What we've been up to this summer!
The 2018 WHF-NY Annual Summer Tour: Thursday, July 19, 2018. The skies were blue, the temperature warm and clear with a light breeze – perfect for touring the first completed buildings of the Essex Crossing project starting at 175 Delancey Street. WHF members and guests saw this property, The Rollins building, and a couple of impressive foundations from the Rollins rooftop, as well as a visual presentation from L & M Development Director Isaac Henerson and L & M Project Manager Jayda Shanks.
The tour was organized by WHF-NY Board Members MyPhuong Chung and Tatiana Pena and was sold out. MyPhoung was involved in the site both as an architect, and as a member of the Community Board. The Community Board had regular meetings with the developer and contributed to neighborhood success including keeping the footprint of the commercial offerings small in size.
Some cool facts: There are a total of 9 sites that make up the project. It includes one million feet of commercial real estate – both office and retail. There are 560 affordable and 530 market rent apartment homes. Of those affordable there is a mix of income requirements, and it includes 100 senior units. There are also market rate and subsidized apartments available for ownership. It is projected to cost a total of $1.5 billion and the full construction process, when finished, is expected to span a decade. L&M has received numerous accolades for bringing in and managing a host of partners and subcontractors.
Retailers who have signed on include Target, Regal Cinemas, and Trader Joe's. The commercial mix also includes NYU Langone, and ICP- the International School of Photography, which is moving its school and museum to Essex Crossing.
Some very New York history – the tenements that made up this area were demolished in 1967 and the empty lots languished for nearly five decades. Among those who have new homes in the project are 30 families that were displaced when the buildings came down.
The Summer Tour is an annual sold-out event, giving WHF members an intimate tour of newly built or recently completed projects. Past tours include the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, a scenic tour of the new Governor’s Island improvements, and a walking tour of several new developments in the new BAM Cultural District in Brooklyn.