Seaport Working Group opposes new luxury tower

Members propose shorter structure and improvements to public spaces

From left: Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb, the proposed Seaport tower and lead designer Gregg Pasquarelli
From left: Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb, the proposed Seaport tower and lead designer Gregg Pasquarelli

The results are in from a working group formed by the Howard Hughes Corporation to review redevelopment plans for the South Street Seaport.

The group rejected the 600-foot luxury apartment and hotel tower on the site of the New Market Building, former home of the Fulton Fish Market, DNAinfo reported. Community opposition to the building, the plans for which Howard Hughes revealed in November, was the driving force behind the working group’s formation. Howard Hughes’s offer to provide affordable housing in the 50-story tower was not enough to quell neighbor complaints.

After several weeks of meetings, the working group instead suggested a shorter tower, but lead designer Gregg Pasquarelli of ShoP Architects said the slender tower would not block views of the Brooklyn Bridge. He also said it “is the only way to get enough revenue to get all of the goodies they want.”

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The goodies included in the working group’s report include improvements to the waterfront, the South Street Seaport Museum and nearby walkways and bike paths, DNAinfo reported.

The working group will send the final draft proposals to Howard Hughes within the next few weeks, after which the firm will respond with a revised development plan. The working group’s suggestions are not binding. [DNAinfo]Tom DiChristopher