Following news that Lower East Side residents were seeking meaningful alternatives to curb the rapid increase of planned high rises in their neighborhood comes news that the LES will have to brace for two more tall towers. The Lo-Down has learned through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request that two separate developers are in the early planning stages of building two residential towers that could bring as many as 2,100 apartments to the neighborhood.
At 271-283 South Street, developer Starrett Corp. is planning a 60-story building with 740 apartments, with some affordable units, as Starrett plans to participate in the mayor’s Inclusionary Housing program.
At 260 South Street, developers L+M Development and the CIM Group are planning a 66-story building with 1,400 apartments, of which about 350 will be affordable. This tower is planned for the parking space currently used by another residential development, Land End II. The parking will be relocated to a different area nearby.
L+M is also (in this case with Nelson Management Group), currently in the process of transforming a 19-story tower nearby previously known as Lands End I.
These towers will be in addition to the currently under-construction, 80-story tower, One Manhattan Square, that’s being developed by Extell, and a 77-story tower being developed by JDS. And local residents are rightfully annoyed. Along with the support of their elected officials they’re calling on the city to either put these projects through a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure [ULURP] or move to rezone the neighborhood that would restrict the height of buildings to 350 feet.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Two Bridges Associates (CIM) issued the following statement:
"Our goals for this project include a number of meaningful community amenities and infrastructure improvements, as well as the preservation of existing affordable housing and the creation of new affordable housing. Planning for the project is still in the early stages. We look forward to sitting down with community stakeholders very soon to begin what we hope will be a productive, collaborative process over the coming year as our project undergoes environmental review."
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