Don't let the Cronut craze fool you. New York City is a wilderness akin to none and it takes a mean set of skills to survive here. So, inspired by the new TV show "Get Out Alive!" starring infamous British mountain man/elephant-poop-eater Bear Grylls as he forces a group of Americans to scramble around Middle Earth (aka New Zealand), we've decided to observe the talents of NYC's grittiest survivors real estate developers as they battle to bring their mega-projects to safety. Who's nearing the finish line? Let's find out!
In Manhattan:
· Extell's projects: Developer Extell is building two towers on 57th Street: One57 is almost done, while 217-225 West 57th Street?which, at 1,550 ft, is destined to be the tallest building in New York and contain a massive Nordstrom?is just getting underway.
· 432 Park Avenue: LA-based developer CIM is partnering with Harry Macklowe to build an ultra-luxury, supertall residential tower where the Drake Hotel once stood. The developers are pulling some crazy stunts to sell out the building.
· Hudson Yards: Related has been working for years to transform the area over an MTA railyard into New York's next hottest neighborhood, with the High Line running through the middle of it...The project will add millions of square feet of office, residential, and retail space.
· SPURA: The Seward Park Urban Renewal Area?better known as SPURA?is supposed to revitalize a largely vacant six-acre Lower East Side site. An announcement detailing the final development team is expected soon.
· World Trade Center: While designs and plans have been set for a while, WTC #2 and WTC #3 still have yet to hit full speed while owner Larry Silverstein secures tenants and financing. His WTC #4 is just about done, as is Port Authority-owned WTC #1.
In Brooklyn and Staten Island:
· Greenpoint Landing / 77 Commercial Street: Greenpoint Landing is a major project (ten 30-40 story towers totaling 5,000 units) while 77 Commercial Street is much smaller (two towers). Both towers have to make it through the ULURP process before they can happen, and neighbors don't seem thrilled about either one.
· Domino Sugar Factory: After a long fight for control, DUMBO developer Two Trees Management took control of the long abandoned Domino Sugar Factory site last summer. Now Two Trees is doing its best to make friends in surrounding Williamsburg while it mulls some pretty hefty designs for the waterfront project.
· Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner's Forest City Ratner opened the Barclays Center to great fanfare, but that was only one part of the project: now Forest City is working on 6.7 million square feet of residential buildings, including significant modular construction.
· St. George Terminal: Oft-forgotten Staten Island is making headlines with a number of big-time development projects, including the world's tallest ferris ("observation") wheel, which is planned for St. George Terminal. That might sound crazy, but it's being built by someone quite familiar with wild rides: Rich Marin, a former CEO at Bear Stearns.
?David Stein
· Megaprojects archive [Curbed]
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