Seaport Developer Has Eyes on Site for a 1,018-ft. Building
Left: An earlier, Santiago Calatrava, design for 80 South Street. Right: The current proposed design for 80 South Street, designed by Morali Architects. Renderings via New York YIMBY
Howard Hughes Corp., the developer that is proposing a controversial 50-story building north of Pier 17, says it is also considering putting up a second, even taller tower about three blocks away.
The hotel and residential tower, which can be more than 1,000 feet high, would be built at 80 South Street. Hughes Corp. says that project is in addition to its proposed 600-foot residential tower that opponents insist is out of character with the surrounding Seaport Historic District.
In a statement issued on March 26, Hughes Corp. executive Chris Curry confirmed the developer’s interest in the project, saying it is “reaffirming our belief in the future of the area by expanding our investment.”
A project at 80 South Street had been in the works by another developer, Cord Meyer, which has opted to sell the site and plans to the Hughes Corp. The Department of City Planning has approved an air rights transfer for a soaring tower at the site, close to Imagination Playground, Pier 15, and the historic ships at Pier 16 as well as the mall that Hughes Corp. is building on Pier 17.
The most recent design, by Morali Architects, is for a 1,018-foot structure.
Last month, the Seaport Working Group, made up of Lower Manhattan civic leaders, elected and city officials and Hughes Corp. representatives, began a series of discussions about the developer’s Seaport plans. Only after the group has come to an agreement can the Hughes Corp. finalize its development proposal for review by the city.
Although Hughes Corp. maintains that it is interested in going forward with both buildings, some believe that the developer views 80 South Street as an alternative to their initial project (to be built on the site of the New Market Building), in case it got rejected.
In an email to the Trib, Borough President Gale Brewer, a co-chair of the working group, described the possibility of Hughes developing 80 South Street as “certainly interesting.”
Robert LaValva, the president of the Seaport’s New Amsterdam Market and a leading opponent of the Hughes Corp.’s plans, commended the developer’s proposal for 80 South Street, saying in a statement that “it also provides a great opportunity” for the city to rethink the Hughes Corp.’s proposed 50-foot tower.
Hughes Corp. has said that tower is necessary in order to fund the restoration of the landmark Tin Building, build a marina and extend the East River esplanade through the Seaport.