Architect and developer Soo K. Chan says he borrowed design inspiration for his new condo project in Chelsea from the colonial houses of his childhood, in the cosmopolitan island city of George Town, Malaysia. He drew on the architecture of the city’s clan houses, long multi-family homes built around a central, open air courtyard.
Earlier this week, we told you about plans to demolish a Baptist church in Harlem and develop apartments in its place. Now, we have renderings for the 11-story project 20 West 116th Street, between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue.
In January, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans for a new apartment building at 906 Prospect Place, between New York Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights North Historic District II. That plan is going forward, but with a new developer.
Late last year, news broke that E&M Associates and Eiran Gazit were planning to build a 49,000-square-foot Times Square tourist attraction in part of the 12-story former New York Times Building, an individual landmark at 229 West 43rd Street and 216 West 44th Street (the north building is not landmarked), in Midtown. Now, the team has filed plans with the Department of Buildings for the project, dubbed Gulliver’s Gate, The Real Deal reports. The ground floor portion will include the reception and ticketing areas, as well as a gift shop, while the second will host the main exhibit. The project is expected to begin the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) shortly. It also requites exterior alterations to the 43rd Street side, which will need to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Last November, the team signed a 15-year lease for part of the ground floor and the entire second floor of the building. Kushner Companies acquired the retail portion of the property, which also contains office space, in early 2015 for $296 million. If all goes as planned, completion can be expected in 2017. Stanley Wong’s SP WONG Architect is the architect of record.
In February, the 32-story, 363-unit mixed-use modular tower under development at 461 Dean Street, in Prospect Heights, had reached its 25th story. Now, the 348,269-square-foot building has finally topped out, with the last modular unit installed earlier this week, Curbed NY reported. The project was the first of 15 towers to begin constructed as part of the Pacific Park mega-development. There will be 32,678 square feet of commercial space split between retail on the ground floor and storage space for the Barclays Center on floors two through six. The rental apartments should average 660 square feet apiece, and 181 of them will rent at below-market rates through the housing lottery. Amenities include a bike storage room, private residential storage, laundry facilities, a fitness center, an entertainment room/lounge, a children’s play room, and a common outdoor terrace on the 20th floor. Forest City Ratner Companies (a branch of Forest City Realty Trust) is developing, with SHoP Architects behind the design. Completion is expected this fall.
