The Epic - 125 West 31st Street - Rental - by FX Fowle / SLCE

[Derek2k3]

Since the thread was deleted...

West 31st Street Residential Tower
btw 31st & 32nd and Seventh Avenue and Broadway
~50 stories
Fox & Fowle/SLCE Architects
Proposed 2003-2005


The buildings have or are still being demolished. You can't see it from the ESB cam because some metal bar is blocking the view...how lucky


The green steepled church is what the development is taking the air rights from.

NY Post...

FRIARS BUILDING ROOMS WITH A DOWNTOWN VIEW

By LOIS WEISS

October 2, 2002 -- THE Franciscan order to which the late Father Mychal Judge belonged is getting a new stairway to heaven in the shape of an environmentally friendly residential tower.

The Franciscan Friars who founded and staff the St. Francis of Assisi parish have anointed the team of Sidney Fetner & Associates and the Durst Organization to develop an approximately 50-story project on their land, located mid-block between 31st and 32nd Streets and Seventh Avenue and Broadway.

While the petite Italianate-style church and an adjacent school building will continue to grace the block, most of the nondescript outbuildings will be torn down. The permitted zoning will give the soaring project glorious, mostly unobstructed views of Lower Manhattan.

Hal Fetner, president of the firm founded by his late grandfather, said a slender tower is being designed jointly by local architects Fox & Fowle and Schuman Lichtenstein Claman Efron.

The developers and architects envision several setbacks leading to a noteworthy crown. "But [the top] won't be lighted as that would waste energy," said Fetner, who is being presented with the Annual Real Estate Tree of Life Award by the Jewish National Fund on Thursday night at the Pierre Hotel.

The SLCE architects are also working with the friars to design their interior spaces, including a new 31st Street entrance, and the entire second- and third-floor living quarters and communal spaces.

"The existing friary will be converted to offices and the splendor of the church will not be altered," said James Davidson, the SLCE partner in charge of the project. "The apartments are being designed to take advantage of maximum glass areas for views, and building amenities will be consistent with other upscale residential rentals."

Twenty percent of the roughly 500 apartments in the project will have affordable rents.

Bob Fox, a partner with Fox & Fowle, said the design of the building's lower portions would be kept in scale with the streetscape through the use of materials, textures and "façade modulation" to reflect the interior uses.

"At the same time, there has to be a dignified and separate entry to the building for the residential tenants," Fox said.

Fox praised Fetner for his commitment to installing environmentally sensitive - but more expensive - design elements in the middle of Manhattan. Fox & Fowle created the city's first "green" office tower at 4 Times Square for the Dursts. Experts say the higher up-front cost of green design pays back in lower costs for long-term owners and better health and productivity for occupants.

"The environment has been very important to us," agreed Father John O'Connor, director of real estate for the Holy Name Provence, which staffs the ministry of St. Francis of Assisi for the archdiocese. "For us, this is an investment in the city of New York and the ongoing ministry we have in the city."

The Friars chose the Fetner/Durst team as partners in the project in part because of their long-term ownership vision, and their commitment to affordable units and green design. No financial data is being made public.




Wednesday, October 02, 2002

http://www.cityfeet.com/news/default.asp?lCityID=1

FETNER DURST DEVELOP
Sidney Fetner & Associates and the Durst Organization have been chosen to be the joint venture partners of the St. Francis of Assisi Parish to construct a new, 50-story, 500-unit green residential tower of 500,000 sf in the middle of the block bounded by 31st and 32nd Streets, Seventh Avenue and Broadway. Schuman Lichtenstein Claman Efron and Fox & Fowle will be the co-architects. While the church itself and its school to the west will remain, most of its other low rise buildings will be demolished. The friars and other ministry functions will move to new locations while the development is underway and will return to their own space in the new tower upon completion, likely in 2005. The as-of-right development is using air rights from church property. The church, which was the home of the late-Father Mycal Judge, sits across from Engine 1 Ladder 24. The church chose Hal Fetner and Douglas Durst to oversee the project because of their commitment to affordable housing, environmentally focused development and long-term family ownership focus. Vornado was among the losing bidders.


There is also a huge site a block away that is preparing for construction.


(Edited by Derek2k3 at 2:06 pm on June 5, 2003)

[ASchwarz]

Derek, thanks for restoring this thread.

Where exactly is this second large development site?

[Derek2k3]

those pictures expired fast..
The site is between fifth and broadway and 31st and 30th.

[DominicanoNYC]

Hmm... Any renderings?

[Derek2k3]

I found out a 50 foot Con-Ed substation is being built on that huge site.

slightly shorter than what i expected..

[Derek2k3]

Renderer Sean Daly has updated his portfolio in NYSR and *has renderings of 2 new projects. One is a decent 30 story residential tower in Chelsea and the other is a very nice 6 story building in Tribeca I think.
\http://nysr.com/nysr/catalog.cfm?des...mp;itemid=1922

Also here is some unknown tower rendered by Paul Maguire.
\http://nysr.com/nysr/supportdata/maguire1.html

(Edited by Derek2k3 at 2:02 pm on July 28, 2003)

[Gulcrapek]

The Maguire one looks like a KPF proposal from the 80s I saw for that area.

BTW, the Con Ed substation is being built on a part of the site. From ESBcam, it's obvious that there are two sections.

[NoyokA]

Project Image & Description:



Project Description: The 21,979 s.f. project site is a thru block, running from 31st Street to 32nd Street located midblock between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue. West of the site is a lot containing the existing Church of Saint Francis of Assisi with the churches' existing 4 story rectory abutting the project site. Purchase of air rights from the Archdiocese, plus allotment of a portion of the projects’ program requirements to new facilities for Saint Francis of Assisi, contributes to the 574,000 gross s.f. building. This includes a 5 story base continuous from 31st Street to 32nd Street with a tower set back approximately 85 feet from 31st Street and 48 feet from 32nd Street. The orientation and setbacks satisfy code and zoning requirements and maximize views, light and air. In addition to the new 41,465 gross s.f. facility for Saint Francis of Assisi, the building will provide 77,700 gross s.f. for The American Cancer Society, a 426,440 gross s.f. rental apartment tower, a 4,985 gross s.f. commercial establishment and a 23,512 gross s.f. parking garage. Saint Francis of Assisi will occupy all of the 5 story base, except for a 35 foot wide strip containing the 2 story high residential lobby at the eastern most portion, of the 31st Street side of the St. Francis of Assisi building. The facility for Saint Francis of Assisi provides a separate entry, off 31st Street to a large ground level multipurpose meeting hall for church or community use. Another 31st Street entrance is the access to the Provincialate offices on the second floor. The 4th and 5th floor are sleeping/living quarters for the friars with their dining recreation/library and chapel spaces on the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor roof of the adjacent residential lobby provides a roof garden for the adjacent dining and recreation space and the roof of the 5th floor is the roof garden accessible to the Residential Amenities on the 6th Floor. The American Cancer Society occupies the buildings’ 5-story base off of 32nd Street and floors 7 through 11 of the tower. Offices for the new Headquarters of The American Cancer Society will be on floors 2, 3 and 4 of the 32nd Street side of the base. Residential spaces for adult cancer patients and their caregivers who travel to New York City for the patients' treatment will be on floors 7 through 11. Each of the 5 floors has 12 sleeping units, a communal kitchen and dining area, laundry facilities and a lounge. Each of the sleeping units has a sitting area, sleeping area and a private bathroom. The 5th floor of the base has accessory spaces for the 7th through 11th floor residential spaces including lounge, library, game room and chapel. The ground level, off of 32nd Street, has three functions. The American Cancer Society occupies the western most portion. A ramp leading to the cellar and sub cellar parking garage and the residential service elevator access is at the eastern most portion. A Retail space is in the middle. There are two roof garden setbacks at the 32nd Street base. One occurs at the 5th floor, off of the Lounge for the cancer patients and the other is at the 6th floor off of the Residential Amenities. The residential rental apartments are on floors 13 through 57 of the tower. They consist of 451 apartments consisting of 0, 1 and 2 bedroom units. In addition to the Residential Amenities on the 6th floor, with garden terraces on both the 6th floor roof off of 32nd Street and the 5th floor roof off of 31st Street, Residential Amenities also exist on the 58th Floor with a small terrace. The Amenities on the 6th floor contain a Health Center. The Residential Amenities on the 58th Floor include game room, lounge, conference room and rental office. The residential apartments have access to a bike room in the sub cellar.

Source information and contacts:

https://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/p...ROJECT_ID=2603

[Gulcrapek]

That's a nice surprise... the design is mediocre in my opinion but the height is great.

[Gulcrapek]

I found this there:

https://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/p...ROJECT_ID=2681

[NoyokA]

I found this there:

https://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/p...ROJECT_ID=2681

According to the site Millenium II will have 35 floors.

[PHLguy]

height?

[krulltime]

Neat! I like it. It kind of remind me of the millenium tower in the upper west side. :P

This one is going to look good in such a 'mediocre' area full of old stuff. Sometimes it needs new stuff to make it diverse and interesting IMO.

[TLOZ Link5]

Originally Posted by PHLguy

height?

My guess is at least 650 feet.

[billyblancoNYC]

Whether the design is stellar or not, this will be a huge boost to the area. This block is one that really needs development. The 6th ave boom is about to spread to the sidestreets!