Midtown

Mourning the Landmark Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, 15 West 25th Street, Gutted by Four-Alarm Blaze on Easter Day

8:00 am on May 3, 2016 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

The May 1 celebration of Eastern Orthodox Easter was marred by the tragic fire at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava at 15 West 25th Street, which reduced the landmark building to a charred stone shell. Aside from minor smoke inhalation by the church caretaker, no one was injured in the four-alarm blaze. The same cannot be said for the church building itself, which was reduced to a charred ruin.

New Details, Schematics for 18-Story, 133-Unit Condominium Project Planned at 122 East 23rd Street, Gramercy

10:00 am on May 2, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in November of 2015, YIMBY reported on applications for an 18-story, 133-unit residential project at 122 East 23rd Street (a.k.a. 121 East 22nd Street), in Gramercy. Now, the developer has filed plans with the Attorney General’s office, estimating the value of the project’s condominiums to be $503.5 million, according to The Real Deal. The 275,387-square-foot complex will have two components. A main 18-story tower will be located on the corner of East 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue, while a connected 13-story wing will front East 22nd Street. The buildings will be connected up to the ground floor, where 12,125 square feet of retail space, divided between four retail condos, will also be located.

New Developer to Construct Five-Story Office Expansion Atop 20-Story Commercial Building at 685 Fifth Avenue, Midtown

1:00 pm on April 29, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Earlier this week, YIMBY reported on applications to expand, by five stories, the 20-story, 115,000-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 685 Fifth Avenue, located on the corner of East 54th Street in Midtown. It was previously reported that Michael Shvo was in contract to acquire, from property owners General Growth Properties and Thor Equities, 90,000 square feet of office space (the entire office portion). That deal has since fallen through, and now, Gulaylar Group is in contract for the office space, according to The Real Deal. As part of the deal, the new owner will also develop the five-story office expansion. The sale is expected to close later this year. The lower portion of the building is currently undergoing a retail redevelopment. Its 23,400 square feet was leased to Coach in February and will become the retailer’s flagship store.

Four-Story, 28,000-Square-Foot Retail Building Filed at 257-263 West 34th Street, Garment District

11:00 am on April 27, 2016 By Reid Wilson

In January, news broke that Cornell Realty Management was planning a four-story, 35,000-square-foot retail building at 257-263 West 34th Street, in the Garment District section of Midtown. Now, the developer has filed applications for the project with the Department of Buildings. The structure will actually measure 28,130 square feet above grade and will feature retail space on the cellar through the fourth floors. The fourth floor will also features an upper mezzanine level that that will be utilized as retail space. Michael Even’s NoMad-based ME Architect is the architect of record. The 44-foot-wide assemblage is currently occupied by three unrecognizably altered four-story commercial buildings. Demolition permits were filed in March to knock them down.

Developer Abandons Plans for Hotel-Condo Conversion of 37-Story Sony Tower, Midtown

6:00 am on April 26, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Last month, the Chetrit Group began converting the 37-story, 855,000-square-foot Sony Tower – the office building at 550 Madison Avenue, between East 55th and 56th streets, in Midtown – into 113 condominiums, a 170-key hotel, and 25,451 square feet of retail space. Now, Olayan America (the U.S. branch of Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Group), with minority investor Chelsfield, is in contract to acquire the tower for more than $1.3 billion, according to The Real Deal, officially stopping the project in its tracks. The new owners will not follow through with the conversion and will lease the building as office space. Chetrit is selling the building, most likely because of the cooling ultra-luxury residential market, for at least $200 million more than what they payed for it in 2013. The soon-to-be new owners have secured $300 million in mezzanine debt and a $600 million mortgage for the acquisition. The sale is expected to close in May.

Redesigned Retail Space, Five-Story Office Expansion for 20-Story Commercial Building at 685 Fifth Avenue, Midtown

10:00 am on April 25, 2016 By Reid Wilson

General Growth Properties and Thor Equities have filed to expand, by five stories, the 20-story, 115,000-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 685 Fifth Avenue, located on the corner of East 54th Street, in Midtown. The property’s commercial square footage – 109,543 square feet – will remain the same, because a portion of the space on the lower levels will be utilized to build the vertical expansion. As a result, the structure will see an increase in height from 227 feet to 292 feet. Coach has already secured a lease to take 23,400 square feet of retail space on the first few floors for its new flagship store, The Real Deal reports. Midtown South-based Marin Architects is the architect of record. In June of 2014, GGP and Thor acquired the building for $460 million, and it was reported last November that Michael Shvo is in contract to acquire the building’s existing 90,000 square feet of office space for north of $100 million. It doesn’t appear the future office space on floors 21 through 25 was part of the deal with Shvo.

Eight-Story, Eight-Unit Mixed-Use Building Filed at 500 West 22nd Street, West Chelsea

2:00 pm on April 22, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Rye Brook, N.Y.-based Brantwood Capital has filed applications for an eight-story, eight-unit mixed-use building at 500 West 22nd Street (a.k.a. 197 Tenth Avenue), in West Chelsea. The structure will encompass 33,662 square feet and will feature 1,959 square feet of retail space on the ground and cellar levels. We can’t calculate the size of the residential units, which will likely be condominiums, but there will be a full-floor unit on the second floor, two on the third floor, followed by full-floor units on the fourth through sixth floors, topped by two duplex units across the seventh and eighth floors. The top apartments will also feature rooftop terraces. Norman Cox’s Brooklyn-based Union Street Studio is the architect of record. Demolition permits were filed earlier this month for a four-story building (previously two tenement buildings).

Development Team Planning 80-Story Mixed-Use Tower Closer To 2020 At 989-993 Sixth Avenue, Midtown

10:00 am on April 22, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in December of 2015, it was reported that AB & Sons and Sioni Group were in contract to acquire 235,000 square feet of air rights (from the landmarked Haier Building) for their development assemblage at 989-993 Sixth Avenue, located on the corner of West 37th Street, in the Garment District section of Midtown. They have since closed on the purchase for an undisclosed amount, and now, the development team is planning a roughly 80-story mixed-use building, which could likely include retail space near the street level, a hotel, and residential units, according to The Real Deal. The site could boast up to 375,000 square feet of as-of-right development potential if the 21-story, 90,000-square-foot office building at 989-991 Sixth is demolished. The building reportedly won’t be demolished until at least 2019, probably due to existing leases. The corner lot at 993 Sixth Avenue is occupied by a partially built 18-story hotel project, which will also probably be demolished (it’s five stories in height).

15-Story Senior Housing Building Planned at 139 East 56th Street, Midtown East

10:00 am on April 21, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Hines and Welltower Inc. are planning a 15-story senior-housing facility at 139 East 56th Street, located at the corner of Lexington Avenue in Midtown East. The duo recently acquired the site, which is currently occupied by a two-story, 7,000-square-foot commercial building, for an undisclosed amount, according to Bloomberg. The planned structure would feature assisted-living units and memory car services, although the number of units plan is not currently known. The existing building will be demolished, although a TGI Fridays restaurant must first vacant the premises.

The American Copper Buildings, 626 First Avenue. All photographs by the author

JDS and SHoP Show Off Skybridge at American Copper Buildings, 626 First Avenue

8:00 am on April 21, 2016 By Evan Bindelglass

The developer and architect behind one of the most striking new developments in New York City showed off its signature feature on Wednesday. They also revealed its new name. 626 First Avenue, a product of JDS Development and SHoP Architects located at East 36^th Street in what you would have to call Murray Hill, will hence forth be known as the American Copper Buildings.

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