From left: Hines Interests Chairman Gerald Hines, renderings of 56 Leonard Street, 1045 Sixth Avenue and the MoMA Tower

Already behind the controversial MoMA Tower and a new Bryant Park tower, perpetually under-the-radar real estate firm Hines Interests is undertaking another major project, the New York Observer reported in a lengthy profile, by reviving the stalled 56 Leonard Street condominium project in Tribeca.

The Herzog & de Mueron-designed 57-story condo was first announced by developer Alexico Group a month before Lehman Brothers collapsed, and even sold four of its planned 145 units. But the recession took the plans for the building down with it, and the site currently has a foundation and little else. Typical of the understated firm, Hines refused to divulge much detail other than to say it would become another of Herzog & de Mueron’s “global landmarks.” [more]

From the September issue: The real estate market may be cyclical, but a look at the future of new development in New York suggests that the city isn’t in for a second condo boom — at least not yet. Recent headlines give the impression that the city is being hit by a wave of pricey new mega-condo projects. Here’s a sampling: “Penthouses at Extell’s One 57 ask $98.5 million”; “CIM to begin work at Drake Hotel site”; “Nouvel’s MoMA tower is back before city”; and “Two St. Vincent’s sites enter public review.” But many of the headline-worthy projects in the so-called pipeline are still several years off. And while there are projects in the more immediate pipeline, there are far fewer than there were even last year at this time. [more]

Jean Nouvel and the Torre Verre

It seems like architect Jean Nouvel’s Torre Verre, or MoMA Tower, might be back on track, with a spokesperson for developer Hines admitting that the project was back on and imminent, the New York Observer reported.

Nouvel’s skyscraper, delayed by the financial crisis, was first introduced in 2007 to much critical acclaim. It was slated to be as high as 1,250 feet on land traded by the Musuem of Modern Art to Hines, for $125 million and three floors of galleries in the base of the new building. It would be tall enough to rival the Empire State Building.  City Planning Commission Chair Amanda Burden was less enamored with the tower than others and insisted that 200 feet be knocked off the top, making it smaller than even the Chrysler Building. According to the Observer, Hines has quietly filed a new set of plans with the Department of City Planning, compliant with two special permits that the commission and the City Council approved in 2009. [more]

There could be more trouble brewing for the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA tower at 53 West 53rd Street. Word has gotten out that the West 54-55th Street Block Association has filed an official petition to the New York State Supreme Court, citing environmental violations and the improper transfer of development rights, according to Curbed. Although it’s not yet clear when the court might make a decision on the petition, the document could put a temporary wrench in the works for the development.

Amanda Burden has been called one of the most influential city planning commissioners in New York’s history. Over the last six months, she has overseen some of the most high-profile decisions in New York real estate: the revised heights of the Dumbo apartment building next to the Brooklyn Bridge and the MoMa tower were her doing, and some say the designer choice for the new Nets basketball arena was largely influenced by her preferences as well. On Wednesday, she’ll win the Urban Land Institute’s J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, an award that, in the past, has gone to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Gerald Hines. “She’s led the transformation of City Planning to an affirmative tool shaping the future of the city as opposed to an agency that reacts to developers’ proposals,” said John Alschuler, chairman of the economic development consultancy HR&A Advisors. “The sheer scope and scale of their policy reach is very broad.” [more]