Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side Opens at 150 Delancey Street

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The growing InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) empire recently added a new facility to its New York City list of hotels with the opening of Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side at 150 Delancey St. Designed by architect Gene Kaufman, who has a long history with hotel projects in New York, the 58,000-square-foot full-service facility was developed by the McSam Hotel Group, one of the largest hotel developers in the city.

The eight-story hotel features 132 guest rooms—82 single bed rooms, 50 double bed rooms and 6 rooms for the physically challenged—in line with the Holiday Inn family’s $1 billion global brand re-launch that aims to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio of over 1,200 properties.

Apart from the standard Holiday Inn signature guestroom and bathroom accommodations, all hotel rooms are equipped with business-focused amenities such as ergonomic workstations, data ports and complimentary USA Today newspapers. The hotel’s ground floor is anchored by a Retro Bar & Grill, where guests can enjoy American-influenced cuisine throughout the week at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“The Holiday Inn brand has always represented quality and comfort, and our new hotel is a perfect fit for the Lower East Side neighborhood,” said Tim Chhatwal, the hotel’s general manager, as quoted in a press statement.

According to Bowery Boogie, the Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side site was purchased for $15.75 million in mid-2009 by hotel guru Sam Chang, the developer behind the McSam Hotel Group. The project kicked off several weeks later with the demolition of the low-rise buildings at the corner of Delancey and Suffolk streets.

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Image courtesy of InteContinental Hotels Group

World’s Largest Data Center Opens in Manhattan

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Sabey Data Center Properties, a Seattle-based multi-tenant data center owner that also specializes in computer infrastructure, has powered up the first phase of the largest and tallest data center in the world. The 32-story high-rise is located at 375 Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan in the formerly foreclosed Verizon Building, most of which Sabey acquired for $120 million in 2011.

Contrary to a general trend that calls for data centers to be moved outside urban clusters where power and real estate are much cheaper, Sabey’s Intergate.Manhattan is a unique business model that will serve primarily Financial District customers and businesses looking for high processing speed.

Currently providing over 100,000 square feet of data center space and 5.4 Megawatts from ConEd, the facility will ultimately accommodate 40 Megawatts of critical data center capacity on 1 million square feet, of which 600,000 square feet will serve as data center-specific floor space.

The building’s first tenant is the New York Genome Center, a computer and storage platform working for 12 leading medical institutions. Verizon still owns and occupies three floors in the building, according to Real Estate Weekly. David Falk, Michael Morris and Bryan Loewen of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank will represent Intergate.Manhattan as leasing agents for the building’s 17 floors that are immediately available.

Designed by Rose, Beaton & Rose for the former New York Telephone Company, the monolithic building was completed in 1975.

Image credits to Mark Lennihan/AP

Luxury Tower Under Construction Hits Market with One-third of Units Already Sold

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

An announcement made by the development team behind a much-anticipated residential tower in Midtown Manhattan shows once again that the luxury market in New York City is anything but boring these days. Los Angeles-based private-equity firm CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, a local development company, have officially launched the sales campaign for 432 Park Avenue—a $1.2 billion condo tower located on Park Avenue between 56th and 57th Street.

So far so good, but what’s really surprising is the fact that the tower is set for completion in 2015, and one-third of the residences were sold before they officially hit the market.

Designed by Rafael Viñoly and SLCE Architects, the 96-story structure kicked off in 2012. When completed in mid-2015, it will become the tallest building in New York City and the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. The tower is being constructed using architectural concrete, steel and glass to rise 1,396 feet above Manhattan.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, 432 Park Avenue will include 126 high-end apartments with a combined asking price of $2.7 billion–which breaks down to $6,742 per square foot, one of the highest asking prices for this area.

Apart from the super-pricey, ultra-luxury units, the tower will also include 30,000 square feet of amenities such as a private restaurant, outdoor garden for dining and events, spa and fitness center with steam and massage rooms, swimming pool, 24-hour doorman, valet parking services, and several other recreational spaces for residents.

According to The Journal, high-end real estate developers in New York City typically start marketing units long before the developments reach completion. Furthermore, the demand for pricey apartments is fueled by the lack of housing inventory in the city and, to a certain extent, by U.S. and overseas investors who look for prime locations.

Rendering of 432 Park Avenue courtesy of CIM Group & Macklowe Properties via Business Wire

Orbach Group Pays $70M for Manhattan Portfolio; Extell Sells Retail Condo at the International Gem Tower

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Orbach Group, a New York-based real estate management and investment company, has expanded its New York City apartment portfolio with three new acquisitions totaling around $70 million. The seller, Dermot Company, was represented in the transaction by Andrew Scandalios of HFF.

The newly acquired buildings are 210 and 230 W. 107^th St. on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units totaling 178 high-end apartments with market rents ranging from $2,400 to $5,000 per month. With these new additions, Orbach’s multifamily assets in the city reached almost 1,000 units, while the company’s entire East Coast portfolio is more than 5,000 units.

In commercial real estate highlights for this week, Extell Development sold a three-story retail condominium at 50 West 47^th Street in Manhattan’s Diamond District. The 12,000 square feet of space span three levels in Extell’s International Gem Tower—a $750 million skyscraper that opened in October 2012 and was designed by renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill exclusively for the global diamond, gem and jewelry industry.

The buyer is The Gulaylar Group, a leading gold and diamond retailer and investor based in Turkey. According to Hurriyet, the company paid $10 million for the property and plans to create a state-of-the-art jewelry exchange in the new space.

“This building brings tremendous prestige to Manhattan’s Diamond District, and The Gulaylar Group’s new jewelry exchange will benefit greatly from the prestigious address and exposure to our owners and their guests,” said Mehmet Gulay, vice president of the Gulaylar Group, in a press statement.

Property closings at the International Gem Tower continue steadily, and Extell Development estimates that the first companies may start moving into the new spaces in mid-2013. Some of the most important players in the diamonds and gem industry—such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), A.S. Diamonds, Eurostar and Kuperman Bros. Diamonds USA—have already acquired space in the 34-story building.

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Rendering of the International Gem Tower via www.internationalgemtower.com

Construction Breaks Ground on 925-unit Multifamily Project in Long Island City

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

March 4 marked the official groundbreaking of the initial phase of Hunter’s Point South, the biggest affordable housing project in New York City in 40 years. A $332 million joint venture between Phipps Houses, Related Companies and Monadnock Construction, the project is located on a 30-acre site on the Long Island City waterfront in Queens.

Phase I of the Hunter’s Point South project was designed by SHoP Architects and Ismael Levya Architects to achieve LEED Silver certification and consists of two residential buildings—32 and 37 stories each—with 925 permanently affordable apartments targeted to low-, moderate- and middle-income families.

The project also includes 17,000 square feet of retail space, a five-acre waterfront park and a new school with 1,100 seats which, according to The Epoch Times, is under construction and should be open by September.

Both buildings will feature public terraces, a fitness center, tech center, play space for children, recreational space and bike storage. The 37-story Building A, which will be located at 1-50 50^th Ave., will consist of 165 studio, 205 one-, 214 two- and 35 three-bedroom units; 13,739 square feet of retail space; and a 220-space parking garage. Located at 1-55 Borden Ave., the 32-story Building B will include 100 studios, 82 one-, 101 two- and 23 three-bedroom units and around 3,000 square feet of retail space.

The first residents are expected to move in the two buildings in 2014, with construction fully compete in 2015.

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Rendering via NYCEDC

Harlem’s Victoria Theater to Be Reborn as Mixed-Use Cultural Venue

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Harlem’s historic Victoria Theater on 125^th Street will undergo a $142 million renovation spearheaded by Danforth Development Partners and Exact Capital. Designed in 1917 by famous architect Thomas W. Lamb for the Loew’s Corporation, Victoria Theater opened as a luxury vaudeville and motion picture theater with 2,394 seats.

In 1977, the venue was acquired by the Harlem Community Development Corporation and, a decade later, expanded with five movie theaters that replaced the large auditorium, stage areas and mezzanine.

The theater shuttered in 1989 and was designated a city landmark in 1993. Its status remained uncertain until 2004, when the Harlem Community Development Corporation started looking for redevelopment proposals. According to The Uptowner, the contract was awarded to Danforth Development Partners LLC but the project stalled because of the recession.

After many years of bureaucratic and financial efforts, the Danforth/Exact Capital joint venture will finally break ground under design plans by Aufgang & Subotovsky Architecture and Planning. Apart from restoring and upgrading the theater’s original lobby and façade, the development team will add two 26-story towers above the existing building.

The new structures will include a 210-room hotel operated under the Cambria Suites flag, a 5,000-square-foot ballroom, and a 25,000-square-foot arts center for cultural organizations, Real Estate Weekly reports.

The project also includes a residential component—206 apartments atop the hotel, half of which will be affordable—and 24,000 square feet of street level retail space that will feature a large restaurant, jazz club and small stores. Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the development will create around 700 construction jobs and 373 permanent jobs. It is estimated that the project will generate more than $9 million in state and city tax revenue.

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Rendering credits to Aufgang & Subotovsky Architecture and Planning

Green Affordable Housing Building Opens in the Bronx

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A new low-income, eco-friendly residential building in the Bronx was officially opened on February 21 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).  Located at 770 East 166^th St. at Tinton Avenue in Morrisania, the nearly $38 million project was built by Blue Sea Development on land that was purchased from NYCHA at below market value.

The Arbor House development is part of the New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), a multi-billion dollar program initiated by the Bloomberg administration to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing in New York City by the close of the 2014 fiscal year.

Already boasting a LEED Platinum certification and National Green Building Emerald rating, Arbor House was also recognized by the American Cancer Society as a “Healthy High-Rise” thanks to the building’s 100 percent smoke-free policy and the use of low and zero VOC materials for improved air quality.

Besides the 8,000-square-foot rooftop greenhouse that will be overseen by a full-time farmer and a living green wall in the lobby, the building’s design promotes physical fitness through indoor and outdoor exercising areas and encourages stair use.

The eight-story structure totals 120,000 square feet and 124 units of affordable housing (16 studios, 33 one-bedroom units and 75 two-bedroom units) and one apartment reserved for a superintendent. Since the apartments were designed for low-income households earning less than 60 percent of the area median income, which is $49,800 for a family of four or $34,860 for an individual, rents will range from almost $700 for a studio to a little over $900 for a two-bedroom unit. Though the building was just inaugurated, residents will start moving in starting next month.

What’s really green and eco-friendly about this development is that the rooftop hydroponic farm is expected to yield 100 tons of fresh, pesticides-free produce throughout the year. According to DNAInfo.com, the rooftop farm will be able to feed 450 people; 40 percent of the expected annual yield will be distributed to nearby schools and markets.

Images courtesy of New York City Housing Authority’s Facebook Page

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Long-Anticipated Senior Living Center Coming to Staten Island

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A 15-acre site located on Brielle Avenue between Walcott Avenue and Rockland Avenue in Staten Island’s Willowbrook neighborhood will be transformed into a state-of-the-art, private-pay residential center, SILive.com reports. An almost two-decade effort initiated by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (known as the Met Council), the project is backed by $36 million in tax exemptions through the city’s BuildNYC Resource Corporation—a NYCEDC-administered organization whose main goal is to facilitate access to tax-exempt bond financing for non-profit institutions—and a $45.2 million capital grant from the city council.

Developed by Leewood-Seaview LLC under design plans by locally based MHG Architects, the Seaview Senior Living Center will be licensed to operate by the New York State Department of Health. Once open in 2014, it will be operated and managed by the FilBen Group, a private organization that builds, owns and operates senior housing and healthcare facilities in the New York metropolitan area.

The 103,000-square-foot assisted living and memory care facility will provide 188 rooms for senior individuals and couples, who will receive a full spectrum of residential and healthcare services. According to Crain’s New York Business, rents at the new campus will average around $3,400 a month, almost half the amount charged by similar facilities in the area. The campus will also include an 11,500-square-foot building designed for social and recreational activities, as well as a director’s residence and an administrative building.

According to Crain’s, after the Seaview Senior Living Center is complete, the project will go on with the second phase—a $50 million investment calling for a separate condo building for seniors that will be built next to the assisted living center.

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Rendering of Seaview Senior Living Center credits to MHG Architects

Long Island City Building Gets $120M Financing; The Edge Is Top Selling Building in NYC

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

One of the leading commercial real estate finance companies in the U.S., Walker & Dunlop LLC of Bethesda, Md., recently announced that it provided $120 million financing for a high-rise apartment building in Long Island City, N.Y. The financing team lead by Walker & Dunlop’s Steven Heller arranged a 10-year loan through Fannie Mae with a 5-year interest, followed by a 30-year amortization period.

Owned by TF Cornerstone Equities, the multifamily building located at 45-40 Center Blvd. is part of Stage Two of a master plan called Queens West Development. When completed, the development will include seven mixed-use residential buildings, 3,000 apartment units abd 1,825 parking spaces and retail spaces.

45-40 Center Boulevard includes 345 luxury residential units with spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. The upscale amenity package includes a concierge valet, a rooftop terrace and a full-service restaurant on the ground level.

In further residential real estate news, The Edge in Williamsburg was the top selling building in New York City for the second year in a row, according to a PropertyShark market report. With 272 units sold in 2011 and 167 units sold in 2012 at a median price of $804,418, the property is now completely sold.

The next top selling buildings include the Sheffield in Midtown West—with 102 units sold at a median price of $1,453,231, followed by 99 John Deco Lofts in the Financial District—where 84 units were sold in 2012 at a median price of $675,000. The fourth-top selling building on PropertyShark’s list is One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights that saw 82 units sold in 2012 with a median price of $965,000.

Chart courtesy of PropertyShark

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Micro-Housing to Solve Apartment Crisis in NYC?

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The lack of inventory and skyrocketing rent prices have forced many New Yorkers to reconsider their housing options or look for solutions to transform their notoriously tiny apartments into multifunctional homes.

Following the relatively new “micro-housing” concept, which has been gaining more and more followers in several major U.S. cities such as San Francisco or Boston, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced the winner of the adaptNYC Competition—a city-sponsored pilot program launched in July 2012 to develop innovative micro-apartments that would respond to New York City’s housing problems.

The development team composed of Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation and nARCHITECTS, the latter of whom was chosen to design, construct and operate the city’s first standalone micro-unit apartment building. Named “My Micro NY,” the project will occupy a vacant, city-owned parcel at 335 East 27^th St. in Manhattan.

The $15 million pilot investment will include 55 prefabricated rental micro-apartments measuring between 250 and 370 square feet, with 40 percent of the units already designated as affordable. City officials estimate that the building will accommodate 70 to 100 residents, who are expected to move in by September 2015.

Each unit at My Micro NY will consist of two distinct zones—one including a kitchen, bathroom and storage room, and the other one designed as a canvas area providing flexible space and serving as the primary living and sleeping area. The micro-housing building will also feature a rooftop garden, a community room on each floor, a lounge area, a laundry room and storage room.

Meanwhile, local entrepreneur and trained architect Graham Hill seems to have found an ideal solution to living (and working) in super-tiny apartments. According to Yahoo! News back in 2009, Hill acquired two studios in a 100-year-old building in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood and, after launching an international design competition, chose two Romanian architecture students—Cătălin Sandu and Adrian Iancu—to renovate a 420-square-foot apartment into a chameleonic housing unit that can be quickly converted from one room to two and from main living area to office, dining and kitchen space.

Apart from the sliding walls, a telescopic dining table, stackable chairs, fold-down bunk beds and well-integrated office equipment, the micro-unit called LifeEdited also incorporates several environmental design features such as photovoltaic cells and energy-efficient appliances.

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Rendering of My Micro NY project courtesy of NYC Mayor’s Office

Video presentation of the LifeEdited project from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

Brookfield Breaks Ground on $4.5 Billion Manhattan West Development

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The first phase of Brookfield Office Properties’ newest and largest development project in New York City kicked off on January 15 with a groundbreaking event in the presence of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city and real estate officials.

Manhattan West is a $4.5 billion development project on a Brookfield-owned vacant site at Ninth Avenue between West 31st and West 33rd Streets. When opened in 2016, the project designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in partnership with SLCE Architects will have 5.4 million square feet of space, including two 2-million-square-foot office towers, a residential high-rise, new shops and restaurants, and 1.5 acres of public space serving as a bridge between Chelsea and the Midtown CBD.

During Phase I, which is scheduled to be completed in 2014, the development team will install a 120,000-square-foot platform made up of a series of 16 bridges over the Hudson rail yards that lead to Penn Station. According to a press release from Brookfield, locally-based Turner Construction—who will install the deck—will utilize post-tension, pre-cast, segmental bridge technology to minimize disturbance to trains running under the platform.

The Manhattan West deck will cost $680 million. Funding for this part of the project has been secured with a five-year, $340 million construction loan from a bank group that includes banks such as HSBC, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank. The rest will be covered by private funds coming from Brookfield’s own capital.

More than 600 construction jobs will be generated during the platform installation process. The project will generate $52.7 million in employee compensation and $4.7 million in tax revenue for New York City.

Renderings of Manhattan West master plan and platform via Brookfield Office Properties

Work Imminent on Mixed-Use Tower in Meatpacking District

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Property Group Partners and landlord Romanoff Equities have joined forces to replace a former meat processing facility in New York’s Meatpacking District with a mixed-use complex that would stand as a prominent structure in the neighborhood. Designed by James Carpenter Design Associates architectural firm in cooperation with Gerner Kronick & Valcarcel Architects, the project is set to begin development immediately, with a delivery date tentatively set for 2015.

As previously reported by DNAinfo.com, the development plans were approved by the city in 2009, when the Board of Standards and Appeals unanimously voted for the zoning exemptions required to build the 10-story building.

The project, located between the iconic Standard Hotel and the High Line Building, is called 860 Washington Street and will consist of 120,000 square feet of office, retail and showroom space divided into floor plates of 11,000 to 13,000 square feet. According to a project description on the official website, the development team will use a combination of recycled building materials such as terracotta, concrete and glass, as well as state-of-the-art technologies to save both daylight and water, which will make the structure LEED-certifiable.

The Real Deal reports that the transaction between Property Group Partners and Romanoff Equities was brokered by Douglas Harmon, Adam Spies and Josh King of Eastdil Secured.

Rendering via www.860washington.com

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Developer Announces $67M Mixed-Income Rental Building in Greenpoint

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Domain Companies, a real estate investment and development firm based in New Orleans, officially announced last week that it has secured financing of a new mixed-income development in Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s northernmost neighborhood, through a mix of loans at below-market interest rates from the New York City Housing Development Corporation (NYCHDC) and Goldman Sachs.

Work on the $67 million rental building will start this month, according to the developer’s press release. The project will be developed under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP)—a 10-year program aimed at creating and preserving 165,000 units of affordable housing for New Yorkers by the end of 2014.

Dubbed 1133 Manhattan Avenue, the development involves cleaning a disused brownfield site and creating a combination of 210 market-rate and affordable rental units ranging from studios to two-bedroom. The development will also include a resident lounge, media room, game room, fitness center, rooftop terrace and parking garage.

“1133 Manhattan Avenue will serve as a catalyst in this neighborhood to meet Greenpoint’s growing housing demand,” said Marc Jahr, president of HDC. “The City of New York is committed to creating affordable and sustainable homes for New Yorkers.  This silver LEED project will contribute to achieving that goal.”

Located on Manhattan Avenue between Clay Street and Box Street on a former railroad repair facility, the project is designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification and meet Enterprise Green Community standards. 1133 Manhattan Avenue will also seek to achieve Energy Star certification by featuring high-efficiency HVAC and hot water systems, low-flow plumbing fixtures, low-emission windows, fluorescent lighting and Energy Star-rated appliances, as well as by utilizing green building materials.

With a completion date anticipated for late 2014, 1133 Manhattan Avenue will offer 42 housing units available for families earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (or $29,050 per individual), 63 apartments for families earning at or below 175 percent of Area Median Income (or $101,675 per individual), and 105 market-rate units.

Rendering of 1133 Manhattan Avenue courtesy of The Domain Cos.

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Onyx Equities Grabs Prominent Office Building; Avison Young Hires Tri-State Pharma Industry Expert

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Onyx Equities LLC, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based private real estate investment, development and management firm, closed on one of Long Island’s largest office building sales of 2012. On December 19, Onyx completed the acquisition of Atria West—a 235,000-square-foot, Class A office building in the village of Garden City.

Shortly after finalizing the transaction with CAF Realty, Onyx appointed The Rochlin Organization of Jericho as its exclusive leasing agent. “We are excited about the opportunity to acquire a preeminent office building in Garden City,” said Jared Minatelli, senior vice president of asset management at Onyx.

The Atria West is conveniently located at 900 Stewart Ave. close to the Meadowbrook Parkway and Roosevelt Field Shopping Center, which makes it one of the top office locations for businesses seeking quality space in the area.

Constructed in 1986 for Lincoln Equities Group, the building is currently occupied by JP Morgan Chase and AT&T. According to sources familiar with the transaction, Onyx is under agreement with the Spector Group—the same architecture firm who designed the building—to design the renovations.

In further commercial real estate news, Walter Blyzniuk recently joined Avison Young’s New York City Office to establish a Tri-State market advisory and transaction services platform focused on the commercial real estate needs of pharmaceutical companies.

With an experience of more than 25 years, Blyzniuk has worked on behalf of various leading global pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Elan, Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Watson Pharmaceuticals, with a focus on the North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific markets.

Prior to joining Avison Young, Blyzniuk served as a Senior Director at CBRE and the group head for its pharmaceutical business practice.

Rendering of the Atria West building courtesy of Onyx Equities LLC

Picture of Walter Blyzniuk courtesy of Avison Young

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Avison Young Named Exclusive Leasing Agent for Prime Data Center, Hires Specialist in NY Office

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

1547 Realty Partners, a company that was founded by industry professionals to invest in data center properties, recently appointed Avison Young as the exclusive leasing agent for 1 Ramland Road—a state-of-the-art data center and disaster recovery facility in Orangeburg, N.Y.

According to the company’s press release, the Avison Young team managing the assignment is made up of Principals Michael Gottlieb and Martin Cottingham of the company’s New York office, as well as Chicago-based Principals David Horowitz and Jim Kerrigan, who are co-heads of Avison Young’s Data Center Practice Group.

1 Ramland Road is strategically located on 32 acres just 25 miles outside of Manhattan and serves the New York metro market. The facility’s current capacity is 24 megawatts from dual feeds. Once a substation is completed in the near future, 1 Ramlad Road will double its capacity—offering the highest standards of infrastructure requirements for business continuity and disaster recovery facilities.

“Due to 1 Ramland’s location, users will benefit from the area’s low cost [and] reliable power. There are also opportunities for expansion, providing even greater flexibility for users,” said Principal Martin Cottingham.

Apart from the existing building, the site is set to be expanded to include outdoor generators, outdoor chillers, a substation and a new three-story building totaling 230,000 square feet of space.

1 Ramland Road includes 12,980 square feet of office space and a completely built-out, fully furnished and wired Business Continuity Plan space of 54,100 square feet. The facility also features two passenger car elevators—each of them capable of lifting 2,500 pounds, one freight car elevator offering 5,000-pound capacity, and a two-bay loading area with lift.

In spring 2012, Canada-based Avison Young opened its first New York office and shortly after began hiring high-profile industry professionals in key positions to continue the company’s aggressive expansion in the area. Avison Young’s most recent addition is office leasing specialist Whitney C. Meyer, who joined the New York office as a Senior Vice President. At Avison Young, she will focus on agency representation for office leasing assignments.

Prior to her position at Avison Young, Meyer was Director of Asset Management and Leasing for Mitsui Fudosan America—a real estate investment and development company based in New York and U.S. subsidiary of the largest real estate company in Japan.

With 10 years of commercial real estate industry experience, Meyer has closed on more than 100 million square feet of transactions throughout her career.

Rendering of 1 Ramland Road data center via Avison Young

For more market data from New York City, click here.

Via Verde Affordable Housing in the Bronx Wins ULI Award Workforce Housing Model of Excellence

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

An eco-friendly housing development in the Bronx has become one of three projects nationwide to receive the 2012 Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Model of Excellence Award from the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The award, which was announced recently during the national conference of ULI in Denver, is named after Jack Kemp—former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and former U.S. Representative—and recognizes and honors developers who demonstrate leadership and creativity in providing housing opportunities for working communities.

In order to be eligible for this award, housing developments are required to be affordable and energy efficient, be located close to centers of employment and transportation hubs, use innovative building technologies and systems, and demonstrate the highest level of green construction sustainability.

The 296,000-square-foot Via Verde opened in the summer of 2012 as a mixed-use, mixed-income residential building located at 700-706 Brook Avenue and 156th Street in the Melrose section of the Bronx on a triangular site formerly occupied by a railroad storage yard and a gas station. The 1.5-acre parcel was decontaminated under the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program.

The $98.8 million project was co-developed by Phipps Houses and Jonathan Rose Companies, who worked closely with Harlem-based Lettire Construction—the general contractor. Created by co-architects Dattner Architects and Grimshaw Architects, the LEED Gold-certified project showcases a highly innovative green design while providing affordable housing options to low- and moderate-income families and individuals.

Via Verde consists of 151 rental units designed affordable for the next 30 years and 71 middle-income co-op units targeted to households earning 80 to 100 percent of the area median income. Co-ops at Via Verde feature spacious floor plans with hardwood floors, remote control ceiling fans, in-unit washers and dryers, and luxury kitchens equipped with Energy Star appliances and dishwashers.

Select units feature balconies, private backyards and duplex layouts. Building amenities include a landscaped courtyard designed by Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture, an attended lobby, an amphitheater, a fitness center, a penthouse community room, bicycle storage and resident gardening beds. The development also includes a 5,000-square-foot community facility on the ground floor and 2,000 square feet of retail space.

With its green rooftops and building-integrated photovoltaic panels, Via Verde is estimated to be over 30 percent more energy efficient than a standard residential building. About 20 percent of the building materials used for construction was locally manufactured, minimizing transportation energy and supporting local economy. An equal part of construction materials came from recycled and reused materials, and over 80 percent of the demolition waste came from the facilities that formerly occupied the site was recycled.

For more market data from New York City, click here.

Renderings via www.viaverdenyc.com

JV Breaks Ground on $500M Luxury Residential Tower

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Work has begun on a $500 million luxury apartment tower developed by a joint venture between local Zeckendorf Development LLC and Global Holdings Inc. Designed to become a prime international location by London-based architectural firm Foster + Partners, the 44-story tower will rise within the prestigious United Nations Plaza overlooking the UN Headquarters and the Manhattan skyline.

50 United Nations Plaza is expected to open at the end of 2014. It will include 87 apartments with generous layouts ranging in size from 1,100 square feet for one-bedroom units to 3,000 square feet for three-bedroom apartments. Every apartment unit will feature floor-to-ceiling bay windows varying from 10 to 16 feet and luxurious interiors with vast entertaining areas, according to a project description by Foster + Partners.

For prospective residents looking for even larger units, the design plans also include full-floor homes of 6,000 square feet and a two-floor penthouse with 10,000 square feet of living space and an infinity pool cut out from the tower’s top level. Residents will also have access to an exclusive garage with 87 parking spaces, a private garden leading to a lobby and a high-end restaurant. In addition, the structure will encompass around 5,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.

The building’s scale will be visually attenuated by three slender volumes and the use of vertical stacks of bay windows linked horizontally by stainless steel tubes. By incorporating a mix of green features such as recycled materials, highly insulated glazing and reflective panels, the tower will be one of New York City’s most environmentally friendly apartment buildings.

Rendering of 50 United Nations Plaza courtesy of Fosters + Partners

$14M Supportive Housing Project for Veterans Opens in the Bronx

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A ribbon-cutting and recognition ceremony held on Nov. 8 marked the grand opening of Kingsbridge Terrace Veterans Residence—a six-story housing facility dedicated to New York City veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for those struggling with homelessness and substance abuse.

Located at 2701 Kingsbridge Terrace, the $14 million building is within walking distance to the VA hospital in the Bronx. The newly inaugurated residence, along with Fordham Village, are the first housing facilities solely designated for homeless veterans to be built in New York City in over 15 years.

Both complexes were funded by the Jericho Project Veterans Communities—a non-profit organization founded in 1983 that now serves as a supportive housing agency, providing veteran-specific counseling programs and supportive and affordable housing to low-income families and individuals.

Kingsbridge Terrace was designed by Oaklander, Coogan & Vitto Architects (OCV) to achieve LEED Silver certification. In keeping with the company’s commitment to sustainable building practices, the 44,000-square-foot building employs green roofs, energy-efficient HVAC systems and appliances, a micro turbine for waste energy capture and reuse, and locally sourced, recycled and renewable building materials.

The new residence includes 76 units of supportive housing, each of them featuring a kitchenette and full-sized bathroom en-suite, as well as computer labs, fully equipped gyms, gardens and outdoor recreational spaces. Additionally, the new residence was designed to be more than just housing, but an attractive place “for veterans to call home,” said Executive Director of Jericho Project Tori Lyon at the opening ceremony.

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Images of Kingsbridge Terrace Veterans Residence courtesy of OCV Architects

LEED Gold Certification Awarded to Iconic Chrysler Building; LinkedIn Doubles Presence at Empire State Building

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the LEED Gold-EBOM designation to New York City’s iconic Chrysler building. The certification comes one year after owner Tishman Speyer, a leading real estate development and investment company, embarked on a complex retrofit project at the skyscraper located on the east side of Manhattan at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

A classic example of Art Deco architecture, the building was designed in 1928 by famed architect William Van Alen for Walter Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation. Rising 1,046 feet high, the 1,195,000-square-foot building became the tallest structure in the world in 1930 when it was completed, a record that was broken in 1931 by the Empire State Building.

To receive the LEED Gold-EBOM (Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance) certification, Tishman Speyer implemented several environmentally friendly strategies such as decreasing energy use by 21 percent by upgrading and adjusting the building’s operational system. Also, all water fixtures were replaced with more efficient equipment to reduce water consumption by 64 percent, while the building’s waste policy was reviewed and improved to raise the recycling rate to 81 percent.

With this new designation, Tishman Speyer currently has over 5.7 million square feet of LEED-certified office space in New York City and over 46 million square feet worldwide.

“Our commitment to sustainability is very strong, and our investment partners care deeply as well,” said Tishman Speyer co-CEO’s Jerry and Rob Speyer in a company press release. “In addition, we find that more and more of our tenants are looking to work collaboratively with us to maximize the results of our efforts. The LEED® and other equivalent designations tell us that we are succeeding in this very important area.”

In further CRE news, Crain’s New York Business reports that one of the most popular social networking company for business professionals has almost doubled its presence in the Empire State Building. Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn signed a 10-year lease for another 40,780 square feet of space on the 23^rd floor. The new space adds to the existing 32,000 square feet—or the entire 25^th floor—that the tech company leased in mid-2011.

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Photo of Chrysler Building credits to author WestportWiki on Wipipedia

Chart courtesy of Marcus & Millichap

Three Majestic Redevelopment Proposals Pitched for Grand Central Station’s Upcoming Centennial

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

One of New York City’s most iconic places, Grand Central Station—located at 42^nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, is just months away from celebrating its centennial. To honor this milestone and breathe new air into this historic area, the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) has invited three acclaimed architectural firms—Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM); Foster + Partners; and WXY Architecture + Urban Design—to propose design ideas for Grand Central and the surrounding area.

Built between 1903 and 1913 under designs by New York architects Warren and Wetmore, the commuter rail terminal station attracted 150,000 visitors on its grand opening day on February 2, 1913. Currently around 750,000 people (or ten times its capacity) transit the terminal each day and, according to an Epoch Times article, the number of commuters could grow even more as the adjacent urban areas could get an additional 16,000 residences by 2030.

In order to balance out the projected increase in traffic and transform the building into a majestic public space, the three selected architecture firms created innovative designs that were presented during the 2012 MAS Summit earlier this month.

The designed proposed by SOM focuses on larger pedestrian corridors, increased public spaces and a state-of-the-art circular pedestrian “observation deck” suspended above Grand Central offering a stunning 360-degree panorama of the city. The circle-like deck would move upwards from the cornice of the terminal to the city’s skyline. New office and retail facilities are also included in the design; if approved, the project would meet the economic growth in the area.

WXY’s design proposal calls for nature-inspired vast urban investments that would make the terminal more pedestrian-friendly and enhance public green spaces and access points for city dwellers and visitors. According to ArchDaily, Vanderbilt Avenue would become a pedestrian-only street, and new public spaces would be created at the base of the MetLife building.

Also, a new tower with green roofs and terraces would be built on the west side of the existing terminal, while the west side of the Park Avenue viaduct would be transformed into an elevated pedestrian and bicycle path.

The third design was proposed by Foster + Partners and calls for street reconfiguration to ease vehicle and pedestrian accessibility, wider sidewalks, a pedestrian-only Vanderbilt Avenue and new public spaces. A large public space with trees, sculptures and cafes would be created between 43^rd Street and Grand Station’s west terminal, while a similar plaza would be created to the north to ease the entrances to the East Side Access lines.

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Renderings courtesy of SOM, WXY and Foster + Partners respectively, via ArchDaily