East Village & Lower East Side

Real Estate

Developer Reveals Plans for Fourth Skyscraper to Hit Two Bridges Waterfront

December 13, 2016 3:42pm | Updated December 13, 2016 3:42pm
The tower from Starrett Development will rise at 259 Clinton St.
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Perkins Eastman

LOWER EAST SIDE — Developers have revealed plans for a 62-story residential tower to rise at 259 Clinton St. — the fourth large-scale development slated to head for the waterfront within the next five years.

The project from Starrett Development, bordered by Cherry and South streets, will rise to 724 feet and will hold 732 units, a quarter of which will be set aside as below-market rate, though reps were unable to estimate levels of affordability for the units.

The apartments will sit atop a ground-floor retail space facing South Street — likely to hold a grocery store or local retailer — and two floors of amenities for residents, which may include a fitness center or co-working space, while the upper levels will include a terrace, according to a Starrett rep. 

The development also aims to bring new greenery to the area, including a residential garden and additional landscaping to the surrounding area. 

Sitting alongside the upcoming East River Water Esplanade, between anticipated public parks at Pier 35 and Pier 42, developers hope the waterfront residence and accompanying retail space will help enliven the area with increased foot traffic and activity, aiding the city’s goal of activating the waterfront, according to a rep for the developer. 

Construction on the tower is slated to kick off in 2018 and wrap up in 2021.

The plans were first reported by The Lo-Down following an exclusive meeting with the developer, who then shared the plans with residents of neighboring affordable housing complex Lands End I on Monday night.

The newly announced skyscraper caps off an anticipated cluster of super-tall apartment buildings planned for the stretch of waterfront property that has current residents fretting over construction hazards, population density, overwhelmed infrastructure and other quality of life concerns.

An 80-story luxury monolith from the Extell Development Company is already on the rise at 252 South St., while the JDS Development Group plans to stick a 77-story tower at 247 Cherry St. 

Two Bridges Associates, a joint venture between L+M Development Partners and the CIM Group, recently announced plans to build two towers on a shared base at 260 South St., obstructing the waterfront view for residents of a neighboring Section 8 housing complex. 

Given the closeness of the developments and the breadth of resident concerns, three of the developments — those from Starrett, JDS, and Two Bridges Associates — will be included in a joint, city-mandated environmental review process that officials say is unprecedented in its community involvement. 

The process will assess the joint impact of the developments on such factors as transportation, open space, traffic with the goal of finding mitigation techniques. 

The review process will be directly informed by a community “task force” consisting of tenant representatives, neighborhood groups, and local business owners, and will include four public hearings on the projects to allow locals to offer feedback. 

The first public meeting in the environmental review process, where representatives for all three developments will present their plans and address community concerns, will be held Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at 227 Madison St. 

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