98 Montague Street

14-Story, 279-Key Esplendor Bossert Brooklyn Hotel Will Open in October at 98 Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights

Back in 2012, Clipper Equity and the Chetrit Group acquired, from the Jehovah’s Witnesses for $81 million, the 14-story Bossert Hotel building at 98 Montague Street, in Brooklyn Heights. It has since been undergoing a conversion back to the structure’s original use as a hotel, and now it has been revealed that the the building will open on October 1, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported. Re-dubbed Esplendor Bossert Brooklyn, it will be operated by Fën Hotels. The latest building permits indicate there will be 279 hotel rooms. It will feature a 1,997-square-foot restaurant on the first floor, a 2,995-square-foot lobby café, and a 2,300-square-foot restaurant on the 14th floor. The rooftop terrace will measure 1,922 square feet and will be utilized by the restaurant. New York-based Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman + Associates Architects (GSKA) is behind the design of the renovation. The building sits within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District.


2956 Park Avenue

15-Story, 154-Unit Affordable Residential Building Filed at 2956 Park Avenue, Melrose

Omni New York has filed applications for a 15-story, 154-unit mixed-use building at 2956 Park Avenue, in Melrose, located five blocks from the 149th Street-Grand Concourse stop on the 2, 4, and 5 trains. The structure will encompass 143,318 square feet and will feature 4,566 square feet of community facility space on the ground floor. The building will feature affordable residential units, although its not known how many of the units will rent at below-market rates and/or will be subsidized, according to The Real Deal. The residential units should average 933 square feet apiece, which means the apartments will probably be geared towards families. Amenities in the building will include a recreational room, storage space for bikes, and laundry facilities. Mark Ginsberg’s TriBeCa-based Curtis + Ginsberg Architects is the architect of record. The site, which is located on the corner of East 151st Street, is vacant.


1109 Madison Avenue

Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to Renovate Their Eight-Story Building at 1109 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side

The Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic of the United Nations is planning to renovate their eight-story, 35,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 1109 Madison Avenue, located on the corner of East 83rd Street, on the Upper East Side. The building, which currently houses the mission’s office space and 16 apartments, will see its interiors entirely reconfigured and upgraded, according to DNAinfo. The building’s façade, which will be preserved, will also see a restoration. Fradkin & McAlpin Architects and Czech Republic-based A69 Architekti will be responsible for the renovations. The property also contains 16,390 square feet of air rights, although it’s not known if an expansion is planned. Alteration permits have not yet been filed with the Buildings Departments, but completion is expected next year.



Council members David Greenfield and Peter Koo lead a public hearing on Intro 775 last September.

City Council Land Use Committee Approves Deadlines for Landmarking

Yesterday, the City Council’s Land Use committee voted through a contentious bill that would impose deadlines on the Landmarks Preservation Commission and its process of designating historic properties. Preservationists and their allies on the City Council overwhelmingly oppose the bill, Intro 775-A, because it would force the LPC to consider buildings and historic districts within two years of being calendared.

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