Union Sq. Park Restaurant Moves Ahead

With the forthcoming 15-month L train shutdown edging closer, the MTA and the city’s Department of Transportation have decided to convert Manhattan’s 14th Street into a busway three months ahead of the April 2019 shutdown.

The two agencies will launch the M14 Select Bus Service on January 6, 2019, in hopes that riders will give it a test-run before the actual shutdown begins. “By implementing the M14 SBS months before we start the L train tunnel repairs, we hope that customers will take the opportunity to try our buses and see how the 14th Street busway can factor into their commutes once we start work fixing the L train tunnel,” said New York City Transit President Andy Byford.

Between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., 14th Street between Ninth and Third avenues eastbound and Third and Eighth Avenues westbound will be restricted to bus traffic only. The new SBS route will complement the current M14A and M14D buses and combined, the three routes will be able to handle roughly 84,000 passengers per day, notes amNY.

The SBS route will start off with five stops between First and Tenth avenues that match up with subway transfer points and will run every two minutes during morning and evening rush hours. After its initial launch, the SBS route will be extended east to the planned Stuyvesant Cove ferry terminal on the East River to accommodate ferry customers from Brooklyn. This is expected to happen shortly before the beginning on the shutdown.

Here’s a 1910 view of the south side of 14 St. looking east from 6th Ave. from what was then the platform of the elevated train. As you can see, Macy’s was headquartered there (where Urban Outfitters is now) and expanded along the block over time as it grew. Eventually, the cobbled-together space got too complicated and the store decamped for its massive new digs in Herald Square. If you look closely at this building today, you can still see vestiges of Macy’s red star icon in a few places.

… at least on Thursdays, when the Farmer’s Market is not in session. Details here. 

Here’s the news: “The New York City Water Board voted on Friday morning to approve a 14.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates, the largest increase since 1992. When the new rate is in place on July 1, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office, water rates will have risen a cumulative 77 percent since 2001, and double-digit increases are expected to keep coming for at least a few more years.”

This is one of those uncontrollable costs that bedevil the co-op’s budget every year. The only thing we can do about it: use less water. We’ve already taken steps to examine our infrastructure and make sure we have discovered any sources of waste and leaks. Other than that, it’s all about less consumption.

NEW YORK CITY-DHA Capital LLC and its co-development partner Continental Properties have purchased 12 E. 13th St. in Manhattan. The property was sold for $32 million, or more than $700 per square foot. ABS Partners represented the sellers.

Hertz Rental Car previously occupied the ground floor while the remainder of the building, which spans 45,032 square feet of space, was being used as a parking garage. The new owners plan to turn the structure into upscale condominiums and will likely create a mix of full-floor homes and duplexes, along with retail facilities, according to a release.

“This is a highly desirable location where we intend to create large, super-luxury homes which will appeal to discriminating buyers,” says Steven Fisch, managing partner at Continental Properties, in the release.

”These types of homes are in very strong demand but short supply, particularly downtown,” adds Dan Hollander, managing principal of DHA. The team has engaged Cetra/Ruddy architects to design the conversion, which will not enlarge the building but will add several stories by demolishing part of the rear portion.

Located on the southern side of East 13th Street, between University Place and Fifth Avenue, the property is close to Union Square. A similar building that was a parking garage at 66 East 11th Street was recently converted into a residential building offering luxury condos.

Odell Real Estate represented the buyer. Hertz had vacated the building as its lease expired this past fall. The move allowed the building to be sold vacant, eliminating the uncertainty of a holdover tenant for potential buyers.

Constructed in 1930 of brick, steel, and concrete, the building was most likely used as a horse stable in addition to a parking garage for cars, as evidenced by heating coils throughout the building, according to ABS director Adam Maxson in a separate release. The building also features two large car elevators.

Recent construction activity in the Greenwich Village area helped create a strong demand for the building from a wide range of buyers that included both small local investors and large international investment groups, Maxson says in the release. The New School is currently constructing a 375,000-square-foot building just across the street and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013. Also, a high-end 113-room boutique hotel, the Jade Hotel, is being built on West 13th Street.

The seller was very happy with the purchase price, according to a press release issued by ABS. “The ABS team performed a stellar job navigating this complex transaction from start to finish,” says Darren Postel, one of the sellers, in the release. “ABS coordinated with a broad range of buyers to get this disposition executed. I could not be happier with the resulting sale at such an impressive number.”

This is the latest in a series of deals for DHA Capital. The firm is in pre-development of a 300-unit rental property on Manhattan’s West Side. At 53 Pitt St. in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, DHA created and is now marketing 14 rental lofts. In Brooklyn, DHA purchased a 200,000-square-foot development site at 88 Richardson St. The property, which was approved for 230 rental units, was sold by DHA in July of 2012. The firm also acquired and sold a stalled luxury co-op in Harlem for repositioning as a rental.

From DNAinfo:

A developer’s plans to knock down two buildings in an historic district near Union Square to make room for new apartment towers, was shot down by the local community board, who say the integrity of the neighborhood and the retail options there should be preserved. Developer C.A. White wants to tear down two buildings at 21 W. 17th St. and 16 W. 18th St. to build 13- and 11-story apartment buildings in their place. The current buildings, which are significantly shorter, are occupied by a Rent a Runway shop and an empty storefront, formerly home to the restaurant BLT. They’re also a part of the Ladies Mile Historic District, and would ultimately need approval from the Landmark Preservation Commission to be altered.