The South Street Seaport

Updated, 4:55 p.m., Apr. 1: The Howard Hughes Corporation may build a hotel, retail space and market-rate residential apartments at the South Street Seaport, a letter of intent seen by Downtown Express reveals, ending months of speculation about the developer’s plans for the megaproject.  [more]

A Pier 17 project rendering and Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb

The Gap has become the latest retailer to file suit against Howard Hughes Corp., which is rebuilding Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport. The Dallas-based developer is facing two other suits from companies that want to continue operating their businesses at the pier, which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. [more]

Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb and a rendering of Pier 17

Businesses at South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 have been ordered to vacate the premises in anticipation of a major redevelopment project to begin in July, DNAinfo reported. The Dallas, Texas-based Howard Hughes Corporation owns the pier and is slated to begin construction on an all-glass two-story structure with approximately 120,000 square feet of high-end retail space. Retail in the neighborhood — which has seen steadily rising prices and several new residential project — was brought to a dramatic halt by Hurricane Sandy… [more]

Howard Hughes’ David Weinreb and Bridgewaters

Bridgewaters, a high-end catering hall at South Street Seaport, has filed a breach of contract suit against the property’s landlord, a subsidiary of the Howard Hughes Corporation. The suit alleges that the popular venue has been blocked from reopening after Hurricane Sandy, and that its landlord is now threatening to evict the tenant from the property.  [more]

From left: Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb and a rendering of Pier 17

The Dallas-based Howard Hughes Corporation is forging ahead with its plans to redevelop Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan. Following an engineering inspection of the site’s stability following Hurricane Sandy, which deemed the site to be sound, David Wenreb, Howard Hughes’ CEO, told the New York Times that it will begin construction by July 1. [more]

From left: Faith Hope Consolo and a rendering of Pier 17

The future of the proposed South Street Seaport revitalization project is uncertain, the Wall Street Journal reported. The culprit: Hurricane Sandy, whose landfall in Lower Manhattan not only damaged the South Street Seaport Museum, but also could have damaged Pier 17, where Howard Hughes Corp. is planning a redesigned mall.

Now that the site is closed, and could be closed for two years with construction, retailers could get cold feet in signing leases and the site may have problems getting visitors, real estate experts told the Journal. “People have a short time span to remember,” Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Douglas Elliman’s retail group, told the Journal. [more]

A rendering of the mall at Pier 17

Howard Hughes Corp. is revising its design for a proposed shopping mall on Pier 17, the Tribeca Trib reported. The new design would split the rectangular mall in two, allowing natural light and rain to shine through the building’s center.

“So when it rains the rain will come down right through the middle of the building,” Gregg Pasquarelli, a partner in SHoP Architects, the building’s designers, said. “We think that would be pretty fantastic and really have this great engagement with the waterfront.” [more]

A proposed tower for South Street Seaport that was rejected by LPC

Though the city’s Economic Development Corp. approved Howard Hughes Corp.’ overhaul of the South Street Seaport retail complex, the local community was quick to tell Downtown Express that it’s far from a done deal. The project still has to undergo the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which usually endures for seven months, and there are still significant concerns, according to Michael Levine who directs Land Use and Planning for local Community Board 1. [more]

From left: Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb, EDC President Seth Pinsky and a rendering of the project

Howard Hughes Corp. announced today that it has reached an agreement with the city’s Economic Development Corporation to overhaul Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan, Crain’s reported. Construction is projected to begin next year, and be completed by 2015. [more]

A rendering of Pier 17

Lower Manhattan’s popular New Amsterdam Market wants to make a permanent home of the abandoned Fulton Fish Market warehouses, but it’s facing opposition from Howard Hughes Corporation, DNAinfo reported. The South Street Seaport developer has first rights to the city-owned properties that the market covets around the seaport.

The buildings that the market’s founder, Robert LaValva, hopes to occupy are the Tin Building and the New Market Building, located near the base of Pier 17. [more]