Industry News
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Brooklyn Academy of Music Expands and Unifies Campus
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) recently announced a $25 million expansion project that will join three of its previously disconnected campus locations and create a visual art space as well. The project plan is to connect the BAM Harvey Theatre and the residential building at 230 Ashland Place with a structure bridging the gap between them, complete with a café and a terrace to display public art work as a part of BAM's Public Art Initiative. The Project, dubbed BAM Strong, is being overseen by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, LLP.
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NYC Undergoes Biggest Building Boom since 1963
Residential Building Permits are being issued at the highest rate in a generation, with developers receiving over 42,000 in the first six months of 2015. The increase in permits is motivated by the June 15th Property Tax Abatement that was scheduled to expire.
Experts predict that construction spending this year will increase from last year's $36 billion, a 26% increase from 2013. However, just because new permits are issued does not necessarily mean more housing, experts warn, citing the 2008 uptick in permits followed by the inability to complete projects due to the financial crisis. Yet, with the city's need for housing and the current economic climate, it looks like the only way to go is up, by building skyscrapers that is.
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New 1,000 foot skyscraper in the works in Brooklyn
Brooklyn's first mega-skyscraper, a residential tower near Barclay's Center, is going to dwarf the rest of the downtown Brooklyn skyline at a height over 1,000 feet. Developers recently bought the historic Dime Savings Bank of New York in downtown Brooklyn for $90 million, and with the 150-year-old historically landmarked bank comes 300,000 square feet of air rights slated for the skyscraper. The tower will be home to luxury condos with retail space.
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Jersey City's Labor Rules for Tax-Abated Projects Survive
The New Jersey chapter of the contractor's advocacy group Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC-NJ) challenged labor agreement requirements that Jersey City attached to its tax abatements, bringing a suit to the city last August. ABC-NJ, which represents nonunion contractors, argued that its members do not have established relationships with collective bargaining organizations, lack experience executing project labor agreements and can't accurately bid on projects without knowing labor costs that must be established through project labor agreement negotiations. U.S District Judge Wigentin dismissed the suit last week on the grounds that the group's federal preemption and constitutional claims could not shake the city Ordinance and that she found no deprivation of rights.
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Macy's Altering the Face of Brooklyn
Macy's has just announced that it will be reducing and revamping its downtown Brooklyn property, which has major implications in altering the face of Brooklyn. The area has recently been undergoing massive transformations and redevelopments to improve the mostly
mid-1900's construction that currently exists. Macy's will be remodeling the basement and first five floors for itself, while selling the top five floors, air above and garage across for $170 million to real-estate developer Tishman Speyer. The fact that Tishman, the owner and operator of Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building, is investing in this project exemplifies the desirability of this site's marketplace. With a new influx of national retailers and residential and commercial projects, this location is the epicenter of a rapidly changing shopping district. Macy's new and emerging renovation plans will catch up with the area's development changes and have a direct impact in altering the face of the neighborhood.
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