Last week, the City Planning Commission approved a plan to redevelop the Hudson Yards that includes an increase in residential development and an expanded affordable housing program. The plan also calls for 26 million square feet of commercial development and a zoning bonus that would encourage construction of small theaters to revitalize the western portion of 42nd Street.

Record low interest rates, financial institutions offering ease of financing, and financial and tax incentives provided by the city, coupled with other incentives, have resulted in the creation of new residential and commercial office towers within this zone and specifically on 42nd Street.

Early next year, Gary Barnett’s Intell Management and Investment Company, in a joint venture with Carlyle Development of Washington, D.C., plans to offer a choice of one- to three-bedroom condominiums at 350 W. 42nd St. The Orion, a 60-story full-service luxury condominium, is rising between Eighth and Dyre avenues. It’s the first luxury condominium development to be built on West 42nd Street.

The property is directly adjacent to the U.S. Post Office and the land marked McGraw-Hill Building. Mr. Barnett developed the W Hotel in Times Square, is completing the development of a new luxury condominium on East 72nd Street, and owns the Belnord apartments on the Upper West Side.

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City Lumber has been demolished to make way for an affordable housing residential tower to be built at 517-521 W. 42nd St. between Ninth and 10th avenues. A 19-story tower with 72 affordable residential apartments is scheduled for completion in 2006. All of the units will be offered to people earning no more than 50% of the area median income in New York City of $62,800.

This residential development will allow the developer to create inclusionary zoning bonus certificates, which will help to create additional low-income housing. Under the program, for every square foot of low-income housing created in certain areas, the new tower will generate certificates allowing for an additional 4 square feet of air rights for residential buildings within the same community board area.

Adjacent to the Chinese Consulate at 520 12th Ave. at the corner of 42nd Street, the developer of the Morton Square condominium and rental devel opment on Morton and Washington streets, the J.D. Carlisle Development Corporation, plans to begin construction of a 500,000-square-foot residential tower.

Across the street from this new development is Silverstein Properties’ River Place residential rental apartment building. This building, with a total of 921 residential apartments totaling 908,000 square feet, is the single largest apartment building in America. Slated for development in 2005, Silverstein Properties plans to begin construction on Two River Place, the sister building to One River Place. The building will offer 882 residential apartments on West 42nd Street at 11th Avenue.

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The New York Sun has learned that the Related Companies, developer of the Time Warner Center, have acquired one of the largest sites in the area. The site is located on West 41st and West 42nd streets between Dyer and 10th avenues. They plan to construct a 690,000-square-foot mixed-use residential tower, which will include rental and condominium units.

Construction is under way on Eighth Avenue between West 40th and West 41st streets, across from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Forest City Ratner, in a joint venture with ING real estate, is developing a new 52-story, 1.67 million-square-foot office building. The New York Times will own and occupy an 800,000-squarefoot condominium in the building. The newspaper will own 58% of the tower, and Forest City and ING Financial will own 42%.

In 2001, New York City granted the New York Times $26.1 million in tax breaks. The developer had requested $400 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bond financing for the project, but that was denied. GMAC Commercial Mortgage Credit provided a $320 million loan to the developers.

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In 2001, Paul Millstein’s family purchased at auction the site on Eighth Avenue between West 41st and West 42nd streets for $111 million. In October 2002, a ceremonial groundbreaking took place for the proposed tower. Plans have not been announced as to whether the site will be developed as an office or residential tower.

Plans are still up in the air on the status of the proposed 35-story tower on top of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Vornado Realty Trust acquired the air rights above the proposed tower.

Developer Josh Muss, principal of Muss Development Company, told me it took him close to 20 years to begin development of sites he owns in Brooklyn and Queens. It has taken the Durst Organization close to 30 years for the development of the Bank of America Tow er at One Bryant Park on the west side of Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets. In August, the Durst Organization, in partnership with Bank of America, broke ground on the 945-foottall skyscraper. The bank will occupy about half of the 2.2 million-square-foot tower.

The $1.2 billion project will rise adjacent to the Durst Organization’s Conde Nast Building at Four Times Square. Bank of America will be leasing the space for 20 years and is providing construction and permanent financing for the development. Occupancy is expected in 2008. Last February, the New York City Industrial Development Agency approved assistance for the development. Bank of America was approved to receive up to $38.5 million in sales and real estate tax benefits and $3.5 million in energy benefits over 25 years.

This project represented the first use of a federally authorized program to support commercial development in Manhattan following the tragic events of September 11, 2001.The NYC Industrial Development Agency sold $650 million of tax-exempt Liberty bonds to help finance the construction of the tower.

Under the $8 billion Liberty Bond program, up to $2 billion can be earmarked for commercial projects outside the ground zero area of Lower Manhattan, known as the Liberty Zone. The sale of the bond represents the first issuance of Liberty Bonds for that purpose.

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At 505 Fifth Ave., construction is under way by developer Alex Stawski for a 27-story, 295,000-square-foot office tower on the northeast corner of East 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. The building is being built without any anchor tenants and is one of the few speculative towers under construction in Manhattan. The property was owned by a partnership of Lehman Brothers and LCOR, and was sold in June 2002. The total cost anticipated for the project is about $125 million.

Things look bright on the horizon for new office and residential towers. The real question is, once these office building are completed, whether the owner will be able to achieve the $60 to $90 a square foot rents required for the financial success of the project. With regard to residential developments, I concur with Massey Knakal Realty Services Chairman Robert Knakal when he says, “How many people can afford to pay $1,000 per square foot for a condominium in Manhattan.” Prices for condominiums are rising, yet personal incomes are not rising at the same pace.

Mr. Stoler is a television broadcaster and vice president at First American Title Insurance Company of New York. He can be reached at mstoler@nysun.com.