80 South Street; Calatrava scheme at left, Morali’s plan on right
Plans for 80 South Street are changing once again, as Howard Hughes is looking to become involved with the site; the current owner is Cord Meyer, but Hughes is looking to take a controlling interest in the project.
While the New York Post speculated that Howard Hughes’ interest in 80 South Street was due to the issues encountered at the company’s other Seaport tower, atop the Fulton Fish Market, YIMBY has learned that is not the case, and that Hughes intends to proceed with both projects.
Per a representative from the firm, Hughes has a 100% commitment to move ahead with both the current work at the Seaport and the mixed-use project.
80 South Street has seen several plans over the course of the last decade, with an initial scheme designed by Santiago Calatrava falling through during the recession; over the past two years, Morali Architects has taken the helm of the tower’s design aspect, and the most recent iteration was to stand 1,018′ to its pinnacle.
Despite the apparent progress on the Morali plan, it appears that SHoP may be taking over at 80 South Street. The firm will soon have several projects on both the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines, with a 1,350′ tower at 111 West 57th Street set to become one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Whether SHoP is involved at all with 80 South Street remains to be seen, but given the firm’s previous work with Hughes on mixed-use projects, the speculation is justified.
The Howard Hughes Corporation has dished out $100 million for 80 South Street, a site just south of its planned (and controversial) Seaport tower.
The parcel, currently a five-story walkup, will likely be turned into another skyscraper. Queens developer Cord Meyer had previously secured the City Planning Commission’s approval of a 300,000-s/f hotel and residential tower designed by Morali Architects. Meyer later decided to sell the proposal and the site to Howard Hughes. The deal has now closed, according to property records.
Development of the 8,128-s/f parcel has been discussed for years. Frank Sciame had initially designed a tower with 10 townhome cubes for the site, but the project was shuttered during the recession.
With the purchase, Howard Hughes has cemented its position as of the dominant landlords around the South Street Seaport. In October, the Texas-based firm bought the 54,000-s/f rental building 85 South Street for $20 million.
While this is extremely exciting news, I’ve come to expect nothing until it’s well under construction. I wonder if this would be completed within 5 years?
The building is expected to be 1,436 feet and 113 stories, according to documents filed with the planning commission. The building would contain 441,077 square feet of residential space and 376,707 square feet for hotel, officce or retail use.
A building with a higher roof than 1WTC, I approve. Maybe seeing as we’ve received multiple height increases on Steinway Tower, maybe we could see a few small jumps here as well?
I’m actually stunned. I knew this was going to be a super tall, but damn is this generous. Can’t wait for the renderings. It will add such a dynamic to a portion of the neighborhood that has never had a super tall. The flank facing the East River.
