The City Planning Commission approved the sale of air rights from the Hudson River Park Trust to developers who plan to construct a five-building, 1.7 million-square-foot complex across from Pier 40 on the Hudson River.
The Hudson River Park Trust, which manages the park, will sell 200,000 square feet of air rights to developers Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group [TRDataCustom] for $100 million, allowing the developers to move ahead with their proposed redevelopment of St. John’s Terminal at 550 Washington Street. The proceeds of the sale will be used to repair the pilings that keep Pier 40 afloat, Crain’s reported.
The deal still requires the blessing of the City Council, which will decide whether to approve the sale in the coming weeks.
The developers plan to transform the St. John’s Terminal, a three-block long building along the Hudson River, into an office and residential complex with over 1,500 apartments in four buildings, a hotel, and at least of 400,000 square feet of retail space.
A number of relatively small changes were made to the submitted plans in response to concerns from the City Planning Commission and the community. The project will now include a 10,000-square-foot indoor recreation space accessible to the public, and an entrance through the property to the Hudson River Park.
Last month, Crain’s reported that Westbrook was seeking an investment partner who would also help oversee construction of the development. [Crain’s] — Chava Gourarie