Two 24-story towers and a mixed-use building approved for two large City-owned parcels. On February 2, 2005, the City Council unanimously approved the joint application of the Dermot Company and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for a 609,000 sq.ft., three-building development in the Clinton district of Manhattan on two large City-owned parcels. The two sites span from West 51st to West 53rd Streets at the mid-block between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and partially front Tenth Avenue. The parcels contain a portion of the functioning, open-air Amtrak rail cut, which will be covered with a development platform.

Dermot Company, chosen in 2003 by HPD, will construct a 24- story, 324-foot residential tower with 325 units, a health club, and retail space on the 22,900 sq.ft. south parcel. Two buildings will be built on the 47,061 sq.ft. north parcel: a 325-unit, 24-story residential tower will be built in the mid-block and a lower, 111-foot mixed-use building will front Tenth Avenue and West 53rd Street. The lower building will have retail and four not-for-profit theaters at street level with residential townhouses above. Six buildings will be demolished, including an existing not-for-profit theater. (more…)

Watchtower reduced height to gain approval of complex. On December 2, 2004, following extensive negotiations between the developer and Council Members Leticia James and David Yassky, the City Council approved the 736,400 sq.ft. development proposed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., subject to a height reduction. The modification, which reduced the street-wall heights of the Front Street buildings to 82 ft. and a maximum height of 110 ft. away from the street, was the second modification agreed to by Watchtower to obtain City approval.

Watchtower assembled the 135,000 sq.ft. site, encompassing the entire 3-acre city block bounded by Front, Bridge, York and Jay Streets, during the 1980s and the 1990s, but left it vacant. It remains one of the only large, undeveloped parcels in the area, and its location, immediately adjacent to an “F” subway line entrance, makes it a vital entry point for DUMBO. (more…)

Site contains six community gardens. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development fIled an application for the disposition of City-owned land and designation of an Urban Development Action Area for the construction of the Courtlandt Avenue Apartments, a five-story, 1 67- unit, low-income housing project in the Bronx.

The 55,980 sq.ft. project site, bounded by Courtlandt and Park Avenues and East 158th and 159th Streets, is comprised of 16 lots, of which 1 1 are vacant, two contain abandoned buildings, and three contain six community gardens. The six gardens are part of the 543 City community gardens subject to a 2002 settlement agreement between the City and the State Attorney General. 8 CityLaw 116 (2002) . Under the agreement, 198 gardens became permanent open spaces, 38 were set for development, and 114 became subject to a review process that could ultimately lead to development. (more…)