Shoo Loong Kan, a Chinese hot pot restaurant will soon arrive on 13th St. in the space that old timers will fondly remember as Borgo Antico. (The name means little dragon ridge.) The chain already has locations in Chicago, Houston, and Flushing.
DOB has granted our request to start placing our concrete at 6am, which will allow us to finish this work earlier in the evening. We have 3 more instances like this until we finish our superstructure in early June. Friday, May 4 we will have a pour at the 16th floor with a 6am start time and similar end dime, weather permitting.
Therefore, next week (May 7 to May 11), Superstructure work will continue at the 17th floor level. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.
The following week (May 14 to May 18), we will continue superstructure concrete and slabs on the 17th floor and roof levels. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.
This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, May 5th for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork and concrete, plumbing and electrical work, rebar for concrete placement, using the crane and equipment to support all activities. Safety horns are used, and required by law, to coordinate lifting with the crane and to alert the workers of the danger overhead. We have directed the operators to limit the use of horns to one short sounding and to use the crane later in the day so as to avoid any excess noise. In addition to the normal work on the job site, we will have an additional crane on site at 5th ave. to install the stair trusses on the west side of the building. The crane will be completely on site and should not interfere with pedestrian or automotive traffic in the area.
Tacos on 12th St., strangely enough in the same location that used to house The Big Enchilada. What’s old is new again.
The Union Square area is becoming a high-tech hotbed. Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore was interviewed about why he brought his company here:
Last September, Pete Cashmore moved Mashable’s headquarters from 23rd Street to the heart of Union Square. What he found when he arrived was a climate he says is perfect for startups.
Factors that play into the business climate he found just a few blocks south of Mashable’s previous location include a fertile history of innovation, access to creative talent, and proven professionals. But in the end, what’s most attractive to Cashmore is good, old-fashioned, face-to-face interactions.
“Union Square has always been a meeting place, where people come together and share ideas,” Cashmore told me on Tuesday at an event at the British Residence of New York. “And now with it becoming a real hub of innovation it is a great place to be.”
Now employing about 140 people, Mashable’s offices occupy two floors on Fifth Avenue and 17th Street.
No doubt, part of what Cashmore found there was nurtured by venture capital firm, Union Square Ventures (USV), which was founded in 2004 and now manages $1 billion in assets across six funds. USV’s previous investment in New York City-based companies include Etsy (Nasdaq: ESTY), Tumblr (acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 billion), and MongoDB, which has raised $311 million venture capital.
But over the past year, the number of significant real-estate investments in Union Square shows that it’s much more than just Fred Wilson’s influence at work in the area.
The top three lease transactions of 2015 are BuzzFeed, which now occupies 194,000 square feet at 225 Park Avenue South, Gawker Media, which is in 58,900 square feet at 114 Fifth Avenue, and First Look Media in 58,206 square feet at the same location, according to a Union Square Partnership report published in May. New and expanded office tenants in Union Square also include Dropbox, Adobe Systems Inc. Hulu, Lippe Taylor, Pop2Life, Capital One Labs, The New Republic, and Compass.
The top sector in the area is “professional, scientific, and tech services,” with 1,514 firms, followed by retail with 1,393 firms. Among the top firms by number of employees is J. Crew, listed with 3,800 employees and Tory Burch, with 1,800. In total, 9,700 businesses are located within the half-mile radius of Union Square considered by the report, employing over 153,000 people.
What’s attracting all this talent? Not the rent. According to a May report by San Francisco-based real estate analytics firm Zumper, only two neighborhoods are more expensive than Greenwich Village, where Union Square technically is designated as being located. Average rent for a one bedroom apartment costs $3,850. In Chelsea it’s $3,920, and in Tribeca, $4,450. According to the same report, New York City was the second most expensive city in the United States, just behind San Francisco.
In an interview Wednesday, Union Square Partnerships managing director Scott Hobbs ventured his own theory as to why so many innovative companies are moving to his neighborhood. “The biggest reason is it’s a transportation hub,” he said. “You’ve got Williamsburg for creatives across the river, and midtown for business.” Trains that depart Union Square Station are the N, R, Q, 4, 5, 6, and L.
As for Cashmore, his explanation is much more simple. “What’s really great about Union Square is you can go get a coffee and bump into someone doing something interesting in tech,” he said.
The next place to get expensive sandwiches and drinks will be Pura Vida Miami, which will open its next NYC location at 5th Ave. and 15th St.
The great kitchen store Broadway Panhandler on East 8th St. will be closing this spring. Too bad because the store has a long history in the city going back to its original location on Broome Street in Soho. Watch for closing sales.
The annual shareholder’s meeting will take place on Wednesday June 30th at 7PM at the Seafarers’ and Interational House at 123 East 15th St, second floor.
At the meeting, the Board of Directors will be seeking at least one new member. If you wish to become a candidate for the Board and have your name placed on the ballot, please feel free to provide a short biography of yourself via fax (212) 986-0002 or e-mail to ymartinez@akam.com. The Board will also welcome nominations at the meeting itself.