One57’s Park Hyatt Opening August 28th
Gary Barnett’s super tall and super expensive (super everything for that matter) mixed use tower on 57th Street is home to multi-million dollar condos as well as the Park Hyatt Hotel. According to Curbed, the hotel is slated for an August 28th opening with rooms STARTING at $855/night. If this tower can successfully pull everything off, it will truly be an enclave for the one percent.
The Second Avenue Subway project has been either proposed/in planning for almost a century now. it appears that work is finally starting to take shape as the largest subway expansion in over 50 years passes some significant milestones. Mayor Bloomberg expressed his both optimism and dismay with the project’s slow progress. While there is a “50/50 chance [he] will see the subway come to fruition,” Phase 1 has a completion date of December 2016. While a significant amount of work still remains, a clear foundation and infrastructure has been completed as a rough outline of the project takes shape. The project reached a milestone earlier this year after wrapping up all blasting for the initial Phase 1 (out of four total segments).
Assuming work continues on schedule, (which surprisingly enough, has been the case for the past four years now…) Phase 1 will extend the Q train across 63rd Street up to 95th Street three years from now. Phase 2 will extend the Q train all the way up to 125th Street. Phase 3 will be the longest segment and will create – the T line – running from 63rd and Second Avenue down to Houston Street. The fourth and final phase will extend the T line down to Hanover Square at the bottom of Manhattan.
All in all, this project will eventually come to revolutionize the East Side. Look for an increase in real estate prices as the project nears its completion date. Not only will noise and other construction complaints begin to subside, but foot traffic, local business development, and of course access to an entirely new train route will bring large amounts into this area of Manhattan. As the project moves further downtown, expect areas in Midtown East, Alphabet City, and the Lower East Side to benefit as well. Granted the entire project does not have a completion date…these changes are most certainly off in the distant future. Hopefully work will continue on schedule!
A year ago today, the world watched as a crane dangled hundreds of feet above 57th Street. Today, the nearly complete One57 stands as a testament of luxury construction. Three more buildings are planned for the street. These buildings will not only change the real estate market, but they will change the skyline too. Take a look at this graphic for a more detailed look at the buildings.
The World Trade Center complex is once again inching toward completion. 7 World Trade was Larry Silverstein’s first completed development on the hollow ground. This 47-story, 743 ft. tall glass tower has slowly started to see some new neighbors move back into the hood. One World trade, which is slated for a completion date within the next few months, has lately claimed so much fame after topping out slightly before Hurricane Sandy. While two other projects remain stalled (the developer is not moving forward until having committed tenants), a third building has quietly climbed 978 feet up into the sky.
The Real Deal went on a behind the scenes tour of the new building. The photos below have been taken from the article which can be read in full detail here. 4 World Trade is scheduled to before the end of the year. 
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/high-rise/?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OT_ASH_20131008
This Times Op-Doc section has created an amazing (and visually stunning) rundown on the history of the skyscraper. The series looks more so how construction has changed from a social and cultural standpoint rather than an architectural one. This prove to be particarlly effective in showing the changes taking place in the out of control New York real estate market. In an age when a condo is going to set you back hundreds of thousands of dollars, there has to be a humane answer facing the quickly vanishing urban middle class.
President Obama is starting to get serious about climate change. In recent talks, he has mentioned the need for massive increases in green living. Anyone who lives in an urban core can tell you how hot and unbearable the summers can get. A great way to combat both air quality and spikes in urban core temperature readings comes in the form of green roofs.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a leader in bringing green roofs to one of the largest cities in the world. The city even announced the rise of rooftop agriculture with the largest urban farm in the US currently under construction on a Brooklyn rooftop. Bloomberg, Obama, and politicians across the world are leading the way in reclaiming urban space for non-industrial use.
These green roofs serve a variety of purposes that are both helpful to those in the building, and everyone around. First and foremost, green roofs lower the temperature of the buildings roof by considerable amounts. Rather than having black tar or reflective tin roofs that can sizzle in with surface temperatures upwards of 130 degrees, green roofs rarely get hotter than the actual air temperature. Roof or rain gardens also help with rain water run off, something that is a major issue in coastal cities. Rain gardens filter excess water, and some can even store water to be used by the building tenants later on. A third attribute green roofs provide is fresh, clean air. Trees, plants, and other shrubs help clean the air and lessen ozone levels that so often spiral out of control in urban cities.
The super cool pictures below show how urban architecture can be infused with green design. Most of the pictures are taken from abroad, let’s incorporate them into US design!
Top of Chicago’s City Hall
Green Parking Garage in Namba Park, Japan
Vancover Convention Center
Vancover Convention Center (cont’d)
Caught a rare glimpse inside 250 Broadway today as workers renovate the vacant retail space. While a tenant has yet to be announced, work is being done to prepare the site once again. New York City construction codes require construction crews to close off their work spaces and shield the public from any unwarranted noise and pollution.
As the building wraps up construction, we can look forward to 3 World Trade getting started. (and then the last tower!)
After recently moving to the Lower East Side, I decided to explore the area and go for a nice, long, run. Manhattan Bridge is an amazing architectural achievement While the bridge may be the ugly step sister of the Brooklyn Bridge, the views along its running and bike paths are nothing short of amazing.
One building off the bridge gives even the 5 Pointz a run for its money:
The bridge also cuts over East Broadway, allowing for some sick photos of Chinatown.
And If those shots are cool enough, here is what you look at during you 2+ mile long bridge.
Life + Real Estate + New York 