A rendering of 80 South Street

The South Street Seaport area could finally be getting a new skyscraper. Curbed reported that there are now plans to construct a 300,000-square-foot, 780-foot mixed-use tower at 80 South Street, with a mix of hotel, residential and community space.

Cord Meyer Development owns the plot, and according to Curbed, is examining the property’s air rights to see if half of the proposal’s square footage can be dedicated for residential use. [more]

A rendering of the plans for the South Street Seaport

Regarding Pier 17, that misbegotten pile that opened in August 1983 on the East River and dominates the South Street Seaport, the most recent “AIA Guide to New York City” (dated 2010) says it best: “What was intended as a time capsule of the early 1800s has become an inadvertent time capsule of the early 1980s. … The best thing about it is the East River lapping cheerfully about the foundations and the cry of gulls overhead. The worst thing about it is everything inside.” [more]

A rendering of the plans for the South Street Seaport

The South Street Seaport in its current form is not long for this world, it seems, the New York Times reported. In a hearing yesterday with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, owner the Howard Hughes Corporation outlined its ambitious plans to “turn Pier 17 into a glass-clad shed dominated by two 60,000-square-foot sales floors on the upper level,” the Times said, which would mean that no large-scale retailers could be accommodated. And so far, the LPC seems receptive. [more]

Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb (top), Crown Acquisition Chairman Stanley Chera and a rendering of South Street Seaport's Pier 17

Howard Hughes Corp. finally made renderings public for its planned renovation of South Street Seaport’s Pier 17, and according to the New York Post, it brought in Stanley Chera’s Crown Acquisitions to attract new tenants and help manage the mall.

As previously reported, the new glass-shrouded, three-story mall will take the same footprint as the existing structure, and feature a rooftop park, walkways bisecting the mall and 250,000 square feet of selling space (see the rendering at right). [more]

Howard Hughes Corp., which leases the South Street Seaport, has begun sharing its plan for redeveloping Pier 17 with the Landmarks Preservation Committee, according to Crain’s. Monday was the most recent meeting between the developer and the city commission.

The developer hopes to file its plan with the committee sometime early this year. Community Board 1 has indicated they would prefer plans for both Pier 17 and the seaport as a whole, that are not too tall and don’t attract so many tourists. [more]

Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb and Pier 17

South Street Seaport leaseholder Howard Hughes Corp. unveiled plans to the local community board to replace the mall that currently sits on Pier 17 with a three-story glass retail building. According to the Tribeca Tribune, the community walked away impressed with the plan — but aware that a taller tower will likely follow.

“You can’t just be doing one building without knowing what your master plan is for the rest of the pier,” said John Fratta, chair of Community Board 1′s Seaport Committee. “I’m willing to bet there is going to be a high-rise in the future.”… [more]

Demand to purchase in the residential enclave of South Street Seaport is growing so rapidly that some properties are sold before they are publicly listed, Phyllis Pei, an agent at Prudential Douglas Elliman, told the New York Times, a sign that the area is rebounding, independently of the Financial District.
So far in 2011, 273 sales have closed in the Seaport/Fulton Street area stretching west to Broadway, with an average sales price of more than $915,000, Streeteasy.com data shows. The average rent for the area is $3,775.
South Street Seaport, the 13-block historic district bounded by the East River and and Dover Street and the Brooklyn Bridge to the north, is a neighborhood with two very different faces, the New York Times said — a residential area is growing in the North, and to the South, a tourist destination served by Pier 17.
… [more]

A construction project to transform the South Street Seaport that is set to start this weekend after many delays could force around 30 restaurants and small businesses in the area to close, am New York reported. The project is intended to transform Peck Slip Plaza into a park. Part of the construction will involve shutting off water to several of the restaurants at different hours and the business owners point out that it would be illegal for them to operate without running water. The owners also say that noise from jackhammers and scaffolding will keep customers away from the scenic outdoor seating that is the area’s draw. They suggest postponing the project until winter. The city’s Department of Design and Construction pointed out that the construction will take four years regardless of whether it starts this summer…. [more]

Plans to redevelop the South Street Seaport are once again up for discussion, according to the Downtown Express. Its owner, the Howard Hughes Corporation, a spin-off of General Growth Properties, has acknowledged that it is reviving the plans, which include a hotel, a condominium tower and retail shops. In 2007, General Growth developed a plan to enhance public access to the waterfront at South Street Seaport, intending to create pedestrian-only streets that extend beyond the city grid. … [more]

General Growth Properties, the shopping mall company behind South Street Seaport that is planning to exit bankruptcy in November, has hired Vornado Realty Trust’s Sandeep Mathrani as CEO, the company announced. Mathrani, 48, has been executive vice president in Vornado’s retail division for more than eight years. Before joining Vornado in 2002, Mathrani was an executive vice president of Forest City Ratner. He will take on the CEO role at General Growth at the beginning of the year, succeeding Adam Metz, who held the position since October 2008. General Growth, the second largest U.S. shopping mall owner, won court approval this month for the last stage of its restructuring, a year and a half after filing the biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history when it was unable to refinance its debt. [Daily Herald]

… [more]