[chris08876]

Big-box retail or more parking for proposed massive Pier 40 complex?

Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group leave retail options open for proposed 1,586-unit complex to be built with air rights from Hudson River Park.

Developers looking to construct a five-building complex on Manhattan's West Side, in part by purchasing $100 million worth of development rights from Hudson River Park, are pitching two different options for the retail space at the site. One scenario for the 1,586-unit project announced earlier this month includes a big-box retailer, while the other envisions a smaller shopping space, but double the amount of parking.

Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group have proposed five buildings on the site of the St. John's Terminal, between Spring and Clarkson streets along the Hudson River waterfront. In one version of the plan, a big-box retailer would take up 255,000 square feet of the project and be paired with 412 parking spaces. In the other, retail would take up 160,000 square feet, while the number of parking spaces would more than double, to 886.

Either way, the developers need approval from the City Council and the Department of City Planning. A green light would allow Westbrook and Atlas to purchase development rights from the park and circumvent some zoning strictures. Although the amount of space devoted to commercial, residential and public use are set, the partnership has left plans open for the project's retail and parking.

"We have not made any decisions about the possibility of including a big-box retailer, mostly-below grade, if rezoning is approved," said a spokesman for Westbrook and Atlas in a statement. However, "we look forward to an ongoing dialogue with the community throughout the public process."

A thumbs-up for the project, which also includes a tranche of apartments deemed affordable by the de Blasio administration, would mean the Hudson River Park Trust could sell off 200,000 square feet of its air rights over Pier 40—about a third of the unused development potential there.

"We anticipate close to 400,000 square feet of unused development rights would remain if the current proposal … is approved," said a park spokesman in a statement, noting that the law requires proceeds from Pier 40's air rights be used to repair the crumbling 15-acre dock.

Meanwhile, there are several other commercial piers along the five-mile park that carry their own unused development rights, likely totaling millions of square feet.

The trust has estimated that, at most, it could actually use for its own future developments or sell about 1.6 million square feet, which would be worth $700 million if future developers are willing to pay as much as Westbrook and Atlas, though that price will certainly change.

However, a 2014 study by Cornell University showed that there are few nearby development sites that could receive such a large infusion of air rights. That, coupled with the fact that the park has not settled on a long-term plan for its unused development rights, leaves unclear the actual amount it would unload over the long run.

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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...ier-40-complex