Midtown

685 Fifth Avenue

Office Portion of 20-Story 685 Fifth Avenue Getting 90-Key Boutique Hotel Conversion & Expansion, Midtown

In April, news broke that Istanbul-based Gulaylar Group entered into contract to acquire the entire 90,000-square-foot office portion of the 20-story, 115,000-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 685 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of East 54th Street in Midtown. The deal includes the development rights to vertically expand the building by five stories. Those air rights were made available after property owners General Growth Properties and Thor Equities repositioned the building’s three stories of retail space, which now measures 23,400 square feet and is being made into Coach’s flagship store. Now, Gulaylar has disclosed plans to convert the office portion they are buying, along with the future expansion, into a 90-key boutique hotel, The Real Deal Reports. Five hotel chains, including Oetker Collection, AccorHotels, and LVMH’s Cheval Blanc, are currently in negotiations with the developer. The building’s remaining office tenant is moving out in August. Walter Marin’s Midtown-based Marin Architects is the architect of record for the expansion.


Site Prep Underway for 15-Story, 323-Unit Residential Complex at 241 West 28th Street, Chelsea

The ubiquitous forest green fence, a herald of impending construction, has gone up around a mid-block parking lot in Chelsea, at 241 West 28th Street. The 29,326-square-foot, 150-foot-wide lot, which stretches between West 28th and West 29th streets, and will accommodate twin 15-story, 165-foot-tall buildings, each one aligned along its respective street. The 314,013-square-foot complex is set to feature a 6,094-square-foot commercial component topped by 252,191 square feet of apartments. Given its 323-unit count, each apartment would average 781 square feet. The project is being developed by Edison Properties, with Hunter Roberts Construction Group as the general contractor.

Read More

411 Ninth Avenue

Seven-Story, 12-Unit Mixed-Use Building Rises to Fourth Floor at 411 Ninth Avenue, Midtown West

In July of 2015, YIMBY revealed renderings of the seven-story, 12-unit mixed-use building under development at 411 Ninth Avenue, located on the corner of West 33rd Street in Midtown West. Now, the project is under construction and currently four stories above street level, as seen in photos by our friend Tectonic. Dubbed Skylight House, the structure will encompass 21,246 square feet. It will feature 1,395 square feet of ground-floor retail space, followed by two residential units per floor beginning on the second. The units will be rental apartments and should average 920 square feet apiece. Amenities include storage space for 11 bikes and an outdoor terrace on the roof. Property owner James Papaionnou is the developer, while H. Thomas O’Hara’s Midtown-based HTO Architect is behind the design. Completion can probably be expected later this year or in early 2017.



220 Central Park South, as seen from West 58th Street. Photo by Tectonic for YIMBY

Construction Update: 220 Central Park South

It’s been a few months since we last checked in on the Robert A.M. Stern Architects-designed 116-unit residential project going up at 220 Central Park South. Back in February, the tower portion had risen to about 15 stories. Now, as seen in photos supplied to YIMBY by photographer Tectonic, the tower has risen past 25 stories, on its way to 70, with more of the Alabama Silver Shadow limestone cladding in place.

Read More

Fetching more...