NEW YORK | Independence Plaza Tower (Tribeca) | 940 FT | FLOORS

[Ahoi]

"Their initial plan: a 900-foot tower that would land on Greenwich at Jay, just north of 310 Greenwich — the southernmost of the three towers that make up Independence Plaza. (The other two are 40 Harrison and 80 N. Moore.) The building would be constructed atop the public plaza where PS 150 used to be, and (I think) would require the demolition of the townhouses there and on Greenwich.

A spokesperson for Stellar Management saw my original post and asked that I add this statement:

Independence Plaza’s current zoning would permit the construction of additional floor area above that existing today. Stellar Management and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) are in the early stages of exploring a project that would create market rate and affordable housing, while making significant improvements to the streetscape, open space, and retail frontage; enabling the owners to attract businesses that better serve community needs.

Stellar and VNO are committed to working in partnership with Independence Plaza residents and the Tribeca community to ensure this project addresses those needs. The non-ULURP modification process will require preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that assesses the project’s impacts on shadows, traffic, schools, neighboring buildings, and other matters. This process will include a number of opportunities for community members and others to provide feedback.

Marte said the developers said they are still several years off — maybe five before construction starts.

“It seems like it’s in the early stages,” the councilmember said. “They are hiring a team to flesh it out a bit further. Me and my team are against this tower — we don’t need more luxury development in this area.” The developers, he said, were unclear how much affordable housing would be included.

The development is zoned as a C6-4, which permits high-bulk, high-rise, mixed-use buildings — meaning it can be both commercial and residential. C6-4 districts have a maximum FAR (floor area ration) of 10.0 or 15.0 — meaning the total area of the buildings can be 10 times or 15 times their footprint. In these districts, floor area may be increased by a bonus for a public plaza or Inclusionary (affordable) Housing. It looks like the gross floor area of the entire development — nine buildings — up to N. Moore is 2 million square feet, when you examine the city’s zoning maps. That sounds like it will add up to a LOT of buildable square footage."



https://tribecacitizen.com/2023/11/2...ge-1/#comments



Credit:
http://www.tribecatrib.com/content/9...pendence-plaza

[The New York Lion]

Wow!

2 million square feet can be an enormous tower. World Trade Center-ish.

New York! America!

[chris08876]

The following: " The non-ULURP modification process will require preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that assesses the project’s impacts on shadows, traffic, schools, neighboring buildings, and other matters. "

Makes me nervous. This is Tribeca...

The shadows... oh boy.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Ahoi

http://www.tribecatrib.com/content/9...pendence-plaza

Developers propose a 900-foot tower for Independence Plaza


November 21, 2023

Councilman Chris Marte spoke to the owners of Independence Plaza two weeks ago (right after Halloween) to hear directly about their plans to build another residential tower between the two existing south of Harrison. He met with representatives of Vornado Realty Trust and Stellar Management after hearing that they will apply to the Department of City Planning for a “modification of the existing Large Scale Residential Development site plan (LSRD)” and will come before CB1 in December at the Land Use Committee meeting on Monday, Dec. 11.

Their initial plan: a 900-foot tower that would land on Greenwich at Jay, just north of 310 Greenwich — the southernmost of the three towers that make up Independence Plaza. (The other two are 40 Harrison and 80 N. Moore.) The building would be constructed atop the public plaza where PS 150 used to be...

...The non-ULURP modification process will require preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that assesses the project’s impacts on shadows, traffic, schools, neighboring buildings, and other matters. This process will include a number of opportunities for community members and others to provide feedback.

Marte said the developers said they are still several years off — maybe five before construction starts.

Very interesting. I spent some time at BMCC years ago, I thought that IP development was built out already. But it's a great location for more housing and they should push up the timeline as much as possible.



https://www.transparentcity.co/build...pendence-plaza




















https://www.hlres.com/listings/930119/rental-tribeca

[Crawford]

Great news. There will be NIMBY pushback, but this is the right time to move forward.

The Manhattan Borough President, who could be mayor in a few years, is very pro-development, as long as there's a major affordable housing component.

And 2 million square feet will have a major skyline impact. Should be great for the Lower Manhattan skyline.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Great news. There will be NIMBY pushback, but this is the right time to move forward.

The Manhattan Borough President, who could be mayor in a few years, is very pro-development, as long as there's a major affordable housing component.

The NIMBY contingent of course will call for 100% affordable housing, following on the heels of 5 WTC. But as I am understanding it, this isn't undergoing a full approvals process, similar to the towers on the LES.

City Councilman Christopher Marte, who met with representatives from the developers, Vornado Realty Trust and Stellar Management, confirmed the building’s proposed height to the Trib, saying “we have doubt that they can actually build that big and in the scope that they want.” Marte said his staff is looking into the zoning for the area, which is part of the Washington Street Urban Renewal Area.

In a statement to the Trib, a Stellar Management spokesperson said “current zoning allows for a significant amount of square footage that is not currently being used.” The amount of square footage was not mentioned.

The developers say the project is “as of right” and can sidestep the city’s rigorous land use review process, known as ULURP. Instead, they would apply for a far less demanding “minor modification” to the zoning requirements.

The councilman should learn to look before he speaks though. You want to be sure.

“we have doubt that they can actually build that big and in the scope that they want.” Marte said his staff is looking into the zoning for the area, which is part of the Washington Street Urban Renewal Area.

[Ahoi]

https://tribecacitizen.com/2023/12/0...ge-1/#comments

[Zapatan]

940? Nice.

Would love to see a building like that in this area.

[NYguy]

https://www.ebroadsheet.com/towering-ambitions/

Towering Ambitions
900-Foot Residential Building Proposed at Independence Plaza





December 8, 2023

City Council member Christopher Marte led a town hall meeting in Tribeca yesterday afternoon (December 7) to discuss a new residential tower planned for a courtyard within the Independence Plaza complex, on Greenwich Street. The structure, as proposed by developers Stellar Management and Vornado Realty, would be taller than 900 feet.

“My office met with the development team several weeks ago,” Mr. Marte recounted. “They were extremely vague. They did not commit to anything. When we asked them about the building’s design, they gave us some minor sketches. When we asked whether there would be affordable units in this development, they said that they hope so, but they wouldn’t give us a number. They really wouldn’t tell us anything.”

He summarized the legal process for obtaining authorization to build such a structure. “A project like this is called a Large Scale Residential Development,” or LSRD, he explained. (This is a legal term that describes the consolidation of multiple, separate zoning lots into a single unit for the purpose of erecting a project that will span the borders several such plots.) “And the most important question is whether the LSRD is classified as a ‘minor modification’ or a ‘major modification’ to the existing neighborhood,” he said.

“If the developers can make the case that the new building is a minor modification, then the City Planning Commission has the authority to approve the plan on its own. But if it falls into the category of major modification, then the City Council has the ultimate say.”

“For LSRDs that are a major modification,” Mr. Marte continued, “the City Council has what we call ‘member deference,’ which means if the local Council member supports or rejects a project, the whole Council votes that way.”

“We’ve seen that happen in Harlem recently, where the whole Council sided with Kristin Jordan against a development there,” he noted. (This was a reference to Ms. Jordan’s de facto veto of the One45 development planned for Lenox Avenue and 145th Street. That proposal contained 915 apartments, one half of which would have been market rate, while the other half would have contained varying degrees of affordability.) “So it’s been tried and tested this past term. And right now, I would reject this proposal as it is.”

But Mr. Marte acknowledged that the determination about whether an LSRD is classified as major or minor falls largely to the City Planning Commission, which is controlled by the Mayor. For an administration that wishes to reserve for itself the final say on big development plans, there is every incentive to use this power to categorize even the most gargantuan projects as “minor modifications.” In most cases, the only possible recourse to challenge such a move is in the courts.

This was the path followed by the Two Bridges LSRD, which aims to bring four massive new towers (reaching as high as 1,000 feet, and containing more than 2,700 apartments) to Lower Manhattan’s East River waterfront (between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges). The City Planning Commission deemed this a minor modification to the neighborhood’s existing zoning, notwithstanding that it would roughly triple the number of residences in the community.

Opponents of the project (including the City Council and the Manhattan Borough President) brought suit, and were initially vindicated when a State Supreme Court judge ruled in February, 2020, that “the irreparable harm here is two-fold. First, a community will be drastically altered without having had its proper say. Second, and arguably more important, allowing this project to proceed without the City Council’s imprimatur would distort the City’s carefully crafted system of checks and balances.”

This victory was short-lived. A year later, the Appellate Division overruled the decision of the trial court. The following May, the State Court of Appeals refused to consider a motion to overturn the Appellate Division’s finding. This effectively ended any possibility of forcing the Two Bridges plan to be reclassified as major modification, and thus extinguished the prospect of the City Council stopping it.

At Thursday’s meeting, which drew more than 100 people (including Stuart Gold, left, who has lived at Independence Plaza since 1986), Mr. Marte raised a second possible approach to opposing the Independence Plaza proposal. “A few years ago, we voted on a new ‘green amendment’ to the State Constitution, which guarantees us access to light and fresh air,” he said. “We used that legal strategy to sue developers.”

This was a reference to the 2021 “Environmental Rights” measure, approved overwhelmingly by New York voters, which says, “each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” This amendment was used as the basis for a separate lawsuit against the Two Bridges LSRD plan.

In the first-ever legal action brought under the new provision, opponents argued that the development would negatively affect local air quality, the amount of nearby open space, and result in the loss of light. It was ultimately dismissed by the State Supreme Court, which ruled, “the Court hesitates to create a brand-new route to challenge developments on an environmental basis, which is exactly what plaintiffs’ action would entail…. The substantive rights conferred by the Green Amendment surely do not create a right to recast previously rejected efforts to stop a development.”

Mr. Marte closed Thursday’s meeting with a request that concerned Lower Manhattan residents attend a meeting this Monday (December 11) of the Land Use, Zoning & Economic Development Committee of Community Board 1, which will hear a “Pre-Application Statement” by the developers for the Independence Plaza proposal. The committee will discuss a possible resolution, supporting or opposing the plan. Members of the public may attend this meeting (which begins at 6pm) in person at 1 Centre Street, room 22021 North, or online at https://live.mcb1.nyc.

[NYguy]

https://tribecacitizen.com/2023/12/1...by-developers/

There will be no formal city land use review process since they do not need to seek a zoning change. But the developers will go through an 18-month review process that includes a environmental impact study, which requires community input. They submitted the pre-application to the City Planning last June, and in October, they met with other city agencies to outline the process. They met with the councilman in October. If they stay on schedule, they would host community input meetings in summer 2024 and again in winter 2025, and would trigger the environmental impact process in spring 2025, with it wrapped up six months or so later.

A few more points that came up for the record:

The northern parcel, 3A, is fully developed

Councilman Chris Marte said for the record that he is against the project

The current residents of the townhouses are in negotiations with the owners to be relocated to “comparable or better” apartments within the complex.

They did not say how many tenants that is, but my guess is it is less than 20 units out of the 50 they will raze.

The existing towers are 346 feet tall and have a total of 1323 units
Which brings us to the developer’s decision to build a 900-foot tower in Tribeca.

“To even be considering 900 feet — I can’t believe it has gotten to this place,” said CB1 member and Tribecan Tricia Joyce. “We are not against development. There is logical development, and then there is this…It is completely out of context for this neighborhood. Whether or not you are allowed to build it should not be part of our discussion. This is not the right development in this place.”

[Zapatan]

There will be no formal city land use review process since they do not need to seek a zoning change. But the developers will go through an 18-month review process that includes an environmental impact study, which requires community input. They submitted the pre-application to the City Planning last June, and in October, they met with other city agencies to outline the process. They met with the councilman in October. If they stay on schedule, they would host community input meetings in summer 2024 and again in winter 2025, and would trigger the environmental impact process in spring 2025, with it wrapped up six months or so later.

So this wouldn't start for a while then, and as expected people will shoot it down.

To even be considering 900 feet — I can’t believe it has gotten to this place,” said CB1 member and Tribecan Tricia Joyce. “We are not against development. There is logical development, and then there is this…It is completely out of context for this neighborhood. Whether or not you are allowed to build it should not be part of our discussion. This is not the right development in this place.

It's literally blocks from downtown Manhattan which is full of skyscrapers, many of which taller than this. These people should move out of NYC if they hate tall buildings so much.

[Zerton]

I will never understand the people who live in Lower Manhattan or Midtown and complain about new skyscrapers. They chose to live where the tallest buildings have historically been built. This didn't start 10 years ago.

[Sky88]

Well, I don't think the problem is people hating tall buildings so much, but always involving these communities in various projects. Just look at who the rulers of New York are... and you understand many things. Not to mention an 18 month review process... unnecessary bureaucracy. If I were a developer I wouldn't build the tower in that area... just look at those horrible buildings nearby.

[Busy Bee]

It is completely out of context for this neighborhood.

Leaves you speechless.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zerton

I will never understand the people who live in Lower Manhattan or Midtown and complain about new skyscrapers. They chose to live where the tallest buildings have historically been built. This didn't start 10 years ago.

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Leaves you speechless.

It’s insanity. Personally, I never get the fear of a tall building. If you live in or near a 300 ft building, a 900 ft building isn’t going to change all that much from a ground perspective. It’s from a distance where it comes into play.

Because this is basically up to City Planning to decide, it’ll end up in court, where the NIMBYs will have to be shot down by multiple judges. It’s the Lower East Side all over again.

This building will do no more damage to the neighborhood than 56 Leonard did.

[chris08876]

They probally don't like it because they don't want to look out their window and see a taller tower and know they they can't afford those units. Its all the who has the largest tower concept. Clearly 940 ft hurts their old egos... and they complain!

Yeah this will go through the motions, courts will rule for it... and it will rise. Same sort of BS with the LES towers. After hurdles and hurdles, lawsuits being shot down... eventually, reason will prevail. On a side note, I hope those LES towers (Cherry/Clinton streets) start soon.

[NYguy]

I think the low level setbacks are very much in context with the surrounding area.

[Charmy2]

Are there renderings now?

[NYguy]

They're still working with the architects, so its all preliminary.



• Video Link

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by chris08876

They probally don't like it because they don't want to look out their window and see a taller tower and know they they can't afford those units. Its all the who has the largest tower concept. Clearly 940 ft hurts their old egos... and they complain!

Yeah this will go through the motions, courts will rule for it... and it will rise. Same sort of BS with the LES towers. After hurdles and hurdles, lawsuits being shot down... eventually, reason will prevail. On a side note, I hope those LES towers (Cherry/Clinton streets) start soon.

It's pulling up the ladder behind you. Sure, they love living in the neighborhood and all it has to offer. But someone else wants to move here? No way! It will totally destroy the character of this neighborhood. Of course, the character of the neighborhood as it currently exists has only been that way for a few short years in the grand scheme of things. And you were conveniently part of your vision of what the neighborhood was.

We get this in Long Island City, too, of all places. Of all the neighborhoods in NYC, you would figure that everyone would be cool with more towers. Like clockwork, though, every new tower proposal brings out the NIMBYs. They conveniently forgot that they only moved here in 2017.