For decades (with a brief break), Manhattan had a diner, complete with outdoor seating and a tiny parking lot, near the edge of Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen. Last year, we learned that the Market Diner at 572 Eleventh Avenue (at the corner of West 43rd Street) would be replaced by an apartment tower. Now, a photo from our friend Tectonic shows that demolition has begun.
Within the last few weeks, new details emerged of the planned eight-story, 60-unit mixed-use building being developed at 98-02 Queens Boulevard, in Rego Park, and now DNAinfo has a rendering of the project. As reported previously, the 75,000 square-foot structure will contain rental units that come in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations. The apartments will average 657 square feet apiece, and amenities include a gym, an indoor pool, a children’s playground, and bike storage. The entire ground floor will be retail and 7,000 square feet of community facility space, in the form of medical offices, will be located on the level above. Demolition of the existing retail structure is expected in the spring and completion is slated for late 2017. Bahar Corporation is developing and Peter Casini Architect is behind the design.
In 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission twice rejected redevelopment plans for the long-vacant five-story residential building at 721 St. Nicholas Avenue, located on the corner of West 146th Street in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem. The property sits within the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District, which means building alterations require LPC approval. Harlem+Bespoke now reports a gut-renovation, without the expansion, is underway to transform the building into retail space and four residential units. Retail will measure 2,048 square feet on the ground floor, and full-floor units will average 1,278 square feet apiece. There will also be recreational space on the rooftop. Alexander Perros, doing business as an anonymous LLC, is developing, and MK Architecture is the architect of record. Completion is anticipated for this summer.
Back in the spring of 2015, BFC Partners broke ground on the commercial-retail complex dubbed Empire Outlets, located at 35 Richmond Terrace in St. George, Staten Island. In the last few weeks, the sprawling structure went vertical with the placement of steel beams. When it’s complete in late 2017, the project will have 100 retailers across 370,148 square feet of commercial space. Towards the center of the complex, atop the retail, a six-story, 190-key hotel will encompass an additional 107,109 square feet. A 1,250-car parking garage will be located below the entire structure, bringing the total square-footage of Empire Outlets to 1,139,313. The developer has already signed a couple dozen tenants, the latest of which is Jewelers on Fifth, according to Commercial Observer. SHoP Architects is the design architect.
Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Capital Group’s mixed-use mega-development planned at the former 15-acre United Hospital campus, at 406 Boston Post Road in Port Chester, N.Y., is moving into the approval process, according to Westfair. The project would include the demolition of the existing medical complex, which would be replaced by 730 mixed-income residential units, a 135-key hotel, 217,000 square feet of medical office space, and 90,000 square feet of commercial-retail. It’s expected to complete the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process, by acquiring a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and receive zoning approval sometime later this year. Local community coalition Sustainable Port Chester Alliance has also recently proposed an agreement that would include preserving the 13-story, 134-unit rental building at 999 High Street, which is unfortunately expected to be demolished in the process. Construction is expected to begin in 2018 following the necessary approvals.
