Jersey City, Midtown Manhattan among hotspots.

Jersey City’s 99 Hudson Rising Rapidly

Jersey City’s 99 Hudson Street, a residential tower that will soon be the city’s tallest building (ELEVATOR WORLD, April 2016, February 2015 and July 2014), is rising rapidly, with façade installation now underway, New York YIMBY says. The 79-story, 900-ft.-tall tower, which broke ground in January 2016, will house 1.5 million sq. ft. of space, including about 14,000 sq. ft. of public space and 15,000 sq. ft. set aside for retail; the rest will mainly go to the 781 condominium units. In October, the source said the latest photos showed the tower’s skeleton had risen to the 12th floor. The developer for 99 Hudson Street is China Overseas America, Inc., and the architect is Perkins Eastman. Once topped out, it will have taken the crown as Jersey City’s tallest from the 781-ft.-tall Goldman Sachs building.

Missing Piece of Manhattan West Puzzle Progresses

Brookfield’s Manhattan West in Midtown West/Hudson Yards is eyeing what New York YIMBY described as “the last major piece of the puzzle,” 2 Manhattan West, filings show. Originally planned as a 70-floor supertall, the site’s second office tower is now set to rise 59 floors and 849 ft. Skidmore Owings & Merrill is designing the building, which will join the steadily rising 1 Manhattan West and completed 3 and 5 Manhattan West. A smaller hotel called 4 Manhattan West will round out the development. 2 Manhattan West will sit at the northwest corner of 31st Street and Ninth Avenue.

Distinctive Condo Tower Rising in Midtown South

A 42-story, 479-ft.-tall condominium tower designed by Morris Adjmi Architects described by New York YIMBY as distinctive and attractive is rising quickly in Midtown South, having reached the 14th floor in October, according to the source. Slated for completion by the end of 2019, its address is 30 East 31st Street between Park and Madison avenues, just south of the “Midtown skyscraper plateau.” It will contain 41 spacious, full-floor condos. The façade features concrete columns that have an almost Art Deco look set in glass. Ekstein Development is behind the project.

Tower Containing Pod Hotel for Midtown West

A 28-story, 300-ft.-tall plain, gray tower containing a pod hotel and retail on the lower floors is complete at 577 Ninth Avenue in Midtown West, New York YIMBY reported. The architect of record is SLCE, and BD Hotels will operate the 665 “pod” hotel rooms. Friedman Group and Landis Group are the developers. On the cellar through second floors are 25,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Contrasted with new Manhattan towers such as Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 (EW, November 2017), this and similar-looking nearby structures got poor reviews from the source, which described it as an “architectural atrocity” echoing that of Pyongyang, North Korea.

Atlantic Station Graces Stamford Skyline

RXR Realty’s Atlantic Station, a sparkling new residential high-rise in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, is nearly ready for tenants to start moving in, New York YIMBY reports. The 26-story building at 355 Atlantic Street will offer 325 apartment units ranging from 490 to 1,290 sq. ft., and has plenty of amenities, including hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and in-unit laundry. But that’s not all: there’s also a fitness center, heated pool, a lounge and an outdoor lawn with movie screen, plus 333 parking slots and 20,520 square feet of retail space. For many, the biggest selling point may be the 45-minute rail commute from Atlantic Station to NYC’s Grand Central Station. Architect for the project is Lessard Design.

Portuguese Architect’s First U.S. Project

Pritzker Prize-winning Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza’s first U.S. project will be on the western edge of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City (NYC), The Architect’s Newspaper reported. Work is underway on the 35-story, 400-ft.-tall condominium tower at 611 West 56th Street (EW, June 2016). Upon completion, its 173,000 sq. ft. will house 80 residences for the “ultra wealthy” with interiors by Gabellini Sheppard, along with resident amenities. A landscaped roof garden and sun deck will provide Hudson River views, and some of the units will have private terraces. Sumaida+Khurana and LENY are the developers, and SLCE Architects is the architect of record.