Hell's Kitchen

Hell's Kitchen

Stephen B. Jacobs Group's 328 West 38th Street Aims for LEED Silver

Mon

Jul

When completed this coming fall, Stephen B. Jacobs Group's 328 West 38th Street will offer 568 rental residential units, 120 of which will be set aside as affordable housing. The $400 million, 24-story project includes two separate towers that will each feature a 4700-square-foot green roof, as well as graywater collection systems.

What's particularly interesting is that the architect sought- and received- a zoning variance that allowed it to recess the 38th and 37th Street entrances from the rest of the building's frontage in order to incorporate natural landscaping. Those entrances include high-performance glazing which will, in part, support the project's application for a LEED Silver rating from USGBC. Each tower is constructed with poured-in-place concrete; limestone clads the street-level base, which will offer 11,000 square feet of retail space. The project team also includes Rosenwasser Grossman Consulting Engineers and interior designers Saladino Group and Stratford Design Group.

459 West 44th Street: Luxury Green Condos Hit Hell's Kitchen

Tue

May

by Stephen Del Percio

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Located between 9th and 10th Avenues in Hell's Kitchen, 459 West 44th Street is a green condominium conversion that offers three duplex units starting just north of $2 million apiece. It's a much higher price point than many of the boutique green condominium projects that we've been following here at gbNYC, but developer Van Velle recently profiled the project in Businesweek and provided some interesting thoughts about the role of green design features in the current real estate climate. "We recognized that, in a declining real estate market, the demand would be for value- for homes built to last," Mr. Velle said. "That's why we decided to go sustainable. We scrapped the previous plan, which sacrificed quality for quantity, and instead proposed three luxury condos constructed with sustainable products and efficient technology." Calling it a swap of quantity for quality, Mr. Velle purchased the property from a contractor that had abandoned a prior project in the middle of demolition operations at the four-story structure.

American Apparel Bringing Green Retail to Hell's Kitchen

Tue

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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As Racked reports that American Apparel is close to opening its twentieth store in New York City, we'll note that the retailer's Hell's Kitchen outlet is currently in pursuit of an unspecified level of LEED for Commercial Interiors certification. The store at 610 9th Avenue will soon by joined by other iterations at 429 Broadway (Broadway and Howard) and 2103 Broadway (at 73rd Street). No word on whether the retailer's 19 other New York City area outlets will also implement sustainable features or pursue a LEED rating.

How Sweet It Is: Ogilvy, Gensler to Make Green at Auerbach Chocolate Factory on 11th Avenue

Fri

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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Hudson Yards won’t be the only development on the far West Side of Manhattan to incorporate sustainable design principles. After recently inking a long-term lease for the entire property, Ogilvy New York has retained Gensler to redesign the Hakimian Organization’s 11-story, 554,800-square foot 636 11th Avenue, which sits between 46th and 47th Streets, to LEED specifications. Built in 1913, the property is the former home of the Auerbach Chocolate Factory, and features high ceilings, Hudson River views, a courtyard, and rooftop space that Gensler will turn into a garden. It’s too early to report details on specific green features or LEED certification efforts, but Gunther Schumacher, Ogilvy’s chief business operations officer, stated that “[s]ustainability is a key priority for Ogilvy.