Photo by Max Touhey

MCR and Morse Development’s repurposing of Eero Saarinen’s historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport into a hotel, event space and dining destination continues to move full speed ahead. The second crescent-shaped tower of the TWA Hotel officially topped out this week, nearly a year ahead of its spring 2019 opening. The hotel will contain 505 rooms, a rooftop pool, an observation deck, eight bars and restaurants and 50,000 square feet of event space. Saarinen’s landmarked TWA Flight Center terminal building will serve as the hotel lobby, a 200,000-square-foot space with retail, restaurants and bars.

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Rendering of The Kent via Beyer Blinder Belle; Photo via CityRealty

Applications are now being accepted for 21 brand new, affordable condominiums at Extell Development’s Upper East Side tower, The Kent. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the 30-story building, located at 200 East 95th Street, has a facade covered in red brick with accents of dark metal. Qualifying New Yorkers earning between $79,333 and $119,250 annually can apply for the studio, one- and two-bedroom condo units, which range in price from $356,700 to $427,000.

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Rendering via Extell Development

An Extell Development rental building in the East Village is now accepting applications for 50 newly constructed, middle-income units. Not only does the chic building at 524 East 14th Street boast amenities like a fitness center, pool and rooftop deck, it will also have a two-level Target, the chain’s first location in the neighborhood. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 70 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $1,114/studios to $2,733/month two-bedrooms.

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Overview of Brooklyn Navy Yard via Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site’s property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.

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Legendary jazz saxophonist and New York City native Sonny Rollins lived in an apartment on the Lower East Side home for many years during the late 1950s. Although the building he called home has long been demolished, the sprawling development rising on the same site, Essex Crossing, will pay tribute to the iconic artist by naming one of the buildings after him. The Rollins, a 15-story rental building at 145 Clinton Street, sits near the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge, a spot where Rollins practiced every day for two years. As the New York Times reported, the Rollins, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, will include 107 market-rate apartments, which start at $3,150 for a studio, $4,450 for a one-bedroom, $5,800 for a two-bedroom and $8,450 for a three-bedroom. Leasing will begin in January for these market-rate units.

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Rendering via Extell Development

With construction wrapping up, Extell Development’s two-tower rental complex on 500 and 524 East 14th Street got new renderings this week, revealing luxury amenities and ground-floor retail, including Target, the store’s first East Village location. Opening in July, the popular chain will sit in one building of Extell Development’s complex, which was designed by Beyer Blinder Belle. According to CityRealty, the “flexible format” Target will span 9,649 square feet on the ground floor and 17,705 square feet in the cellar of 500 East 14th Street. The development will also include 160 total new rental apartments, with 32 set aside for low-, moderate- and middle-income households.

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New 40th Street entrance. Credit: Mecanoo with Beyer Blinder Belle

At a Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday evening, The New York Public Library revealed the $317 million master plan that will guide the renovation of the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The plan was developed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo and the NYC-based Beyer Blinder Belle. The historic Midtown Beaux-Arts building is home to one of the nation’s leading research libraries as well as historic spaces like the landmarked Rose Main Reading Room, the Maps, Periodicals, and Genealogy reading rooms, and Astor Hall.

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New rendering of 140 Essex Street courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle

Thanks to a $34 million loan from Wells Fargo, Delancey Street Associates closed last week on financing the construction of a 100 percent affordable senior building at 140 Essex Street, site 8 of the 1.9 million-square-foot Essex Crossing development. Originally, the project called for an 80/20 condo building, but developers decided to add 61 more affordable units to the building, bringing the number of affordable rentals at the Lower East Side complex to 561 out of 1,078 total units. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the building at 140 Essex will rise 8 stories and include 92 affordable homes for seniors earning between 0 and 60 percent of the area median income, as well as 9,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor. Construction will begin soon, with an expected opening date sometime in 2019.

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292-314 Kent. Rendering by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism via Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Update 10/31/17: The Landmarks Preservation Commission did not approve the new plans at the hearing, instead suggesting the architects present revised designs that address how the newly exposed brick will be preserved and how the ground floor will interact with the open space. The Commissioners were divided on the glass topper, with some feeling it appropriately references the building’s arches and others feeling it inappropriately treats the structure as a ruin. 

6sqft previously shared the latest round of designs for the three million-square-foot Domino Sugar Factory mega-development in Williamsburg, done by Vishaan Chakrabarti‘s Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU). Developer Two Trees broke ground on the first tower in the Domino Sugar Refinery Master Plan last spring, and the lottery opened for 104 affordable units at the SHoP Architects-designed building, the 16-story 325 Kent Avenue. Now, more new renderings of the complex have been released ahead of an October 31 presentation before the Landmarks Preservation Commission (h/t Brownstoner).

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Rendering via MAQE

One of New York’s best-known office buildings will get a major restoration. According to Curbed, Equitable Building owner Silverstein Properties plans to spend $50 million to return the Financial District building to its former glory, restoring many design elements that were on display when it first opened in 1915. Beyer Blinder Belle will oversee the reno, which includes the restoration of the entrance, a new lighting system with hanging bronze fixtures, a new reception desk, and a granite accent wall.

For those unfamiliar with the Equitable Building, it actually played a huge role in the city’s current zoning laws. The H-shaped tower, which takes up the entire block on Broadway between Pine and Cedar Streets, caused a scandal when it opened due to the long shadows it cast on nearby streets, leading the city to establish the first-ever zoning laws to regulate the height of future tall buildings.

Read about the restoration details