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Midtown

Demo Work Almost Done at 211 West 28th Street, Chelsea, in Preparation for 14-Story Residential Vertical Extension

The six-story, 69-foot-high walk-up at 211 West 28th Street has been reduced to two floors, as part of a vertical enlargement that would extend the building to 14 stories. Given the proposed 150-foot height, individual floors will average a generous 10’-9” from slab to slab. The new building would nearly double the 13,332 square feet of the original, bringing the figure up to 24,563 square feet. The former office floors would be replaced with 37 residential units. The project is being developed by Arker Companies, with Aufgang Architects as designer.

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FDNY Investigation Underway at Burnt Shell of Landmark Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, 15 West 25th Street, Flatiron

As this month got underway, we brought you the unfortunate news regarding the landmark Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava at 15 West 25th Street, designed by Richard Upjohn, the architect of the Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. The 1855 building, which was the city’s only house of prayer servicing the Serbian Orthodox community, was reduced to a charred stone shell on the evening of May 1, just hours after the Orthodox Easter celebration. While the church is collecting donations for reconstruction, the authorities are investigating the fenced-off site for the cause of the conflagration, while engineers keep an eye on the ruined building’s stability. The building is a New York City landmark and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Although the city’s laws protect the building from further demolition, the stone shell may be torn down if ultimately deemed dangerously unstable. Fortunately, the walls appear to be structurally sound for the time being, though serious reinforcement work would be permitted only after the investigations are complete.

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Manhattan West

New Renderings Revealed Of Five-Building Manhattan West Development, Midtown West

Over the past few months, the five-building, seven-million-square-foot mixed-use development dubbed Manhattan West, located on the mega-block bound by Ninth and Tenth avenues and West 31st and 33rd streets, has been quickly taking shape. In April, the project’s 62-story, 844-unit residential tower at 401 West 31st Street, dubbed Three Manhattan West, topped out. And work has been underway for over a year to modernize the 16-story, 1.8-million square-foot building at 450 West 33rd Street, dubbed Five Manhattan West. Now, new renderings have been revealed of the office portion of the project, dubbed One and Two Manhattan West.

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575 Fifth Avenue

Renovations Planned at 575 Fifth Avenue, a 35-Story, 360,000-Square-Foot Office Tower in Midtown

Property owners Beacon Capital Partners and MetLife (the insurance company) are planning to execute a $25 million renovate on their 35-story, 533,695-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 575 Fifth Avenue, located on the corner of East 47th Street in Midtown. Planned is a redesigned lobby, new exterior and interior elements such as a building canopy, signage/advertising, and lighting, and new amenities such as a 6,000-square-foot conference center and a lounge, Real Estate Weekly reports. The 360,000-square-foot office portion already connects to the building’s three stories of retail and restaurants via an atrium. Barneys New York recently signed on to 72,000 square feet at the tower, and Westpac Banking Corporation and Northwood Investors each have leased 15,000 square feet. The building was developed in 1983.

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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.

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