Community representatives reached a deal with the city earlier this month that will bring the most sweeping changes to the face of Tribeca since the construction of Independence Plaza North 30 years ago.

		Three residential towers, a 27,000-square-foot community center, and a pre-k and kindergarten feeder school will be part of new residential development, to be located on sites near P.S. 234, bordered by Greenwich, West, Chambers and Murray Streets. A new pre-k through 8th grade school east of Broadway is also part of the agreement. "It's not everything we wanted, but it is the best possible outcome for the community given this administration's position," said City Councilman Alan Gerson, who had threatened to block City Council approval of the sale of Site 5C to developer Scott Resnick if the deal was unsatisfactory to the community. (See story) The Council okayed the sale on Sept. 9. The agreement, which was signed Sept. 8 by Gerson and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, will allow for the development of the two city-owned lots bordering P.S. 234, known as Sites 5B and 5C, and provides a commitment by the city to a new school on the east side of Broadway. The plans for 5C, directly behind P.S. 234, include: a maximum 300-foot tall residential building, a 27,000-square-foot community center with a 75-foot pool, to be run by Manhattan Youth a 10-classroom pre-k and kindergarten early learning center, intended to alleviate crowding at P.S. 234.
On site 5B, the block bordered by West, Greenwich, Murray and Warren Streets, the agreement specifies: a maximum 370-foot residential tower on West Street, a maximum 200-foot tall residential tower at the corner of Murray and Greenwich Streets. Fifty percent of those rental units will be so-called "affordable" housing, A non-residential building, not to exceed 70 feet, directly across from P.S. 234 on Warren Street, a commitment by the developer to try and find a "quality supermarket tenant" for retail space on the site. The agreement was the result of months of negotiations between the city and community representatives, Gerson, Community Board 1 chairwoman Madelyn Wils and Bob Townley, executive director of Manhattan Youth. Those meetings, said Gerson, were sometimes heated. "There were a few shouting matches between me and the deputy mayor," he said. The agreement provides the broad outline for the development of sites 5B and 5C and the creation of a new school, but many challenges lie ahead and many of the details are still to be determined, including financing for community amenities and the effects that years of nearby construction projects will have on P.S. 234. The Community Center Manhattan Youth and the community will need to raise $4.875 million for the interior construction of the community center. (If the budget exceeds that amount, the city is committed to paying $900,000). That fundraising effort got a boost in the spring, when Goldman Sachs promised a $1 million contribution. According to the agreement, the community may also be able to help finance the community center by allowing a building taller than 70 feet on Warren Street across from P.S. 234. The New East Side School The city has committed $44 million to the construction of a pre-k through 8th grade school and is looking to the LMDC to contribute $25 million from the remaining HUD funds earmarked for Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11. The likely location for that school will be 250 Water near the South Street Seaport, which the city will need to acquire from the owner, the Milstein Corporation, either by purchase or through eminent domain. The city has also promised to try and complete the new school building by the time the residential units on site 5B are occupied. The school will be zoned for the area currently covered by P.S. 234 and P.S. 89. The Early Learning Center The 10 classroom pre-k and kindergarten "feeder' school to be located at Site 5C was intended to alleviate crowing at P.S. 234, but the agreement does not specify if it will be an annex of the school or an independent center serving both the P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 areas. It is anticipated that it could open as early as the fall of 2006.