New Foxwoods Expansion on Track

Foxwoods Resort Casino broke ground last fall on a $700 million expansion in Connecticut. Also, a luxury rental tower in Manhattan's Tribeca district tops out.

Major Resort Expansion Under Way

The Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., broke ground last fall on an expansion project that will add 2 million sq. ft. to its current 4.7-million-sq.-ft. facility.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation selected Paul Steelman, a Las Vegas-based architect, to design the general concept for a new 824-room tower, the fourth hotel for the resort, founded in 1986. As of late fall, the resort had not appointed a project architect for the job.

Under Steelman's plan, the facility will include a 1.1 million-sq.-ft. pre-cast concrete garage, a 21,000-sq.-ft. spa, 115,000 sq. ft. of convention space, 50,000 sq. ft. of casino space, a 50,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, and a 4,000-seat theater, as well as restaurants and retail outlets.

Of the $700 million project cost, $462.8 million is slated for the construction budget administered by Perini Building of Framingham, Mass., the construction manager, which currently is managing several large casino and hotel projects in Las Vegas as well. Completion of the Foxwoods expansion is scheduled for summer 2008.

Tribeca High Rise Tops Out

A 387,000-sq.-ft. luxury rental tower, financed with $120 million in Liberty Bonds, topped out this fall at 88 Leonard Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood.

Developed by Leviev Boymelgreen, a developer based in Brooklyn, and designed by New York-based Costas Kondylis & Partners, the 21-story tower will include 7,200 sq. ft. of retail and a 4,200-sq.-ft. community facility.

New York-based Tishman Construction is construction manager on the building, scheduled for occupancy in June. The 352-unit complex will have 18 affordable housing units, and all tenants will have access to a health club, heated swimming pool, rooftop terraces, and billiards room, among other amenities.

Verizon Renovates New Jersey Corporate Campus

A 135-acre campus formerly occupied by AT&T in Basking Ridge, N.J., is under renovation in preparation for occupancy by Verizon's Domestic Telecom and International units. The campus will house 3,500 Verizon employees.

The complex will undergo interior and exterior renovations, including a new lobby, a remodeled cafeteria, and a new fitness center, as well as extensive mechanical plant upgrades.

Manhattan-based Gensler Architecture redesigned the 1.3-million-sq.-ft. complex, spread out over seven four-story buildings. Skanska USA Building, based in Parsippany, N.J., >> is managing construction on the $98 million project, which is scheduled for completion in July.

Meanwhile, Verizon closed last fall on the $505 million sale of its New York headquarters tower at 1095 Ave. of the Americas in Manhattan. Verizon will retain ownership of about 200,000 sq. ft. and maintain a short-term lease on approximately 1 million sq. ft. through this year.

The buyer, Equity Office Properties Trust of Chicago, plans to start renovation this spring of the building's façade, lobby, elevator cabs, common areas, and approximately 30,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Equity Office refused to disclose the name of the contractor.

Construction Starts on Natatorium in Queens

Construction broke ground again this fall on a 110,000-sq.-ft. natatorium and ice rink complex in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. The project had first broken ground in 2001 and halted in 2002, due to funding constraints.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. is overseeing the $55 million project and Bovis Lend Lease of New York is managing construction. Completion of the project is slated for fall 2007.

Designed jointly by Handel Architects and Hom + Goldman Architects, both based in New York, the new sports complex will include: an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool with a seating capacity of 400, a National Hockey League regulation-size ice rink with bleacher seating for 440, a lobby connecting the two, an exterior façade of pre-cast concrete and glass tiles, and a cable-stayed mast supporting the roof - a nod to the park's history as the World's Fair site in 1939 and 1964.

Brooklyn Neighborhood to Get 'Affordable Luxury' Condos

A 37,000-sq.-ft. pre-war factory now undergoing a conversion in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn may be the first condominium building in New York marketed as an "affordable luxury" development.

The $4.63 million project at 101 Wyckoff St., now known as WY101 LOFTS, will create 32 apartments with 12-ft.-high ceilings, hardwood floors, and stainless steel kitchen appliances. New York-based Excel Construction is managing the project, which is scheduled for completion this summer.

The first batch of units sold at an average of $350,000 and had 840 people on the waiting list, according to Group Maysonet, the project's broker. The remaining units will rise in price by 10 to 30 percent, a change that requires notification of the state's Attorney General.

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