On the construction- and hotel-heavy Lower East Side, an old tenement building at 163 Orchard Street was torn down last year to make way for a 10-story, 32-room hotel. As a Curbed commenter pointed out back then, the building was in a race against the clock?the pending Lower East Side/East Village rezoning would limit the height of new buildings on side streets to 80 feet, and it would take a big effort to get this hotel "vested" in time. Well, the rezoning was made official in November, and the building's foundation wasn't yet in place. Case closed, right? Well, Bowery Boogie reports today that foundation work at 163 Orchard is progressing. How?
Three days after the rezoning passed, a neighbor called 311 to complain about ongoing work on the building, and soon after that another complaint was logged for "failure to comply with new zoning resolution." A stop work order was issued, but DOB records show that the order was partially rescinded to allow the completion of the foundation and first tier or floor beams to "lock in adjacent properties." Is it safety measure for the neighboring tenements? It would appear so, but the question remains: What's to come from this zoning buster?
· Foundation Poured at 163 Orchard [Bowery Boogie]
· Another Hotel for Orchard Street? YES. [Curbed]
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