Uncertainty over the future of an important tax exemption for residential construction, 421-a, is forcing developers in the outer boroughs to focus on building office and retail space. The latest example comes to us from East Williamsburg, where the Loketch Group aims to put up a six-story office and medical building.
Back in December of 2015, YIMBY reported on the topping out of the 19-story, 176-key Aloft Hotel under development at 27-45 Jackson Avenue, in the Court Square section of Long Island City. Since then, façade installation has been underway and is now being unveiled from scaffolding, The Court Square Blog reports. The 68,160-square-foot complex features a main 19-story structure on Jackson Avenue in addition to a slimmer eight-story counterpart on Hunter Street. Guest amenities include storage for seven bikes, a fitness center, a conference room, and a bar/lounge. Nassim Seliktar is the property owner, while Gene Kaufman Architect is behind the design. Completion is expected within the next few months.
Last summer, Houston-based Unique Hotel Management Group acquired the shuttered 12-story hotel at 50 Kenny Place, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey (in Bergen County). Now, after six years of sitting empty, the hotel has finally reopened as a Crowne Plaza, according to NorthJersey.com. The renovated hotel has 148 rooms, a redesigned lobby, meeting and event rooms, a business center, and a restaurant, dubbed SKY, located on the top floor. The distinctly cylindrical tower was built in 1971 as a Holiday Inn, but closed in 2010 following the financial crisis, prior to being acquired by Unique for $10.7 million.
ACME New York Properties Inc. has filed applications for two three-story, three-unit residential buildings at 190-24 – 190-26 Woodhull Avenue, in Hollis, located a block from the neighborhood’s Long Island Rail Road station. Each one will measure 6,392 square feet, and across both buildings, the residential units should average a spacious 1,598 square feet apiece. The apartments will span an entire floor and will probably feature family-sized configurations, featuring multiple bedrooms. Richmond Hill-based Hansa Building Engineering Services is the applicant of record. The 50-foot-wide plot is currently vacant. Its two-story predecessor was demolished back in 2012.
Vasco Ventures has filed applications for a three-story, 7,552-square-foot office building at 188 Butler Street, in Gowanus, located seven blocks from the Union Street stop on the R train. The entire structure, which will include outdoor rooftop terraces, will be used for offices. There will be 4,973 square feet of space dedicated to commercial operations, and the structure will stand 58 feet above street level, which means that ceiling heights could easily top 15 feet per floor. Nataliya Donskoy’s Brooklyn-based ND Architecture & Design is the architect of record. Demolition permits were filed in January for the 25-foot-wide site’s vacant three-story townhouse.
