Life in and around Hell’s Kitchen, NYC
Looks like there’s union protesting going on at the future Stella Tower, with the inflatable rat turning up outside:
There were a few NYPD officers at the site, but it looked pretty routine. Anyway, for today at least construction seemed to be on pause.
Catching up on a mountain of development news…
The behind-schedule development on 9th Ave between 38th & 39th is having a name change – “Cassa Hotel and Residences” – and is now aiming to open tis spring. We’ll see how that goes…
As expected, the anti-development meeting last week had a lot of people turn up to protest the incoming development far west on 57th St. DNAinfo have the full details from the night.
Yep, another hotel.
Yep, another tower.
A nice change to the relentless walls of glass going up everywhere: this building is at least trying to blend in with the other buildings in that area.
A group of concerned residents have organized a meeting to discuss the seemingly-endless development going on all over the west side. Council members Corey Johnson and Helen Rosenthal will be there for the discussion, so any complaints are actually going to be heard. It’s being held in the lobby of The Sheffield on W 57th St – between 8th & 9th – tomorrow night, starting at 7pm.
The full details: (click for full size)
The discussion seems to be focusing around TF Cornerstone’s massive development planned for W 57th St, which is just going to dominate that area:
If you have some opinion on that towering over the area, I’m sure they’d love to have you tomorrow night.
The Port Authority is joining the trend of cashing in on land around Hudson Yards, planning to sell the block of land between 33rd & 34th along Dyer Ave.
Another big development on its way after getting unanimous approval from the City Planning Commision, this time on W 57th St just west of 11th Ave, with over 230 of its almost 1200 apartments permanently affordable. Should get great views of…the sanitation facility?
A look at the work involved and the engineering behind building Hudson Yards on its elevated platform (of course we had to have some article about the place).
A new hotel coming to W 40th St, opposite Port Authority, right next to the Staybridge and Distrikt hotels. We need more!
“The largest private real estate development in the history of the US” is taking a big step forward this week, with construction on the eastern platform above the rail yards beginning. The platform alone will cost $700 million dollars of the $15 billion price tag on Hudson Yards. Bloomberg have a big look at the project with lots of information on how the platform will work, as well as the project at large.
Coinciding with that news, a whole set of renderings and animations have been released showing how the construction of both the deck and towers themselves will take place, all without disrupting the trains underneath.
See all the animations on Gizmodo.
Meanwhile New York YIMBY have a whole new round of renderings from the part of the project everyone can enjoy – the plaza – and they at least look nice and green:
We’re only going to be hearing more and more about Hudson Yards as time goes on…might as well at least go with it…
New York YIMBY have discovered a new set of renderings for the Hudson Spire at the future Hudson Yards. Brace yourself for glass overload.
This bit stands out:
With 1.22 million square feet, the mixed-use building would rise 108 floors and over 1,800 feet, making it the tallest tower in North America.
Exciting times ahead… Head over to NY YIMBY for more, or check out the brochure for the full renderings.
Some more future real estate plans from the W 50s. A building along 9th Ave between 54th & 55th is planning to grow an extra two stories, along with expanding the retail space at street-level.
The building in question:
And what you can look forward to looming over you as you walk past:
Just picture a bulge on top of the row of buildings here:
According to the very-minimal plans, the new building will be 60ft high – 17 more than now – and the upgrades will set the developers back $735,000. The entire 104-year-old building sold at the end of 2011 for $2.675 million, and I guess now it’s time to turn a profit.
The seafood store downstairs has been closed for a while, and surely this development will mean the end of its much-loved signage. The march of progress…
Because nothing says “modern, relaxing living” like 5am postal trucks. Developers are planning a two-story extension on top of the Radio City post office on W 52nd St, halfway between 8th & 9th Aves, under the title “Radio City Lofts”, BuzzBuzzHome reports.
Here’s the rendering. It’s not that obnoxious, considering.
The plan a few months ago looked very different, with a lot more white:
The current reality:
We’re not even finished the planning stage, so obviously we’ve got a long time before we can experience the thrill of living above a functioning mailroom for ourselves, but given the that all we seem to hear about nowadays is megadevelopment after megadevelopment, a two-story extension is something to look forward to. And just think of how easy picking up your Amazon deliveries would be.
Yep, another one. To top it off, the site – on W 38th, between 8th & 9th – is apparently contaminated?
New renderings of the second of the “Atelier” towers, on the corner of 42nd & 9th, which will be “one of the largest apartment buildings in NYC” once finished. Daunting.
Catching up a bit, there’s plans for a 210-unit affordable housing development on W 52nd between 10th & 11th, just around the corner from DeWitt Clinton Park It would be an interesting contrast to the luxury Mercedes House directly across the road, even though the design mimics its future neighbor’s “stepped” appearance.
A development list wouldn’t be complete without some mention of Hudson Yards. Since the development, various buildings and vacant lots have been scooped up, some for crazy numbers. Now the latest: a block along 10th Ave between 34th & 35th is up for grabs. Start placing bets on the final sale price.
Back in October, we heard that iconic venue Roseland Ballroom would be closing this year. Speculation at the time assumed that the spot would be replaced with – what else – a giant, glassy tower. Now, BuzzBuzzHome have discovered the details and rendings for the new building, and it’s exactly what you’d expect:
The information from the project’s site:
This new 59-story mixed-use tower in Manhattan’s Theater district will redefine the midtown skyline. The as-of-right development will encompass some 468,300 SF. The three-story base will accommodate luxury retail space along one of New York’s most prestigious shopping streets. The two upper floors will contain 30,000 SF of indoor and outdoor amenities for residents and below grade valet parking. The tower above will house approximately 426 luxury studio, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom residences along with a 4 bedroom penthouse with uniquely expansive views over Central Park. A rooftop veranda will offer all residents an outdoor pool and lounge overlooking both Central Park to the North and Midtown Manhattan to the South.
Look forward to that towering over you in the distant future.
It looks like the incoming Tehuitzingo on 9th Ave might not actually be an expansion after all. The “original” location on 10th Ave had some crews working on it around the time we posted about the future 9th Ave location, and now is shuttered:
Meanwhile, there’s been progress at the new 9th Ave location, with this fancy awning going up:
The closure of the 10th Ave spot could just be temporary – renovations and the like – but it seems like the time to do that would be after the new location is open so there’s no down time, not before, so that makes it seem less likely it’s an expansion… Time will tell!
So close. Galerie 515, the new, huge incoming hotel/condo building on the corner of W 39th St & 9th Ave, was scheduled to be wrapped up by the end of December. If you’ve passed by in the last week, you’ll notice that it’s almost there, but the eternal sidewalk shed is still surrounding the building…
The building itself is basically ready to go – it’s just the interior, specifically the lobby, that seems to be holding it up.
For comparison, here’s the initial rendering from when the place was first announced…things have changed:
This isn’t the first trouble they’ve had over the building’s history: five years ago the place was announced, but just six months later it looked as though construction had stalled. Clearly, things eventually picked up, but this last month or two it’s felt like there’s been basically no activity. Regardless, it shouldn’t be long now before you can enjoy the “thrill and convenience” of living in “the dramatically changing Hell’s Kitchen district”.
The massive Verizon building at 435 W 50th St is getting the condo treatment. Developers JDS and Property Markets Group are converting the building – which dates back to 1927 – into 51 condos ranging from $1.5 million right up to $9 million. Madness.
The future:
The development will be going by the name Stella Tower. Fortunately, it looks like they’re staying pretty true to the original design, which is more than you can say for some other developments going up around the area.
The building is currently drowning in scaffolding while the conversion gets underway:
All the scaffolding makes for a really great skyline:
Here’s the spiel on the mostly uninformative website:
Designed in 1927 by pre-eminent architect Ralph Walker, Stella Tower has been transformed into 51 of the finest condominium residences, capturing the best of a pre-war architectural masterpiece and modern living. Located in the iconic New York neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, Stella Tower shines as a new beacon, rising above its skyline neighbors, showcasing dramatic 360-degree views of Manhattan.
And then there’s this line:
A new star is born
If you haven’t seen the posters all over the place, the future development 540 West has come out of hiding over the past few weeks and begun its marketing push. Here’s what we can look forward to around this time in 2014:
(Head over to their site for more renderings)
The development will consist of two buildings – each seven stories high – with a total of 114 condos. Most importantly though, they’ll bring “edgy innovative luxury” to “HLSKTCHN” (they’re too edgy and innovative for vowels, it seems):
The development will be taking over a full strip between 48th & 49th, between 10th & 11th. Here’s the site at the moment:
Behind the plywood, crews were working away in the pit over the weekend:
Not wasting any time, the sales center is set up just around the corner from the construction site on 10th Ave, so you can head in to find out more about this exctng dvlpmnt.
