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LOWER MANHATTAN REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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Q2 2021
LOWER MANHATTAN REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT Lower Manhattan saw positive momentum in the second quarter as City government and several private employers began to bring workers back to Lower Manhattan offices. Demand for residential units near office buildings soared — evidenced by a very active sales market and median rents returning to pre-pandemic levels — and while office vacancies remain high, rents are relatively stable. Over 40 retailers opened in the first half of the year, similar to the pace of openings in 2019.
Lower Manhattan Annual New Leasing Activity, 2015-2021 Source: CBRE
Leasing Activity Picks Up and Stronger Return to Office Is Anticipated This Fall Positive vaccination rates over the spring and an earlier than expected lifting of capacity restrictions has led to a new optimism following a bleak year and a half. By mid July, nearly 70% of all New York City adult residents had been partially or fully vaccinated. Nearly 85% of Lower Manhattan residents are fully vaccinated. Governor Cuomo announced the full reopening of New York City on June 15 limiting some social distancing, capacity limits and health screening protocols. New York City office occupancy was 24% by mid-July 2021, based on key fob swipes from Kastle Systems. Return-towork data in New York City is still below the U.S. major office market average (33%). While recoveries always take time and recently rising COVID case numbers are a cause for concern, there is widespread hope that employees will return to offices in greater numbers after Labor Day. In late July, Cuomo also called on private employers to bring employees back to the office by Labor Day. Approximately 80,000 city workers across the five boroughs began a phased return to the office in early May and will be required to be vaccinated by mid September. Goldman Sachs — the largest private sector employer in Lower Manhattan — had staff return to their office at 200 West Street in midJune. A recent survey by The Partnership for New York City Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
591,000
Square Feet Of New Leasing In The First Quarter — The Highest Quarterly Total Since The Pandemic BeganBut Still 49% Below The Five-Year Quarterly Average.
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estimates over 60% of employees across the city will be returning by September 2021— a notable increase since the March 2021 survey’s estimate of 45%.
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Lower Manhattan Top Leases, Q2 2021 Source: Downtown Alliance, CBRE, JLL, Colliers, Newmark Knight Frank, CoStar
Tenant Name The second quarter saw Lower Manhattan record 591,000 sq. ft. of office leasing according to CBRE — up 32% from last quarter and the highest quarterly total since the pandemic began, but still 49% lower than the five-year quarterly leasing average. Midtown Manhattan saw 2.09 million sq. ft. of leasing activity in the second quarter, up 9% from the previous quarter; however, the market is 45% behind the five-year quarterly average. Midtown South leasing activity increased more than 50% to 788,000 sq. ft. over the previous quarter; however, leasing remains 33% below the five-year quarterly average.
Renewals Continue to Drive Leasing Renewals, especially short term renewals, were more common during the pandemic [note: renewals are not factored into leasing activity]. The largest deal in the second quarter was the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services renewing for 313,022 sq. ft. at 60 Broad Street. Those offices include the Department of Homeless Services, Department of Probation and the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Brookfield Properties and Quest Workspaces both renewed for 54,917 and 43,542 sq. ft. at 250 Vesey Street and 48 Wall Street, respectively. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also renewed at 33 Whitehall Street for 39,172 sq. ft..
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Location
SF Leased Transaction
Sector
NYC Dept. of Citywide Admin. Services
313,022 Renewal
Government
One Broadway
94,413 Move Within LM
FIRE
Brookfield Properties
54,917 Renewal
FIRE
40 Wall Street
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3
4
Fiserv
250 Vesey Street
Quest Workspaces 43,542
Prof. Services, Flex Office Space
48 Wall Street
Renewal
U.S. Equal Employment Commission
39,721 Renewal
Government
39,721 Expansion
TAMI, Technology
44 Wall Street
26,000 Expansion
FIRE
Empire Media Group
17,460 Relocation
TAMI, Media
17,238 Expansion
FIRE
17,090 Renewal
FIRE
40 Fulton Street
14,365 Move Within LM
Professional Services, Law
Land Bank of 12 Taiwan
10,9923 Move Within LM
FIRE
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33 Whitehall Street
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7
8
9 Three tenants took the opportunity to expand their leases. Hyperscience, an automation software developer, signed a lease for 34,382 sq. ft. at One World Trade Center. The tech firm moved from a 12,000-sq.-ft. pre-built suite on the 45th floor to the entire 88th floor. Also at One World Trade Center, blockchain technology group tZero expanded to 17,000 sq. ft.. Webull Financial, an electronic trading platform, expanded its offices to 26,000 sq. ft. at 44 Wall Street — growing by 17,000 sq. ft..
MAJOR PROJECTS UPDATE
Hyperscience
One World Trade Center
Webull Financial
100 Broadway
tZero
One World Trade Center
American Stock 10 Transfer & Trust 48 Wall Street
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Helbraun & Levey
88 Pine Street
Relocations, typically a driver in Lower Manhattan leasing activity, only logged two significant tenants into the local market. Empire Media Group signed a 17,640 sq. ft. deal at 100 Broadway, moving from Midtown South. Terri & Sandy, an advertising agency, moved to 8,233 sq. ft. at 40 Fulton Street — also coming from Midtown South.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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Lastly, Fiserv signed a 94,413 sq. ft. deal to relocate within Lower Manhattan from 225 Liberty Street to One Broadway. The financial services company will become the flagship tenant for the landmarked office building which has undergone a significant repositioning by Midtown Equities.
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Overall Vacancy Rates by Submarket Source: Cushman & Wakefield
Vacancy Rates Continue to Rise with Addition of Large Blocks According to Cushman & Wakefield, Lower Manhattan’s overall vacancy rate mirrored trends in the other Manhattan CBDs and rose from 14.4% to 17%. Similar to the overall market, class A vacancy grew at a similar rate and now stands at 18% — the highest since Q1 1994. A year ago, overall and class A vacancy stood at 11.7% and 12.3%, respectively. The Class B vacancy rate also rose to 15.7% from 12.8%. Over the past quarter, 1.2 million sq. ft. of direct space and nearly 970,000 sq. ft. of sublease space entered the market. Financial services companies were the primary drivers of the large increase in availability, albeit many of the large blocks were long anticipated additions from vacating tenants or planned redevelopments (not necessarily pandemic-related).
Class A Vacancy Rates by Submarket Source: Cushman & Wakefield
• Bank of America/Merrill Lynch vacated 473,000 sq. ft. at 222 Broadway.
• 80 Pine Street now has 546,000 sq. ft. available as AIG moves to 28 Liberty Street soon.
• JP Morgan Chase put 509,000 sq. ft. up for sublet at 4 New York Plaza.
Additional and substantial vacancies will soon be reflected in statistics in the near future. Before the pandemic, large blocks of space in buildings were expected to become available due to large capital projects. They include:
• 60 Wall Street is undergoing a full $250 million
renovation, where Deutsche Bank once occupied 1.6 million sq. ft. before officially relocating this past summer to Columbus Circle.
• 111 Wall Street is also undergoing a $500 million
renovation, where 1.1. million sq. ft. are available after Citigroup consolidated at their Tribeca headquarters last year.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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Midtown’s overall vacancy rate increased to 19%, up year-over-year from 12.7% and the highest rate recorded. Class A office vacancy in Midtown jumped to 17.9% as 3.9 million sq. ft. became available; class B office vacancy also increased dramatically to 22.5%, up 7.5 percentage points from Q2 2020.
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Overall Asking Rents by Submarket Source: Cushman & Wakefield
Midtown South’s overall vacancy had the most dramatic increase since the pandemic began, rising 8.2 percentage points from 9.2% to 17.4%, driven by large increases in Madison/Union Square and Hudson Square. Class A office vacancies in Midtown South decreased slightly from the previous quarter to 13.7%, while class B office vacancy hit 20.7% — a nearly 10 percentage point increase year-overyear.
Sublet Spaces Drive Asking Rents Down According to Cushman & Wakefield, Lower Manhattan’s overall average asking rent decreased slightly over the past quarter, but was down 4.6% year-over-year, to $60.13 per sq. ft.. Driven by low-priced sublease space at 14 Wall Street, the overall rent was at its lowest level since Q1 2018. Class A asking rents ticked up by 1.8% to $64.78 per sq. ft., but are still down 3.5% from last year. Class B average asking rents fell the most over the past quarter (9.5%) to $52.56 as a result of cheaper sublet space entering the market. Asking rents hit high water marks in late 2018, when average overall rents were nearly $64 and average class A rents were almost $68.
Class A Asking Rents by Submarket Source: Cushman & Wakefield
Overall rents in Midtown decreased 3.4% over the quarter to $73.79, while Class A asking rents dropped 4.2% to $79.62. One year ago, average overall rents were nearly $76 and average class A rents were almost $83. Rents in Midtown South continued to drop slightly over the past quarter, as more sublease space entered the market. Sharper drops are seen year-over-year. Overall and Class A asking rents have both dropped 9% over the past year, to $68.96 and $86.66, respectively. 2019 saw rents hit record highs; now overall and class A rents have both decreased by around $12 per sq. ft.. This is the fifth consecutive quarter where overall rents in Midtown South are cheaper than Midtown.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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Second Quarter 2021 Property Sales Office Building Sales In April, developer Jack Terzi’s JTRE closed on the purchase of 14 Vesey Street from the New York County Law Association for $19 million. The four-floor, 30,000-sq.-ft. building is currently being marketed for retail/office use. Office Condo Sales In April, Pace University purchased a 17,974 sq. ft. office condo at 161 William Street from Jack Resnick & Sons for $10.6 million. The Blue School sold two commercial condo units spanning 26,000 sq. ft. at 156 William Street for $20 million to PHC William Street Condo LLC. The Blue School originally paid $27 million for the two units in 2016. The middle school will consolidate with its primary school location at 241 Water Street in the Seaport. Land Sales In June, a joint venture between Nightingale Properties and Wafra Capital Partners purchased the fee interest at 111 Wall Street for $220 million from Omnispective Management. The partnership purchased the building last year for $175 million. Nightingale and Wafra recently secured a $500 million loan to redevelop the property, including $89 million in C-PACE financing, a city-sponsored loan program to help landlords make energy efficiency retrofits. 111 Wall Street is the first participant in the C-PACE program. Pending Sales Announcement In early July, investment firm iStar purchased a $90.5 million stake in the fee interest at 32 Old Slip from developer Melohn Properties. Melohn Properties purchased the fee interest for $197.5 million in 2015 from a partnership between RXR Realty and David Werner Real Estate.
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New York City Reopening NYC Timeline
Businesses Allowed to Reopen*
6/8/2020
construction, non-essential businesses for pickup or curbside
6/22/2020 7/6/2020
outdoor dining, salons and barbers, real estate showings, offices, in-store shopping (not malls) spas and nail salons
7/20/2020 low risk outdoor arts and entertainment 8/24/2020 museums at 25% occupancy 9/2/2020
gyms (not individual fitness boutiques) at 33%
9/9/2020
indoor malls
9/30/2020 indoor dining at 25% occupancy 12/11/2020
indoor dining prohibited again due to rising virus cases
2/12/2021
indoor dining recommences at 25% occupancy
2/26/2021 indoor dining at 35% occupancy 3/5/2021 3/15/2021
movie theaters at 25% occupancy wedding receptions and catered events at 50% occupancy, up to 150 people
3/19/2021 indoor dining at 50% occupancy 4/1/2021
domestic travelers to New York state no longer need to quarantine
4/2/2021
events, arts & entertainment venues at 33% (or 100 indoors and 200 outdoors)
5/3/2021
indoor bar seating
5/13/2021
CDC lifts federal mask mandate for vaccinated individuals
5/15/2021
Midnight curfew for outdoor service at bars and restaurants is lifted, indoor curfew lifted 5/31
Capacity limits for indoor venues, bars, and 6/15/2021 restaurants are lifted as 70% of New Yorkers (18+) have received first dose of vaccine * This list of businesses allowed to reopen is illustrative, not exhaustive. Please refer to official New York State guidance.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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RETAIL Impacts On Lower Manhattan’s Retail Market Despite the ongoing pandemic, 41 retailers opened in the first half of the year (28 retailers in just the second quarter). The pace of retail openings during the first half of the year is equivalent to 2019 openings. Thirteen of the newly opened retailers replaced businesses closed during 2020.
• In a testament to returning office populations, 123
Marketplace and Cafe Hestia, two large-format buffet restaurants opened at 123 William Street and 80 Maiden Lane, respectively.
• In the Seaport, three new restaurants debuted on
Pier 17: Momofuku’s Ssäm Bar (replacing Bar Wayo), Andrew Carmellini’s Italian chophouse Carne Mare and Mister Dips, a casual burger joint.
• Lil Chef Mama, a Thai restaurant, opened at 27 Cliff Street;
Additionally, nearly 50 retailers made plans in recent months to open a storefront in Lower Manhattan. Among those who announced during the second quarter:
• Dellas, a wine bar at 66 West Broadway from the team at Frankly Wines;
• Blue Ribbon Sushi will replace debut Blue Ribbon Federal Grille at 84 William Street;
• Swarovski, Sweetgreen, Auntie Anne’s and Jamba Juice will open in Westfield World Trade Center; and
• At Brookfield Place, Norwegian Wool, a luxury
outerwear retailer, will debut, while Sauce, Naya and Ani Ramen will open at Hudson Eats.
Over 60 retailers have closed since the beginning of the year (26 in the second quarter), in addition to the 163 closures that occurred last year. Sadly, several businesses, both large and small, announced permanent closures. They include:
• Bodega Gran Via, a Spanish tapas and wine bar,
• Victoria’s Secret, Fossil, Camper, Tous and Solstice
• Two new barbershops opened: Bonefade Barbers at
• Manhattan Proper, an upscale bar and restaurant, at
opened at 57 Stone Street;
105 Nassau Street and Adam Grooming Atelier at Brookfield Place; and
• Life Time Studio Battery Park opened at 1 West
Street. A Life Time fitness center will open at One Wall Street in 2022.
Sunglasses, at Westfield World Trade Center; 6 Murray Street; and
• Starbucks, Country Cafe, Martin News and Cobbler
Express at 60 Wall Street. The tower is undergoing an extensive $250 million renovation. including its public atrium.
Carne Mare at Pier 17 of Nicole Franzen/Carne Mare Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Courtesy Q2 2021
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HOTELS + TOURISM Lower Manhattan’s Hotel Development The current hotel inventory in Lower Manhattan stands at 7,022 rooms across 33 hotels. Currently, 28 hotels in Lower Manhattan are open to receive guests. Five hotels remain temporarily closed. There are an additional 2,275 hotel rooms across 13 hotels under construction or in development in Lower Manhattan. Over 800 rooms across six hotel developments are anticipated to open later in 2021. They include:
• Residence Inn at 215 Pearl Street (lower floors), with 120 rooms;
• Courtyard at 215 Pearl Street (upper floors), with 200 rooms;
• Casa Cipriani at the Battery Maritime Building, 47 rooms. The property also includes a private club and an 800-person Cipriani event space which opened in late 2019.
Unfortunately, four Lower Manhattan hotels closed in the second quarter:
• The 298-room Moxy NYC Downtown Hotel at 26 Ann Street closed in May and ownership was transferred from Tribeca Associates to asset management firm AllianceBernstein.
• The 100-room AKA Tribeca hotel at 85 West
Broadway closed in June. In late summer, Highgate Properties announced the property would be rebranded back to its original name, Smyth Tribeca.
• The 289-room Radisson Wall Street at 52 William Street closed in June. The hotel has served as a homeless shelter for the past year.
• In addition, the 326-room Courtyard by Marriott
Downtown Manhattan/WTC at 133 Greenwich Street announced its closure in mid July. In tandem, ownership announced the hotel would be rebranded as a Motel One, the first U.S. location of the German hotel chain.
• The Wall Street Hotel at 88 Wall Street, with 181 rooms;
• Hotel Indigo at 120 Water Street, 128 rooms; and • The Fidi Hotel at 11 Stone Street, 143 rooms.
Occupancy and Average Daily Room Rate Begin to Recover While hotel performance metrics remain below prepandemic levels, positive momentum is on the horizon. Bookings are steadily increasing as tourism is slowly rebounding and business travel starts to recommence. Average hotel occupancy and room rates in Lower Manhattan have often followed similar citywide trends. According to NYC & Company (via CBRE Hotels and STR), hotel occupancy in New York City rose to 58% during the second quarter, the highest levels seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Average daily room rates rose to approximately $166, over 30% higher than in the first quarter.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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Lower Manhattan Hotel Pipeline Source: Downtown Alliance
Hotel / Address 1
2
3
4
5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
Owner/ Developer
Rooms Open Date
Residence Inn
Lam Group
120 (upper floors)
2021
Courtyard by Marriott
Lam Group
200 (lower floors)
2021
128
2021
47
2021
Actium Development
180
2021
Premier Emerald LLC
143
2021
Union Investment Real Estate
173
2022
Fit Investment Group
173
2022
AC Hotel
Hidrock Realty
230
TBD
TBD Hotel
Solil Mgmt/ Firmdale
70
TBD
Hotel Indigo
10-12 MLane Inc.
190
TBD
Tempo by Hilton
Hidrock Realty
296
TBD
TBD Hotel
The Moinian Group
172
TBD
215 Pearl Street
215 Pearl Street
Hotel Indigo
120 Water Street
Casa Cipriani 10 South Street
The Wall Street Hotel 88 Wall Street
The Fidi Hotel 11 Stone Street
Motel One
133 Greenwich Street
Aloft Hotel
50 Trinity Place
112 Liberty Street
86 Warren Street
8-12 Maiden Lane
140-142 Fulton Street
7 Platt Street
Fortuna Realty Centaur Properties/ Cipriani
Total Hotels in the Pipeline
13
Total Hotel Rooms in the Pipeline
2,275
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RESIDENTIAL Inventory and Development Lower Manhattan has 33,882 units in 343 residential buildings. Over 3,500 units in 13 buildings are under construction or planned for development, with about 56% currently planned as rental units and 44% as condos. For comparison, over the past five years, Lower Manhattan added 3,115 units in 22 buildings. Among those buildings under construction, a few notable movements occurred during the second quarter.
• The former 140-room AKA Wall Street hotel at 84
William Street, which permanently closed during the pandemic, was converted to a 137-unit rental building called The Howell.
• In June, construction wrapped up at 33 Park Row, a
new 31-unit condominium development by Centurion Real Estate Partners and Urban Muse. The 25-story tower contains 58,000 sq. ft. of residential space and 14,000 sq. ft of commercial space. Closings are expected to begin in fall 2021.
• Construction is expected to wrap up on 209 rental
units at 185 Broadway later this year. Developed by SL Green, the 31-story, mixed-use tower will have 41,000 sq. ft. of office space and nearly 10,000 sq. ft. of retail, as well as 209 rental units including 63 affordable units. Construction is scheduled for completion in summer 2021.
lans moved forward on a long-proposed new development P at 250 Water Street. In May, the Howard Hughes Corporation secured approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to build a 25-story residential building at the site. The building will span a total of 540,000 sq. ft. and have 270 residential units, including 70 affordable apartments. The project will also include improvements to public space within the Seaport District and funding for the South Street Seaport Museum.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
MAJOR PROJECTS UPDATE
Lower Manhattan Residential Pipeline Source: Downtown Alliance
Address Condo + Rental Units Under Construction
Lease / Building Type
Units
Total
1,236
Rental New Construction
1
185 Broadway
2
One Wall Street New Construction
3
1 Park Row
4
Open Date
209
2021
566
2022
Condo New Construction
58
2023
161 Maiden Lane
Condo New Construction
80
TBD
5
45 Park Place
Condo New Construction
50
TBD
6
125 Greenwich Street
Condo New Construction
273
TBD
Condo
Condo + Rental Units In Development
Total
1
45 Broad Street Condo
2
265 Broadway
3
2,341 206
TBD
Hotel/Condo New Construction
37
TBD
75-83 Nassau Street
Rental New Construction
229
TBD
4
7 Platt Street
Rental New Construction
250
TBD
5
69 West Broadway
Condo New Construction
24
TBD
6
250 Water Street
Condo/Rental New Construction
270
TBD
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130 Liberty Street
Rental New Construction
1,325
2028
• 1 Park Row received construction financing and the
existing building began demolition. Developed by Circle F Capital, the 100,000-sq.-ft. development at the corner of Park Row and Ann Street will yield a new 23-story, 56-unit condo tower and feature 13,500 sq. ft. of retail space.
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New Construction
TOTAL UNITS IN THE PIPELINE
3,577
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The project has now commenced the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). The current site has served as a parking lot for more than five decades, and will undergo comprehensive environmental remediation.
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Median Residential Rental Price Source: Miller Samuel/Douglas Elliman
Residential Rental Market Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels According to residential statistics published by Miller Samuel/Douglas Elliman, the median rents in Lower Manhattan started to return to pre-pandemic norms. Median rents were $3,722 in the second quarter, down 2.4% from the same period last year, but a substantial 24.1% increase from the record low recorded last quarter. The second quarter was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic to see an increase in rents. Listing discounts were notably absent during the past quarter, a notable shift from the previous quarter where the listing discount was nearly 6% — suggesting more people are seeking to live in the neighborhood. Lower Manhattan’s rents rose more dramatically than in the rest of the borough. Manhattan’s overall median rent trended down 7% year-over-year to nearly $3,250, but increased by 8.3% from the last quarter.
130 Liberty Street
Median Residential Sales Price Source: Miller Samuel/Douglas Elliman
Residential Sales Volume Remains Very Active The sales market was extremely active in the second quarter. The median sales price for co-ops and condos stood at $1.15 million, up 2% year over year and 7% from 2019. Lower Manhattan’s average price per sq. ft. was $1,513, down 7% from last year, but up 18% from 2019 figures. Buyers continued to hone in on the neighborhood, recording 126 home sales in the second quarter. The sales volume was up 13.5% from the previous quarter and 22% from the same period in 2019.
“The reason we are experiencing bidding wars is that young people want to be downtown and many of the areas where they’re being called back to work are in the financial district. That has spurred the hunt for rentals close to office spaces. We have been more location agnostic in the rental market until now, and now we’re back to location, location, location.”
- Cathy Taub, associate broker, Sotheby’s International
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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MAJOR PROJECTS UPDATE World Trade Center Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center Construction on the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center (The Perelman Center) topped out this past spring. The approximately 110,000-sq.-ft. cube-shaped building will feature three theaters of varying sizes which can be combined in different seating configurations and formats for an array of unique performance environments. The project is anticipated to open in late 2022.
Brooklyn Bridge Bike Lane Construction In late June, construction began on a new protected bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge. The Manhattan-bound vehicular lane is being converted into a two-way bike lane with a concrete barrier between the bike and car lanes. The former shared bike and pedestrian walkway will be converted to a pedestrian-only path. Construction is scheduled for completion by this fall.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine Construction of the Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine is nearing completion. The church, located atop Liberty Park, broke ground in 2014, but stalled in late 2017 after funding issues. The $80-million project anticipates completion in time for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with the first services expected to begin in early November 2021.
Parks and Open Space
Street Reconstruction Reconstruction of Front Street between Old Slip and John Street began in January 2020 and is scheduled for completion in Summer 2022. Planning has begun on the reconstruction of Nassau Street between Pine Street and Maiden Lane; though a construction start date is still being determined, the City aims for a late 2023 completion. These projects will replace all underground infrastructure, including water mains, sewers, electric, gas and other utilities, as well as construct new streets and curbs. Water Street Streetscape Improvements The City began work on the streetscape and public-realm enhancement project along the Water Street corridor in May 2021. The $22.8 million project will transform two temporary public plazas at Coenties Slip and Whitehall Street into permanent public spaces, featuring new landscaping, seating and concessions. The project will also plant street trees, rebuild sidewalks and enhance pedestrian safety from Whitehall Street to Old Slip.
Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
The Battery Flood Wall In May, plans were released for a 10-ft.-high flood wall to be located along the Battery Place entrance of The Battery. The longest section (91 ft.) will rise from a planted berm at the base of Greenwich Street and extend to a raised Pier A plaza on the other. The wall will be located above the Battery Tunnel. Another smaller segment is also planned at nearby Wagner Park. Construction of the Wagner Park portion of the project and its pavilion is scheduled to start in November, while work on Pier A Plaza and The Battery is expected to begin in January. All projects are due to be completed in the spring of 2024. Governors Island Rezoning The City Council approved plans to rezone 33 acres on the southern end of Governors Island. The rezoning proposal will extend uses allowed in the historic northern portion of the island to support a year-round, 24/7 mixed-use district, while fully protecting the existing park and creating new open space as part of the new development. The southern island rezoning will support up to 4.2 million sq. ft. of new academic, commercial, cultural and hospitality uses, including new additional uses of research & development and light manufacturing. Bulk and height controls have also been put into place to preserve view corridors and support urban design principles.
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Alliance for Downtown New York 120 Broadway, Suite 3340 New York, New York 10271 The mission of the Alliance for Downtown New York is to provide service, advocacy, research and information to advance Lower Manhattan as a global model of a 21st century central business district for businesses, residents and visitors. downtownny.com/business/research-statistics Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report | Q2 2021
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