After months of negotiation on the final elements of a community benefits agreement, work on a temporary rail yard informally launched construction of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards mixed-use development in Brooklyn.

While other elements still await final approval, the site work and construction of a temporary rail yard on the east side of the Vanderbilt Rail Yard in February marked the first real construction progress for the developer, Forest City Ratner Cos. of Brooklyn.

The site work will make way for an enhanced rail facility for Long Island Railroad, which operates the existing Atlantic Yards and will get upgrades to its facilities as part of Forest City Ratner’s development deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The development, designed by Gehry Partners of Los Angeles, will have an 18,000-seat basketball arena to serve as the home for the New Jersey Nets franchise as well as 15 buildings ranging from 184 to 511 ft in height. The overall plan will comprise 7.125 million sq ft on the site confined mostly between Dean Street and Flatbush, Vanderbilt, and Atlantic avenues. It will include more than 2,200 units of affordable housing; 4,500 residential rental units; commercial, hotel, and retail spaces; and 8 acres of public open space on the site.

Of the initial work, Forest City Ratner announced that more than $600,000 in contracts have been awarded to minority- and women-owned firms, including agreements with A. Russo Wrecking, a woman-owned demolition firm, to remove a bus parking facility on the east side of the track. Other firms that are handling contracts on the early work include Eddington & Associates, J&J Asbestos Abatement, C & W Cleaning, JMV Associates, and Cole Consulting. The McKissack Group of Philadelphia is managing the $182 million tab of work on the Vanderbilt Rail Yard. 

The community benefits deal will assign at least 20% of construction contract dollars to minority-owned firms and 10% to women-owned businesses. It also sets benchmarks of 35% of construction workers being of minority backgrounds and 10% as women. The project will be fully union labor-staffed.

Other early sitework involves the demolition of 179 Flatbush Avenue, a former automotive repair shop that Cole Partners will take down with construction management services from Gateway Demolition and air monitoring by Safety Environmental.

Construction on a new condominium building got under way in February in West Harlem, adding to the continuing flow of residential construction activity in Manhattan.

AvalonBay Communities broke ground on its newest apartment building in Manhattan, Avalon Morningside Park. The building is located on Morningside Drive and Cathedral Parkway at 110th Street.

Designed by R.M. Kliment and Frances Halsbond Architects, the building will offer 296 units in studio, and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 517 to 1,367 sq ft.

A fifth of the apartments will be reserved for households that earn up to 50% of the area median income. The remaining 80% will be market-rent apartments.

About $100 million of the $126 million project is being financed with tax-exempt bonds issued by the New York City Housing Development Corporation under its 80/20 program.  Bovis Lend Lease of New York was starting construction this spring and is slated to finish the project by January 2009.

Two other condominium buildings are set to open later this year in Manhattan.

The Brauser Group of New York is developing a 41-unit condominium complex on West 18th Street and 6th Avenue in East Chelsea. HRH Construction of White Plains began work on the 10-story, 160,000-sq-ft building in October. The one- to four-bedroom apartments range from 800 to 3,000 sq ft. DeSimone Consulting Engineers of New York is providing structural engineering services, and MGJ Associates of New York is M-E-P Engineer.

Australian modernist architect Garrett Gourlay designed the multi-angled building, which has an iridescent black-brick façade with chamfered corners and multiple setbacks, as well as public and private roof decks. Interior finishes include wide-plank white-oak floors, lava stone showers, and floor-to-ceiling limestone master baths. The  $80 million project is slated for completion in January 2008.

A second development, known simply as “A Building” is nearing completion on East 13th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A in the East Village. Robert Kaliner, co-principal of Ascend Group, is developing the eight-story building.

The 84 units include six penthouses and seven full-floor residences in one- to three- bedroom apartments that range in size from 426 to 1,859 sq ft. Each unit has floor-to-ceiling window walls between 9.5 and 11 ft and solid maple floors painted white.

The second residential component of the Landings at HarborSide in Perth Amboy, N.J., is nearing completion, with occupancy expected this spring.

Construction of the Bay View began in early 2005. Once completed, the two-structure Bay View will consist of 86 units, including 76 condominiums and 10 townhouses that will range in size from approximately 960 to 2,500 sq ft. It will also have 8,500 sq ft of retail space.

Westminster Communities, an affiliate of Kushner Companies of Florham Park, N.J., is the construction manager of the $600 million, four-building project that is being designed by New York-based Liebman Melting Partnership.

The first phase in construction of the Landings at HarborSide began in fall 2003. The entire project is expected to take about 10 years to complete.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Sterling Glen of Roslyn, Roslyn, N.Y. Developer: Sterling Glen, Port Washington, N.Y.; Forest City Enterprises, Cleveland Scope: Three-story, 189,000-sq-ft independent senior living facility on 11 acres overlooking Hempstead Harbor, with 158 luxury rental apartments in one- and two-bedroom layouts Construction cost: $80 million Start: Summer 2004 Finish: Spring 2007 Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects, New York Construction Manager: Kajima Construction Services, Rochelle Park, N.J.