43-01 22nd Street

New Owners to Renovate Six-Story, 225,000-Square-Foot Commercial Building at 43-01 22nd Street, Long Island City

1:00 pm on May 11, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Olmstead Properties and Newmark Holdings are in contract to acquire the six-story, 225,000-square-foot commercial building at 43-01 22nd Street, in the Queens Plaza/Court Square section of Long Island City. The building currently houses office and design spaces, with Reis Studios, Concept Press, and interior designer Christian Liaigre leasing space at the property. The building is expected to trade hands for more than $60 million, according to Commercial Observer. The new owners plan to renovate the building by upgrading the lobby and replacing the windows and elevators. Roughly 50,000 square feet of commercial space is currently available.

3 Hudson Boulevard

Developers to Begin Foundation Work on 66-Story Office Tower at 3 Hudson Boulevard, Hudson Yards District

11:00 am on May 11, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in May of 2015, YIMBY brought you new renderings and details of the 66-story, 1.8-million square-foot office tower planned at 3 Hudson Boulevard, located between Eleventh Avenue and Hudson Boulevard and West 34th and 35th streets, in the Hudson Yards District. Moinian Group is now starting construction on the 1,050-foot-tall tower, according to Bloomberg, without any tenants officially secured. The developer is hoping to complete financing for the $2 billion tower once it lands an anchor tenant, which they hope will happen before foundation work is completed. The tower’s leasing broker is currently in negotiations with three possible tenants, one of which could lease 1 million square feet, and two for 500,000 square feet each. The FXFOWLE Architects-designed building will also boast a pair of five-story LED screens.

139 Orchard Street

Developers Acquire Stalled 16-Story, 98-Key Hotel Project at 139 Orchard Street, Lower East Side

10:00 am on May 11, 2016 By Reid Wilson

In 2011, D.A.B. Group defaulted on the mortgage for their 16-story, 98-key hotel project at 139 Orchard Street, located on the Lower East Side. The developer eventually lost control of the site and abandoned construction on the structure, although the building topped out before work stopped. The latest development is that Fortuna Realty Group and Elk Investors won an auction to acquire the stalled-out project for $30.75 million, The Real Deal reports. Buildings applications indicate the hotel will measure 39,064 square feet. The new owners plan to finish construction on the building as a hotel. Completion is expected sometime in 2017.

The former Citicorp Center (aka Citigroup Center) at 601 Lexington Avenue as seen in December 2015. Photo by Evan Bindelglass.

Landmarks Calendars Seven Midtown East Buildings for Designation

8:00 am on May 11, 2016 By Evan Bindelglass

New York City is full of amazing stories of transformation. Many neighborhoods are dramatically different from the way they were 100 years ago. That’s certainly true of Midtown East, the area around Grand Central Terminal, and it is on the cusp of a new era of transformation. Various city agencies are managing that transformation, which included a rezoning plan abandoned in 2013. It also includes preservation. That’s where the Landmarks Preservation Commission comes into play.

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