A spokesperson for Forest City Ratner, the developer of Frank O. Gehry's curvaceous stainless steel mixed-used tower at 8 Spruce Street near City Hall, maintains that the huge tower is not being shrunk, according to an article by Julie Shapiro in this week's edition of the Downtown Express.
The spokesperson, Joyce Baumgarten, said that rumors that the tower would not rise above its current height of 38 floors were "exaggerated" and stemmed from an application for a permit from the Department of Buildings to add a roof. The roof, in question, however, she added, was simply the tower's first setback.
The article added that Forest City Ratner is looking "for ways to save money, possibly by re-bidding construction contracts" and it said that the spokesperson said the company was "not worried about finding a market for the building's 903 apartments, which will range from $4,000 to $15,000 a month."
The article quoted Mrs. Baumgarten as stating that "there's been no change in the design of the building" and that "work is continuing on the building."
The article quoted a statement by Ms. Baumgarten that "Given current economic conditions, including downward trends in construction costs, we are conducting a study to evaluate potential opportunities to achieve savings on the project."
The building reportedly has $680 million in financing in pace and it is due to be finished in 2011 with a new K-8 School in its base and an ambulatory center for the New York Downtown Hospital.
On March 19, Matthew Schuerman of WNYC had a report that said that Forest City Ratner "may stop work at half-the-height because of the poor economy" on its 76-story, 867-foot-high, mixed-use tower designed by Mr. Gehry, the architect of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
Rumors spread quickly fueled in part by a separate report on the Internet that Mr. Gehry was not sure it would be rise its full height.
The spokesperson, Joyce Baumgarten, said that rumors that the tower would not rise above its current height of 38 floors were "exaggerated" and stemmed from an application for a permit from the Department of Buildings to add a roof. The roof, in question, however, she added, was simply the tower's first setback.
The article added that Forest City Ratner is looking "for ways to save money, possibly by re-bidding construction contracts" and it said that the spokesperson said the company was "not worried about finding a market for the building's 903 apartments, which will range from $4,000 to $15,000 a month."
The article quoted Mrs. Baumgarten as stating that "there's been no change in the design of the building" and that "work is continuing on the building."
The article quoted a statement by Ms. Baumgarten that "Given current economic conditions, including downward trends in construction costs, we are conducting a study to evaluate potential opportunities to achieve savings on the project."
The building reportedly has $680 million in financing in pace and it is due to be finished in 2011 with a new K-8 School in its base and an ambulatory center for the New York Downtown Hospital.
On March 19, Matthew Schuerman of WNYC had a report that said that Forest City Ratner "may stop work at half-the-height because of the poor economy" on its 76-story, 867-foot-high, mixed-use tower designed by Mr. Gehry, the architect of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
Rumors spread quickly fueled in part by a separate report on the Internet that Mr. Gehry was not sure it would be rise its full height.
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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