City moves ahead with plans to rezone Governors Island

The city is moving forward with plans to make way for 4.5 million square feet of development on Governors Island.

The Trust for Governors Island held its first meeting this week to discuss rezoning part of the island for commercial real estate development, Crain’s reported. Though the island is zoned for residential use, a 2003 agreement with the federal government prevents the city from building housing. A 2010 masterplan for the island set aside 33 acres for future development, and paved the way for 43 acres of new parkland that was completed last year.

The trust is seeking to rezone part of the island to allow a variety of buildings, including hotels, dorms and offices. Most of the structures will rise between 75 to 125 feet tall, though some dorms and hotels could reach 300 feet high. Some of the office buildings might feature 100,000-square-foot floor plates.

“That’s a building type you don’t really get in Manhattan,” said Michael Samuelian, who was tapped to head the trust in 2016. “But it could be very valuable for the types of tenants we are trying to attract.”

The trust hopes to begin the public-review process for the rezoning by the end of the year. If approved, the organization would plan to issue a request for proposals by 2020. [Crain’s] — Kathryn Brenzel