New York City and Area Continue to Grow

New York YIMBY shares information about activity in the city and beyond.

Durst’s Tetrahedron Building Nearly a Wrap

The Durst Organization is wrapping up construction of VIA 57 West at 625 W. 57th Street in Manhattan. According to Durst, the glittering, 32-story, tetrahedron-shaped building “provides a dramatic visual gateway to Manhattan’s skyline along the Hudson River.” It is the first building designed by Bjarke Ingels Group in North America, and features more than 700 residences, stores and amenities, including a landscaped courtyard on the riverbank. Standing 467 ft. tall, the building had its final curtain wall installed in September.

Foundation Work Underway on Stylish Supertall

The foundation of a stylish supertall designed by Jean Nouvel that will house pricey residences was taking shape in September at 53 West 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The 1,050-ft.-tall building will stand approximately 80 stories and house an expansion of the Museum of Modern Art at its base and more than 130 multimillion-dollar condominiums above. A penthouse is expected to fetch in excess of US$50 million. Conceived approximately a decade ago, the building has been controversial but is ultimately expected to enhance the Midtown skyline. Completion is anticipated in 2017.

LIC Tower Reaches Skyward

A 50-story, 503-ft.-tall tower at 43-25 Hunter Street in Long Island City (LIC) is reaching skyward. Scheduled for completion by summer 2017, it had reached 14 stories in August. Rockrose is the developer, and SLCE Architects is the designer for the project, set to also have a 14-story building. Together, the buildings will house close to 1,000 residences. Retail and parking, along with other amenities, are planned on the bottom level of the taller tower, and amenities will be scattered throughout. It looks to be one of LIC’s tallest buildings.

95-Story Tower Envisioned on Jersey City Waterfront

A 95-story, mixed-use supertall could be built along the bustling Jersey City, New Jersey, waterfront, across the Hudson River from Manhattan and Brooklyn at 55 Hudson Street. Plans are in their infancy, but if the building comes to fruition, it would be part of a Jersey City skyline that is becoming ever taller and become the tallest building in New Jersey. It is expected to house commercial/office space, hotel rooms or residences and retail, and have close to 700 parking spaces.

Las Vegas Strip Escalators to Be Replaced

The State of Nevada has approved a US$35-million plan to improve the escalator and bridge system that helps people cross the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada Public Radio reported. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of California is the contractor for the project, which will include 16 new escalators to replace ones from the 1990s for which parts are no longer available. The units are frequently out of service and could create safety hazards.

Otis Expanding in South Carolina

Otis is adding 50 jobs and 15,000 sq. ft. to its facility in Florence, South Carolina, where it established a 440,000-sq.-ft. “manufacturing center of excellence” for the U.S. and Canada in 2011 with a US$40-million, 360-employee investment, The Morning News reported. The new jobs were announced over the summer, with hiring to take place over the next 12 months. Prior to the job additions, the facility had approximately 600 employees, Otis told EW. The physical expansion, which will house offices, is scheduled to be complete by the end of January 2016.

Residential Development Reaching
Higher in L.A.

As land in the most desirable neighborhoods dwindles, residential towers in downtown Los Angeles are getting taller, with 21 of the nearly 70 projects under construction standing at least 10 stories, National Real Estate Investor reported. Among the tallest are the 50-story 820 S. Olive Street by Vancouver, Canada-based Onni Group; a trio of towers standing 54, 38 and 40 stories that are part of the mixed-use Metropolis project (ELEVATOR WORLD, April 2014); and a 49-story and pair of 40-story towers that make up Fig Central by Beijing developer Oceanwide. Despite the threats of higher land and construction costs, this tall-building boom is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Glass-and-Steel Apartment Tower Pitched in Minneapolis

A 28-story glass-and-steel tower housing apartments, resident amenities, parking and retail is proposed in northeast Minneapolis, the Star Tribune reported. Stakeholders were reviewing plans for 333 Hennepin in September. Mortenson and U.S. Bank are the developers, and the Cunningham Group is architect. The design boasts wraparound glass on one of the building’s corners to reflect movement of the nearby Mississippi River.

New Regional Manager for Kings III

Bill Penn has been appointed business development manager by Kings III for the Central and West Coast regions. Penn has nearly 20 years’ experience in multifamily property management with BG Staffing in Plano, Texas, including a period when he is credited with tripling production of the property-management division through acquisition. He has also been involved in numerous local, regional and national industry organizations.

Delaware Elevator, Suppliers Working on Astronaut Elevator

Delaware Elevator of Salisbury, Maryland, is the contractor for an elevator designed to allow astronauts to board CST-100 Starliner capsules prior to travel to the International Space Station. The elevator is for a 201-ft.-tall tower being built at Launch Complex 41 for United Launch Alliance (ULA) at Cape Canaveral, Florida, main contractor Boeing told ELEVATOR WORLD. Traveling at a speed of 350 fpm, the explosion-resistant elevator will make four stops, rise 170 ft. and have a capacity of 4000 lb., according to Delaware. Additional suppliers include C.J. Anderson & Co., Columbia Elevator Products, GAL/Hollister-Whitney and Virginia Controls. The first sections of the tower began being stacked in September, Florida Today reported, in anticipation of astronauts boarding the capsules for launch on Atlas V rockets sometime in the next several years. Launch Complex 41 has seen 56 Atlas V probe missions to distant planets such as Pluto, and the busy complex is being redesigned to help send people into space. ULA is designing a new rocket, Vulcan, to replace Atlas V. The tower is scheduled for completion in September 2016, with manned flights anticipated in late 2017.