines. Buildings permits have yet to be filled and a start/completion date has not been given.
30-05 Vernon Boulevard
Neighborhood: Astoria
Building Type: Residential Rentals
Future Expansion Architects has designed a seven-story, 67-unit mixed-use residential building on the Astoria waterfront, steps from its New York Ferry launch. Now under construction with permits first approved in 2016, the building will have a facade of staggered balconies layered over a pattern of progressively stepped bricks. According to the architects, the units will face onto one of three conditions: the East River, and interior courtyard, or a planted terrace facing Welling Court. Amenities are to include on-site parking for 45 vehicles, bike storage, a laundry room on each floor, a fitness center, ground-floor retail, a roof deck, and a communal terrace.
122 West 3rd Street
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
Building Type: Commercial/Community Facility
At the end of August, GMC Parking filed permits to add two floors to their Minetta Parking outpost, located at 122 West 3rd Street, as part of a conversion to a six-story community facility with retail at the base. The site is just outside the Greenwich Village Historic District (and subsequent extensions), but the rendering in a presentation shows a context-sensitive new design. As Morris Adjmi Architects is listed as the designer of record, this is hardly surprising.
320 West 14th Street
Neighborhood: Meatpacking District - West Chelsea
Building Type: Office
Chelsea and NoMad have been experiencing a commercial building boom that shows no sign of slowing down, and there remains room for one more: DXA Studios recently released renderings of a new commercial building at 320 West 14th Street. An air rights transfer and light and air easement from an adjacent property allow for an 11-story, 115,000-square-foot commercial building with triple exposures and Hudson River views. A facade of solid glass bricks and oversized windows is described as a nod to the manufacturing buildings found throughout the neighborhood. Permits have not been filed for the new building, nor for the demolition of the five-story rental currently on the site.
Frick Collection Expansion
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Building Type: Cultural Museum
While many of the city's museums are open again with new safety precautions in place, The Frick Collection is not one of them. This is because the 1914 French Louis XVI-style mansion housing the works of art is undergoing a renovation and expansion to accommodate an art collection that has more than doubled since the museum opened its doors in 1935. Landmarks approved the expansion in June 2018, but another hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6 to modify the approved rooftop and rear yard additions, as well as changing the mechanical screen from Indiana limestone to naturally aged standing-seam copper. The presentation says the copper will be more durable than the limestone.
Rendering via Samuel Wieder Architects
304 East 134th Street
Neighborhood: Mott Haven
Building Type: Residential
A few weeks before New York City went on lockdown, permits were filed for a new seven-story residential building in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. An Instagram post by Samuel Wieder Architects shows oversized windows and several private balconies, and amenities will include on-site parking, a bike room, a cellar-level lounge, and a rooftop terrace.
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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