As the city prepares to rezone a big swath of East New York, officials haven’t paid much attention to Brownsville, the smaller and poorer neighborhood next door. Despite Brownsville’s rough reputation, developers have started buying up property in the area.
YIMBY detailed in November of 2014 the initial Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) hearing on the residential conversion of the former New York Life Insurance Company building at 346 Broadway (a.k.a. 108 Leonard Street), in Tribeca. The 13-story, 427,000 square-foot building is an individual and interior landmark, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. A month after the hearing, the LPC approved the changes that would including making the structure’s clock tower part of a penthouse and for the clock to run electronically, the WSJ reported. Last week, according to Commercial Observer, the Peebles Organization and Elad Group landed a $334 million construction loan for the project, which would convert the former office building into 151 condominium units. Additionally, a community facility and retail space will measure 7,210 and 2,200 square feet, respectively. Beyer Blinder Belle is designing the conversion.
Over the summer, Yosef Streicher purchased the dilapidated, three-story former police station at 4302 Fourth Avenue, in northern Sunset Park, for $6 million. Now, the owner plans to redevelop the castle-like structure into a community center and a café. According to the Brooklyn Daily, preliminary plans also call for a residential building with 10 units to be built behind the old Precinct on the vacant lot at 364 43rd Street. An architect has not yet been selected, but Ben Herzog is among the front-runners who may eventually design the project. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle has renderings of other designs for the proposed redevelopment, which will eventually have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
One of the biggest names in cancer care is getting even bigger. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), which has become a large network of centers, both in and outside of New York City, is constructing the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care on the East Side. Located along the FDR Drive between East 73rd Street and East 74th Street, it will not only care for patients, but also have a research element. Thanks to photos from our friend Tectonic, we can see that a fair amount of below-ground work has been accomplished.
YIMBY last checked in on the 32-story, 384-unit mixed-use building under construction at 286 Ashland Place, in Downtown Brooklyn, in November, when it was 24-stories-tall. Two Trees’ tower has now topped out, according to Curbed, and cladding is roughly 20 percent installed. The building will have 21,928 square feet of retail and 45,148 square feet of community space within its base, and of the residential units located above, 76 will be rented at below-market rates. Construction is expected to be finsihed over the summer, and move-ins are scheduled for the fall. TEN Arquitectos is behind the design.
