Rendering via RXR Realty

Earlier this week, Google entered into a contract with Jamestown LP to buy the Chelsea Market building for nearly $2.5 billion, the second largest single sale in New York City’s history. And on Friday, Google reached a tentative deal to expand its footprint at Pier 57, adding another 70,000 square feet of space to its prior 250,000-square-foot agreement. According to Crain’s, the lease will include an additional 50,000 square feet of educational activities and a new ferry landing.

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Despite hyping up his massive Singapore street hawker-style food hall and retail market at Google’s Pier 57 development since 2015, Anthony Bourdain announced today that he won’t be moving forward with the project, reports Eater. Back in March, his partner and CEO of what was dubbed Bourdain Market stepped down. At the same time, it was learned that they’d yet to sign a lease, both of which made the 2019 opening seem like a stretch. In a statement, Bourdain said, “It seems increasingly clear that in spite of my best efforts, the stars may not align at Pier 57 which is an especially complicated site for which we still do not have a lease.”

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Last we checked in at the beginning of the year, the $350 million transformation of Pier 57, aka “SuperPier,” was making progress with its canted glass panels fully installed. Wednesday, co-developers RXR Realty and Young Woo & Associates held an event to mark the 450,000-square-foot development’s topping out, which came after 2,600 tons of structural steel were installed, 4,000 yards of concrete poured, and a 60,000-square-foot curtain wall built. The project will include 250,000 square feet of offices for Google, a 100,000-square-foot food market from Anthony Bourdain, and an elevated two-acre park with a rooftop movie and performance amphitheater to be used for Tribeca Film Festival screenings. This construction milestone comes ahead of an anticipated summer 2018 opening.

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Pier 57 now showing some skin; Photo: CityRealty

Work is moving along at the waterfront development that is rehabilitating and revitalizing Pier 57, Manhattan’s new “SuperPier;” newly-installed, canted glass panels can be seen along the pier’s rows of exterior columns, CityRealty reports. The $350 million transformation of the former freight terminal, a joint venture by Young Woo & Associates and RXR will include 250,000 square feet of offices for Google, a 170,000-square-foot food market curated by Anthony Bourdain and provide an elevated two-acre park with a rooftop movie and performance amphitheater. The project’s design is being handled by Handel Architects and !Melk Landscape Architecture and Urban Design.

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In the summer of 1952, when the American economy was emerging with a roar from the stagnation of the Great Depression and World War II, engineer Emil H. Praeger was chosen to create a replacement for the Grace Line’s old Pier 57 which had been destroyed by fire. Described by the New York Times, the key to what makes the resulting replacement pier so special lies hidden below the pier shed in the Hudson River at the foot of West 15th Street; Rather than resting on a conventional pile field, the bulk of its weight is held up by three floating concrete boxes known as caissons, which are permanently anchored underwater.

The unique foundation of the abandoned pier is the same foundation that will host a $350 million renovation of what is being called the SuperPier by RXR Realty and Youngwoo and Associates, thanks to a lease from the Hudson River Park Trust, with new tenants to include Google offices and Anthony Bourdain’s new food market.

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Just in time for construction to commence in the new year, things are swiftly moving ahead at Pier 57, aka the SuperPier. Last month, 6sqft uncovered a slew of new renderings of the the 450,000-square-foot, $350 million development, which is set to include 250,000 square feet of office space for a major technology company, a 170,000-square-foot food and retail market from Anthony Bourdain, and an elevated park with an outdoor movie and performance amphitheater on the roof to be used for screenings for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Google has long been assumed as the office tenant, and according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s official, as the company has “signed a 15-year lease with development team Youngwoo & Associates LLC and RXR Realty.” Bourdain’s food hall is also expected to close soon.

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Last month at the Municipal Arts Society’s (MAS) 2015 Summit for NYC, Seth Pinsky, executive vice president at RXR Realty, shared a presentation regarding the development of the long-planned rehabilitation and conversion of Pier 57 aka “SuperPier.” In addition to some new looks at the project, he revealed that the developers have largely secured financing and are finalizing talks with the Hudson River Park Trust. RXR are co-developing the project with Young Woo & Associates, and Handel Architects and !Melk Landscape Architecture and Urban Design are the commissioned designers.

According to Pinsky, the 450,000-square-foot development will invest $350 million of private capital to redevelop the structure, and in return create hundreds of jobs, generate millions of dollars of revenue for the Hudson River Park Trust, and create a new destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike. The former NYCEDC head confirmed that the project will include 250,000 square feet of office space for a major technology company [Google], a 170,000-square-foot food and retail market [Anthony Bourdain], and an elevated park with an outdoor movie and performance amphitheater on the roof to be used for screenings for the Tribeca Film Festival. He also noted construction will begin during the first half of next year, with completion aimed for early 2018.

Lots more renderings and details ahead