172 Madison Avenue

Construction Wrapping on 33-Story, 69-Unit Mixed-Use Tower at 172 Madison Avenue, Midtown South

The 33-story, 419-foot-tall mixed-use building under development at 172 Madison Avenue, on the northwest corner of East 33rd Street in Midtown South, has now topped out and exterior construction is wrapping up. The update comes thanks to photos posted to the YIMBY Forums by JC_Heights. The 132,425-square-foot tower will eventually host 69 condominiums, averaging 1,795 square feet apiece and coming in one- to three-bedroom configurations. There will also be a mansion on the third floor and the tower will be topped by a four full-floor penthouses and a Sky House triplex apartment. The ground floor will have 4,361 square feet of retail space. Amenities include a swimming pool with accessory saunas and lockers (there will also be two private pools), a fitness center, a yoga/ballet room, bike storage, a children’s playroom, an entertainment lounge, a dog washing station, and private residential storage units. Tessler Developments is behind the project, and Karl Fischer is responsible for the design. Occupancy is expected this fall.


80 South Street

First Glimpse of SHoP’s 80 South Street, Set to Soar Over 1,400 Feet

Yesterday was ‘Archmodel Wednesday’ on Instagram, which meant that YIMBY Forumers were actively posting images of several new developments. And in the background of an image containing SHoP’s 111 West 57th Street, our team of cyber-sleuths spotted another project that has not yet been revealed. 80 South Street’s massing diagram had alluded to the tower’s supertall potential, but now we have a look at an actual model of the building, though the fine-grained details remain fuzzy, which confirms that the tower will rise over 1,400 feet tall. That would make it the tallest building by roof height in Lower Manhattan, standing approximately 50 feet above the rooftop of One World Trade Center.

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A LinkNYC kiosk. Credit: @linknycofficial on Instagram

Landmarks Approves LinkNYC Wi-Fi Kiosks for Historic Districts and Other Designated Sites

For a long time, with the proliferation of cell phones, the payphone has been mostly just a historical curiosity. For years now, they have actually been disappearing from New York City streets. Since January, some of them have been replaced by new public communication structures. Now, with a vote Tuesday by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, those structures will be headed to historic districts and other designated sites.

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235 Cherry Street

77-Story, 600-Unit Mixed-Use Tower to Rise 984 Feet at 235 Cherry Street, Lower East Side

It looks like another supertall will rise in Lower Manhattan. Plans for a 77-story, 600-unit  mixed-use tower at 235-247 Cherry Street, on the southern end of the Lower East Side, have surfaced in City Planning documents obtained by Bowery Boogie. The schematic diagram indicates the tower’s roof level will clock in at 983 feet and 8 inches, which would be categorized as a supertall by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). A parapet enclosing the building’s bulkhead and mechanical equipment would boost the final height even further, possibly past the 1,000-foot mark. JDS Development Group is seeking minor zoning changes to build the tower. Details and renderings of the cantilevering project were first revealed in the spring. At the time, it was learned that the tower would include 150 affordable units, 10,000 square feet of retail, and a 4,600-square-foot senior center. The adjacent 10-story Two Bridges Senior Apartments would also see a renovation. SHoP Architects is behind the design, and Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund are the property owners. A single-story commercial building will have to be demolished. Construction is not expected to begin until at least 2018.