As the New York City Landmarks Preservation works to clear the backlog of items on its calendar for consideration since before 2010, it has mostly dealt with buildings, a.k.a. potential individual landmarks. However, there have been some interiors considered, such as the Osborne Apartments lobby. Another such case is the Edgar J. Kaufman Conference Center at 809 United Nations Plaza in Midtown East.
Over a year ago, YIMBY reported on schematic drawings for a 33-story, 69-unit mixed-use tower at 172 Madison Avenue, in Midtown East, and earlier this year, we revealed renderings of the Karl Fischer-designed building. Construction kicked off last spring and now the structure is 14 stories above street level, courtesy of photos by Tectonic. Although not apparent, glass installation has also begun. The building’s ground floor will feature 4,361 square feet of retail space, and condo units will average 1,795 square feet apiece. Tessler Development is developing and completion is expected in 2016.
Back in September, the latest renderings were revealed of HFZ Capital Group’s 33-story mixed-use hotel and residential building planned at 12-20 West 40th Street, along Bryant Park in Midtown, and now Tectonic has the latest photos of its construction. The structure is currently six stories above street level and features a slight setback past the fifth floor. The first five floors are flush with the existing street wall. Upon completion in early 2017, The Bryant (not to be confused with the Bryant Park Hotel) will have 230 hotel rooms and 57 condos, as well as retail space and a restaurant on the ground floor. David Chipperfield is the design architect.
Bjarke Ingels’ dramatic, tetrahedron-shaped rental building is already making its mark on the far west side, and we have some fresh renderings to go along with a new teaser site for the project at 625 West 57th Street, known as VIA 57 West.
Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the fourth and final public hearing to deal with the 95 properties that have been under consideration for designation prior to 2010. Among the items discussed on Thursday were three houses, geographically spread from Kips Bay to Murray Hill to the Upper East Side. If designated as landmarks, they’ll certainly be referred to by many as historic houses. If not, their very existence will be put into doubt.
