New York state ruled that Washington Square Village is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, but New York University insists that won’t affect its expansion plans, according to Crain’s. As The Real Deal previously reported, NYU plans to build two new boomerang-shaped buildings on the campus superblock north of Bleecker Street, a staggered, zipper-shaped building on the block south of Bleecker Street and a 14-story building atop the Morton Williams supermarket currently in the area. The historic place designation means that federal and state funding can’t be used to demolish or build structures on the location. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation told Crain’s that it’s another reason for NYU to look elsewhere to expand. ” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

From left: Andrew Berman, Alicia Hurley and NYU

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the New York University Silver Towers landscaping plan yesterday in a unanimous vote, the school announced last night. The plan, which includes a dog run, toddler park and increased vegetation in the area, was seen as an olive branch to community activists who have opposed the school’s 2031 expansion program. But Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said that many in the community are further angered by the landscaping plan. “In their new location, the playground and dog run will interfere with what is now the pristine view of Picasso’s Sylvette sculpture,” Berman said. TRD [more]

From left: images from 444 West 162nd Street and 351 East 51st Street

When Pedro Noguera moved into a Washington Heights townhouse seven years ago, his children were thrilled to discover an oversized basketball hoop in the backyard. “They were very excited,” recalled Allyson Pimental, Noguera’s wife. That is, until the family discovered that the over-sized hoop — decorated with multi-colored bottle caps — wasn’t actually meant for playing basketball. Rather, it was a sculpture by famed conceptual artist David Hammons. The sculpture is now for sale along with the house at 444 West 162nd Street near Jumel Terrace. Tracie Hamersley, a senior vice president at Citi Habitats, listed the 3,400-square-foot townhouse this week for $1.5 million, or $6,000 per month for rent. Meanwhile, deep-pocketed renters now have even more options to choose from. A $50,000-per-month rental at the Beekman Regent in Turtle Bay hit the market yesterday, according to listing broker Dennis Hughes of the Corcoran Group. Click here for more.

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Following community backlash to its initial Greenwich Village expansion plan, New York University today unveiled new scaled down renderings for a few buildings that are part of the school’s citywide growth scheme.

The university will present the revised plan for three buildings, rather than the four as initially proposed, to the public next week, and said it expects to begin the public approval process in May.

The plan, initiated in 2006 and known as “NYU 2031,” calls for 6 million square feet of growth, about half of which spans West 3rd to Houston streets, and LaGuardia Place to Mercer Street, within the heart of the Greenwich Village campus, said Lynne Brown, NYU’s senior vice president of public affairs at a press briefing this afternoon. [more]

New York University is set to present a landscaping proposal for its Silver Towers-adjacent lot to Community Board 2 on Monday, according to Crain’s. It’s a move that some have characterized as an olive branch to community activists who oppose its sweeping expansion plan, which aims to add 6 million square feet of school facilities by 2031. NYU had planned to build a controversial tower on the lot, before withdrawing the plan last November amid community outrage. [more]

Despite a slowly stabilizing Manhattan residential market, outer borough woes continue to drag down overall New York City sales volume and price, according to a fourth-quarter report from New York University’s Furman Center. Sales volume across the five boroughs dropped 33 percent between fourth-quarter 2010 and the last quarter of 2009, while the average sales price dropped 9 percent during the same time period. Queens home prices have suffered the most throughout the downturn, according to Vicki Been, faculty director at the Furman Center. [more]

New York University President John Sexton has opened up about school expansion protesters in an interview with the NYU Local blog, dismissing them as ineffective. The 2031 Program, which would expand NYU’s physical presence in the city by 40 percent, has drawn a considerable amount of ire from community activists. But Sexton said he believes the expansion is necessary and characterized the opposition as small in number and weak in influence. “On 2031, the thing we’re doing really is creating possibilities for our successors,” Sexton said. [more]

From left: Lenox Avenue and 125th Street, the second section of the High Line and 3 Columbus Circle

From the January issue: Home and office markets in New York improved in the last year, even if the signs of progress were measured in baby steps. Rental buildings scaled back incentives, distressed-debt investors sank their money into stalled condo projects, and office vacancies appeared to inch down in prime areas. Those trends should continue through the New Year, according to brokers, developers and urban policy experts, even if things won’t look like the heyday of the mid-2000s before Lehman Brothers collapsed. To gauge the rebound’s staying power, keep an eye on these 10 projects and deals over the next 12 months. [more]

The New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate has appointed Richard Lambeck chair of its construction management academic program, the school announced today. Lambeck, a clinical associate professor at the school, was previously a director at Trammell Crow development company. The new academic chair, who co-authored development guide “Urban Construction Project Management” in 2008, has been a principal with RL Project Management since 2004. TRD

From left, before and after: the former Provincetown Playhouse and a rendering of Wilf Hall

Though one is not supposed to say such things in polite company, I positively admire the recently opened Wilf Hall, a new academic building at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and West 4th streets that houses several New York University Law centers and institutes. My hesitancy in saying such things is due to the fact that the project rises over the demolished ghosts of several 19th century brick houses, one of which contained the fabled Provincetown Playhouse Though the playhouse was declared structurally unsound by the university (which already occupied the entire site, including the playhouse) and though they have reconstituted it in a comparable form in the very same place, the demolition of the older structure still has the locals fuming. (The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation will be protesting the development this weekend, when NYU has a so-called re-opening open house of the playhouse). [more]