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Does anyone know why 37-47 Van Reipen Ave is getting ready to be demolish? I canât find anything online.
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Seems there was a fire at 37, but it didnât spread so thatâs unrelated.
I just went through the intake log and also didnât find anything for these addresses.
I also just checked the site plan for Homestead Place and itâs not under Namdar.
It could be just demolition with nothing else but seems to large for that.
Maybe @apophenic has a clue? Usually knows the most on these and what data to search.
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A single developer owns the parcels. I have heard rumors they are interested in some sort of a rezoning on that site but it seems the prospects are slim. By-right theyâre allowed to build 6 stories of residential and up to 2 stories of office.
Itâs a lost opportunity that the site wasnât combined with the namdar tower being built next door. Then they couldâve built a 25-27-story building by-right.
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Is there a rendering of what the pedestrian plaza is supposed to look like? Judging by this photo it seems like there wouldnât be much room for people to walk. It looks more like it would be the size of a regular alleyway, but I suppose it could just be the angle of the photo.
@HotPocketMan
The local community association was shown some drawings but I donât think itâs anything more than some seating over paving stones. There will be no trees, just probably decorative plants.
Youâre right about the plaza being the size of an alleyway, thatâs basically what it is. Itâs what Iâm really most disappointed about. This could have been a really nice, inventive local development to draw in tourists. The hotel portion of the other tower has been scrapped as well. The way the lots and towers are situated, itâs not even one straight line through.
I donât mind narrowness, many of the best streets in the world are extremely narrowâŚcase in point, Tokyo and Rome. Even Stone Street in Lower Manhattan. Many of those streets are also famously winding and crooked. And many of the least appealing streets are overly wide (including Kennedy Blvd a block over).
In any event, this will be widened if and when the house next door is redevelopedâŚproperties on both sides contribute to the streetâs width.
Anyeay, I think the charm of a street depends mostly on the design of the street level, and whether there is something there to draw foot traffic and to catch the eye. I donât know if this will provide that. I hope so, but hard to tell. I think it wouldve helped if the street facades had been less flat, had a little more depth and interest. Maybe some awnings for stores and restaurants can still fix that.
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I completely agree with you - the charm of dense narrow streets work very well. The Seaport, even Newark Ave downtown are other great examples. But the renderings shown by the developer just doesnât match the reality of whatâs being built here. The facades have started to get better as the newer buildings are more varied, but thereâs no sense of scale. Itâs just a straight tower all the way up.
These are small retail spaces, one of which is a local coffee shop. I donât think thereâs much of a capacity for larger restaurants that can really activate these spaces. Hopefully Iâm proven wrong! But whatâs built so far doesnât share the same scale than the first renders they released.
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These kinds of things look better when its all local business or if its bustling with people, like in Japan or Korea, its more organic. This just seems kinda sterile imo but I still like it
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Only one of the buildings has opened for now, and none of the stores. This is not even 1/4 done yet. I am not pessimistic or optimistic yet, weâll have to wait to see. Iâll withhold judgment at least until all the retail is leased out.
@the726 as far as the scale above, yeah, I agree stepbacks might help somewhat. But stepbacks depended on them being able to acquire enough land. As you know, the parcels are quite narrow for high-risesâŚno room for stepbacks. Itâs crazy, they couldnât even acquire that one house that this one almost cantilevers over. Frustratingly, the owner of that house sold to the developer right after construction started âŚ
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