65 East 55th Street

36-Story Midtown Office Tower At 65 East 55th Street Getting Major Renovations

4:00 pm on March 31, 2016 By Reid Wilson

The 36-story, 615,850-square-foot office building at 65 East 55th Street, in Midtown, is currently receiving a $25 million renovation now that a majority of the tower is in between commercial leases. Construction on the first phase of renovations began earlier this year and includes a redesigned 41-foot-tall lobby and upgraded elevators, according to Commercial Observer. Once tenants vacate additional areas of the building this summer, work will begin on 20,000 square feet of amenities. Dubbed The Club, it will feature a fitness center, a recreational lounge, a bistro, and a conference center. A new outdoor plaza, with seating, vegetation, a sculpture, and a restaurant/bar, is also being constructed. Once completed, hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space will hit the market. Landlord Equity Office, a branch of Blackstone Group, acquired the 1985-built building in 2014 for $750 million.

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142-38 37th Avenue

13-Story, 88-Unit Mixed-Use Building Under Construction at 142-38 37th Avenue, Flushing

3:00 pm on March 31, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in November of 2014, YIMBY revealed renderings of the planned 13-story, 88-unit mixed-use building at 142-38 37th Avenue, in downtown Flushing, located three blocks from the Main Street Station on the 7 train. The project, dubbed East West Tower, is still under development, as its developer, Long Island-based Kenny Liu, has recently submitted plans to the Attorney General’s office detailing the project’s estimated sellout. The building is being valued at $95.5 million by the developer, according to The Real Deal. The 160,122-square-foot structure will host 26,791 square feet of community facility space across the ground and second floors. That space will be split between 18 doctors offices. Residential condominium units will begin on the third floor and should average 731 square feet apiece. There will be a 142-car parking garage and a fitness center in the cellar. Maspeth-based Architects Studio is designing and construction is quietly underway.

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1003 Willoughby Avenue

Four-Story, Seven-Unit Residential Project Planned At 1003 Willoughby Avenue, Bushwick

2:00 pm on March 31, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Brett Bernstein, doing business as an anonymous Brooklyn-based LLC, has filed applications for a four-story, seven-unit residential building at 1003 Willoughby Avenue, in western Bushwick, located four blocks from the Central Avenue stop on the M train. The structure will measure 5,000 square feet in total and its residential units should average a rental-sized 714 square feet apiece. The ground through third floors will contain two apartments each, and the project will be topped by a full-floor unit on the fourth floor that also features an upper penthouse level. Woody Chen’s Elmhurst-based Infocus Design & Planning is the architect of record. The 25-foot-wide lot is currently occupied by a two-story townhouse.

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578 Fifth Avenue

Five-Story, Eight-Unit Mixed-Use Building Filed At 578 Fifth Avenue, South Slope

1:00 pm on March 31, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Brooklyn-based Eight & Eight Development has filed applications for a five-story, eight-unit mixed-use building at 578 Fifth Avenue, in South Slope, located around the block from the Prospect Avenue stop on the R train. The new building will encompass 10,726 square feet and will include 1,549 square feet of retail space across the ground floor and part of the cellar. Floors two through five will contain two residential units each. The apartments should average 740 square feet apiece, which means rental units are likely in the works. Lower Manhattan-based Chi F. Lau Architect is the architect of record. Demolition permits were filed in June of 2015 for the site’s existing two-story, 25-foot-wide commercial building.

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372 Lafayette Street

Construction Completed on Six-Story, Eight-Unit Mixed-Use Building at 372 Lafayette Street, NoHo

11:00 am on March 31, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in September of 2014, YIMBY brought you an update on adjacent residential projects at 10 Bond Street and 372 Lafayette Street (a.k.a. 11 Great Jones Street), in NoHo. The former project, a seven-story, 11-unit condominium building, went on the to have construction completed by the end of the summer of 2015. Construction has since entirely wrapped up on the latter project, a six-story, eight-unit residential building, as seen in photos by Tectonic. The property is completely unobscured from scaffolding and occupancy is currently underway. The ground floor and cellar levels will contain 2,143 square feet of retail space. The eight rental apartments above measure between 1,300 and 2,000 square feet apiece, coming in two- and three-bedroom configurations, although some units appear to have been divided into multiple apartments. Kano Properties is the developer, and Morris Adjmi Architects is behind the design.

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