WEST VILLAGE—Just because Vegas on the Hudson is dead, doesn't mean the Pier 40 action will quiet down. Per an email circulating from the Chair of Community Board 2: "Pier 40 presents a difficult challenge and there is lots of hard work to be done. The financial hurdles for a successful project at the pier are high. Our community will have to stay united...We all need to understand that doing nothing is not an option and compromises will be in order..." Fight on. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOHO—We don't often note events, but how can we not take note of the Observer's "Luxury Living Weekend" featuring more than 40 luxe condos? It's on Sunday at the Puck Building and a lot of places we know and love will be featured: the Brompton, Northside Piers, One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Skyhouse, EC3 and more. Gift bags for the first 1,000 visitors, complimentary cocktails and more floorplan porn than anyone can absorb. There's a full list of condos and all the glorious details here. [CurbedWire Inbox]
UWS—Some news about the marketing effort for 535 West End Avenue: "I heard from a broker that 535 WEA is going to be heavily marketed to very wealthy orthodox jewish families - she said that there is a full passover kitchen in each apartment, tons of bedrooms and staff rooms, etc...Other details - all apartments will be full or half floors, starting at 7M." [CurbedWire Inbox]
In a stunning turnaround from its odds-on favorite status of a year ago, the Related Companies' controversial $625 million plan to turn Hudson River Park's Pier 40 into a glitzy pleasuredome of sexually-suggestive French-Canadian entertainment appears to be dead, all because of something as pedestrian as length-of-lease terms. At last month's Hudson River Park Trust board meeting there was a lot of debate over Related's demands for a 49-year lease, because the HRPT only can grant 30-year leases. At yesterday's board meeting, it was announced that Related's Vegas on the Hudson vision was no longer being considered because of the lease dispute. The other two groups bidding on the ball fields—the parent-led Pier 40 Partnership and the CampGroup/Urban Dove team—were given 90 days to work out a joint proposal. Via the Villager, CampGroup/Urban Dove's plan can be seen above, with another look right here. If the two cannot draft something suitable, the HRPT will go to Albany and inquire about a 49-year lease on Pier 40, which would bring Related back into play. For now, though, it seems like Cirque du Soleil is homeless, and Molto Mario gets what Molto Mario wants.
· Related's Pier 40 plan nixed on lease terms [Crain's]
· Partnership and CampGroup eye a partnership at Pier 40 [Villager]
· Curbed's Pier 40 coverage [Curbed]
Yesterday, in front of a large audience hungry for some decisive action on the development proposals for the athletic fields of Pier 40, the Hudson River Park Trust did what they've done all along during this lengthy process—pretty much nothing. The Trust was not comfortable with awarding the rights to either of the two "official" bids, Related's Cirque du Soleil-loaded "Vegas on the Hudson" (above) or the People's Pier offer of private/public day camps. Nor was the Trust willing to hand the thing off to the Pier 40 Partnership—the coalition of local parents who jumped in a little late and rallied last weekend with Molto Mario on hand. Everyone got sent back to the drawing board, and the Trust will meet again in March. It would appear that the delay benefits the parents, who now have more time to get their act together. Some board members mused aloud on a dream scenario in which the bidders come together on a joint plan that generates lots of revenue for the park and pleases the community. Yeah, we'll see about that. The one thing everyone agreed on was that at least the Hudson River Park is better off than the oft-delayed Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has to resort to sticking luxury condos on park land to pay for stuff. Burn!
· Pier 40 Rally Recap: More Like Cirque du So-Lame! [Curbed]
· Pier 40, Now With Safer Street Crossing! [Curbed]
· Vegas on the Hudson May Be Dead in the Water [Curbed]
Those waiting for a decision on the Pier 40 plans will have to wait longer. The Hudson River Park Trust declined again to vote on proposals without accepting or rejecting plans from the Related Companies and the Pier 40 Partnership. A Curbed correspondent at the meeting reports that there will be more discussion and another board meeting in March. "It seems like they wish Related and the Partnership would come together on a hybrid plan," he says. [CurbedWire Staff]
As advertised, the Pier 40 Partnership held its Rally For The Park on Sunday, and about 700 people showed up to tell the Hudson River Park Trust that Related's Cirque du Soleil/Vegas on the Hudson plan for the pier is, like, so not cool. Buoying the Pier 40 Partnership's proposal is the Post's report that Bob Kerrey said the New School would pay up to $120 million for facilities at Pier 40. The parent-loaded partnership wants to keep the pier's current athletic fields while upgrading the whole shebang and adding some educational crap. Above, some screengrabs from the rally video on YouTube, featuring a fairly spicy Mario Batali rant against Related's "strip malls and movie theaters" proposal. The board of the Hudson River Park Trust will meet Thursday to figure this whole thing out, maybe.
· Hudson Park Lovers Apply Pier Pressure [NYP]
· Video: Pier 40 rally [YouTube]
· Molto Mario Would Like Less Vegas in His Hudson, Please [Curbed]
The Hudson River Park Trust's vote on the future of Pier 40 is set for next week, and this is where it stands: The Related Companies' previously-favored Vegas on the Hudson looks dead and the People's Pier proposal is a long-shot at best (flashy renderings aside). This leaves the Pier 40 Partnership—a group of wealthy and well-connected parents who want to preserve the pier's athletic facilities while updating and modernizing the facilities—as the new front runner. But the group isn't resting on its laurels. On Sunday, they'll hold a Rally For The Park at the pier, which will "send a strong community signal to the Trust that a low-impact development, with park-friendly activities, will secure a better neighborhood for all New Yorkers than the construction of a mega-entertainment complex," per the press release. Because speeches are boring, there will also be raffles, live music and free hot chocolate! Not to mention appearances by "neighborhood celebrities including famed chef Mario Batali." Looks like we shouldn't expect a new Batali joint to open in Murdochville anytime soon.
· Pier 40, Now With Safer Street Crossing! [Curbed]
· Vegas on the Hudson May Be Dead in the Water [Curbed]
· Vegas on the Hudson Vote Delayed, Again [Curbed]
WEST VILLAGE—We are happy to know that the "Spirit of Greenwich Village" is alive and well at undulating One Jackson Square and so is the tipster that sent us this photo and an email with the subject line "Has no one commented on this latest abomination" that says: "The Beats? Stonewall? The Weather Underground? Maybe Eugene O'Neill, Diane Arbus or Dylan Thomas? Nope. The Spirit of Greenwich Village is a full service condominium." Thank God that's been cleared up. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is among those alerting people to a "very important meeting on Pier 40" at 7:30 tonight at Father Demo Hall at the Church of Our Lady of Pompeii on Carmine Street. Fans of Vegas on the Hudson might recall the Related Companies plan and the Pier 40 Partnership's less Vegas alternative. In any case, the Partnership is making a presentation to Community Board 2 and the GVSHP calls their plan "vastly more compatible with our neighborhoods..." [CurbedWire Inbox]
CENTRAL HARLEM—We go uptown to note an email announcing "a major milestone" at the Dover on West 123rd Street, meaning that half the units are sold. Half full glasses of champagne all around. [CurbedWire Inbox]
The confusing fate of Pier 40 on the Hudson River is taking on more twists and turns. The Pier 40 Partnership, one of three groups that have submitted a makeover plan for the pier, now estimate the cost of repairs at $125 million—slightly more than the Hudson River Park Trust's estimate, which is $30 million. Why the big difference? The Downtown Express reports that it has to do with what the engineers say will—whoa check out that rendering! It's from the People's Pier group proposal, and includes a pedestrian bridge over the West Side Highway to make it safer to get to the pier. But isn't the danger part of the fun?
· Pier 40 group says non-profit operator is the only answer [Downtown Express]
· Vegas on the Hudson May Be Dead in the Water [Curbed]
Rarely does a developer as huge as Related get jerked around, but that's apparently what's happening over on Pier 40 near Houston Street. Forever, Related's $625 million Pier 40 proposal of a Cirque du Soleil theater, concert halls, restaurants and retail was seen as the odds-on favorite over the People's Pier proposal of more fields and facilities. But then the vote was delayed to give the Pier 40 Partnership—a well-connected, well-funded group of local parents—time to get their own proposal together. Now, the Downtown Express reports that the Pier 40 Partnership is about to submit its plan, which calls for indoor recreation space and a school or arts center, among other things. The group may also combine with the People's Pier gang to form a Related-fighting supergroup. It could work. Sources told the DE that the Hudson River Park Trust is "cooling" to Related's proposal. It's an unfortunate turn of events for Related, whose plan was probably hurt by the departure of the megadeveloper-friendly Dan Doctoroff. But hey, anything beats the stench of rotting garbage, right?
· Honing Pier 40 plans as deadline nears [Downtown Express]
· Vegas on the Hudson Vote Delayed, Again [Curbed]
The St. John's Center at 530-550 Washington Street is currently hosting an exhibit on the future of Hudson Square, but little did we know how directly the building itself would play into that future. Patrick Heglund reports in the Villager that if the Related Companies' redevelopment plan for the nearby Pier 40—dubbed Vegas on the Hudson—moves forward, the St. John's owners will pursue building an as-of-right hotel or luxury condominiums on the building's roof. Someone has to cater to those Cirque du Soleil freaks, right? The St. John's Center possesses about 300,000 square feet of developable air rights, more than enough to get something big and splashy built.
· St. John’s checking out hotel if Related gets Pier 40 [Villager]
· Vegas on the Hudson Vote Delayed, Again [Curbed]
The community soccer fields and parking garage on Pier 40, jutting into the Hudson just off Houston Street, have been operating under deathwatch for what feels like a century. If you recall, the Hudson River Park Trust fielded proposals for the pier, and it came down to two bids: Related's artsy vision that includes a Cirque du Soleil theater, music venues and restaurants, and The People's Pier group's proposal for more ball fields. The final vote was set for November, but now it's been delayed until at least January. Why? Because a new group, Pier 40 Partnership, is being given two months to put together planning and funding for another new proposal. Yeesh, can we get this crap over with already? The Pier 40 Partnership is made up of a group of wealthy parents who want to keep the pier availa—oh Jesus Christ, jut give us our French Canadian clown sex already!
· Trust says it will consider alternative Pier 40 plan [Villager]
· Pier 40 Update: Vegas on the Hudson Sounds Just Right [Curbed]
Pier 40, which juts into the Hudson at the far west end of Houston Street, currently serves as community soccer fields and community parking garage. Back in December, you may recall, four proposals to redevelop the aging pier were tossed into the ring; two emerged to fight another day. Did the proposal that featured Cirque du Soleil as part of one plan make it to the next round? Do you even need to ask? We've still got Cirque, as part of the Related Companies' Pier 40 PAC plan (above right). Plus a much more boring plan called the People's Pier that we'd summarize here if we could summon the energy. (We can't.)
Next week, the two plans go heads-up, with the Hudson River Park Trust serving as dealer. Naturally, the community is out in force, tagging the Related proposal with the supposed put-down of Vegas on the Hudson. If that's supposed to deter our interest in that plan, it's having the opposite effect. Vegas, baby, Vegas. Easiest urban planning decision ever.
· Battle of Pier 40 Heats Up [NYSun]
· Pier 40: Save Our Park! [pier40.org]
· Pier 40 Update: Circus Freaks or, Like, Soccer [Curbed]
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