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]

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

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved development plans for South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 project, though it insisted that the controversial rooftop signage be removed, Curbed reported. The proposed signage had irked neighborhood residents and had been described by City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden as a “blight” on the area. The commission also requested the developer, the Dallas-based Howard Hughes Corporation, to add moorings for Maritime use…. [more]

From left: Julia Bryzgalina, Susie Park, Jackie Chan-Brown, Sharon McGrail, Marc Palermo and David Wanamaker

From the January issue: The South Street Seaport had to forgo its usual stream of shopping bag–toting tourists this holiday season as it continued to recover from the devastation it suffered during Hurricane Sandy. Indeed, while the Pier 17 mall, which juts out onto the East River, has reopened, some of the businesses (along with a bunch of others in the neighborhood) remain shuttered. “For the first time, I think the South Street Seaport may really sink,” Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Douglas Elliman’s retail group, told the Wall Street Journal in late November. This month, The Real Deal checked in with residential brokers who work in the burgeoning area — which has seen a burst of new residential development since the Fulton Street Fish Market relocated to the Bronx in 2005 — to see how sales and rentals are holding up. [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]

A rendering of a remodeled Pier 17

Lower Manhattan tourist hot-spots like the South Street Seaport and the Statue of Liberty remain closed following Hurricane Sandy, hurting tourism and local businesses, Crain’s reported. Retailers, restaurants and other Lower Manhattan businesses that count on the constant flow of hundreds of thousands of tourists will likely continue to suffer as sightseers favor parts of the city with less storm damage.

“We are starting to get questions now about whether downtown is open,” Travis Noyes, senior vice president of New York Water Taxi, a commuter-service operator that also offers harbor tours to visitors, said. [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 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]

Fulton Street Transit Center rendering

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is issuing a request for proposals Thursday to find a manager for 70,000 square feet of high-end retail space under construction at the Fulton Street Transit Center. While the Wall Street Journal noted that this is just some of the nearly 1 million square feet of new retail space being prepared for the area, retail brokers believe there is enough demand to fill the flood of new supply. [more]