$4B Solow Development Faces Panel Vote
The Bloomberg administration is poised today to clear the way for what would be Manhattan's largest residential development project, on 9 acres of land just south of the United Nations.
The $4 billion plan by developer Sheldon Solow calls for the construction of six large residential towers with about 4,000 apartments, one office tower, and more than 500 public parking spaces.
The city Planning Commission will vote today on the recommendations on zoning changes that could allow the project to move forward, including reductions in height and density and assurances from Mr. Solow that he is committed to including enough affordable housing in his final plan.
A person with knowledge of the review process who declined to speak on the record before the vote said it was "extremely likely that they commission will adopt the recommendations" today but was unsure whether the vote would be unanimous.
Some of the recommendations include lowering the height of a building on the west side of First Avenue to 600 feet from 721 feet, reducing the number of public parking spaces, a provision regarding public access to a park, and reducing the development's floor area ratio, a measurement of building density, to 10 from 12. Much of the negotiations with the Planning Commission has centered on imposing various incentives into the recommendations to push Mr. Solow to include more affordable housing, a source said.
The plan will now move on to the City Council, which must approve the project. Typically in land use issues, the council defers to the opinion of the council member whose district covers the project.
The local council member for the Solow project, Daniel Garodnick, is fighting on behalf of residents who say the project is out of scale for the neighborhood; he said more changes are necessary to win his approval.
"We will be looking to make changes to this plan when it comes to the council, and we hope to be able to develop this neighborhood," Mr. Garodnick said.
"The community has long supported significant development on this site, but the difference between the developer and the community board is mostly of degree," he said. "Height and density issues are major, as is the affordable housing component and new units built on site. Generally, we want this neighborhood to be developed, but done in a responsible way."
After today's vote, the City Council will have 50 days to make proposed changes.
Mr. Solow has already shown a willingness to grant concessions to the community. The proposed height of his buildings have been dropped, and he agreed to leave space for a public school and set aside 600 of the apartments as affordable units.
According to the chairman of the Community Board 6, Charles Buchwald, the residents' concerns are myriad.
"There is unhappiness with it," he said. "It's too big, it's too dense, it destroys a street grid and doesn't leave access to the riverfront, and the affordable housing is not really affordable, or at least the way the community wants it."
