By Matt Chaban 9/21/12 5:51pm

Dizzying Designs

8 Photos

Starchitect Switcheroo

Starchitect Switcheroo! Will the Upper West Side Get Any Pritzker-Worthy Buildings at Riverside Center?

Has the Upper West Side fallen for an eight-acre bait and switch?

At least one and possibly all five towers at the massive Riverside Center development will not be the work of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc. The French designer helped Extell Development and the Carlyle Group sell their swank plans‘ to the community and the City Planning Commission. The latter was so taken with the crystalline designs of Mr. de Portzamparc, who also designed the LVMH headquarters and Extell’s One57 tower, that restrictive zoning covenants were set to ensure the buildings would look as promised.

But now, Extell and Carlyle have turned over one of their tower sites to the Dermot Company, which has hired local firm SLCE to design the apartment building on the West End Avenue section of the site. While Dermot insists its project will be up to the standards promised during last year’s public review process, some, including the exacting City Planning chair Amanda Burden, worry the design doppelgangers will lead to lesser work. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/16/12 10:42am

Under Development

The entrance to the new tower. (DNAinfo)

Upper Best Side: A New Look and Some Affordable Housing for the First Tower at Riverside South

We already know that the DMZ between the Upper West Side and Hell’s Kitchen (call it Lower West End Avenue?) is a happening spot, with the Walentases, the Dursts, the Elghanyans, basically everybody building a slick new project over there. The biggest, of course, is Riverside Center, Gary Barnett’s massive reimagining of the final plots of the Riverside South complex.

Earlier this week, Extell returned to the local community board with plans for affordable housing in the project, according to DNAinfo, and therein he revealed the latest detailed designs for the Christian de Portzamparc-created project. Read More

By Eliot Brown 9/01/10 3:10pm

Stringer Gives Extell Thumbs Down on Riverside Center

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer yesterday delivered his official thoughts on the planned Riverside Center housing development on the Upper West Side, recommending against the proposed 2,500-apartment project (with conditions).

The development is the last piece of Riverside South, the giant string of apartment towers along the West Side Highway that were started by Donald Read More

By admin 7/23/10 1:09pm

Community Board Approves Its Disapproval of Riverside Center

Step one of Riverside Center’s public review is complete.

After four hours of debate in a special meeting devoted entirely to Extell’s 8-acre project, Community Board 7 on Thursday night finalized its own recommendation for the final frontier of the Upper West Side.

More technically, the board voted 36 to 2 Read More