The supertall mixed-use tower planned at 45 Broad Street will shimmer at its apex, over 1,100 feet above the streets of Lower Manhattan. But at ground level, the Financial District project will bring new services to those who won’t even enter the building. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve new subway elevators planned on Broad Street.
Two Bridges Associates (a partnership between L+M Development Partners and the CIM Group) filed pre-applications earlier this year with the Department of City Planning for a 66-story, 1,400-unit residential tower at 260 South Street, on the Lower East Side. The building, which is in the early stages of development, will encompass 1.1-million square feet and stand 718 feet in height, the Lo-Down reported. Twenty-five percent of the project’s residential units, or 350 apartments, will be designated as affordable housing. The structure would be built on an existing parking lot along South Street. An underground parking garage would be built to retain the spaces. In addition to a new tower, the project includes expanding the retail footprint on the ground floors of 265 Cherry Street and 275 Cherry Street, two existing 26-story residential towers (called Lands End II) with 491 apartments located on the northern end of the property. Rutgers Park, located on the western end, is also expected to see a renovation. It’s unclear whether the project requires approval via the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
Mild suffering for a long time or significant hardship for a shorter time. Those were the choices faced by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority when it came to post-Hurricane Sandy repairs on the L train tunnel under the East River. The MTA has opted for the latter option.
Now that exterior work has completed on 50 West Street – the 64-story, 191-unit mixed-use tower dubbed simply “50 West” under development in the Financial District – crews are now focused on building a 6,800-square-foot public plaza around the base of the building and a pedestrian bridge over West Street (a.k.a. the West Side Highway). Renderings of the spaces have been revealed by the Wall Street Journal. The 24-hour plaza will feature an art gallery, a café, vegetation, and seating. The pedestrian bridge, dubbed the West Thames Street Bridge, will feed directly into the plaza. It will boast steel structural supports and a glass roof and walls. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is building the new pedestrian bridge, which will replace the Rector Street bridge located a block northward. Demolition of the Rector Street bridge and construction of the new one is expected to last two years.
Skateboarders in Upper Manhattan are in for a new experience. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation gave its blessing to a proposal to upgrade the 20-year-old skate park in Riverside Park.
