Some of New York’s most prominent developers closed out 2019 by filing plans for big projects in December.
Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty took the top spot on December’s list of the largest filings with plans for a mixed-use office building spanning more than 320,000 square feet in Long Island City. And prolific hotel developer Sam Chang took second place with plans for a hotel in Midtown spanning more than 300,000 square feet. Columbia University also cracked the top five with plans for a roughly 150,000-square-foot residential building on West 125th Street.
Overall, the list was split between four projects in Brooklyn, three projects in Manhattan, two projects in the Bronx and one project in Queens. No projects in Staten Island made the top 10 for December.
The full list of December’s top 10 biggest real estate projects is as follows:
1. 42-11 9th Street, Queens
The largest project filed in December was a 21-story mixed-use office building in Long Island City from RXR Realty spanning 321,308 square feet. The project will include an 18-story tower atop a three-story podium featuring ground-floor retail, and it will be split between 64,180 square feet of manufacturing space and 257,128 square feet of commercial space. The firm plans to start construction in July and finish the project in 2022. It will be the first development outside of North Brooklyn to take advantage of Industrial Business Incentive Area special permits. The designation would adjust loading and parking requirements and increase the floor area allowed on the site.
2. 150 West 48th Street, Manhattan
A Midtown hotel from prolific developer Sam Chang took the No. 2 spot. The project will span 300,216 square feet and stand 34 stories tall with 974 rooms. Chang purchased the site last year for $140 million from the Rockefeller Group and recently landed $250 million in financing for the project from S3 Capital Partners. His frequent collaborator Gene Kaufman will design the building.
3. 2455 Third Avenue, The Bronx
The Altmark Group’s project in Port Morris encompasses two adjacent buildings that will span 197,287 square feet overall. The building at 2455 Third Avenue will stand 24 stories tall with 139 units across 102,165 square feet of space, split between 98,926 square feet of residential space, 2,723 square feet of commercial space and 516 square feet of community space. The project at 2457 Third Avenue will be slightly smaller at 95,122 square feet. It will include 135 residential units across 23 stories. Both buildings will stand 210 feet tall. Altmark appears to be partnering on the project with Artimus Construction.
4. 1 Harrison Place, Brooklyn
Storage Deluxe is planning a self-storage facility in East Williamsburg that will span 160,000 square feet. The seven-story building will stand 87 feet tall and will include a cellar. The architecture firm Butz-Wilbern will design the building.
5. 600 West 125th Street, Manhattan
Columbia University is planning this 146,255-square-foot residential tower in West Harlem. It will stand 34 stories tall with 142 residential units for students and faculty and replace an old McDonald’s that closed a few months ago. However, the McDonald’s will return as a tenant taking up 5,000 square feet of space on the ground floor when the building opens. The project is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2022, and although it will be near several of Columbia’s other new buildings, it is not officially part of its Manhattanville campus expansion.
6. 210 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn
K2 Real Estate Partners, a family company based in Queens, is planning a 134,639-square-foot apartment building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. The project will stand eight stories tall with 165 residential units, along with a supermarket on the ground floor. The building will be split between 115,233 square feet of residential space, 18,694 square feet of commercial space and 711 square feet of community space. Architecture firm Hill West will design it.
7. 1975 Madison Avenue, Manhattan
This mixed-use project in Harlem will span 108,522 square feet, split between 77,462 square feet of residential space and 31,110 square feet of community space. The eight-story building will stand 85 feet tall with 93 residential units, and Robert Kaliner’s RoundSquare Development will spearhead the project. DXA Studio Architecture will design the building.
8. 668 East Fordham Road, The Bronx
Shahin Daneshvar filed plans for this 99,200-square-foot residential project in Belmont. The 11-story building will stand 115 feet tall and feature 145 residential units. It will be almost entirely residential space apart from about 500 square feet of commercial space, and J Frankl Associates will design the building.
9. 401 Chester Street, Brooklyn
Dunn Development Corp. is planning to build a 99,144-square-foot mixed-use project in Brownsville. The development will include 93,718 square feet of residential space and 5,426 square feet of community space. The eight story building will stand 87 feet tall with 157 residential units, 38 of which will be affordable housing units for seniors. The land is part of L+M Development Partners’ massive Brownsville affordable housing project, but the company has said it plans to transfer this property to Dunn Development.
10. 540 Waverly Avenue, Brooklyn
The list closes out with a project from The Daten Group in Clinton Hill that will span 94,887 square feet, split between 91,900 square feet of residential space and 2,987 square feet of commercial space. The nine-story building will stand 95 feet tall with 135 residential units, and Kutnicki Bernstein Architects will design the building.