Edited by: TJVNews.com
COVID-19 has not slowed the New York City real estate market. Midtown Manhattan has dozens of new developments in the works including residential, commercial, and office space. In a time when just about everything in life feels uncertain, real estate developers, financiers, and city-planners are moving ahead with massive construction projects in Midtown.
According to Steve Cuozzo, of The New York Post, “the mega-tower planned for the Grand Hyatt Hotel site on East 42nd Street — known as 175 Park Avenue — got its governmental green light his month when the City Council approved a zoning change to allow construction of the $3 billion-plus mixed-use mammoth rising to 1,575 feet. To exploit East Midtown size-bonus rules, developers RXR Realty and TF Cornerstone will pay for and build hundreds of millions of dollars in Grand Central-area transit/pedestrian improvements and also provide 25,000 square feet of free-to-the-public outdoor terraces programmed for arts and cultural uses.” According to a project spokesman, the demolition won’t even begin until 2023.
The Post reports that Cuozzo goes on to say, “nearby in the Grand Central area, demolition has begun at 343 Madison Avenue, the former MTA headquarters. Boston Properties plans a 1,050-foot-tall tower with more than 800,000 square feet of offices and significant retail. It will also feature numerous underground pedestrian connections to Grand Central Terminal – which Boston is providing in exchange for a size bonus under new East Midtown rezoning rules. The project received its City Council green light last month”.
More demolition is scheduled further uptown, according to Cuozzo. The New York Post reports, “West 57th Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues — aka Billionaires Row — is without question the most active location for major new projects. Awaiting their marching orders are the empty lots at 41-47 W. 57th and 12 W. 57th St., as demolition proceeds one block west at 125 W. 57th St”.
Cuozzo makes a good point in his article that all the work to make these redevelopments happen was put in place years and years ago, developers “bought land and air rights, cobbled together financing and signed architects. Some nailed down city zoning and other approvals. Some demolished old structures in the way of their ambitions”. As more and more people work from home and even greater numbers leave New York City altogether, it is surprising that the plans remain. One can only hope that the fact the financing still exists to make these “monster-buildings” means that the developers have positive hopes for the future of our city.
