BY DENNIS LYNCH | Updated Fri., Dec. 9, 3:45 p.m.: Developers revealed their plan for two large mixed-use towers at 260 South St. between Jefferson St. and Frank T. Modica Way on Thurs., Dec. 1. The towers will create more than 1 million square feet of space next to the twin 26-story Lands End II Section 8 housing towers, which developers L+M Development Partners and CIM Group purchased in 2013.
There will be around 1,350 apartments between the new pair of towers, and up to 338 of them will be reserved for low-income and middle-income families through a housing lottery, according to L+M. According to the developers, the percentage of affordable units will be 25 percent, no matter what the final number of total apartments is. L+M also said “some senior housing is anticipated.” The developers also agreed to extend the affordable housing contract for the 490 apartments at Land’s End II for 40 years.
As currently deigned, the new towers are more than twice the height of the existing Land’s End II buildings. They will be 798 feet and 728 feet in height and likely have 69 and 62 floors, respectively, depending on conversations with city planning officials, L+M said. The new skyscrapers will rise in a parking lot next to the existing towers and the developers plan to replace those spots in a new underground parking lot.
The development is one of a handful of giant tower projects already underway or gearing up along South St. Extell was the first to break ground for its 80-story, 815-unit luxury tower just a block south toward the Manhattan Bridge; the building’s superstructure has already soared far above the top of the bridge. And JDS has a 77-story tower planned for a lot between the Extell project and the forthcoming towers at 260 South St.
Some locals have vocally opposed the proliferation of these garganuan towers, which many credit to a 2008 rezoning of the East Village and part of the Lower East Side. Those rezonings stopped high-rise development there, but pushed it to Chinatown and Two Bridges, according to local watchdog groups, including the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side.
The Two Bridges area is what is known as a Large-Scale Residential Development area, which was established more than 30 years ago.
However, this new wave of development will destroy the fabric of the neighborhood, even with their affordable components, according to coalition representative Sarah Ahn.
“Honestly, the community feels it doesn’t matter how many affordable units there are,” she said. “What we’ve seen is there’s no way to preserve affordable and low-income housing when you have luxury development happening in the backyard — it will raise property taxes in this community. You’re going to displace thousands to get those hundreds of units. Mathematically, it doesn’t make sense.”
Ahn’s group and others want the city to rezone around 100 blocks in Chinatown and the unprotected part of the Lower East Side, as well. A community-led rezoning plan to that effect was presented by the city. But the Department of City Planning rejected that proposal earlier this year, claiming it focused too much on capping new development, and did not further City Hall’s goal of creating and preserving affordable housing. The activists, in turn, at the end of October, called for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s resignation and for the city to adopt the rezoning.
Rents increased in Chinatown and the Lower East Side by 50 percent between 1990 and 2014 — the second-highest increase in the city next to Williamsburg, according to New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. At least 10,000 Chinese residents in Chinatown have been displaced since 2000. The neighborhood’s median income is around $32,500, which means many residents do not qualify for affordable housing under de Blasio’s affordable housing plan, which is based on a percentage of area median income.
Whether locals are supportive of the 260 South St. project or not, Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, said they should get involved in the project and any input sessions the developers hold to further shape the plans.
“You can disagree and oppose it, but that’s not going to get us anywhere when the developer has the right to do this,” Papa said. “So we better spend our time positively by trying to affect how that project will improve our community.”
Architects have not completed the towers’ final design, but the general concept is to create setbacks as the buildings rise “to create some visual interest.” The ground floors will be glass-enclosed and the distance between the towers above it will be no less than 60 feet to allow sunlight to reach the courtyard shared with the Lands End II buildings.
Along with the towers, the development team will expand ground-floor retail on Cherry St. and plan for “new green spaces,” which could include renovating the courtyard, according to preliminary renderings. The open space on the property is “underutilized and dominated by concrete rather than grass and trees,” according to L+M.
“Early plans call for new seating areas, landscaping, separate ADA-compliant play area for toddlers and older kids, spaces for seniors and a lawn for passive and active recreation,” L+M added. The developers will hold two design workshops next year for residents to gather input for the redesign.
The new skyscrapers will be above the 100-year floodplain. The developers also plan to build a flood-mitigation system to protect Lands End II, and have investigated “a network of earthen berms, flood walls and temporary flood protection gates.”
The 260 South St. developers, the JDS group and Starrett Corporation — which is planning a 60-story tower on South St. near Clinton St. — will present their plans to the public on Thurs., Dec. 15, at Gouverneur Health, 227 Madison St. at 6:30 pm.
L+M expects to begin construction in 2018 and complete the 260 South St. towers by 2021.
