Page 432 - Demo

BY LIZ KOCHThe face of Downtown Brooklyn will change dramatically in upcoming years. Development projects for the Downtown area are coming off the drawing board and many plans for development are now reaching the stage where their future and the future of Downtown will be decided.Decisions and progress pertaining to these projects are occurring at a rapid rate. From month to month a changing picture of Downtown is unfolding. To chart the progress of these developments, the Phoenix will feature an update on the latest newsworthy events relating to these projects in Brooklyn,inc.A number of projects are already underway. The Pierrepont Office Building is laying its foundation and the construction program in the works at City University%u2019s Technical College already shows the skeleton structure of what will be new classroom space and banquet facilities for the school.Other projects are currently in the process of working through the paperwork necessary for their approval. Atlantic Terminal developer Jonathan Rose continues to negotiate with the City%u2019s Health and Hospital Corporation to be a tenant in his new development. A tentative agreement with HHC has set the initial rent at $16.50 per square foot, down from his initial asking rate of $22.00. He needs to have his private financial commitment in plat* to qualify for a federal Urban Development Action Grant in September. The path of progress for the developments branches out in many directions as developers seek city approval, tenants for the buildings and solutions to environmental concerns.All branches are crucial to the final fruition of the plans and will be here every month.Projects That Are Under ConstructionThe Pierrepont BuildingIs On It 's Way SkywardBehind the wooden fence erected along Pierrepont Street, Clinton Street and Cadman Plaza West, work on the $154 million Pierrepont Office Building has continued unabated since its official groundbreaking in May. The foundation is nearly 50 percent complete for the planned 19-story Haines Lundberg Waehlerdesigned brick and limestone building and work on the steel frame will begin in September.The building, developed by Forest City Pierrepont Associates, is slated for completion in the early months of 1988 and will house as its major tenant the international investment banking firm of Morgan Stanley and Company. The company plans to move approximately 500 workers to the building. Below-ground, a threelevel public parking garage with spaces for 225 cars will be built.Groundbreaking Soon ForRenaissance Plaza ComplexGroundbreaking looms on the horizon for the $15 million Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza hotel and office complex of developer Joshua Muss. Final Board of Estimate approval came in June, giving Muss the green light to begin construction of his project.The mixed-use complex wiil include a 356-room Hilton Hotel, banquet and dining facilities, 538,000 feet of office space and a 700 car garage.The 29-story building is designed by architect William B. Tabler and will be built on what is now the site of Columbus Plaza, between Jay and Adams Streets. Formal announcement of a major tenant for the office complex is expected. Groundbreaking is expected in two or three months.Atrium A %u2019Building As TechWork Plan ContinuesA six-story glass enclosed atrium is the new addition to come to CUNY Tech%u2019s Tillary Street campus this fall, as construction speeds ahead on New York City Technical College%u2019s schedule of construction and renovaUU1I. 111C a lliu m , luc iiiOSi uiatltaiiCnew feature of the work, will connect the Namm and Pearl Buildings on the South Campus. This fall the alreadystanding steel frame will be sheathed in glass.Ground was broken in May 1985 for the college%u2019s $42 million expansion program, which will affect more than 300,000 square feet of the campus. The program was due for completion in early 1988, but college ofA M A A %u00bb 1 1 a %u00ab <4 A. 4- iA* 1V 1 W W V M V | / * V M . V U U f c U l l V M U I V I W U V V ,At that time, the school%u2019s Environmental Control Technology, Automotive Technology, Machine Tool Technology and Architectural Technology Departments will movefrom the school%u2019s M anhattan campus to Brooklyn. A one-story building on the North Campus is slated for completion in October and will house anAutomotive Research Center. The atrium, when complete, will containi ' l n %u00ab %u00ab r r %u00bb r %u00bb m c n a r p a c f t n f w f l n p p r e n t e rand library facilities. On the heels of this project, the college plans to begin work on a new greenhouse on top of the General Building, a plan that is currently in its design stages.DowntowA Design Is Unveiled ForA Livingston Plaza BuddingThe newest development in the downtown area is a proposed $65 million 12-story glass and masonry building that will fill what is now the largely empty block bordered by Smith, Livingston and Schermerhorn Streets and Boerum Place. The building design by the architecture firm o f Jahn/M urphy in M anhattan has just been unveiled and will include 500,000 sq. ft. o f office space and 25,000 sq. ft. o f retail space on the ground floor. An underground at tended parking garage will provide spaces for 225 cars. The project is currently in its environmental impact study stage where its effects on the surrounding area will be considered. The project is being jointly developec by Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation and Starrett Housing Corporation. The joint proposal from the twc. firms was chosen in 1985 by the city o f New York in a competitve bidding process.Atlantic Terminal GetsCloser To Major Lease OKDeveloper Jonathan Rose%u2019s plan for the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA) was passed over in the last round o f awards in June for the Federal U rban Development Action Grants (UDAGs), due to what the Federal Department o f Housing and Urban Development........ ............... ..............................L- iDownto^Several Studies Look A tDowntown's Traffic WoesBrooklyn%u2019s growing air pollution problem, caused by heavy traffic congestion in the Downtown area, has in %u00adspired the City of New York%u2019s traffic planners to consider major changes for the critical Downtown intersections. These measures include building a tunnel beneath Adams Street to funnel traffic headed for the Brooklyn Bridge underground and I creating an exit ram p off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to earn traffic headed through Downtown Brooklyn onto Ashland Place to lighten the burden inflicted on Flatbush Avenue.A comparative study of the environmental impact statements for j Atlantic Terminal, the Renaissance Plaza hotel-office complex and the Pierrepont Office Building shows that the new projects will create additions stress along the Flatbush Avenue and Adams Street corridors. The City%u2019s Public Development Corporation constructed Urbitran Associates last December to explore mitigating measures for the growing problem areas. That firms%u2019s recently completed draft report proposes the tunnel and exii ramp as weii as iane changes for the Adams and Tillary Street intersec tion and turn restrictions for the intersection of Tillary Street and Flatbush Avenue. U rbitran is also exploring the benefits o f banning single car