Protracted negotiations between the New York Giants football franchise and New Jersey authorities finally resulted in a deal to build a new 80,000-seat stadium at the Meadowlands. The existing Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J., would come down once construction finishes on a $750 million replacement stadium that the New York Giants plan to build.

New $750 Million Stadium

State and team officials agreed earlier this spring to build a new $750 million stadium for the New York Giants football team at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.

The team would fund the entire cost of the 80,000-seat stadium, but the state would still pay remaining debt on the 30-year-old Giants Stadium, which would be demolished after the new facility opens in 2008 or 2009.

The National Football League team does not have a design yet for the facility, which would rise on 75 acres next to the current stadium. The new venue would have 200 luxury suites, up to 10,000 club seats, a new Giants Hall of Fame, restaurants, and a retail store for the team, as well as wider concourses than the existing stadium.

The deal nearly fizzled several times, including a breakdown in early spring that saw the Giants walk away from negotiations and threaten to move into a proposed stadium for the New York Jets on Manhattan's West Side. At one point, the state and team filed lawsuits against each other, primarily arguing over whether the current lease would have required the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to renovate the existing stadium.

Another sticking point arose over expected conflicts between the stadium and the $1.3 billion Meadowlands Xanadu retail and entertainment development planned for the complex. The team had also filed a lawsuit against the Xanadu developers but was expected to restart negotiations with them regarding traffic and event coordination.

As part of the deal, the team will pay the state $6.3 million a year in rent and taxes. The state and team have signaled they will drop their lawsuits.

New Luxury Condos in Fairfield

A new $55 million three-building condominium project is set for completion this summer in Fairfield, Conn. The three-story brick and stone-clad buildings will house 70 single-floor homes in 20 layouts.

Stoneridge Partners of Fairfield, Conn., is the developer and is acting as contractor on the project, with Tritec Connecticut Residential as project manager. The project topped out only 12 months after the developers acquired the site in February 2004.

Rose Tiso & Co. of Fairfield was the architect on the brownstone-village style complex, which offers private terraces or balconies in each residence, along with 10-ft. ceilings and 6-ft. windows. Amenities in the development include concierge and porter service and a 5,000-sq.-ft. club house. The condos are minutes away from the $300 million, 950,000-sq.-ft. Fairfield Metro Center office park scheduled for completion in 2007.

Cancer Center Tops Out

A new $600 million research facility for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center topped out earlier this year. The facility on East 68th Street between York and First avenues in Manhattan is due to open in 2006.

Led by Philadelphia-based Granary Associates, the general contractor, the project team recently completed the skin on the 23-story building. It has what is believed to be the deepest foundation in Manhattan, which required blasting 80 ft. into the bedrock.

The 540,000-sq.-ft. glass and masonry structure, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill of New York and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca of Portland, Ore., will house most of the lab space and operating rooms for the center.

The hospital also has planned future phases that would add another 690,000 sq. ft. and open in late 2008. That work would require demolition of old research laboratories and construction of a new seven-story building.

UN Expansion Faces Hurdles

Opposition to a proposed $1.2 billion renovation and expansion of the United Nations headquarters could postpone the project, cut its budget, or force the international body to move a proposed 35-story annex out of Manhattan's Turtle Bay neighborhood.

The project relies on a $1.2 billion loan, financed at 5.54 percent over 30 years, that President Bush and Congress approved last fall, but which is now facing hurdles on state and national levels. The funds would finance a major renovation of the 53-year-old UN headquarters, already out of date with New York City building codes due to asbestos contamination, outdated electrical wiring, and the lack of fire sprinklers.

The new 900,000-sq.-ft. tower proposed for an adjacent site would house 5,500 UN staff members during the six-year renovation of the main headquarters. In the future, it would house other employees now scattered in offices rented by the organization throughout the city.

Some of the opposition stems from state and city politicians angered by Secretary General Kofi Annan's visit to the grave of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last winter. This group has proposed blocking construction of the annex. Other community groups and political leaders have also raised objections to the project on various grounds, including its budget and impact on the neighborhood.

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