New office buildings are a rarity in SoHo, because a combination of landmarking and incredibly high property values normally push developers to build condos if they want a return on their investment. But one builder has bucked the trend and filed plans for a seven-story office building at 134 Wooster Street, between Houston and Prince Streets.
Earlier this year, YIMBY reported on applications for a seven-story, 21-unit residential building at 17 Convent Avenue, between West 127th and 128th Streets in Manhattanville. Now a schematic drawing has been posted on the site of the 23,537 square-foot project, per Harlem+Bespoke. Residential units will average 1,121 square feet apiece, which means condominiums are probably in the works. Permits were granted by the Department of Buildings this past November and completion is scheduled for late 2016. Kane Ventures is the developer and Chelsea-based Alexander Compagno is the architect of record.
Ravi Patel, doing business as a Long Island-based LLC, has filed applications for a six-story, 14-unit residential building at 9-24 Main Avenue, in western Astoria, located two blocks in from the East River. The project will measure 11,990 square feet in total, which means units will average 856 square feet apiece. The residences will begin on the second floor and an indoor recreational facility will be located on the ground level. Queens-based Gerald Caliendo is the architect of record, and an existing two-story brick house must first be demolished.
2015 will go down in New York’s storied retail history as the year when the city lost two of its flagship toy stores. At 6:00 p.m. on December 30, Toys “R” Us will shut down its Times Square store at West 44th Street and Broadway. The retail giant decided not to renew the lease due to ever-rising rents in the pedestrian-heavy neighborhood. Earlier in July, the company closed the famous FAO Schwarz store on at 767 Fifth Avenue, which had served the city since 1986.
New construction is suddenly booming on the North Shore of Staten Island, and today, YIMBY has the reveal for a six-story apartment building in the works at 12 Van Duzer Street in Tompkinsville, on the border with St. George.
