It's only three weeks into the new year, but 2021 is off to quite a busy start. The days leading up to President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s inauguration have been filled with plans and projects set to breathe new life into quiet sites, bring historic architecture into the present day, and make New York a more pedestrian-friendly, environmentally conscious city. We take a look at renderings of some of the most exciting new projects in the works.
In this article:
Union Square 14th Street Vision Plan
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Union Square Park has been a New York destination since 1839, and has undergone several design changes since then to make it incrementally more welcoming. The newly revealed Union Square 14th Street Vision Plan takes that several steps further to transform the park into a pedestrian-friendly nexus of the city.
“Initiated as a response to the proposed L train shutdown, this Vision Plan evolved as Covid upended our world, and with it, our relationship with public space” - Jennifer Falk, Executive Director, Union Square Partnership
Developed by Union Square Partnership with Marvel Architects as the designer, the plan seeks to increase public open space 33% by expanding Union Square Park to surrounding building edges on Union Square West to bring the park up to a total of 8.85 acres. As part of the plan to transform 14th Street into a world-class boulevard and permanent crosstown transitway, the width of the sidewalks will be doubled and the pedestrian areas will be expanded. New design elements like integrated planter benches will be introduced as well as new trees, lighting, and trash containers. At the opposite end of the park, it calls for an enhanced Broadway plaza at 17th Street in alignment with a plan to complete a 2.5-mile pedestrian corridor from Columbus Circle to Union Square. And through it all, it calls for a master plan to address infrastructure issues like landscaping and utilities, ADA accessibility, permanent greenmarket stalls, and new subway entrances.
Union Square 14th Street Vision Plan is the result of a two-year engagement process with community members, local business leaders, urban designers, transportation experts, and City and State agency partners. When it was unveiled, local business owners and city officials spoke glowingly of the plan. But the time for community engagement is not up. A launch event hosted in collaboration with the Urban Design Forum will take place on Tuesday, January 26, and community members are invited to RSVP here.
Union Square 14th Street Vision Plan is the result of a two-year engagement process with community members, local business leaders, urban designers, transportation experts, and City and State agency partners. When it was unveiled, local business owners and city officials spoke glowingly of the plan. But the time for community engagement is not up. A launch event hosted in collaboration with the Urban Design Forum will take place on Tuesday, January 26, and community members are invited to RSVP here.
Brooklyn Wind Hub, Sunset Park
Rendering via Equinor
During his State of the State addresses, Governor Cuomo announced several new “green economy” initiatives. Among them was a plan to expand New York’s off-shore wind program to be the largest in the nation, a move that will also create hundreds of jobs and help New York meet the goals of decreased greenhouse gas emissions and increased renewable energy use set by climate legislation passed in 2019. In addition to new turbines along Long Island, the project will launch manufacturing and assembly hubs throughout the state, including a staging facility and operations and maintenance hub to be established at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
The project is being developed in a partnership with Equinor, a Norwegian-based firm whose specialties include wind and solar energy. Environmental activists lauded both the news and the plan to transform Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront into a haven for renewable energy jobs. Construction is expected to commence after a study of wind conditions and the seabed and take approximately three to four years.
The project is being developed in a partnership with Equinor, a Norwegian-based firm whose specialties include wind and solar energy. Environmental activists lauded both the news and the plan to transform Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront into a haven for renewable energy jobs. Construction is expected to commence after a study of wind conditions and the seabed and take approximately three to four years.
122 Fifth Avenue, Union Square
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In November 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (“Landmarks”) approved a rooftop addition with modifications to 122 Fifth Avenue, a commercial building in the Ladies Mile Historic District. Since then, owner/developer Bromley Companies and designer Studio Architecture have developed a plan to redistribute the bulk of the rooftop addition with a lateral expansion on a parking lot that used to hold a small-scale office building designed by McKim, Meade & White. Additionally, the team has proposed a new master plan that reestablishes the historic storefronts on 17th and 18th Streets.
A presentation cites several examples of lateral expansions that have been approved elsewhere in the district; during the Landmarks hearing on January 19, the designers emphasized how the storefront’s master plan would enhance the streetscape, presenting it as a modern interpretation of the building’s history. The Historic Districts Council and Victorian Society of New York thought that the addition and storefronts were respectable to the historic architecture to the point of playing it overly safe. They also felt that the expansion read more as a separate building, and several Landmarks commissioners agreed with that assessment. Chair Sarah Carroll ruled no action and urged them to focus primarily on the annex and storefronts.
A presentation cites several examples of lateral expansions that have been approved elsewhere in the district; during the Landmarks hearing on January 19, the designers emphasized how the storefront’s master plan would enhance the streetscape, presenting it as a modern interpretation of the building’s history. The Historic Districts Council and Victorian Society of New York thought that the addition and storefronts were respectable to the historic architecture to the point of playing it overly safe. They also felt that the expansion read more as a separate building, and several Landmarks commissioners agreed with that assessment. Chair Sarah Carroll ruled no action and urged them to focus primarily on the annex and storefronts.
Rendering of 345 Warren Street via Arbie Development
On the cusp of Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill, plans to extend and renovate a three-story townhouse at 345 Warren Street have been approved. Renderings show a gray brick facade with wood-framed windows, and permits call for four full-floor units (most likely condos, but an offering plan has not yet been filed). Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months.
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10-64 Jackson Avenue via CityRealty
Last spring, work began on an eight-story mixed-use building at 10-64 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City. Renderings show a building with a curved corner, and permits call for over 4,700 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 21 units, most likely rentals, on top. Residential amenities are set to include a gym, bike room, storage, lounge, and roof terraces. Completion was estimated for summer 2021, but it remains to be seen how the coronavirus pandemic will affect that timeline.
10-27 Jackson Avenue via CityRealty
Work is underway on a mixed-use building at 10-27 Jackson Avenue that renderings indicate will have a glassy facade and ninth-floor setback. Permits call for a 12-story, 50-unit building with 950 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. It is too soon to tell whether the apartments will be condos or rentals, but we know that amenities will include a fitness center and lounge, both with outdoor terraces and located on upper floors to make the most of views. The project also calls for a bike room and attended parking spaces, but the site is around the block from the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue 7 station. Completion is estimated for April 2022.
Rendering of 1800 Ocean Avenue via NA Design Studio
Permits have just been approved for an eight-story, 29-unit residential building at 1800 Ocean Avenue in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Rogers Builders is at the helm of the project, and N.A. Design Studio is the architect of record. There will be four apartments per floor and such amenity offerings as a lounge, bike room, storage room, package room, a courtyard, and roof terraces. An estimated completion date has not been determined, but the approval comes less than two years after demolition permits were filed for the two-story house previously on the site.
CCNY Development Center, Harlem
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On the City College campus, the landmarked President’s House at 119 Convent Avenue has been renovated and redeveloped into a state-of-the-art daycare and child development center for the children of CCNY students and faculty as well as community families. The interiors now feature a classroom, a library, and areas for art, tech, science, and play. A new set of stairs leads to such outdoor offerings as a butterfly garden, vegetable garden, and playground. The grand opening is estimated for later this year.
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The second phase of the Second Avenue subway extension will extend service to 125th Street with additional new stations at 106th Street and 116th Street. Down the street from the latter, a development site at 275 Pleasant Avenue is fully excavated and approved for a five-story plus basement two-family home.
Permits call for an owner’s quadruplex and ground-floor rental studio. The owner’s quadruplex will feature 10’ ceilings, a full-floor primary suite, Juliet balconies in the dining room and each of the three bedrooms, and a green roof with planting and lounge areas. The rental studio will have 11’ ceilings, maximized windows on the east and west facades, and access to the backyard. The site is on the same block as Rao’s, a stone’s throw from Thomas Jefferson Park, and down the street from the 116th Street 6 subway stop.
Permits call for an owner’s quadruplex and ground-floor rental studio. The owner’s quadruplex will feature 10’ ceilings, a full-floor primary suite, Juliet balconies in the dining room and each of the three bedrooms, and a green roof with planting and lounge areas. The rental studio will have 11’ ceilings, maximized windows on the east and west facades, and access to the backyard. The site is on the same block as Rao’s, a stone’s throw from Thomas Jefferson Park, and down the street from the 116th Street 6 subway stop.
Rendering via B6 Real Estate Advisors
275 Livingston Street is currently a development site, but it is not likely to stay empty for long given the Downtown Brooklyn building boom. Between the existing square feet and available air rights, it allows for a total of 43,760 buildable square feet with the potential to acquire more. Commercial tenants will appreciate 80 feet of frontage on Livingston Street and 41 feet of frontage along Hanover Place; the site’s zoning also allows for residential and inclusionary housing. It is well situated near 11 subway lines at Nevins Street, Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street, and DeKalb Avenue.
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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