NEW YORK | 250 Water Street | 2 x 470 FT | 38 FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://ny.curbed.com/2020/1/30/21083914/south-street-seaport-howard-hughes-250-water-street

Is a new tower coming to South Street Seaport’s historic district?
A developer is eyeing an air rights transfer for a contested South Street Seaport lot

By Caroline Spivack
January 30, 2020

The Howard Hughes Corporation has expressed an interest in transferring development rights from three high-profile properties to 250 Water Street, which sits above the toxic remnants of a 19th-century thermometer factory. Renderings presented during a recent community workshop show a building that has a contextually appropriate base, with a taller tower rising above it. This preliminary vision has emerged as Howard Hughes embarks on a master planning process for the South Street Seaport with community input led by architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

City Council member Margaret Chin, who represents the area, is monitoring proposals for the site and currently does not have a position on would-be development in the area, according to her office. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer hopes any plans for the site “take into consideration the context of the area, especially since it is a historic district, and conforms to what is permissible,” Brewer said in a statement.

Howard Hughes purchased the Water Street lot (bounded by Peck Slip and Beekman Street to the north and south, and Water and Pearl streets to the east and west) from Milstein Properties in 2018 for $180 million, after the latter failed to develop the site.

But the developer also controls a significant chunk of the historic Seaport under a lease with the city, including Pier 17, the Tin Building, and the New Market building. Included in its holdings is approximately 311,000 square feet of development rights at 250 Water Street; roughly 415,000 square feet of unused rights at Pier 17 and the Tin Building. Some 212,000 square feet of air rights is also owned by the city at the New Market site.