A cluster of cemeteries at the eastern edge of Bushwick has marked the border of gentrified Brooklyn for years, but development in the area is starting to push that border closer to East New York. A developer based in South Williamsburg has submitted plans for a five-story building at 301 Covert Street, mid-block between Irving and Knickerbocker avenues.
Last fall, news surfaced that the 990-foot-long SS United States, a decommissioned 12-deck passenger liner built in 1952 and which set a trans-Atlantic that stands to this day, could be docked in Red Hook and transformed into a office and entertainment complex. The latest proposal now calls for a restoration of the vessel into an 800-passenger luxury cruise ship fit with 400 suites, according to the New York Times. Crystal Cruises would lead the ship’s makeover, which would cost between $700 to $800 million, about the cost of a newly built cruise ship of similar size. The company can also take the option to purchase the ship from SS United States Conservancy. The revived ship is tentatively expected to make its first voyage from New York in 2018. The ocean liner currently contains toxins that may complicate the renovation if the Environmental Protection Agency gets involved.
Early in 2015, the Jersey City Planning Board approved plans for two 15-story mixed-use buildings at 193 and 213 Van Vorst Street, in the Paulus Hook neighborhood of Jersey City. Now, HFF has secured for the developers, Global Real Assets and Fields Development Group, $63.5 million in financing for the first phase of the project, according to REBusinessOnline. The first phase at 213 Van Vorst Street will have 255 residential units, which will come in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations, and two ground-floor retail units totaling 7,237 square feet. The second building will include an additional 153 residential units and 7,305 square feet of ground-floor retail. Pile driving and foundational construction on the first building began last January, per Jersey Digs, and completion is expected in 2017. Marchetto Higgins Stieve is the design architect.
In early 2015, renderings were revealed of the planned renovations at Citigroup’s headquarters at 388-390 Greenwich Street, in TriBeCa, and now the company is in contract to acquire the the 39-story, 2.7-million square-foot office complex. According to Real Estate Weekly, Citigroup will purchase the properties from SL Green Realty Corp. for $2 billion. The renovations include connecting the tower portion at 388 Greenwich to the 10-story structure at 390 Greenwich. The transformation will include a new façade on large portions of the existing buildings, a single lobby that serves both sections, plaza renovations, a rooftop terrace, and amenities like a fitness center. The sale is expected to close in December of 2017 and renovations should be complete by 2019.
Alloy Development has acquired the vacant 4,100 square-foot parcel at 431 Carroll Street, in Gowanus, for $2.8 million, Crain’s reports. Located two blocks west of the Union Street stop on the R train, the developer plans to build their new headquarters at the site in the form of a three-story, roughly 8,000 square-foot building. The ground floor will be leased as retail space and the upper floors will contain between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet of office space. The developers expect to break ground by 2017 for a 2018 completion. Alloy Development will likely design the project in-house.
