February 28th - March 4th, 2011

Downtown’s Residency Continues to Grow

February 28 – CB1 is conducting its own census and according to The Battery Park City Broadsheet Daily, more people have moved into FiDi. The Financial District has experienced a 72 percent growth in housing units from 2000 to 2011 and has ballooned from 8,192 people in 2000 to 26,532 people in 2011. In comparison, the entire CB1 district (Battery Park City, Financial District, Seaport/Civic Center and Tribeca) has grown 57.5 percent, from 34,420 people in 2000 to 59,830 in 2011.

John Street Building Next to Covert into Condos

February 28 – The art deco building at 116 John Street is becoming the area's next condo conversion, according to Curbed.com. The online real estate report says Metro Loft Management and Hacienda International Realty team cleared out the building's office tenants and a tipster reports the scaffolding is up all the way around the building, and after hours demo permits that have been issued for just about every floor above 9. The story says there isn't much to see in the way of construction activity, but plenty of permits for interior demolition have been filed.

Transit Hub Costs Rises

February 28 – The Port Authority added $180 million to the cost of the Santiago Calatrava designed Hub, bringing the cost to about $3.44 billion. The New York Post says the blame is being placed cost of the Hub’s soaring white steel arches, which have doubled to about $221 million because of the addition of extra steel as an anti-terrorism measure.

Midtown Law Firm Considering WTC 7

February 28 – WilmerHale is reportedly negotiating for 200,000 square feet at 7 WTC, this after abruptly ending discussions with Worldwide Plaza last month. Real Estate Weekly reports WilmerHale’s Park Avenue lease is about to expire and a move downtown, brokers say, seems to indicate Lower Manhattan continues to attract commercial tenants who either can’t find space in midtown or can’t afford its rents.

New Construction Reaches $19.5 billion in 2010

February 28 – The New York Building Congress reports a 15% increase in construction of offices, hotels, schools, hospitals, transit stations and power plants last year. Crain’s New York Business said some of the large projects started in 2010 include the WTC transportation hub, which accounts for more than $3 billion in spending, and 3 World Trade Center, which accounts for $1.2 billion. Other projects include the redevelopment of Madison Square Garden, accounting for $850 million, and the construction of the Barclays Arena at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn.

9/11 Family Members Start Petition to Save WTC Sphere

February 28 - The online petition has gathered more than 8,000 signatures in just one week. The Fritz Koenig sculpture once stood on the World Trade Center plaza, but after being damaged on 9/11, it now rests in Battery Park. DNAinfo.com says the sphere has to leave Battery Park soon because of construction and the Port Authority has not yet decided where it will go. Officials at the National Sept 11 Memorial and Museum said they do not want any 9/11 artifacts cluttering the 8-acre memorial plaza, which will have 400 trees and waterfalls in the tower footprints. Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority, said, "We're confident we will find an appropriate place downtown.”

City Signs Lease at Tower 4

February 28 – The New York Post reports the 15-year-lease will be for 582,000 square feet in Tower 4, also known as 150 Greenwich St. The first-year rent will be $56.50 per square foot for a total of $32.9 million annual rent. The deal with Larry Silverstein was negotiated five years ago, when the City tried to get the project moving. After six years, rent will rise to a maximum of $73.21 per square foot, totaling $42.6 million a year.  Over the life of the lease, the city will pay Silverstein $577 million for office space

New School Proposed after Borders Departs

March 1 – Community Board 1 and several local elected officials are calling on the City’s Department of Education (DOE) to consider creating an annex for Millennium High School at 100 Broadway, a 30,000 sq ft building, currently home to Borders Books. The Battery Park City Broadsheet Daily reported Millennium, located on the Upper East Side, is so overcrowded that many of its students being taught in hallways, rather than classrooms.

City DOT has preliminary plans for 9-11 busses

March 1 – Five million visitors a year are expected to pour into Lower Manhattan after the National September 11 Memorial and Museum opens later this year and The New York Times reports the city is eyeing several streets where buses would be allowed to park between pick-ups and drop-offs. Streets in Battery Park City, Warren and Murray Streets in TriBeCa, and condo-heavy Greenwich Street are under consideration. Residents say they’re very concerned about air pollution and traffic congestion.