More than a year after unveiling plans for a pyramid-shaped Building On West 57th Street near the West Side Highway, Durst Fetner Residential will begin carrying the plans through the land-use review process. According to the Wall Street Journal, the developer will start the seven-month effort, which includes votes by the City Planning Commission and City Council today.
When the renderings were first released in February 2011, the local community board expressed general support for the project and the Journal said Douglas Durst appears confident the plan will get approved. Excavation work on the site has already begun.
The building, which was designed by Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group to feature a sloped roof and blend the European block look with a traditional Manhattan high rise building, calls for 750 units. One-fifth of them are slated to be affordable. The Journal speculated that the community would call for more open space and below-market rate units to be included in the project. [WSJ, 1st item]