Last November, the real estate developer who wants to revitalize the South Street Seaport showed a smaller—but still towering—condominium that would anchor the development. But local officials were unimpressed by the new design's attempt to meet their concerns, and now the NY Times has a look at the stalled project.
The Howard Hughes Corporation wants to build the condo, plus, as we reported, sweeteners like "a locally sourced food market open seven days a week in the restored Tin Building; a mixed-use residential building on the New Market site; a public middle school that could also be programmed to include community use at the base of the mixed-use building; affordable housing in Schermerhorn Row; and a marina with berths for tall ships, enhanced waterfront access and active maritime use."
However, the Times points out the "planned 494-foot-tall condominium tower over the water at the foot of Beekman Street that has incensed local officials, a couple of civic groups, preservationists and some community residents. The tower, they say, would obscure views of the Brooklyn Bridge and clash with the low-scaled, early-19th-century brick buildings that make up the 11-block seaport district, once the center of the city’s maritime industry."
In fact, in this video from the company, you can seen views of the Brooklyn Bridge disappear before your eyes!
While Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer told the Times that the developer "needs to start over... This is not a good project, not for affordable housing, for the environment or for the resiliency of the area," Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb said, "We believe our plan is consistent with the goals the administration has put forward. We feel like we’ve met every one of the community’s needs, except the elimination of the tower. The tower represents the economic driver for everything else." At the last presentation, it was proposed that the tower would have 150 market rate apartments, and then 60-70 affordable housing units would be on Schermerhorn Row.
Bloomberg administration spokesman Wiley Norvell said, "The administration has a strong interest in preserving the maritime heritage of the seaport, including the historic ships and the museum. We’re in ongoing discussions with the community and its elected officials, as well as the private developer, to see if we can achieve that critical objective and satisfy other priorities the neighborhood has raised." And the local community board had approved some parts of the plan.
A member of Save Our Seaport, a group formed to preserve the neighborhood, told us last September that she doubted any revised plans from Howard Hughes would make them happy, "They’re basically giving the whole community a giant F U. I mean, that’s what it really comes down to."
