(Economic) Heart Trouble
More than 30 years after its last major zoning change, the economic heart of New York City merits a checkup. According to City planners, the prognosis for East Midtown is not good: an aging office stock, a congested pedestrian network, global competition, and the lack of new office development threaten to undermine the economic competitiveness of the City. The cure, proposed by the Bloomberg Administration, is a rezoning of 78 blocks of East Midtown centered around Grand Central Terminal and generally bounded by Fifth and Third Avenues, East 57th and East 39th Streets.
The proposed East Midtown Rezoning seeks to incentivize the development of state-of-the-art office buildings by allowing for an increase in the permitted floor area ratio. The proposed FAR varies throughout the rezoning area, although the highest densities are reserved for large sites with full avenue frontage that surround Grand Central Terminal. These select properties, of which the City has identified four as potential development sites, could achieve a FAR of 24 on an-as-of right basis and up to 30 FAR with a special permit. Sites slightly further from Grand Central Terminal would be allowed a FAR of 21.6 as-of-right, while certain properties along Park Avenue could achieve 21.6 FAR as-of-right or up to 24 FAR through a special permit.
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One Vanderbilt. Image credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC
Early in January 2017 the City of New York began the official public approval process for a proposal to rezone East Midtown Manhattan. The proposal was based in part on a report by the East Midtown Steering Committee co-chaired by the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and the District 4 Council Member Daniel Garodnick.
The new 2017 proposal is the third proposal for rezoning East Midtown. In 2013 the Bloomberg Administration proposed to rezone East Midtown, but was forced by opposition to withdraw the proposal. In 2015 the City rezoned the limited area along the Vanderbilt Corridor adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. Both the current 2017 proposal and the 2015 adopted Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning are an improvement over the Bloomberg Administration’s withdrawn proposal; a developer cannot just write a check to receive bonus floor area, but must build an improvement to the public realm. Still, both the new proposal and the Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning represent “zoning-for-dollars,” and take zoning in a wrong direction. How might we do better? (more…)
Pershing Square in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC
Designations opposed by developers and hoteliers; transit advocates expressed concern that landmarking would prevent improved subway infrastructure and access. On July 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designations of five possible individual landmarks in the East Midtown area of Manhattan. Twelve items in total were identified by Landmarks as significant historic and architectural resources, as part of the mayoral administration’s Greater East Midtown plan. The plan to revitalize the area is intended to strengthen its position as a commercial district. The plan is expected to entail rezoning for greater density, improvements to transit and public spaces, and funding commitments for improvements and economic growth projects, in addition to the preservation of landmark-worthy fabric. Various stakeholders, including elected officials, business and real estate interests, and labor organizations are informing the plan, and a steering committee released a final report in 2015. (more…)
New York City: Largest Ice Sport Center Approved in the Bronx.
Rendering of approved Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Image courtesy of NYC Mayor’s Office.
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On December 10, 2013, the City Council voted 48-1 to turn the Kingsbridge Armory, currently a vacant landmark, into an ice sports center. The $275 million development project by KNIC Partners, LLC will feature nine ice rinks and approximately 64,300 sq. ft. of related program space, including a wellness and off-ice training center, curling rinks, and locker and equipment storage. The development plan also includes 58,100 sq. ft. of concession and retail space, approximately 50,000 sq. ft. of community facility space, and an accessory parking garage containing 457 spaces. The ice center is projected to attract two million visitors yearly and create nearly 180 permanent living wage jobs, and 890 construction jobs. Council Member Fernando Cabrera stated that the project approval “represents an unprecedented milestone for the entire City.” (more…)
New zoning district created to protect existing commercial uses will also facilitate private developer’s mixed-use project. On September 21, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to create the new M1- 6D manufacturing zoning district. The Council also approved an accompanying proposal by Edison Properties to apply the new M1-6D district to the mid-block portions of two blocks bounded by West 28th and West 30th Streets and Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The rezoning will facilitate Edison Properties’ proposed two-building mixed-use project on a through-block lot at 249 West 28th Street.
Planning proposed creating the new M1-6D zoning district after Edison Properties expressed interest in redeveloping its property with a residential use prohibited by the area’s M1-5 zoning regulations.
The area was once part of the City’s industrial center and home to a thriving fur industry. Over the years, the area transitioned from manufacturing and production uses into commercial office uses. The rezoning area is characterized by parking lots and a lack of ground floor retail. Recent development in the area includes hotels lacking the setbacks and articulations of the remaining pre-war buildings. Planning proposed the M1-6D district to establish use and bulk regulations that would protect existing office and light industrial uses and encourage new development that would reflect the area’s architectural character. (more…)
