With Newly Revised Seaport Plans, the Tower Tug-of-War Resumes
Rendering of view looking north along walkway toward the restored Tin Building and the lower floors of the proposed residential tower. Shopping mall, to be built on Pier 17, is at right. Rendering: SHoP Architects
The Howard Hughes Corp.’s revised South Street Seaport development proposal announced last month––including a slightly lower tower––failed to satisfy local elected officials and triggered mixed reactions from local residents.
The tower, the most controversial part of the plan, would be reduced from 650 to 494 feet and at its base include a three-story, 71,000-square-foot middle school, which may accommodate yet-to-be-determined community programs, according to the developer.
In addition to the tower, the developer’s revised proposal, which has yet to formally begin a lengthy city review process, includes East River Esplanade improvements, a marina, some below-market housing built on historic Schermerhorn Row, restoration of the historic Tin Building, an infusion of funds to the Seaport Museum, and more.
“I’m pleased to say today that we addressed every single one of the important priorities that they laid out for us in that group,” Hughes Corp. CEO David Weinreb said at a press briefing, referring to a working group of Lower Manhattan civic leaders, elected officials and residents that devised guiding principles for the Seaport’s redevelopment.
“In some cases,” he added, “we were able to accomplish 100 percent of what they wanted, and, in some cases, we were able to partially give them what they wanted.”
Some Seaport advocates argue otherwise, calling the middle school a “carrot” to gain favor with parents. Other neighbors liked the plans, praising the addition of school seats and activities they have brought to the area.
Borough President Gale Brewer, a strong critic of Hughes Corp.’s previous proposal, specifically the tower, said she opposes the revised plans as well. “Building a tower at the South Street Seaport is like building a tower at Colonial Williamsburg,” she said.
Councilwoman Margaret Chin said she can’t support the tower or the overall proposal “in its current form.”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done to make sure this plan truly serves the Seaport community, and we must strongly consider alternatives,” she said.
“The size of the proposed tower remains a concern,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said in a statement, adding that community consensus on the project is “essential.”
Until the Seaport Working Group guidelines are met, State Sen. Daniel Squadron told Community Board 1, “I don’t believe that [the approval process] should move forward.”
In a statement, Weinreb touted “the support of Lower Manhattan families” though just how much support remains unclear.
“They’re probably couching the reason for keeping [the tower height] because, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you a school,’” said Paul Hovitz, co-chair of CB1’s Youth and Education Committee and an outspoken opponent of the tower. “The community board is on record saying that the tower is not a price that we will accept for a school there.”
But some Spruce Street and Peck Slip School parents are speaking out in support of the developer.
Three parents formed a group called Friends of the Seaport to show they are behind the Hughes Corp. plans. They scheduled a meeting for Dec. 1 at the Pine Street School, which they expect about 70 people to attend.
“We’re in support of an overall plan that will elevate the area,” said Broad Street resident Lisa Gorke, whose two children attend the Peck Slip School. In a phone interview Gorke said that she and two other mothers got together to support Hughes Corp. out of frustration that voices like theirs were not being heard.
“A lot of us began to feel that those who opposed the project are really a lot noisier than anyone who supported it had been,” she said.
Aside from the promise of a school, some parents praise the developer for helping to turn the Seaport into a place they say local residents, not just tourists, want to visit.
“Prior to them taking charge of that space, it was kind of a place where you weren’t sure of what it really was,” said Ashley Duncan, whose three children attend the Spruce Street School. “They’ve made a community down there.”
Save Our Seaport, the grassroots group that had been at the forefront of the fight against the proposed tower, remains opposed to it.
“The narrative is pretty clear,” said Michael Kramer, a Seaport Working Group and Save Our Seaport member. Noting that Hughes Corp. claims it needs the tower to pay for improvements to the Seaport, he said, “We want all of that, but why do we have to take a tower?”
“The city is trying to offload costs to a private developer,” he said, “and we have to call the city on this and we have to say that the cost to the neighborhood is long-term if we allow this to happen.”
Weinreb said the tower is as low as it can go and still “deliver the benefits and the infrastructure costs that we proposed.”
Paul Kefer, a member of the Seaport Working Group and Save Our Seaport, credited the developer with putting “a lot of thought into aspects other than the tower,” including its choice of building materials and avoiding big-box retail.
“But then, in my mind, it all fell apart when they still had the tower,” he said.
At a packed-to-capacity meeting sponsored by Save Our Seaport and two other groups, Brewer said that “there are conversations” about relocating the tower, or transferring its air rights, farther from the Seaport Historic District.
Other sites have been mentioned by tower opponents and Weinreb said Hughes Corp. is “not ruling out” transferring the air rights for the tower.
“We’ve been very open to discussing a dialogue,” he said. “We’re completely open to looking at other areas with the recognition that if this building was not built, that it would diminish at some level the vibrancy that we believe the district deserves.”
No viable alternative sites “from an engineering, zoning or commercial perspective” have yet been presented, added Chris Curry, a Howard Hughes senior executive vice president.
“But the point is we haven’t said, ‘No, we’re not going to look at it,’” Weinreb continued. “It just doesn’t exist.”
At two separate CB1 Landmarks Committee meetings and finally at the Landmarks Preservation Commission in January, the developer will publicly present its plans for the Seaport Historic District. (The tower lies outside the district.) No date has been set for the developer to present its mixed-use project, including the tower, to the community board—the first step in a seven-month city approval process.
There are many parts to the Hughes Corp.’s $300 million plan for the Seaport. Here are some of them:
Affordable housing: Sixty to 70 below-market and 150 market-rate apartments are proposed to be built on the historic Schermerhorn Row block. Some of that housing, as well as a relocated Seaport Museum, would go into a new building at John and South streets.
Tin Building: This historic structure would be dismantled and reconstructed, with an additional floor, 30 feet back from its current location, away from the FDR Drive so that there is space to lift it above the floodplain, according to Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects, the principal architect for the plan. A food market would occupy part of the building. The former fish market building would be built with materials and paint that match its original condition, he said.
Street connections: Fulton and Beekman streets would be extended east, beyond the FDR Drive, so “they are tied into the urban fabric where cars will be able to go,” Pasquarelli said. “We feel that one of the critical things is to tie the project into the grid of the city.”
South Street Seaport Museum: Hughes Corp. says it is committing more than $10 million to sustain the struggling museum, which the developer proposed to house in two structures. A building, up to 5,000 square feet, would be added to Pier 16 next to the Peking.
Marina: The plan calls for a marina north of Pier 17 that would mostly be for smaller boats, although there would be space for “a large boat or two,” according to Pasquarelli.
East River Esplanade: Hughes Corp. plans to extend the esplanade through the Seaport to the Brooklyn Bridge, a $53 million project. Currently, the path curves around the FDR viaduct pillars and one lane in each direction is shared by pedestrians and cyclists.
Retail pavilions: Several pavilions will be built beneath the overpass. “That gives you a two-sided retail street and sets off where the esplanade moves right through the project,” Pasquarelli said.
Pier repair: The over 100-year-old wooden piles that support the Tin and Link buildings have been partially eaten away by salt water and must be completely rebuilt, Pasquarelli said.