Washington Heights

[infoshare]

Question, for Roldan - or anyone who knows. In this photo set there is a 'Terrace Structure' - just stunning with greek/doric columns - that I had discovered while walking along a narrow pedestrian path that runs along side the Henry Hudson Parkway. Question: is this Terrace located in WaHi, or is it some other neighborhood - possibly Inwood.

p.s. - The photo of the terrace is in the Thumbnail box at the bottom. Ivy covered doric columns, overlooking NJ and the Hudson River: it will be easy to spot.

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showth...l=1#post136205
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showth...l=1#post118054

[RoldanTTLB]

It's complicated. I say it is Washington heights. The structure with the columns is just off the Hudson river path. The even more awesome gothic structure I don't see in these photos is just north of here. Historically, Washington heights is 155th st to 200th st (Dyckman). As the area I live in (181st-Dyckman and west of broadway) has gentrified, brokers have started referring to it as Hudson heights. I don't favor the name. In any event, ft tryon park, where all of this is located, was designed by the same team that did central park. It's really rather incredible. I should have photos around, but I'm out of town, so I'll post them next week if I can find them.

[infoshare]

It's complicated. I say it is Washington heights. The structure with the columns is just off the Hudson river path. The even more awesome gothic structure I don't see in these photos is just north of here. Historically, Washington heights is 155th st to 200th st (Dyckman).

Thanks. I will check on a map to see if the terrace is actually sited below 200th Street (I am sure it is above 155th) if so, I will assume it is Washington Heights. I was not sure if the photos I took of that terrace should be posted in this 'Washington Heights' thread; so thanks again for the assist.

Also, as side note, there is a similar type of terrace overlooking the Hudson River a few miles south; it is part of the Grants Tomb Monument, it has been recently restored and they are currently doing the new landscaping around it perimeter. Come to think of it, the one in WaHi is beginning to show the ravages of time and could use a little 'restoring' as well.

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showth...l=1#post217571

[RoldanTTLB]

Your photos are of here:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ci...n=0,0&t=h&z=18

This is the other (maybe cooler one):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...02822&t=h&z=19

Both are in the Heights.

[infoshare]

Your photos are of here:

Both are in the Heights.

Thanks, that link you posted refers to this place a being 'inspiration point' - a quick search came up with a few nice photos.

If/when I ever get a chance to organize a wny meetup to tour WaHi - this would be a great place to meet the group.


Enjoy the photos I found on google - under search term 'inspiration point'.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/4377545332/
http://flickriver.com/photos/jag9889/4425098804/

[Merry]

Four Proposed Skyscrapers in WaHi Could Alter City's Skyline

Quadriad Realty Partners could significantly change the skyline with four skyscrapers in Washington Heights.

By Carla Zanoni

A rendering of the proposed cluster of mixed-use buildings. (Quadriad Realty Partners)

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Upper Manhattan skyline could get a dramatic makeover under a new proposal to add four skyscrapers to Washington Heights, which would dwarf existing buildings in the area.

Quadriad Realty Partners, a private New York-based real estate developer with developments in Queens and Brooklyn, is in the preliminary stages of planning four new mixed-use buildings on Broadway, near 190th Street, in Washington Heights.

The developer — who mistakenly calls the proposed location "Inwood" on its website — describes the project on their website as a mixture of affordable housing for middle class New Yorkers, along with space for retail and parking.

The high-rises would stand between 23 and 42 stories in height, which while shorter than many Midtown skyscrapers, is significantly taller than most existing buildings in Washington Heights. The average building in the neighborhood stands six stories tall, locals said during a Community Board committee meeting in the fall.

The proposed construction site at 190th Street and Broadway is also located near the highest geographical point in Manhattan, giving any skyscraper built there additional heft in the city skyline.


Rendering of proposed plan, which proposes
to add four buildings - 23, 33, 39 and 42 stories high -
to the 190th Street and Broadway area.
(Quadriad Realty Partners)

The proposed plan is similar to two projects in Astoria, Queens, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which have moved forward despite some concerns voiced by residents about placing the massive developments in architecturally low-lying areas.

Quadriad aims to build housing for "the vast bulk of the city's civil service, police personnel...successive waves of immigrants, and new graduates and young workers," according to their website.

One of the group’s proposed mixed-use developments would include 198 units of affordable housing and 454 units of apartments at standard market rates, according to Ebenezer Smith, district manager for CB12.

That version will require an approved Uniform Land Use Review procedure application, commonly known as ULURP, from the Department of City Planning in order to receive a zoning modification necessary for the development.

Community Board 12 will get a chance to weigh in on that application after Quadriad makes a formal presentation and participates in a community public hearing, Smith said.

In the case it does not get approval for zoning variances through the ULURP process, Quadriad has also planned an alternative project for development that would include no affordable housing and only 216 standard rate apartments.

The developer says on its website that the development will be built without the use of city funds, but does not elaborate on where the funding will come from.

Quadriad did not respond to calls for comment.

Depending on which plan they move forward with, Quadriad's development might also include the renovation of the 191st Street 1 train station entrance, a complicated station that includes a three-block-long pedestrian tunnel from Broadway to the train and a long elevator ride up from the 180-foot-below subway station.

The preliminary plan also includes the beautification of nearby Gorman Park and the development of new green spaces within the complex and immediate area, reported the Manhattan Times.

The next step for Quadriad will be to present its plan to the Department of City Planning.

http://www.dnainfo.com/20110112/wash...#ixzz1AtJ8PnRm

[lofter1]

I find it amazing that the article fails to mention that the Chairman of Quadriad is Herman Badillo, former NY Politician (Bronx Borough President, Deputy Mayor, US Congressional Representative, Chairman of the State of New York Mortgage Agency).

Quadriad Realty Partners website

Team

Quadriad Realty Partners initiates each development, directs the acquisition and design inception stages, including community relationships, directs the government approval processes, and organizes the construction pricing and financing with each project's ultimate institutional partner. Quadriad has been formed as a comprehensive entity, its partners encompassing the key structural roles of (a) project conception and site selection, (b) design management, (c) finance, (d) construction management, and (e) government relations. A Quadriad partner assumes appropriate responsibility for each task area. Key to the Quadriad conception is a newly crafted private-public relationship, defined in ways suited to 21st-century New York needs within the New-strategy framework of private finance.

Herman Badillo, Chairman
Henry Wollman, President and CEO
Charles Lauster, Chief Operating Officer
Evelyn Kalka, Director of Planning and Design
Petr Vancura, Director of Development

***

This 2006 Village Voice article notes a Quadriad plan for Williamsburg (never realized):

Fear of Heights

Skyscrapers, fronted by tantalizing promises, set to invade Williamsburg's interior

... Williamsburgh Square—a proposal to transform a block of small factory buildings in North Williamsburg into the site of four skyscraping residential towers.

The idea comes from Quadriad Realty Partners, an entity formed last year with some big players on its bench. At the top is Henry Wollman, the head of the Newman Institute, a real estate think tank at Baruch College that has advised city officials on how to restructure the city's zoning. Also on board is Maurice Regan (whose construction firm recently finished a new headquarters for the mayor's Bloomberg LP) and Brooklyn real estate figure William Ross. The prestigious financiers at Ackman-Ziff are on hand to line up investors. And Herman Badillo, the Latino political pioneer who moves in top Republican circles, is also on the team ...

[Stroika]

WOW. That reeks of more shadiness than a weeping willow. Has any newspaper/publication followed the post-politics career of this Badillo? Sounds like there'd be plenty to write about...

[RoldanTTLB]

This will, emphatically, NOT change the skyline of Wash Heights. These are at the low point of the valley broadway runs through. The tops of these buildings will barely poke out over the top of the buildings on top of the hills. This would dramatically change this spot in the neighborhood. Incidentally, this is right by the only major new development already, and across the street from Locksmith, which is a FANTASTIC wine/burger bar.

[Merry]

Developer Gets Serious About New Washington Heights Towers

January 26, 2011, by Joey Arak

We didn't take developer Quadriad Realty Partners' proposal to build four apartment towers way taller than anything else Washington Heights has seen too seriously, but the company president's pit stop at the Manhattan Times has us starting to believe. If not in the four-tower plan (which would include 454 market-rate apartments and 198 reserved for affordable housing), then in Quadriad's alternate two-tower idea, which would result in 22-story and 28-story buildings staring each other down across Broadway at 190th Street. Developers have tried to build big in the upper reaches of Manhattan before, so what makes this situation different? This time around, the suits say they have the money to get it done.

Quadriad says they have the financing in place to proceed with either plan, but they want the supersized version. The company hopes that the promise of affordable housing and a rehabilitated Gorman Park will entice officials into granting the zoning variances needed for the Quariad quadruplets, but it might be an uphill climb. The affordable housing would still price out most locals because it would be for households earning 60 percent to 180 percent of the city's median income, and WaHI household incomes tend to be lower. The two-tower plan would be as-of-right and all market-rate, and here's how that version (in orange) stacks up to the foursome. The site has good subway access, but can Washington Heights handle 450 fancy new apartments?


More details on skyscraper project emerge [Manhattan Times]
Look, Up in the Sky, It's Washington Heights! [Curbed]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/0...owers.php#more

[Snackbar21]

Before they proceed with this development, can't they get the tower at 184th & overlook back on track?
http://www.newyorkshortsaleexperts.c...osure-process/

[Merry]

Washington Heights Moves Closer to Town Square

A final design draft for the Plaza de las Americas will be unveiled in March, after years of community presentations.

By Carla Zanoni




The plaza sits to the south of the United Palace Theater.

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Upper Manhattan is one step closer to getting its own town square.

After meeting with residents last week to discuss the future of the outdoor pedestrian Plaza de las Americas, the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) plans to present a final draft of its design during a March community board meeting.

The DDC unveiled its preliminary design draft last week, laying out plans for amenities such as permanent benches and bistro-style seating, decorative pavements, public toilets, an information kiosk and drinking fountains. An artist’s work will also be featured prominently in the plaza.

Once the design is finalized and approved by this fall, construction should begin in the spring, to be completed by spring 2013.

Some changes to the final design may be made before the presentation scheduled for CB12’s Traffic and Transportation committee meeting in March, in order to incorporate further input shared during a Jan. 31 community meeting.

Talks about the outdoor market that sits beside the United Palace Theater on a one-block stretch of West 175th Street, between Broadway and Wadsworth Avenue, have been going on for more than a year.

Although the plaza was created in 1994 to alleviate some of the vending congestion that consumed West 181st Street, many residents and business owners say it has become a poorly-organized space for vendors rather than an inviting community square.

The Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation (WHIDC), a nonprofit that manages the plaza and its vendors, has been working with the DDC since 2009 to find a way to make the space more of a "town square."

Last year the plaza was selected to be part of the Department of Transportation’s "Public Plazas" program, which endeavors to create open community spaces for residents to enjoy, within a 10-minute walk from their homes. The plaza's design was the subject of an initial public discussion in September 2009.

CB12 chair Pamela Palanque-North said she was excited by the prospect of having a cohesive meeting place in Washington Heights.

"CB12 is anticipating a true enhancement to this district, when the Plaza de las Americas is inaugurated," she wrote in an email. "The Community Board has invested considerable time to make sure that the residents of our district have had the opportunity to provide their ideas as per the design, functioning and the art work to be installed at the Plaza."

http://www.dnainfo.com/20110207/wash...#ixzz1DKCa6Bhw

[RoldanTTLB]

What a beautiful day! Went for a walk with the wife and managed to get a photo of every new residential building north of 166th St and south of, let's say 196th. For reference, new means built in the past 3 years or under construction. Also, there are only 4 non-residential buildings new in that time (to my knowledge). Two are at Columbia and the other is at Yeshiva. And the final is an unfinished hotel on 181st. Anyway, here they are. If you have questions about any of them, let me know:

[infoshare]

What a beautiful day! Went for a walk with the wife and managed to get a photo of every new residential building north of 166th St and south of, let's say 196th.

This is a great set of photos. Thanks for keeping this thread updated with those much needed member photos.

The small windows on this one is not typical for new construction, seems like a lost opportunity to me; good light (and views) are the foremost 'selling point' for Manhattan residential condos - but those inset terraces are a nice feature.

Also, here is a link to my Facebook page: hope to see you there.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000350363188

[Derek2k3]

Cool. Nice job.
Too bad most of the new buildings uptown look so interchangeable and cookie-cutter.
But then again the pre-war buildings are rather uniform and blah to too. I wonder what people will think of these new buildings 80 years from now.