There were five landmarks designated in Brooklyn in 2015 and now the borough has its first of 2016. The East New York Savings Bank, Parkway Branch building at 1117 Eastern Parkway (a.k.a. 1123A Eastern Parkway) was designated an individual landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.
Developer Peter Moore has recently filed applications to turn the former two-story, 15,342-square-foot industrial building at 425 Hoyt Street, in Gowanus, into a three-story, multi-use commercial building. Filings indicate the structure will be expanded by 3,956 square feet and will eventually boast 17,301 square feet of commercial space. DNAinfo reports the ground floor will most likely be leased as office space, although the Schedule A says it could also be retail space. The second and third floors would host private art galleries to showcase and/or store artwork. The developer is banking on plans to clean up and build a park along the Gowanus Canal that would hopefully make the area more attractive. Chinatown-based Jung Wor Chin is the architect of record.
Following 11 years in the planning and approval process, Summit Development and Greenfield Partners broke ground earlier this week on the retail portion of Chappaqua Crossing. The project is an expansive mixed-use development located on the former Reader’s Digest office campus at 480 Bedford Road, in Chappaqua, a northern Westchester County hamlet in the Town of New Castle. The retail portion includes the build-out of 120,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 40,000 square-foot Whole Foods, a Life Time gym, and other shops and restaurants. The Grossman Companies is partnered in the retail portion and the supermarket is expected to open in 2017.
It’s been over half a year since we gave you an update on 181 Front Street, a mixed-use project between Jay Street and Bridge Street in DUMBO. Back in July, foundation work was being done. Now, there’s some building to be seen. Photos sent to us by our friend Tectonic, show the structure is about two-stories off the ground.
The long-vacant Times Square Theater, located at 217 West 42nd Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Midtown, may have another chance to be used, according to the New York Post. Singapore-based Oracle Projects International, which produces and designs events, has reportedly leased the property. The former theater is overseen by the state’s Historic Preservation Committee as well as New 42nd St, a nonprofit that leases the theater (and five others) in a 99-year lease. In recent years, the building was leased twice with different reuse projects in mind, but both failed to come to fruition. The latest plan would likely include, at the very least, minor alterations to, or a restoration of, the existing building. The building’s interior and exterior were on the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s backlog, but were removed from the calendar without prejudice last month.
