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Sunset Park Site to Get Makeover
City hopes to give facelift to former Bush Terminal Complex. Also, Herald Square set for new high-rise hotel.
Herald Square to Get Hotel
A 30-story hotel is set to rise on the site of a former parking garage near Manhattan’s Herald Square.
New York’s Brack Capital Real Estate USA, a subsidiary of Brack Capital Group, an Israel-based investment firm, recently purchased the lot at 63-67 W. 35 St. from Icon Parking for $31 million. The hotel, designed by Peter F. Poon Architect of New York, will have 300 rooms when completed next fall.
Work to remove the six-story garage started in March, with Gateway Demo of Flushing, N.Y., acting as the demolition contractor.
While the developer has hired a construction manager for the building effort, it refused to release the name of the firm.
N.Y.C. Seeks Industrial Developer
The New York City Economic Development Corporation recently issued a Request for Proposals seeking industrial businesses and developers to take on the revamping of the Bush Terminal Complex in the Sunset Park district of Brooklyn.
The nearly 130,000-sq-ft site consists of three buildings and is surrounded by 43rd Street, 47th Street, the 51st Street Rail Yard, and the Bush Terminal Piers.
The piers, long an active port until industrial contamination rendered them useless in the 1970s, are also set for a $36 million plan to develop a new park at the site. The state will provide $17.8 million, the city $9 million, and the federal government $8 million to combine for the largest grant ever awarded for rehabilitating a brownfield site by New York State.
The city agency is in charge of building the park as well as new waterfront access for upland communities. While plans continue to evolve, ball fields, a fishing pier, restaurants, a banquet hall, and an indoor ice rink are all under consideration. The 18-acre park would be on the site’s southwest end.
The EDC will require the winning industrial developer to pursue at least certified-level status from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for its project. Prospective developers could aim to win the assignment for part or all of the space available for development, but the EDC wants any of the proposals to create “new, efficient light industrial space and maximize labor-intensive industrial uses.”
N.Y.C. Starts High Rise Team
New York City’s Department of Buildings recently announced the creation of a new oversight team that will focus on safety and ways to facilitate the construction process for buildings that are 15 stories and taller in the five boroughs.
 The new team is one of several initiatives that Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster has launched in a recent safety and compliance blitz.
The High Rise Team will direct its attention toward fostering safer construction sites, while also streamlining the building process for developers who comply with the rules. The team’s focus on high-rise structures should also lead to greater efficiency during the inspection process.
The team will also help to spread understanding of green building requirements established for public projects under the city’s Local Law 86.
The team began as a pilot program in 2005 and became an official arm of the agency in April. Chosen mostly from staffers within the department, the team will consist of three plan examiners and four inspectors, of which two will focus on construction, one on plumbing, and one on electrical. |
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