$2 Billion in Projects Planned for New Rochelle's Downtown The city in southern Westchester County has eight structures planned that would add residential, hotel, office, and retail space. Meanwhile, work progresses on two Battery Park City residential towers.

Three Mixed-Use Projects Planned

New Rochelle may add $2 billion in new projects to its downtown as planning moves forward on three major mixed-use developments in the city.

The furthest along is a 353,600-sq.-ft. tower breaking ground this summer. Cappelli Enterprises of Valhalla, N.Y., is teaming up with New York developer Donald Trump to build the tower, which will have 141,500 sq. ft. of retail space on the two lower levels topped with 181 condominium residences. The building, called Trump Plaza, will link by an enclosed pedestrian bridge to Cappelli's $250 million New Roc City entertainment, hotel, and residential complex completed in 1999. Construction on Trump Plaza is expected to take 18 months.

Cappelli also signed a memorandum of understanding with the city to redevelop the two-acre Lawton Street Urban Renewal District, an effort that will include demolition of existing structures and relocation of tenants. In their place, Cappelli plans to build two 390-ft.-tall towers with 200,000 sq. ft. of retail, 300,000 sq. ft. for an office and hotel complex, and 320,000 sq. ft. of luxury residences. Once started, construction is expected to last 18 months. Together with the Trump Plaza partnership, the two new Cappelli projects are estimated to cost $750 million.

The third major development would be from Simone Development of New Rochelle, which has proposed a $175 million, 34-story tower with 385 condos and 44,000 sq. ft. of retail space. On the same site, Simone plans a second mid-rise with 30 to 50 condos and 2,500 sq. ft. of office space. Simone expects to begin construction within 18 months.

New Green Towers for Downtown

Work is progressing on two new residential towers at Battery Park City, both incorporating the district's stringent sustainable development guidelines.

New York-based Millennium Partners broke ground this spring on a new 35-story apartment building on Battery Park City's Site 2A on West Street, with Gotham Construction, also of New York, as general contractor. The $190 million Millennium Tower is slated for completion at the end of 2006.

Designed by New York-based Handel Architects, which is also the designated architect on the World Trade Center memorial, the tower will join three other buildings - Tribeca Green, Solaire, and Verdesian - in meeting the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority's environmental guidelines. The new tower's construction will incorporate recycled steel, wood, and concrete, primarily from local sources, and use low-volatile organic compound paint and flooring.

In addition, the Millennium will have a rooftop garden that will capture rainwater for reuse in irrigation, recycle wastewater for non- potable uses, and use solar panels for power generation. The 340,000-sq.-ft. tower will be 25 percent more energy-efficient than New York codes require and will use 33 percent less water than a standard design building.

Meanwhile, the Verdesian, which will be the district's third environmentally engineered residential building, topped out this spring. The building comes from the same team of developers and designers that built the Solaire, the nation's first green residential tower, which opened in 2003 in Battery Park City.

Developed by the Albanese Corp. of Garden City, N.Y., and Northwest Mutual Life Insurance of Milwaukee, and designed by Cesar Pelli and Associates of New Haven, Conn., the Verdesian will have 299,000 sq. ft. and 24 stories. It will feature a natural gas 70-kw microturbine capable of generating 20 percent of the building's base electric load and a heat-recapture system that will generate 100 percent of domestic hot water needs. Overall, the building exceeds New York City energy efficiency standards by almost 40 percent, according to Albanese.

Turner Construction of New York began construction on the $75 million building last September, with occupancy scheduled for January 2006.

$147 Million College Overhaul

Hudson County Community College, serving more than 6,000 students in Jersey City, N.J., is implementing a ten-year master plan that will add more than 200,000 sq. ft. of new facilities.

The school has awarded a $147 million contract, financed by the county and the state, to Jersey City-based MAST Construction Services, which will oversee the construction of a 75,000-sq.-ft. culinary school, scheduled for completion this summer, and an 85,000-sq.-ft. academic building now in design. Meanwhile, MAST also completed a new 40,000-sq.-ft. administration building earlier this year, a structure designed by Di Cara Rubino Architects of Wayne, N.J. Rivardo Schnitzer Capazzi of Cliffside Park, N.J. designed the culinary school.

The college also plans to acquire and renovate a three-story building as well as construct a new 61,000-sq.-ft. science building on Sip Avenue. In addition, the college has applied for a federal grant to build a 12,000-sq.-ft. connection to the New Jersey Transit light rail system's Bergenline Station.

New South Bronx Retail Center

A Manhattan developer is planning to build a new mall in the South Bronx that would have 1 million sq. ft. of retail space, a four-acre public park and esplanade, and a 2,340-space parking garage on a site next to the Harlem River.

Designs were unveiled last month for the $394 million Gateway Center at the Bronx Terminal Market proposed by a Related Cos. affiliate. The project would provide a boost for one of the city's least affluent neighborhoods. The site also includes space to build a 250-room hotel as well as a bicycle velodrome and badminton center for the 2012 Summer Olympics should New York City win its bid for the games this month.

Currently, the 16.8-acre site, just south of Yankee Stadium and bordered by River Avenue to the east and 149th Street to the south, includes a handful of 1920s-era warehouses, which are partially occupied by fruit and vegetable wholesalers.

According to the New York City Economic Development Corp., the market was once one of the largest Hispanic wholesale food operations in the country, home to more than 100 businesses. Now there are fewer than 30, and the city has deemed some of the buildings to be in hazardous condition and has slated them for demolition.

An association of the merchants claims that the drop-off in vendors owes largely to conflicts with a previous landlord. Earlier this year, the city had offered a relocation deal to the merchants in efforts to clear the site. But the association rejected the plan, which would have split the vendors among various sites, according to Adrian Zuckerman, an attorney with Lowenstein Sandler of New York, which is representing the group. The association filed a lawsuit against the city and Related in the spring, and the case is pending.

Last month, Related unveiled a design for the center by GreenbergFarrow and Brennan Beer Gorman Architects that calls for two three-story structures and a six-story parking facility. The developer intends to open Gateway Center in 2009.

Mixed-Use Project Near Cloisters

A development team recently purchased a property in Upper Manhattan intending to redevelop the site into a 300,000-sq.ft. mixed-use building. The N.Y.C. Human Resources Administration has been the main tenant of the building across from the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park.

Acadia Realty Trust of White Plains, N.Y., and P/A Associates of New York paid $25 million for the 140,000-sq.-ft. building, which also houses a commercial parking garage. They plan to develop half for retail and commercial uses and the other half for residential.

The development cost for the retail and commercial portion is estimated at $40 million. According to a press release, the partnership may sell its development rights for the separate mid-rise residential structure.

This is Acadia's third recent "urban infill" acquisition, referring to the development of vacant or underutilized properties. It made similar purchases last year of the Sears Building on Fordham Road in the Bronx and a 16-acre site slated to become a shopping center in Westchester County's Pelham Manor.

The Manhattan project is expected to break ground within the next two years, with completion expected within 18 months of the start.

Click here for more Building News >>