Areas under study by the Department of City Planning for inclusion into the Special West Chelsea District. Area “A” is currently slated for expansion. Image credit: DCP
Proposal extends Special District bulk regulations and clarifies language in the zoning text. On January 13, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted to approve the expansion of the Special West Chelsea District. The proposal was designed by the Department of City Planning and Manhattan Community Board 4 to expand the district by one partial block between West 15th Street to the north, West 14th Street to the south, 9th Avenue to the east, and 10th Avenue to the west in order to reinforce the residential character of West Chelsea. The proposal was approved by the City Planning Commission on December 17, 2014.
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Areas under study by the Department of City Planning for inclusion into the Special West Chelsea District. “Area A” (at bottom) is currently before the City Planning Commission. Image credit: DCP
CPC certified application to increase the district’s footprint. On September 2, 2014, the City Planning Commission held a review session on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to expand the Special West Chelsea District. The proposal would expand the district by one partial block, generally bounded by West 15th Street to the north, West 14th Street to the south, 9th Avenue to the east, and 10th Avenue to the west. The existing West Chelsea district is generally bounded between West 30th Street to the north, West 15th Street to the south, 11th Avenue to the west, and 9th Avenue to the east. The district was originally formed with the intent of developing the High Line into a public open space, and the surrounding West Chelsea neighborhood into a mixed-use residential community. (See previous CityLand coverage here.)
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Julie Menin, former Chairperson of Manhattan Community Board 1
For Manhattan to remain the vibrant center it is today we need a smart plan for long-term growth. The current land use process leaves communities fearful of being overrun by development that is poorly planned, harmful to communities, and undermines the character of our borough. This is why I have proposed a “Master Plan” for Manhattan to ensure that we grow our borough sensibly.
Cities across the United States are implementing Masters Plans, from booming west coast cities like San Francisco and Seattle to neighboring Newark. A Master Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines long-term neighborhood needs. Downtown Manhattan, for example, is short nearly 1,000 classroom seats, while East Harlem has only 0.3 acres of active open space per 1,000 residents and many of Manhattan’s neighborhoods are almost completely bereft of affordable housing.
Under a Master Plan, developers looking to build in these neighborhoods would be apprised of the community’s needs, bringing more certainty to a convoluted system and ensuring a community’s concerns are accounted for. (more…)
Chelsea Market exterior at 75 Ninth Avenue, Manhattan. Credit: Chelsea Market.
See below for update.
Affordable housing contribution would be used by nearby Fulton Houses if floor area bonus utilized. On October 25, 2012, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved Jamestown Properties’ modified expansion plan for Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. The Market is a complex of 18 different buildings occupying the entire block bounded by West 14th and West 15th Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues. A section of the High Line Park cuts through the Market along Tenth Avenue. The expansion would facilitate the growth of Chelsea Market’s creative and media office use, as well as provide financial and practical benefits to the High Line.
The proposed expansion plan includes a 240,000-square-foot office space enlargement for 85 Tenth Avenue and a 90,000-square-foot enlargement at 75 Ninth Avenue for hotel use. The plan also extends the Special West Chelsea District to include the entire Chelsea Market block. The Special West Chelsea District was created in 2005. 2 CityLand 83 (July 15, 2005). The inclusion would facilitate the proposed expansion by retaining the block’s M1-5 zoning designation, and by allowing an increase in the maximum floor area ratio on the site from 5.0 to 7.5 FAR upon Jamestown making a financial contribution to the High Line Improvement Fund. Jamestown also promised to provide the High Line with amenities such as public restrooms and a freight elevator. (more…)
Rendering of Chelsea Market’s proposed Tenth Avenue addition. Courtesy of Jamestown Properties and Studios
Borough president and local community board oppose current plan to build additions to the eastern and western sides of block-long Chelsea Market. On July 25, 2012, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on Jamestown Properties’ expansion plan for Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. The Market is a complex of 18 different buildings occupying the entire block bounded by West 14th and West 15th Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues and was formerly occupied by Nabisco. A portion of the High Line elevated park runs through the Market’s western edge on Tenth Avenue. The Market provides more than 1.1 million sq.ft. of space for food-related and non-food-related retail and wholesale businesses, along with media and technology companies.
Jamestown’s initial proposal included building a 240,000-square-foot, nine-story office addition on the Tenth Avenue side of the Market, and a 90,000-square-foot, 11-story hotel addition on the Ninth Avenue side of the Market. The nine-story addition on Tenth Avenue would increase the Market’s height from 84 feet to 226 feet. The 11-story addition on Ninth Avenue would increase the tallest portion of that side of the Market from 51 feet to 160 feet. Jamestown did not propose any new development for the mid-block.
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