In October of 2020, SOM and the Howard Hughes Company lastly revealed their proposal for 250 Water Road, a long-awaited mixed-use advanced that will rise on what’s presently a floor parking zone on the fringe of Decrease Manhattan’s Seaport Historic District. Yesterday, the group went earlier than Landmarks Preservation Fee (LPC) to current an up to date model of their pronged tower plan, however some residents are so in opposition to the venture that they’d fairly an NYPD tow pound be constructed there as an alternative.
The 48,000-square-foot parking zone has sat undeveloped after a long time of failed makes an attempt to fill it, however this time, with a venture that can deliver the primary inexpensive housing items to Manhattan Group District 1 and present the South Road Seaport Museum with an infusion of money, Howard Hughes is assured it should transfer ahead.
The $1.4-billion scheme would see two residential towers sit atop a 6-story base holding workplace and retail area, with every topping out at 470 toes, or 38 tales whole. The 2 towers would maintain a complete 360 items of housing between them, with not less than 100 put aside for neighborhood residents incomes lower than 40 p.c of the world’s median earnings beneath Mayor de Blasio’s Necessary Inclusionary Housing program. Within the base, 5,000 sq. toes can be put aside for group use.
As beforehand talked about, the air rights switch required for the venture would pour $50 million into the beleaguered South Road Seaport Museum’s coffers. The deliberate SOM-designed addition (which was additionally proven on the LPC), a copper-clad annex would hook up with the historic museum constructing and ideally set the museum up for self-sufficiency down the road. The brand new renderings debuted earlier than the fee yesterday confirmed off a brand new entrance atrium, exhibition corridor, and out of doors terrace all framed in cross-laminated timber.
In fact, as with every massive venture, supporters and detractors have been duking it out. Whereas Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, native councilmember Margaret Chin, Robert Tierney (former LPC chair), and a bunch of different present and former politicians have pushed for the venture, Manhattan Group Board 1 (which really helpful the LPC reject the towers at 250 Water Road and approve the museum) and native residents are opposed.
As Gothamist reported yesterday, January 5, a bunch of residents referred to as the Seaport Coalition are pushing to relocate an NYPD tow pound to the location as an alternative. Claiming the tower advanced at 250 Water Road would destroy the district’s historic material, they as an alternative need town to say the parcel by means of eminent area (Howard Hughes bought the location in 2018 for $180 million) and construct a 60-foot-tall parking storage there to switch the tow pound lately shuttered at Pier 76.
The coalition has proposed placing neighborhood facilities on the roof and calling the venture “Resiliency Park,” which Gothamist additionally scoffed at, because the waterfront neighborhood is in danger from local weather change-induced flooding and any type of parking doesn’t actually look like it will mitigate that.
Howard Hughes spokesperson James Yolles advised Gothamist:“The proposal to switch the parking zone with a big tow pound proves that a couple of of the venture’s opponents care far much less about what’s proper for the neighborhood and the historic district than about preserving their very own condo views within the guise of historic preservation.”
No matter alternate options, quite a lot of opponents had been available on the LPC assembly on January 5 to talk out in opposition to the venture. That included a consultant from the Historic Districts Council, who argued in opposition to each the peak of the proposed towers in addition to the design of the museum growth, calling it a “malicious program” for additional deregulating historic districts across the metropolis.
The LPC will reconvene and talk about each proposals additional this coming Tuesday, January 12, and a vote on whether or not to maneuver forward is anticipated at a later date. If accepted, the venture might start the Uniform Land Use Overview Process this yr and break floor in 2022.