Rendering of 343 Madison Avenue via Kohn Pedersen Fox
New York is less than a week away from lifting all capacity restrictions, but the construction industry is still grappling with the effects of the pandemic: According to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), plans for new construction projects in New York City are at their lowest level in more than a decade. Plans for new projects span about 5.4 million square feet overall, the lowest total since the fourth quarter of 2010.
According to Crain’s New York Business, REBNY cited the report while urging Congress to pass President Biden’s infrastructure plan, saying it would jump-start the city’s economy and create thousands of jobs. Indeed, a fact sheet from the White House calls for investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordability crisis, as well as an $85 billion investment in public transportation, which could help pay for the extension of the Second Avenue subway and the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey. While we’re waiting, we take a look at new buildings on the rise or proposed for New York.
According to Crain’s New York Business, REBNY cited the report while urging Congress to pass President Biden’s infrastructure plan, saying it would jump-start the city’s economy and create thousands of jobs. Indeed, a fact sheet from the White House calls for investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordability crisis, as well as an $85 billion investment in public transportation, which could help pay for the extension of the Second Avenue subway and the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey. While we’re waiting, we take a look at new buildings on the rise or proposed for New York.
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2014 design (l) vs approved 2021 design (r). Rendering via Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Acheson Doyle Partners, Hill West Architects for Landmarks Preservation Commission
It took a few tries, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission (“Landmarks”) has approved a proposal for a luxury condo tower at 14-16 Fifth Avenue. The approved building has shrunk from 241 feet tall to 213 feet tall, but will nevertheless be one of the tallest buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District. Many commissioners applauded the cohesiveness of the design by Robert A.M. Stern Architects with Acheson Doyle Parnters and Hill West, which will feature a warm brick facade with limestone accents.
Two five-story apartment buildings dating back to 1848 will have to be demolished to make way for the new tower. Local preservationists cited noteworthy past residents like Isaac Singer and Celeste Holms in their quest to save the buildings, and some commissioners objected to the demolition of the historic buildings. However, Landmarks Chair Sarah Carroll found that the buildings were “so heavily altered they lost their integrity to their period of significance.”
Two five-story apartment buildings dating back to 1848 will have to be demolished to make way for the new tower. Local preservationists cited noteworthy past residents like Isaac Singer and Celeste Holms in their quest to save the buildings, and some commissioners objected to the demolition of the historic buildings. However, Landmarks Chair Sarah Carroll found that the buildings were “so heavily altered they lost their integrity to their period of significance.”
Rendering of 56 Middagh Street via Pratt + Black Architects for Landmarks Preservation Commission
On Tuesday, May 18, Landmarks will hear a proposal to build a new house on a partially vacant lot at 56 Middagh Street, located in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. This will be the third trip to Landmarks for Shake Shack President and CFO Tara Comonte, who owns the lot and the Federal-style townhouse dating back to 1829.
At the first Landmarks hearing related to this project in January 2020, Chair Carroll asked the applicants to make the design relate better with the historic district. To that end, the updated design features stone panels on the ground floor, a red brick facade, and a black metal cornice. The presentation by Pratt + Black Architects includes three pages of Brooklyn Heights buildings with similar materials.
At the first Landmarks hearing related to this project in January 2020, Chair Carroll asked the applicants to make the design relate better with the historic district. To that end, the updated design features stone panels on the ground floor, a red brick facade, and a black metal cornice. The presentation by Pratt + Black Architects includes three pages of Brooklyn Heights buildings with similar materials.
1 Union Square West, Union Square
The team proposes to restore some of the building's ornamentation and alter its ground floor (CetraRuddy)
On Tuesday, May 18, Landmarks will hear a proposal to replace the entrance infill at 1 Union Square West, an individual landmark also known as The Lincoln Building in honor of the statue of the former president in Union Square. The Romanesque Revival “transitional skyscraper” houses a Reebok store and office space on top.
A presentation by CetraRuddy calls for the removal of the non-historic aluminum number and the restoration of “One Union Square West” above the entrance, as well as a new glass and dark metal transom, new doors with dark bronze metal pulls, and an airy new lobby with historically inspired details. According to the presentation, similar alterations to entrances and numbers have been approved in the past.
A presentation by CetraRuddy calls for the removal of the non-historic aluminum number and the restoration of “One Union Square West” above the entrance, as well as a new glass and dark metal transom, new doors with dark bronze metal pulls, and an airy new lobby with historically inspired details. According to the presentation, similar alterations to entrances and numbers have been approved in the past.
Rendering via CetraRuddy for Landmarks Preservation Commission
343 Madison Avenue, Midtown East
All renderings of 363 Madison Avenue via Kohn Pedersen Fox
In the wake of the Midtown East rezoning, soaring new towers are coming to the neighborhood. Among them is 343 Madison Avenue, an office tower developed by Boston Properties and coming in at 1,050 feet high, a few hundred feet short of One Vanderbilt (see below for the latest news there).
The soaring tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox is broken up by terraces and atrium-like spaces at the base, midway point, and crown. At a time when many offices are rethinking their space as they get ready to welcome workers back, this will be a highly coveted perk.
The soaring tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox is broken up by terraces and atrium-like spaces at the base, midway point, and crown. At a time when many offices are rethinking their space as they get ready to welcome workers back, this will be a highly coveted perk.
In addition to nearly 750,000 square feet of office space and 2,100 square feet of retail space, 343 Madison Avenue will bring infrastructure improvements to the area. These will include widening the sidewalk by seven feet and adding a double-height East Side Access transit entrance with new escalators, an elevator, and stairs at the northwest corner of the new tower. Construction is underway, and completion is estimated for 2026.
Summit One Vanderbilt, Midtown East
The offices of One Vanderbilt opened in a socially distanced ribbon-cutting ceremony last fall, and the observation deck is getting ready for an October 21 opening. Summit One Vanderbilt, designed by Snohetta, will rise over 1,000 feet off the ground and occupy the 57th through 59th floors of the building.
The glass elevator in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory has nothing on Ascent, the glass-enclosed elevator that travels up the outside of One Vanderbilt so visitors can take in all the views on the way up. Once up, visitors can step into Levitation, fully transparent glass boxes that jut out of the building and suspend guests above Madison Avenue. Summit One Vanderbilt will also feature an immersive art experience by Kenzo Digital and Apres, a new concept from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events offering an open-air terrace and indoor lounge. Pre-registration is taking place here.
All images of Summit One Vanderbilt via SL Green Realty Corp.
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Macy's- Broadway Pedestrian Plaza, Midtown West
All renderings via FXCollaborative
Plans for a new office tower on top of the Macy’s flagship store date back to February 2020, when Macy’s presented renderings of a soaring tower with setbacks, a crown, and a sky lobby. More recently, Macy’s has announced a $235 million investment in the surrounding area that includes making the Herald Square plaza more pedestrian-friendly and creating new entrances for the Herald Square transportation hub.
Forbes points out that the renovation of the Macy’s at 422 Fulton Street gave its Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood a boost, and that Herald Square could see a similar effect. Additionally, the improvements to the pedestrian plaza are in line with a larger plan to make parts of Broadway from Union Square to Columbus Circle more pedestrian-friendly, if not closed to cars altogether. The proposal is currently set to go through the Urban Land Use Review Procedure, which can take months if not years.
All renderings via Luxigon
New York’s public pools and beaches are set to reopen on Saturday, June 26, but we’re more excited about +POOL, a self-filtering pool planned for the East River. The plan has been in the works since 2010, when three friends dreamed it up on a hot summer day. Since then, the team has run Kickstarters and in-person fundraisers, met with city agencies and officials, worked with engineers and designers, run filtration tests, and scouted locations. Earlier this week, +POOL received confirmation to proceed with due diligence for the project, which is planned for the south side of Pier 35 on New York’s Lower East Side.
The four sections of the pool will include a lap pool, sports pool, kids’ pool, and lounge pool; additionally, the sections can be combined into an Olympic-length pool for swim meets. Likened to a giant strainer, +POOL’s design filters river water within its walls, removing bacteria and contaminants and leaving safe, swimmable water.
Harborside, Jersey City
Renderings of Harborside via Mack-Cali
The fully redeveloped Harborside 1 has just opened on the Jersey City waterfront. The nine-story building features a new facade, reimagined lobby, and upgraded infrastructure that was undoubtedly instrumental in the building’s pending LEED Gold certification and “Gold Star” recognition for COVID-19 protocols from the Hackensack Meridian Health. A fourth-floor terrace looks out on expansive views of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline, and the building’s lobby level offers direct indoor access to retail, dining, and a waterfront boardwalk with panoramic New York City views.
Along with its commercial buildings, Harborside offers over 71,000 square feet of retail, fitness and wellness programming, daycare, abundant on-site parking, and indoor and outdoor retail options that include the popular District Kitchen food hall. Moreover, Smorgasburg will launch its first-ever New Jersey location at Harborside starting May 29.
In addition to the newly revealed building, developer Mack-Cali is set to introduce Ziggy, an art installation designed by Hou de Sousa and located in the Atrium at Harborside. Visitors are encouraged to explore its ethereal forms and undulating spaces.
Ziggy via Hou de Sousa
Rendering via Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings
Earlier this year, plans were revealed for a new 18-story building with two floors of commercial space and 316 apartments at 840 Atlantic Avenue, the site of a McDonald’s with drive-through located directly across from the Pacific Park mega-development. Since then, community members have pushed back against the project, calling it too dense for the area. Developer Vanderbilt Atlantic Holding has argued that the project is shorter than other developments in the area, but offered to reduce the bulk by about 7 percent. However, Brooklyn Community Board 8’s land use committee was unmoved and voted against it. The vote goes to the full community board on May 13, but Bklyner notes that full boards typically follow the committee’s recommendations.
This part of Brooklyn is currently limited to low-rise manufacturing buildings, and an upzoning would be required for housing, including affordable units like 95 of these units would be. The committee has said it will not approve the new building unless it conforms to the M-CROWN zoning proposal, which has not been approved by the city.
This part of Brooklyn is currently limited to low-rise manufacturing buildings, and an upzoning would be required for housing, including affordable units like 95 of these units would be. The committee has said it will not approve the new building unless it conforms to the M-CROWN zoning proposal, which has not been approved by the city.
Rendering via Bluarch
Bluarch has unveiled renderings for a new residential building at 2090 Valentine Avenue in the Tremont section of the Bronx. They show large curved windows, a setback terrace on the sixth floor, and what appears to be a rooftop terrace. Additionally, the renderings show a car driving into an on-site parking garage. However, the project is described as “on the boards” and permits have not been filed for a new building.
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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