Extell Development presented its revised plans Thursday for its Riverside Center development between West End Avenue, the West Side Highway and 59th and 61st Streets at the first of several planned community meetings.
Gary Barnett, Extell's CEO, told the meeting that "financing had not been secured for the 3-million-square-foot proposal" and maintained that "putting too much burden on the project will cause nothing to move forward," adding that "the construction costs are extraordinarily high because of infrastructure," according to an article by Roland Li Friday at observer.com.
Some residents at the meeting indicated they opposed the inclusion of an automobile dealership in the plan but the article said that "Extell representatives said there had been strong interest from carmakers to lease the showcase space," adding that such space "is one of the crucial profitable parts of the development."
"Extell originally had interest from Costco to run a big box retail store, but locals were against a large store and the idea was scrapped," the article said, adding that "Residents also oppose the 1,800 parking spaces that are planned as part of the development and want an outdoor play area for students of the school that will be built as part of the project; currently there are two rooftop terraces planned for play areas."
The project is now in the Uniform Land Use Review Process because Extell is seeking numerous modifications to a 1992 agreement for the site's development, which originally was conceived by Donald Trump as a large office tower and television studios.
The originally plan called for 577 residential units, a 743-car garage, 1.8-million square feet of television studios and 2.4-million square feet of office space and about 100,000 square feet of below-grade retail.
The new Extell scheme calls for about 3-million square feet of office space, 2,500 apartments, a 250-room hotel, 210,000 square feet of retail, a 1,800-car garage, a 168,000-square-foot automobile showroom and a school.
Community Board 7 urged that one of the buildings be removed from the plan and that 60th Street be extended to Riverside Boulevard and expressed concerns that Extell's plan "distances retail from high-traffic avenue streets and sidewalks, includes public space that is not welcoming, accessible, or useful to the public, relegates 59th Street to a service alley, minimalizes potential for historic Con Ed landmark and public amenity" and locates the school on a busy avenue with no ground-level yard or playing field and limits affordable housing to 12 percent for 20 years.
The plan, which has been designed by Christian de Portzamparc, calls for five towers whose heights have been revised but still have angled appendages.
Gary Barnett, Extell's CEO, told the meeting that "financing had not been secured for the 3-million-square-foot proposal" and maintained that "putting too much burden on the project will cause nothing to move forward," adding that "the construction costs are extraordinarily high because of infrastructure," according to an article by Roland Li Friday at observer.com.
Some residents at the meeting indicated they opposed the inclusion of an automobile dealership in the plan but the article said that "Extell representatives said there had been strong interest from carmakers to lease the showcase space," adding that such space "is one of the crucial profitable parts of the development."
"Extell originally had interest from Costco to run a big box retail store, but locals were against a large store and the idea was scrapped," the article said, adding that "Residents also oppose the 1,800 parking spaces that are planned as part of the development and want an outdoor play area for students of the school that will be built as part of the project; currently there are two rooftop terraces planned for play areas."
The project is now in the Uniform Land Use Review Process because Extell is seeking numerous modifications to a 1992 agreement for the site's development, which originally was conceived by Donald Trump as a large office tower and television studios.
The originally plan called for 577 residential units, a 743-car garage, 1.8-million square feet of television studios and 2.4-million square feet of office space and about 100,000 square feet of below-grade retail.
The new Extell scheme calls for about 3-million square feet of office space, 2,500 apartments, a 250-room hotel, 210,000 square feet of retail, a 1,800-car garage, a 168,000-square-foot automobile showroom and a school.
Community Board 7 urged that one of the buildings be removed from the plan and that 60th Street be extended to Riverside Boulevard and expressed concerns that Extell's plan "distances retail from high-traffic avenue streets and sidewalks, includes public space that is not welcoming, accessible, or useful to the public, relegates 59th Street to a service alley, minimalizes potential for historic Con Ed landmark and public amenity" and locates the school on a busy avenue with no ground-level yard or playing field and limits affordable housing to 12 percent for 20 years.
The plan, which has been designed by Christian de Portzamparc, calls for five towers whose heights have been revised but still have angled appendages.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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