Bringing the development style of the West Side eastward, this project brings a significant commercial presence into the Kips Bay towers. New low-rise extensions, combined with massive commercial skyscrapers will bring needed amenities to the original towers and activate the mightiest potential of the site.
Most of the exposed rail infrastructure below 59th street is being covered up by new development, so no real master stroke is available in that regard anymore. The new strategy is finding those aging mid-century housing/urban renewal projects that need that little something extra, or in this case, that big bonus. This could work alongside the Consolidated Edison site as two complementary developments that bring needed substance to the East Side, which doesn’t really have that much to boast about when it comes to talking about new development. One is a blank slate, the other needs something to speak of.