A few low-slung buildings on the borderlands of Chinatown and the Lower East Side are going to meet the wrecking ball for an attractive new rental development. Building applications have been filed for 282 Grand Street, between Eldridge and Allen Streets on the Lower East Side, which is being designed by Peterson Rich Office.
118 Fulton Street has been making swift progress over the past few months, and now, the 752-foot-tall tower has officially topped-out. Foundation work was still ongoing just over one year ago, with the 66-story building’s rise since then clocking in at an impressive pace of over one floor per week. SLCE Architects is behind the design for the project, which is being developed by Carmel Partners.
A non-descript three-story home is about to meet the wrecking ball for a seven-story replacement at 268 East 7th Street, in the East Village. Building applications show the new structure will have 8,043 square feet of residential space divided between two units, the first spanning from the basement through the second floor, and the second taking up each floor above that. Amador Pons of Grzywinski + Pons Architects is designing, and Wilco Faessen is listed as the developer. Demolition permits for the current occupant were approved in late August, so construction should begin relatively soon.
The blocks between Greenwich Village and Union Square have seen several developments rise over the past few years, especially on East 12th Street, between Fifth Avenue and University Place. While NIMBYs are attempting to pass another rezoning to restrict new construction even further, that will not stop progress at 21 East 12th Street, which has now officially topped-out.
Technology and urbanity have a long and tempestuous relationship, with the former’s advancement over the past century having had an occasionally deleterious effect on the latter. This has been most evident when periods of previously unimaginable progress have yielded inventions like the automobile, which in turn led to the temporary collapse of many inner cities. Now, as online retail continues to outpace brick and mortar shopping, technology has once again laid siege to the fabric of New York City, threatening the time-honored local bodega, and potentially undermining a segment of local retail that has value far beyond its shelves.