Downtown Doings #1: Air Unlocked Above West Street?

Friday, October 12, 2007, by Joey

Business forums are usually lacking in the fireworks department, but at a Crain's forum yesterday, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation unveiled some interesting plans for a chunk of downtown. The Sun's Eliot Brown reports that LMDC chairman Avi Schick said the state is working with the city to convert a public parking garage on West Street near the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to a facility for commuter and tour buses. This would take those idling, fume-spitting spacehogs off the streets and unlock 3 million square feet of residential development rights for the area. Why hello there! That new development space would come from selling off the garage's unused air rights, which would surely create a frenzy in this age of big-money air rights snatching. Shall we say ... developing?
· Garage Plan Could Spur Development [NYSun]

Filed under Manhattan: Financial District/Wall St/Battery Park City, Real Estate Development, Urban Planning,

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Comments (4 extant)

There is already a plan to use the air rights from this to build a 63 story tower on the site of the copper topped building to the north of the garage:

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_211/developerplansto.html

Look at the wired forum for a pic of the helmut jahn designed tower:

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13821&page=3

By Anonymous at October 12, 2007 9:40 AM

this tower was announced in a local rag (can't remember which, Downtown?)many months ago. The article also said that the community board wanted a pedestrian plaza, community space in the building and possibly a pedestrian bridge to BPC.I also recall that the BPC authority wanted an area (I think this one) added to their jurisdiction. They wanted to add additional towers and gardens/park space.

By anonymous at October 12, 2007 10:42 AM

Isn't that parking garage a Robert Moses project, built as part of the BBT construction? This sounds like a very good idea.

By Harlan at October 12, 2007 12:40 PM

how many square feet?
a slip of the tongue?

By thinkingaloud at October 12, 2007 1:51 PM