Cook + Fox

Late last week, the boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation approved $181.6 million in financing to build and preserve 2060 units of affordable housing throughout New York State. Included in those figures is the Hegeman Residence, a five-story, 161-unit project in the Brownsville section of East Brooklyn that will be developed by Common Ground at 39 Hegeman Avenue. Designed by Cook + Fox Architects, the Hegeman Residence will pursue a LEED Silver rating from USGBC and exclusively offer studios, 61 of which will be set aside for low-income individuals from the surrounding neighborhood (which, incidentally, is one of the poorest in New York City and where a disproportionate number of residents become homeless). The remaining 100 studios will be designated for homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS or mental illness. Sustainable design features at the Hegeman Residence will include a green roof, lighting and motion sensors, and building management, efficient HVAC, and graywater systems.

• Green nightclub called Greenhouse opens up in Chelsea and is seeking LEED certification
• Brooklyn-based Green Depot merges with Chicago-based Greenmaker ; combined company is country's largest green building materials supplier
• More green affordable housing to come from Magnusson Architecture to Cypruss Hills, Brooklyn by 2010
• Pro bono design for first green building in Cambodia (Center for Friends Without a Border in Siem Reap) by New York office of Cook + Fox opens

Hedge fund HBK Investments, which last summer signed on for LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower's 40th floor at $135 per square foot, has officially terminated its commitment for 12,000 square feet of that space. The Dallas-based firm will still retain 24,000 square feet on the 40th floor and the Dursts will now seek to lease the freshly freed space for an incredible $185 per square foot. The only space in the building that remains in addition to HBK's former space is 30,000 square feet on the 37th floor, where the Dursts are asking the same rent; the family will consider partitioning either space into blocks for smaller tenants. According to Eric Engelhardt, one of Durst's vice presidents for leasing, "[t]here is a greater universe of smaller tenants looking for high end space." (To that end, note 510 Madison Avenue, where each full-floor block of space is less than 15,000 square feet and the Macklowes have only signed up one tenant to date after coming close to inking Apple a few weeks ago).