[A summary of responses from the questions we posed on Tuesday. More questions and answers to tips@curbed.com. Thanks for playing.]
1) South Slope: "Regarding the windsor terrace property (right), the building permit posted on the fence says it will be a residential apartment building. that is a very narrow lot in the middle of the block though and they obviously have a drainage problem (which likely has prevented construction beginning). It looks as if there has been no activity on the site in over 5 months. i looked at a house for sale who's backyard backed up to this mess in late spring. the fact that the backyard was being held up by construction planking and the idea of an apartment building being constructed right up to my property line turned me off the to property.
"When i looked at the block diagram on property shark, the block is an odd shape, not rectangular. and i suspect the block was laid out as such because the land in question is over a water source. so 200 years ago some wise people made a decision to not build over this site. but today some not-wise developer has decided to go ahead and try to build over this swamp."
2) Lower East Side: As for the pending redevelopment on Orchard, a reader writes, "That’s my building, 76-81 Orchard. The Spanish tapas place is a check (going head to head with Barrio Chino, no?). The others have been vacant for months, some of them years. They did clean the façade of our building this fall, so maybe that’s sparked interest." Meanwhile, the "exclusive broker" for the properties checks in in the comments noting the availability of "12 stores located along 75-81 Orchard Street, and 84-86 Allen Street. All stores will have new glass enclosures and HVAC systems."
3) Upper East Side: Big doings on the corners of 86th and 3rd Ave and 86 and Lex. First, the retail scuttlebutt: "My broker friend is telling EVERYBODY that a Whole Foods is going in at 86th & 3rd. Not that he would know, necessarily. But he is telling everybody as if it is a settled fact." Nothing in development on the Whole Foods web presence, but another commenter says it's a done deal. And you know what they say: two anonymous comments = fact!
On the residential front, "Extell Development plans to build 120,000 square feet of retail space at 86th and Lexington, along with 250,000 square feet of residential," The Real Deal reported in December. Speculation on unit pricing in the comments: "It's got to be close to the 2,000 a sq. ft. price level. 170 East End Ave, that luxury new development between 87th & 88th on East End Ave is being built now and is initially priced around $1,650 a sq. ft."
· Rumblings & Bumblings: Lakefront Development [Curbed]