Crain's New York Business

HDSN, a massive residential development with almost 1,400 homes, a 28-story hotel, and a museum devoted to climate change, is heading to Manhattan's Far West Side. A partnership of BXP, Inc., BRP Companies, The Moinain Group, and Urbane will construct the $1.35 billion project at 418 11th Ave., a state-owned site between West 35th and West 36th streets near the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Thirty percent of the units in the 72-story residential tower will be permanently affordable, with the area median income levels ranging from 60% to 130%, or about $93,000 to $202,000 for a family of four. Construction on HDSN should begin in about 3.5 years, with the residential portion finished first. Identifying state-owned sites for housing has been a major priority for Gov. Kathy Hochul, and this site is one of the last remaining ones the state owns in Manhattan. The city has also been targeting sites it owns for residential projects, announcing that a parking lot currently used by the NYPD in the East Village will become a project that can likely accommodate between 50 and 100 homes. Read more from reporter Eddie Small: https://lnkd.in/gXx32e_D

When I first started covering local news in NYC about 10 years ago, progressives politicians protested almost every major new development over concerns about gentrification and displacement. Now they are some of the city's biggest pro-housing voices. My latest story for Crain's New York Business explores how and why that shift happened. https://lnkd.in/dKDpadCC

The likely king of Times Square’s billboard jungle can be found at the northeast corner of West 47th Street and Seventh Avenue. There, a six-story sign that can be seen as far south as 42nd Street is worth more than $100 million. That eye-catching figure emerged from a foreclosure proceeding playing out in New York state Supreme Court. Developers and lenders asked a judge to determine the value of the billboard, the 452-room hotel it surrounds, plus the retail space underneath. In a previously unreported decision, Judge Joel Cohen determined in August that the hotel at 20 Times Square is worth $311 million, while $546 million is a “fair and reasonable market value” for the billboard and storefront space. The 18,500 square-foot billboard accounts for about a fifth the retail space, which suggests the sign itself is worth $103 million. It may sound like a lot for a billboard, but advertisers pay a premium to stand out in Times Square, where more than 200,000 pedestrians pass through on a typical day and twice that amount at the busiest times, according to the Times Square Alliance. A spokesman said the business group isn’t sure how many billboards are in Times Square but lists 17 operators who rent ad space. The massive 47th Street screen isn’t just Times Square’s biggest, according to court documents, but its images are the sharpest. It has 26.7 million pixels and resolution 16 times higher than high-definition. The billboard was made by Sansi North America Displays, which was picked by Steven Witkoff, a developer tapped to serve in the next Trump administration as Middle East envoy. The billboard appears to have inspired developers to unveil their own cutting-edge billboards on Times Square. Property appraiser Troy Smith testified that a similar sign has risen up near the 47th Street billboard, but it’s not as impressive. “I’ve been told that the resolution is not nearly as high,” he said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/erd-sPNW

The troubled developer appears to be ending the year the same way it started — in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way.

NYC office-to-residential conversions will definitely start 2025 in a better place than they started 2024 thanks to a state tax incentive and the city's recent package of housing reforms. But they will likely still be too expensive for some landlords to take on, and there needs to be a way forward for their buildings, too. Read more in my latest column for Crain's New York Business. https://lnkd.in/ewXn9Fs8

Dr. David Berger is accused of misusing his position, though specific details were not revealed.

Silvera Properties is behind the 12-story residential project slated for the former home of Scores.

He may not be Santa Claus, but Dan Casterella brings as much holiday cheer to the season as Old Saint Nicholas. As the CEO of American Christmas — a Mt. Vernon-based company that procures, designs and installs holiday decorations — Casterella's busy season basically starts in the summer and doesn't end until long after most people have put their trees on the curb. "Remember: What goes up must come down," Casterella said of the twinkling lights and displays. The more than 50-year-old business does about 800 installations each year for roughly 400 clients around the country. Some of its biggest include New York-based real estate firms Tishman Speyer, Vornado and Cushman & Wakefield as well as institutions known for their festive holidays displays, such as Radio City Music Hall, Cartier and Saks Fifth Avenue. Read more from Julianne Cuba: https://lnkd.in/ertxZtDN

The ambitious housing plan survived outer-borough pushback and Eric Adams’ indictment, among other challenges.

The J-51 program may help landlords comply with Local Law 97 and allow co-ops to avoid financial crises by covering up to 70% of the cost of necessary renovations.