Empire State Gets High-Rise Neighbor

Diagonally adjacent to the Empire State Building, one of Manhattan's largest residential projects is underway on Fifth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets. Levine Builders of Douglaston in Queens has begun foundation work on 325 Fifth Avenue, a $90 million, 41-story tower.

Designed by Stephen B. Jacobs Group of Manhattan, the 390,000-sq.-ft., cast-in-place concrete building will have 250 apartments, 6,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and an underground parking garage. Completion is scheduled for late 2006, said Jeffrey Levine, the company's president. The project developer is a joint venture between a Levine affiliate, Douglaston Development, and New Jersey-based Continental Properties.