[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/201...hing+Real+Estate+-+CrainsNewYork.com%29#

Trinity uncorks plan to liven up Hudson Sq.
Big landlord seeks rezoning to allow more residential buildings and as many as 3,500 apartments in the neighborhood; eyes construction of a 429-foot-tall tower.

February 15, 2011
By Theresa Agovino

Trinity Real Estate took its first step last week toward realizing its long-stated ambition of creating more of a 24/7 community in Hudson Square by unveiling a rezoning proposal and a plan to build a residential building in the neighborhood.

Currently, residential development is not allowed in an approximately 18-block area in Manhattan's Community Board 2, although there are some people living in the area just north of the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.

The goal of the rezoning is to have nearly a quarter of the square footage be dedicated to residential use, up from a mere 4% or so now, according to Erin Roeder, vice president for Neighborhood Development for Trinity. She estimates the change would mean adding anywhere from 3,000 to 3,500 apartments.

To help kick start the residential development, Trinity proposed construction of a 429-foot residential tower on a site it owns at Duarte Square. The building would include a school that Trinity would allow the city to use, rent free.

The goal is not to transform Hudson Square, bounded by Sixth Avenue to the west, Houston Street on the north and Canal Street on the south, into a residential neighborhood. Instead, Trinity aims to bring more life to the neighborhood for the benefit of the company's commercial tenants. It owns about 6 million square feet in the neighborhood, which was once the hub of the printing industry. However, over the years, Trinity has renovated the buildings, which are now favored by various media and creative companies. Those tenants want more services in the area such as grocery stores, dry cleaners and restaurants, and Trinity believes to attract such tenants it needs to provide more foot traffic at night and weekends.

“We want to retain Hudson Square's status as a creative commercial center,” Ms. Roeder said. “But we also want to create a more dynamic, mixed-used community.

Three hotels have risen in the area, Ms. Roeder said. However, she noted that they haven't brought in the kind of retail that her tenants want. The rezoning proposal wouldn't allow any hotels with more than 100 rooms to be built without a special permit. It also includes disincentives for converting large commercial building into residential ones.

The plan was presented to Community Board 2's Land Use Committee. Neither the heads of the board nor the committee immediately returned calls for comment.