Costas' Addition to the New LES Skyline

1.

Anybody know where they got the rights for the extra 53,190 sqft? They claim 210,000 sqft but are only zoned for 156,000. And last I checked this was not a Scarano project so where did they get the extra space?

2.

YES!! Die hipster trustfund havin' biatchezzzz!!

3.

The Board of Standards and Appeals gave them a variance and/or a special permit: I think it was an inclusionary housing bonus, and maybe others. The hassle of building on top of the F train tunnel may have counted as a hardship as well.

4.

Now I am curious on the variance. If inclsuionary housing, I might be fine with it. But the hassle part is silly, they boughtthe property knowing the f-train was udner it, thats just part of evaluating the prospects for building. Oh, well one more tall ugly building, at least I have Blue as an interesting tall building.

5.

Found a larger image here:
http://www.kondylis.com/includes/getImage.php?img=../images/LUD-1.jpg&maxh=800

6.

A developer can sometimes get more FAR by improving access to the subway entrances inside their property line.

For example, in a C6-4.5 zoning, the FAR for a mixed-use project is normally 12.0; but with a subway improvement it's 14.0, a 16% bigger building.

I can't vouch though for this particular project, because I have not studied it.

7.

This building, however, is over the tunnel - not the entrances. The closest F train entrances are 2 blocks south (Delancey/Essex) or 2 blocks west (Allen/Houston). Not sure how iceberg's thought re: subway entrance improvement is applicable...

8.

half you crackers think we're talking Bob Costas.

truth.

9.

Hey majman... Thanks for the big image... How do you do that? I went to their website, yet I click to see an image to get bigger but it doesn't work on my browser. What are the steps to do that? I want to see larger renderings of some of the other buildings proposed... especially that Bank of China tower and the one on 57th street among some others awell. Thanks alot for any help.

Don.

10.

Kondylis' website shows us a myriad of buildings to react to. This one falls in line as a cheap, exposed concrete slab, flush alum. windowed, modular brick (can we tell?..perhaps only by inexpensiveness so common for his "inclusionary" projects) megalith. Can't the BSA force them to spend more if they are gonna build more? Or at least promote design excellence in some other manner? Also, did an EIS report get filed and did it permit yet MORE housing in this dense neighborhood without adding other key institutions like schools and retail amenities lacking radically south of Delancey...well I will leave it here...for now at least....sigh

11.

Its a very well designed building. We like it a lot.

12.

The base of the rendering looks amazing.....not sure about the design but the rendering looks good at the base. Im really tired of the trash designs going up in the City now........must be cheap bland clients not willing to change