Related Companies obtained Council okay for 210-space garage despite Comm. Bd. opposition. On August 22, 2007, the City Council approved Related Companies’ special permit application for a 210-space accessory parking garage to be located within a mixed-use development that Related is constructing at 450 West 17th Street, adjacent to the High Line.

The project received one of the first High Line Improvement floor area bonuses, allowing Related to increase the development’s size by 160,775 sq.ft. to 440,937 sq.ft. In exchange, Related agreed to construct public amenities for the High Line, including a public stairway, an elevator, Parks Department service facilities, and a public restroom. Related further agreed to complete construction of the amenities by the end of 2007, the anticipated completion date for a portion of the High Line park.

Related’s development, which will contain 478 luxury apartments and 17,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, including an Equinox gym, would have permitted construction of an accessory 100-space parking garage as-of-right. Instead, Related proposed to increase the number of spaces to 210 and to restrict use to the building’s occupants. To support its plan, Related pointed to the project’s traffic study, which was based on census data showing that high-income Manhattan residents have a higher incidence of car ownership. The study concluded that the development would increase parking demand to 210 spaces because of the projected high sale price of the building’s units.

Community Board 4 unanimously opposed any increase above the 100 spaces. When Related’s proposal reached the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises, its Chair, Council Member Tony Avella, explained that Speaker Christine Quinn supported the project since Related agreed to record a restriction on the property and install signage restricting use to the building’s residents and Equinox members. Following Avella’s comments, the subcommittee voted to approve, sending it to the Land Use Committee and the full Council, which both approved.

ULURP Process
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: MN 4,Den’d, 39-0-0
Boro. Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 11-0-0

Council: 450 West 17th Street Garage (Aug. 22, 2007); CPC: 450 West 17th Street Garage (C 060341 ZSM) (July 11, 2007) (Jerald Johnson, for Related). CITYADMIN