In what is described as a first step toward rezoning Midtown East to spur office construction, Mayor de Blasio is moving to open five blocks that face Grand Central to mega-tower construction. He’s on the right track, but his plan needs refinement.
To his credit, de Blasio picked up where former Mayor Bloomberg left off when the City Council shot down a Bloomberg proposal to unlock commercial development in the area bounded by 39th and 57th Sts. and from Third to Fifth Aves.
Rather than rework zoning in the whole district at once — a step sure to face substantial opposition — city Planning Commission chief Carl Weisbrod said the administration would enable builders to erect super-tall towers along Vanderbilt Ave., from 42nd St. to 47th St., in return for also investing in improvements to mass transit and the outdoor environment in the neighborhood.
Practically speaking, de Blasio is giving the go-ahead to a single developer, SL Green Realty, which has been eager to break ground for a 1,200-foot-tall tower at the corner of Vanderbilt and 42nd. In exchange for the right to go that high — higher than the Chrysler Building — the firm has committed to pay for upgrades that will ease getting into, out of and around Grand Central.
Here’s where de Blasio has to tighten the nuts and bolts. Task one will be to determine more precisely how much money a developer will have to pay for greater building rights.
Under Bloomberg, SL Green put the figure for its project at up to $ 200 million in public improvements. In his press release, de Blasio put the figure at more than $ 100 million. Later, SL Green said the correct amount was almost $ 200 million.
Hard numbers will be key to evaluating whether the public is getting its money’s worth from SL Green, as well as from future developers.
Weisbrod said the administration will now move on to producing a plan for rezoning the rest of Midtown East so as to maintain the area’s status as the city’s prime business district. Better late than never, as long as the scheme is drawn to spark development and adequately finance public improvements.
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