Green Construction

Manhattan-based Stonehill & Taylor Architects are currently working on four different LEED hotel projects in Manhattan, two of which we've written about previously here at gbNYC: The NoMad along Broadway just north of Madison Square Park and the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo. The Broadway Hotel on West 94th Street will be for Hampshire Hotels & Resorts, which also own and operate The Dream, The Night and The Time hotels in Manhattan. Stonehill & Taylor's design will reuse both core and shell of a 95-year-old building and include waste heat reclamation systems, energy-efficient guestrooms with a variety of LED technologies, and occupancy sensors. The hotel's motif is that of a nature conservatory; the firm is aiming for "the feel of an academy of education overtaken by Central Park." The project should result in a four- or five-star hotel property with an unspecified level of LEED certification. Stonehill & Taylor's fourth LEED hotel project - the Fifteenth Street Hotel - is tentatively set for a 2011 opening.

Don't ring the death knell for green luxury condominiums here in Manhattan quite yet; construction is moving forward at 456 West 19th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) in West Chelsea. The 12-story project, designed and developed by Cary Tamarkin's New York City-based Tamarkin Company, will offer 22 duplex residential units across 12 floors ranging in size from 1100 to 3000 square feet. Tamarkin is aiming for an unspecified level of LEED certification; green features will include FSC-certified white oak flooring, multi-zoned air conditioning units, low-VOC paints and sealants, bicycle storage space, indoor air filtration, and low-E glass.

Construction is underway at 575 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope; designed by Midtown-based Amie Gross Architects with consulting services from Steven Winter Associates, the affordable housing development is aiming for a Platinum LEED certification from USGBC. Developer the Fifth Avenue Committee broke ground on the project last August and expects an early 2010 occupancy for 49 residential units and 2000 square feet of ground-level commercial retail space. Each of the units is approximately 300 square feet and set aside for tenants earning less than 60 percent of AMI (around $30,000.00 annually). In terms of the retail space, the developer will give preference to local businesses. The 5-story, $8 million project (obviously) includes a number of green design features, including an efficient, gas-powered HVAC system and recycled-content structural materials. The development is at the corner of 5th Avenue and 16th Street and sits on the site of a former muncipal parking garage. Funding came, in part, from HUD's Supportive Housing Loan Program.

NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square . The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company . Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services. The complex opened today for residents to begin moving in and is named for former New Rochelle mayor Frank Garito, who had pushed during his administration for the redevelopment of New Rochelle’s downtown historic district.