A block a little north of Madison Square Park is on its way to a major transformation, thanks to action by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday. The block in question is between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, on West 29th Street and part of West 30th Street.
Last month, news broke that the city, with selected developers RAL Development and Oliver Realty Group and architect ODA New York, would be moving forward with a two-building residential project at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6, in southern Brooklyn Heights, without the support of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD). Yesterday, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation voted to approve the updated project, Curbed NY reports. The latest plans call for a 28-story, 126-unit market-rate condominium tower and a 12-story, 140-unit mixed-income rental building, where 100 of the rental apartments will rent at below-market rates, according to the Wall Street Journal. One of the buildings will feature a public restroom, but there’s no mention of any commercial components. Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2017. As part of the deal, the city will receive a one-time payment of $115 million followed by $2.7 million per year.
Last month, YIMBY brought you new renderings of the 54-story, 33-unit ultra-luxury residential tower under construction at 520 Park Avenue, located on East 60th Street in Lenox Hill. The building is now between 15 and 20 stories above street level, as seen in photos posted to the YIMBY Forums by Robert Walpole and ILNY, and can be seen for the first time from Central Park. Crews are also installing limestone to the structure’s western façade. The 781-foot-tall tower will encompass 251,892 square feet, and its condominium units should average an opulent 5,394 square feet apiece. The building’s amenities are all listed in our previous update. Zeckendorf Development is the developer and Robert A.M. Stern Architects is behind the design. SLCE Architects is serving as the architect of record. Completion is expected in 2017.
Fresh Meadows-based Forest Bird Realty, headed by Fei Tian Huang, has filed applications for two two-story, two-family houses at 61-15 – 61-17 168th Street, in the Queens neighborhood of Utopia, located immeadiately south of the Long Island Expressway. Each will measure 3,542 square feet, and across both, the full-floor residential units should average 1,261 square feet apiece, indicative of family-sized configurations. The project will have a total of two off-street parking spots. Edward C. Lui’s Little Neck-based architectural firm is the architect of record. The 50-foot-wide, 5,000-square-foot plot is currently occupied by a two-story brick townhouse. Demolition permits were filed in January.
Property owner Samuel Landau has filed applications for a four-story, five-unit mixed-use building at 1455 51st Street, in the heart of Borough Park, located three blocks from the 50th Street stop on the D train. The structure will measure 8,132 square feet, and will include a 2,732-square-foot religious organization on the ground and cellar levels. The residential units above should average 1,080 square feet apiece, indicative of family-sized apartments. Nanuet, N.Y.-based Thomas Kenneth is the applicant of record. The 30-foot-wide, 3,005-square-foot lot is currently occupied by a two-story house. Demolition permits were filed in January.
