NEW YORK | 250 Water Street | 2 x 470 FT | 38 FLOORS

[pianowizard]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Total project costs for the new development are estimated at $850 million.

So, when this was 2 x 470 ft, the project cost was $1.4 billion, but after getting shrunk to 1 x 324 ft, it still costs $850 million? Sounds like a really bad deal.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by pianowizard

So, when this was 2 x 470 ft, the project cost was $1.4 billion, but after getting shrunk to 1 x 324 ft, it still costs $850 million? Sounds like a really bad deal.

Well, ignore the distinction between one and two towers - it's just a different way of achieving floor area on the site, and actually one tower is more economical (fewer cores, less facade) in most cases. The change in height is really a change in floor area, and my guess would be that even with <70% of the height they still have >70% of the floor area of the original proposal, if that makes sense.

[Busy Bee]

Just to reiterate the obvious and apologies for beating the proverbial dead horse, but I'm still flabbergasted that after the gorgeous tower options, this is in fact what will actually be built. How utterly depressing. The renderings suggest a very high end facade, but the form just looks like dead aspirations in built form.

[pico44]

This is fantastic news. Is it good architecture? Nope. But it is a perfect “eff you” to those horrible horrible nimbys in one of those disgusting buildings. The idea of their views being destroyed is immensely satisfying. Now if we could do the same for the other buildings as well...

[chris08876]

Seaport community groups file new lawsuit against Howard Hughes tower: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...er-new-lawsuit

February 09, 2022

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Seaport community groups file new lawsuit against Howard Hughes tower: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...er-new-lawsuit

February 09, 2022

They should be rounded up, and thrown into the east river. Let it go already. You've won!

[NYguy]

I don’t have the energy for these people anymore…

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-...2ny-story.html

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by NYguy

I don’t have the energy for these people anymore…

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-...2ny-story.html

What's taking them so long to start construction? I thought it was approved in May last year. Not that I am a fan of the approved project, but they open themselves up to more lawsuits by dragging their feet with the start.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by DCReid

What's taking them so long to start construction? I thought it was approved in May last year. Not that I am a fan of the approved project, but they open themselves up to more lawsuits by dragging their feet with the start.

I was gonna say remediation hadn’t begun yet, but apparently it has…



https://thevillagesun.com/elevated-m...s-teachers/amp

Foundation and remediation work began earlier this year at the site soon to be developed by the Howard Hughes Corporation — just in time to install piles in the ground, which qualifies the developer for a 421-A tax abatement before the program expires on June 15.

….. At a rally before school started on Thurs., May 26, parents and teachers were joined by local politicians, who decried what they described as the negligence of the Howard Hughes Corporation and the city Department of Environmental Protection and state Department of Environmental Conservation for potentially exposing hundreds of children to mercury poisoning and noise pollution.

….. A Howard Hughes Corporation spokesperson maintained that mercury levels based on air monitoring data have been “consistent” with expectations.

“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is overseeing a robust brownfield cleanup that is fully protective of public health and the environment and guided by rigorous cleanup standards developed by D.E.C. and the New York State Department of Health,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement.

[chris08876]

250 Water brownfield cleanup program is in process

If you have tuned into the plans for 250 Water, where Howard Hughes will be building a mixed-use, 324-foot development (rendering below) on that square block in the South Street Seaport Historic District, you know that the site is contaminated — and also across from Peck Slip School — and requires a regimented brownfield cleanup program.

So the work there has begun and an independent environmental consultant is providing reports to CB1. So far 32 truckloads of soil have been transported off the site, and the majority of the area is now down to the targeted depth of minus 8 feet. Soil samples were collected along Peck Slip and will be reported this week. No odors were observed on the soil so far.

The entire soil area was covered with foam to contain any dustup of contaminants; the work was also scheduled for when school was closed. Eventually the site will be backfilled with imported clean fill.

Over the years, the uses of the site included a factory, an oil company, a printer, a metal works, a chemicals and glue company, a chemical company, thermometer factories/workshops, a garage with two underground storage tanks, a machine shop, and a gasoline service station. Hence the tanks and all sorts of contaminants, including mercury.

====================
https://tribecacitizen.com/2022/09/2...is-in-process/

[chris08876]

[NYguy]

http://tribecatrib.com/content/judge...struction-halt

Judge Sides With Seaport Tower Foes, Orders Temporary Construction Halt









By CARL GLASSMAN
Oct. 11, 2022

The battle by opponents of a towering residential building in the South Street Seaport Historic District is not over. A State Supreme Court judge on Oct. 6 issued a temporary restraining order against the developer, Howard Hughes Corp., from going ahead with construction of the 324-foot-tall structure.

In its lawsuit, the Seaport Coalition claimed that the Landmarks Preservation Commission, along with a Hughes Corp. (HHC) affiliate, acted improperly when the commission approved the new building at 250 Water Street. The judge’s order will be in effect at least until Dec. 1, when lawyers for the city and Hughes Corp. must show why the commission’s certificate of appropriateness for the new building should not be invalidated.

“This court acknowledges the huge negative financial impact of the temporary restraining order on the Developer,” Judge Arthur F. Engoron said in his written decision, “however, any wounds are self-inflicted, in as much as this Court believes both respondents failed to adhere to lawful procedure.”

The developer’s ongoing cleanup of mercury and other toxic materials from the site, formerly the location of a thermometer factory, is allowed to continue.

The Seaport Coalition argues that the Landmarks Commission “abused its discretion” when it allowed a building of the same scale as others it had rejected in the past. It also alleges that the agency was swayed by the Howard Hughes Corp.’s linkage of the approval with financial support for the struggling South Street Seaport Museum. Then there is its claim that documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Laws show that the commission’s chair and senior staff allowed themselves to be influenced by the developer through meetings with representatives of the Hughes Corp. and the de Blasio administration, even to the point of what the suit calls “rehears[ing] for the public hearing.” The coalition includes three groups that oppose the tower: Save Our Seaport, Southbridge Towers, and Children First.

A Hughes Corp. spokesman declined to respond to questions about the impact of the temporary restraining order on the developer’s construction schedule. (The building is slated to open in 2026.) In an email statement, the spokesman said, “We firmly disagree with this ruling. Regardless of this decision, we remain confident that this lawsuit is meritless and courts will agree that the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval of our project was proper and made in full accordance of the Landmarks Law.” When it was first filed, HHC called the suit “deeply out of touch” and “a stunt.”

[NYguy]

If only this piece of property coukd be shifted into the sun.



https://therealdeal.com/2023/01/13/j...-quid-pro-quo/

Judge stops Howard Hughes’ Seaport project again, citing “quid pro quo”
Developer will appeal latest ruling against 250 Water Street tower





New York
Jan. 13, 2023

Choppy legal waters have again threatened to capsize Howard Hughes’ planned high-rise in the South Street Seaport district. But the developer believes it can right the project on appeal.

A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday ordered construction paused on the 270-unit residential building at 250 Water Street for the second time in three months, citing an “impermissible quid pro quo” between the developer and the Landmarks Preservation Commission aimed at providing “political cover” to the project.

“We respectfully disagree with Judge Engoron’s decision,” a spokesperson for Howard Hughes said in a statement, “and believe that the Appellate Division will overturn this decision in due course.”

Judge Arthur Engoron called the project at 250 Water Street “controversial” and “counter-intuitive” in his ruling, stating that its approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission was likely based on promises Howard Hughes made to fund the nearby nonprofit South Street Seaport Museum.

“This argument is supported by the record,” Engoron stated, “which demonstrates extensive coordination, over a period of more than three years, between LPC and Hughes Corp. on how to provide ‘political cover’ for the project.” The commission is supposed to consider projects’ historical appropriateness and not be influenced by sweeteners at other locations.

“The city is very disappointed in the ruling and is evaluating its legal options,” a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said in a statement. “The Landmarks Commission properly considered the factors it was supposed to under the Landmarks Law and approved a building that not only would contribute to the special character of the historic district but also provide much-needed new housing, at a broad range of incomes.”

https://thevillagesun.com/seaport-co...water-st-tower

Seaport Coalition wins lawsuit against Landmarks Commission for ‘violating its mandate’ in O.K.’ing 250 Water St. tower

The Seaport Coalition has won its lawsuit against the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for “violating its mandate” in approving the Howard Hughes Corporation’s 250 Water St. tower.

The decision invalidates the project’s certificate of appropriateness and stops construction of a tower inside the low-scale South Street Seaport Historic District.

On Jan. 11, State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in favor of the Seaport Coalition lawsuit to halt the billion-dollar project which, the plaintiffs argued, would “overwhelm and dominate” the South Street Historic District.

The lawsuit challenged, among other issues, L.P.C. validating the developer’s attempt to link funding for the nonprofit Seaport Museum to Howard Hughes’s 250 Water St. development. The coalition argued that linked a nonprofit to a for-profit developer is “a tactic often used to provide political cover for City Planning commissioners and electeds to provide community benefits.”

The Landmarks Preservation Law entrusts L.P.C. with the responsibility to preserve historically and architecturally significant buildings and districts that are valuable and important to the city as a whole.

[Hudson11]

unbelievable the lengths that NIMBYs in this neighborhood will go to in order to prevent new development. Can they just launch lawsuits willy-nilly? where do they get the funding? Or are they that affluent that money is no issue to safeguard their views, similar to the NIMBYs in Sutton Place who strong armed an entire rezoning to deny new affordable housing because their view could be blocked by a new tall building?

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by Hudson11

unbelievable the lengths that NIMBYs in this neighborhood will go to in order to prevent new development. Can they just launch lawsuits willy-nilly? where do they get the funding? Or are they that affluent that money is no issue to safeguard their views, similar to the NIMBYs in Sutton Place who strong armed an entire rezoning to deny new affordable housing because their view could be blocked by a new tall building?

It's incredible, it's not even a skyscraper, and may not even be in the top 500 tallest buildings in the city and for some reason they still care.

Some people just have too much time on their hands.

[chris08876]

Hochul needs to get involved to prevent this BS. Case studies like this present a bad precedent going forward.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Hochul needs to get involved to prevent this BS. Case studies like this present a bad precedent going forward.

These people have been so successful blocking any and every development for this site, they feel entitled to a win here. But it won’t last forever, and even this is just likely a temporary setback.

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2023/01/25/exhibi...new-york-city/

Exhibit #1 in why it’s so hard to build housing in New York City





By Post Editorial Board
January 25, 2023

For a taste of why housing’s so expensive in this town, consider Manhattan trial-court Judge Arthur Engoron‘s ruling this month freezing work on the 250 Water St. project simply because the developer made an agreement to save the historic South Street Seaport Museum.

An “impermissible quid pro quo,” he huffed. Because why?

The site’s to hold a 270-unit, 26-story apartment building offering much-needed affordable and market-rate units; the Howard Hughes Corp. Also agreed to fund a $50 million endowment to help the museum reopen. All of which will boost the area, which is now full of empty storefronts.

Engoron will get overruled . . . eventually, as he was not long ago when he halted the Two Bridges project, complaining, “These are huge towers. I’ve lived in the city my whole life. You can’t just do this because the zoning allows it. I just can’t believe this is the case.” Somehow, he’s still on the bench.

Nonsense lawsuits by the “haves” delay and even defeat major construction in New York City all the time. In this case, locals worried about their views have even suggested the 250 Water site should just become an NYPD tow pound — never mind that zoning allows for an apartment tower.

Someone always has some reason to oppose change, but New York stands out for giving the nay-sayers so many chances to succeed.

[chris08876]

NY state court paves way for $850M apartment complex to rise near Seaport

The view from the South Street Seaport is about to get a “lot” better for everyone — except for some cranky neighbors at nearby Southbridge Towers.

A state appeals court Tuesday slammed the door on apartment residents who fought to block new buildings from rising at an empty lot on Water Street that would block their views.

The decision means that Howard Hughes Corporation’s long-planned, $850 million apartment complex at 250 Water St. can finally go forward.

The project is to have 399 apartments, of which 100 will be affordable, along with stores, offices and community space.

As part of the deal, Hughes will pay $40 million for air rights from Pier 17 and Tin Building to support the nonprofit South Street Seaport Museum.

Howard Hughes Corp. has owned the vacant eyesore since 2018.

It wanted to create a mix of market-rate and affordable housing and green space to complement Hughes’ revival of the South Street Seaport next door.

The Appellate Division unanimously threw out Engoron’s ruling that the Seaport District project was wrongly approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“The court’s decision confirms what we have maintained all along: The Commission’s approval was proper and made in full compliance with Landmarks Law,” Zach Winick, co-president of Hughes’ New York operations, said in a statement.

=====================
https://nypost.com/2023/06/06/nyc-co...-near-seaport/

[NYguy]

These people need to move already. If a 25-story building in Manhattan will destroy your way of life, just move.



https://www.otdowntown.com/news/in-b...ling-AC2576112

In Blow To Community Opposition, South Seaport Tower Is Ok’d By Appeals Court Ruling
A new twenty-five story tower located in the South Street Seaport area can move forward with construction





JACK AHERN
09 JUN 2023

In a victory for Howard Hughes Corp., their behemoth twenty-five story residential tower in downtown Manhattan is expected to move forward with construction after a favorable appeals court ruling.

The project was initially halted after a successful lawsuit by opposition group Seaport Coalition in October of 2022, prompting Judge Arthur Engoron to issue an injunction on the project.

Now, in a demoralizing blow to stalwart critics of the project such as the Seaport Coalition, the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the project can move forward. This all but confirms that the twenty-five story skyscraper will loom over Pier 17, in a location that the Landmarks Preservation Committee had prevented from being developed for decades until the Hughes Corp.’s successful bid to change their minds in May of 2021.

.....The South Seaport Tower is projected to stand up to 324 ft. tall and will contain 399 housing units. 100 of these units are intended to be affordable and family-oriented, with 90 of those 100 being priced at 40 percent of the area’s median income (roughly equal to $50,840 for a family of three) and the remaining ten priced at 120 percent of the AMI (roughly $152,520 for a family of three).