Photo via WeWork

With 5.3 million square feet of office space, WeWork is officially Manhattan’s largest private office tenant. Last month, we reported that the co-working giant needed just 74,000 more square feet to take the title from JPMorgan Chase & Co., and with their new, 258,344-square-foot location at 21 Penn Plaza, their 50th in the borough (they have 60 in NYC total), they’ve now surpassed them. The news comes via a blog post by WeWork exec Granit Gjonbalaj, who credits the company’s “expertise” and the team’s “holistic nature” that has allowed them to “identify, build, and deliver new locations better and more quickly than a typical developer.”

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Through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Prospect Park Alliance recently surveyed about 12,000 of the park’s 30,000 trees. The survey provides a nuanced picture of the park’s ever-changing ecosystem and important insights into the economic, environmental and health benefits of “Brooklyn’s backyard.” You can view an interactive map of Prospect Park’s trees and their benefit to the community here; you can also examine the results on the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map.

To the trees

Willets Point from Citi Field. Image: Wiki Commons.

The city and developers have filed preliminary plans to pave a 6.5 acre stretch of city land for 665 parking spots, Crains reports. The economic development site within the industrial neighborhood of Willets Point, in Corona, Queens also known as the Iron Triangle was slated for a cleanup of its toxic soil and the creation of affordable and senior housing, plans which resulted in the demolition of a cluster of small businesses.

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Rendering by Visualhouse, courtesy of the Rockwell Group and Howard Hughes Corporation

Update 9/19/18: The LPC approved Howard Hughes’ and David Rockwell’s proposal.

It might still be steamy outside, but the colder months are upon us, and this year, NYC will have a brand new ice skating rink. CityRealty uncovered renderings that show how the Howard Hughes Corporation would like to transform the South Street Seaport’s Pier 17–the SHoP Architects-designed food/drink, retail, and entertainment complex–into a rooftop winter village. The proposal by David Rockwell Group calls for an ice rink just slightly smaller than that at Rockefeller Center, a skate shop, and a warming hut. The team is presenting the plan to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (Pier 17 is part of the South Street Seaport Historic District) this afternoon, so check back for updates on the vote.

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Isa Genzken’s “Rose III.” Photo by Timothy Schenck, courtesy Galerie Buchholz (L); The XI via Bjarke Ingels Group (R)

• Acclaimed German artist Isa Genzken created a 26-foot-tall rose sculpture for Zuccotti Park. [6sqft inbox]
• Brooklyn Bridge Park’s long-plagued Squibb Bridge won’t be reopening any time soon. [BK Paper]
• Bjarke Ingels’ twisting condo The XI launched sales, ranging from a $2.85 million one-bedroom to a $28 million penthouse. [CityRealty]
• Sales also launched at 111 West 57th Street, SHoP’s super-skinny Billionaires’ Row tower. [Curbed]
• After 123 years on Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel will close in January. [Business Insider]
• Roosevelt Island has three local news outlets… but no working water fountains. [CJR]
• Five NYC parks that are larger than Central Park. [Untapped Cities]

This corner artists’ loft at 6 Varick Street is about as classic as a downtown Manhattan loft can get, with original steel beam columns, massive oak beams and arched windows, original wooden plank floors, exposed brick walls, and 10-foot-tall tin ceilings. In addition to being on a high floor, the loft’s corner configuration gives it an unusual layout that sets it apart from the standard “white box.” Unobstructed views to the south and east look out over the neighborhood. The condop loft’s current interiors–a cozy and bright combo of shabby-chic and Scandinavian-inspired–show just how pretty even the most industrial loft can be.

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Kingsbridge Armory via Flickr cc

It’s no wonder the city has spent the better part of the past decade trying to redevelop the former Kingsbridge Armory into the country’s largest ice skating complex–it’s less than a block from the 4 train and three blocks from the D and B trains and a quick walk to the Fordham University campus. And for residents moving into the area, it’s just a few blocks from the large Jerome Park, St. James Park, and Poe Park. With all this in mind, a new development has sprung up across from the Armory at 2700 Jerome Avenue. The 13-story, 134-unit building is a mix of affordable and supportive housing and retail, and as of today, New Yorkers who earn 60 or 90 percent of the median income can apply for 95 units that fall into the first category. The available apartments range from $860/month studios to $1,940/month three-bedrooms.

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Via Nelson Mejia Jr. on Flickr

Out of the 20 New York City neighborhoods with the most residential units approved within the past year, seven of them are in the Bronx, more than any other borough. According to a new report from Localize.city, a group that analyzes data related to housing, 13 percent of all approved apartments between 2010 and 2015 were in the Bronx. In the first half of 2018, the Bronx had 27 percent of the city’s share of approved new units. While a majority of new buildings in the borough are affordable, increasing land prices could mean more market-rate projects are on the horizon, the New York Times reported.

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6sqft recently reported that construction had begun on Russia-born billionaire Roman Abramovich‘s Upper East Side megamansion combo of three existing  townhouses on East 75th Street. Plans for the megamansion with a pool, art room, backyard and a glass and bronze curtain wall connecting the three townhouses in the rear, designed by Stephen Wang + Associates, were approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November of 2017. The LPC approval came a few months after Abramovich announced a split from arts patron and businesswoman Dasha Zhukova, whom he married in 2008 and with whom he has a son and a daughter. Now, the New York Post reports, Abramovich has transferred ownership of the properties at 9, 11 and 13, along with at least one other Upper East Side address to his ex.

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