The west central Bronx has long been known for abandoned properties and deep poverty, and construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway only pushed many of these neighborhoods further into blight and disinvestment. But now, savvy affordable and market-rate developers are training their gaze on Mount Hope and Tremont.
Things are moving along swiftly at a new hotel in Brooklyn. Construction is complete on the 23-story, 250-foot-tall mixed-use building — which YIMBY has been chronicling the construction of since its superstructure began to rise in early 2015 — at 55 Wythe Avenue, located between North 12th and 13th streets in northern Williamsburg. The 183-key boutique hotel, dubbed The William Vale, is expected to open later this month, Curbed NY reported. The hotel rooms will be located on the 11th through 21st floors. The 248,000-square-foot structure boasts 19,257 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, followed by 35,678 square feet of medical office space on the fifth through ninth floors. The complex will be accommodated by a 210-car parking garage, a pedestrian plaza, a slew of amenities on the second through fourth floors, a restaurant on the 22nd and 23rd floors, and a 15,000-square-foot roof terrace. Zelig Weiss and Riverside Developers co-developed the project, and Aldo Liberis served as the design architect. The Nassau Avenue stop on the G train is seven blocks away.
Construction has been completed on the six-story, 93-unit mixed-use building at 21 Commercial Street, in northern Greenpoint. The update is possible thanks to photos posted to the YIMBY Forums. The latest building permits indicate the project, officially dubbed 7 Bell Slip, encompasses 88,706 square feet. It will include 2,557 square feet of ground-floor retail space, followed by residential units on the floors above, 92 of which will rent at below-market-rates through the affordable housing lottery. The apartments will range from studios to two-bedrooms and should average 887 square feet apiece. Amenities include laundry facilities, storage for 47 bikes, and a fitness center. The project is being built as part of the 10-building, 5,500-unit mixed-use mega-development Greenpoint Landing. Park Tower Group and L+M Development Partners developed 21 Commercial Street, and Handel Architects designed it.
The Kraus Organization has filed applications for a six-story, eight-unit residential building at 585 Union Avenue, in northern Williamsburg. The project will measure 12,135 square feet and its residential units should average 1,337 square feet apiece, indicative of condominiums. All of the apartments will come with private balconies, although the top-floor units will also feature space in an upper penthouse level and a private roof terrace. Amenities include private residential storage space and a single automobile parking space. Anthony Morena’s Midtown South-based Mortar ARCH + DEV is the architect of record. The 40-foot-wide assemblage, at 585-587 Union Avenue, is currently occupied by two two-story townhouses. Demolition permit were filed earlier this month. The Lorimer Street/Metropolitan Avenue stop on the G and L trains is six blocks away.
It’s been a few years since the city’s Economic Development Corporation announced plans to develop a 700-unit underground parking garage on Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn and create a one-acre green space on top. Now, the park, Willoughby Square, is one step closer to reality, as the city prepares to demolish an office building at 217 Duffield Street, between Willoughby and Fulton streets. Prolific construction photographer Tectonic brought us photos of what the site looks like now.
