While the majority of life in New York City has come to a standstill, some development work plows on.
Toll Brothers this week filed an application with the city’s Department of Buildings to construct a 13-story mixed-use building on the Upper West Side. The project, at 2686 Broadway, would sit between West 102nd and West 103rd streets.
The development will span nearly 119,000 square feet and have 73 apartments. About 7,700 square feet is zoned for commercial use, according to the application.
Toll Brothers did not immediately return a request for comment.
Toll Brothers bought the development site, home to the controversial Marrakech Hotel, for $44 million in August 2019 from Hank Fried’s Branic International Realty. The sale put an end to a long-running dispute between the city and Branic over the use of the property as a hotel.
New building applications have appeared to slow as the coronavirus pandemic escalates around the city. Construction has been put on hold at some major sites — including Moynihan Train Hall and LaGuardia Airport — after workers came down with Covid-19. But the state, which is requiring non-essential workplaces to close to prevent the spread of the virus, still considers construction to be “essential.”
Mayor de Blasio during a video message Thursday morning addressed the issue of construction workers still headed to job sites. “I think, in the next 24 hours or so, I hope we’ll get an agreement between the city and state to try and figure out what that rule should be,” he said. “Because obviously things are changing.”
The decision falls to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said Thursday morning, “I think some construction is essential, but it is something that we’re looking at. I understand the point [about workers being at risk] and it sounds right to me.”
A post on Yelp by the former Marrakech manager said the building at 2686 Broadway was built in 1911 and was renovated in 2007 to create the hotel.
Write to Mary Diduch at md@therealdeal.com