Rockrose begins process to build Hudson Yards tower

Company starts land-use process for office/resi building that could be as big as 1.4M sf

Henry and Justin Elghanayan with 555 West 38th Street in Hudson Yards
Henry and Justin Elghanayan with 555 West 38th Street in Hudson Yards

Rockrose Development plans to build an office and residential tower that could be as large as 1.4 million square feet at a Hudson Yards development site it owns across from the Jacob Javits Center.

Representatives for the development firm filed applications this week to begin the city’s months-long land-use review process for the site, which covers half of a city block east of 11th Avenue between 38th and 39th streets.

The site, with an address of 555 West 38th Street, is zoned for roughly half a million square feet as-of-right. But by paying into a pair of funds set up to finance public infrastructure improvements — such as the Hudson Park and Boulevard planned to extend to the edge of Rockrose’s property — the company can boost its overall square footage to 1.4 million square feet.

Rockrose began piecing the assemblage together in 2001. It’s not clear what exactly the project would entail. Representatives for the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

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The proposed tower is just the latest addition to the blocks between 10th and 11th avenues north of the Related Companies’ Hudson Yards mega-site, which the city has planned for a mix of hotels, offices and apartment towers.

Rockrose’s property sits just north of 38th Street across from a site owned by Kuafu Properties, which plans to develop a 47-story hotel/condominium tower.

Just to the east, Michael Fascitelli’s Imperial Companies is currently building a 222-unit rental tower at 509 West 38th Street.

Eliot Spitzer is planning to include some 300,000 square feet of office space at his site on the corner of 10th Avenue and 35th Street.

And Long Island-based developer Lalezarian Properties filed plans over the summer indicating the company is looking to erect a 250-unit, 330,000 square-foot building between west of Tenth Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets.