Toll Brothers killed their plan to build a new housing complex on the Gowanus Canal two years ago when the U.S. Enviornmental Protection Agency decreed the canal was toxic, despite protests and counter-proposals from the Bloomberg administration. That is why the news earlier this month that the Lighthouse Group was going to develop the site was so surprising. But part of the developer's secret appears to be hundreds more units and renting them rather than selling them.

Curbed got the full details at a community board meeting last night.

The Toll Bros. plan to build 447 market rate condos was seemingly scotched by the designation of the Gowanus canal as a Superfund site. Lightstone's plan calls for a building virtually the same size, but with 560 market rate apartments and 140 affordable housing apartments. There will be retail space along the Bond Street side of the development and community spaces on the canal and 1st Streets. And instead of turning its back on the canal, the Lightstone plan is treating the infamous waterway as a major amenity and includes a waterfront promenade.

Love the slime, don't hate it! And if things do grow foul, just don't renew that lease next year.

Back from the toxic dead.

In 2004, just as Brooklyn was becoming a thing, McMansion developers Toll Brothers set their sites on an unusual location in the middle of the borough: the banks of the Gowanus Canal, one of the most heavily polluted corners of the city. After the public review process concluded, the plan was impeded by an unprecedented obstacle: the EPA announced it was adding the Gowanus canal to its Superfund list. And that’s when the Toll Brothers decided to scrap the plans.

But yesterday, Browstoner revealed a new development in the story, hearing that a rather unknown firm, The Lightstone Group, has intentions to take over the Toll Brothers site and build 700 new apartments there. The group approached district manager Craig Hammerman and now plans to meet with the board in the fall to divulge its plans.

At the time, Mr. Hammerman said the group might be seeking more allowances that would require a second ULURP hearing, but questions abound. “What we’ve heard so far raises a lot of questions,” he conceded. “And right now we have an information vacuum that we can hopefully fill with facts.”

Today, Brownstoner helped clear up some of those questions. The developers will not seek a second ULURP, they plan to develop the site by the constraints already approved for zoning in the Toll Brothers. There will be minor modifications merely requiring a City Planning Commission review.

Based on prior approvals, the height will be 12 stories (at the maximum). The project is expected to begin by the end of next year.

It will take a minimum of 10 years to clean-up the Gowanus Canal and clear it of its Superfund status. However, Lightstone publicity representative Ethan Geto told Brownstoner, the construction schedule “has nothing to do with the timetable of the Gowanus Superfund site.”

Gives a whole new meaning to someone calling your apartment a dump.

Whoa, oh, here she comes. (Elevator View)

Someday soon? (ACdP)

Our pal Elevator View (one of the best photo tweeters/bloggers in town) shot us this photo of new construction fencing going up at 400 Park Avenue South, suggesting that Christian de Portzamparc's long-delayed crystalline apartment building will finally rise there starting this year.

Almost a decade in the works, the project was left for dead in the doldrums of the recession until Toll Brothers and Sam Zell decided to team up this spring to take on the project. According to public records, building permits were approved between April and June, so the 42-story tower, with 363 units, is ready to rise. Neither of the developers were immediately reachable.

We spotted only one penthouse, up on the 40th floor, according to the Schedule A, but there was this one fun tidbit down in the basement: FITNESS CENTER, LAP POOL, YOGA ROOM, KIDS ROOM, LOUNG/CLUB ROOM, THEATRE, GOLF ROOM.

This not only looks like but really is the Fortress of Solitude—it has everything!

Rogers Marvel has slightly updated their design from what they originally unveiled on Toll's behalf in November, but the changes are mostly in the detailing of the building, not its composition. Today's deal does bring with it more details of what is planned, however. The 1 Hotel will rise to 10 stories, stepping down into the five-story apartment building. Additionally, there will be 16,000 square-feet of restaurant space in the complex and the same amount of banquet space, as well as 2,000 square feet of retail, a 6,000 square foot fitness center and 300 parking spaces.

A day after master parks privateer Adrian Benepe has stepped down from running Parks Department, it's revealed that the Pier 1 development will generate nearly $120 million over the course of a 97 year lease, in $3.3 million chunks. On the one hand, the park could not be maintained without this money, on the other, that is a lot more park land that could have been created if these buildings were not being built on them.

Toll and Starwood—can their architects share the site? (BBP)

And then there were two, who might become one.

Next Tuesday, Brooklyn Bridge Park will decide on which of the three teams still vying for the Pier 1 development gets the right to turn the old dockland into hundreds of luxury apartments and hotel rooms. It appears there could be a partnership between two of the three of them to see the project through.

According to Crain's, Toll Brothers and Starwood Capital are trying to bring their Pier 1 developments together, though it is not clear how the two architectural schemes they have devised, by Rogers Marvel and a consortium of Bernheimer Architecture, Alloy Development and nArchitects might mesh their work.

In November, the Brooklyn Bridge Corp. released renderings and site plans for the seven proposals that were submitted ahead of the Oct. 24 deadline. Toll Brother's hotel partner was Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, which is behind the Dream Hotel brand in Manhattan. Starwood Capital, whose hotels include the St. Regis in Manhattan, teamed up with Alloy Development. Each group also has its own design team and architect. Toll has Rogers Marvel and Starwood has Bernheimer Architects and n Architects. It could not be determined what design was selected.

Dermot Company, who was working with FXFowle as its architect and a proposal to include a home for the St. Anne's Warehouse theater,  may be on the outside looking in, but Crain's, as well as The Times, both note that no final deal has yet been reached.

These were three of the most architecturally ambitious projects, so to see two of them joining forces is intriguing. Should they make the decision, too rare in New York City megadevelopment, to combine their efforts into a more varied whole, the project will be that much better off for it.

Beware the Park Avenue pillagers!

Who is out of place here?

The residents of Carnegie Hill are not particularly experienced in protest techniques—they are more likely to walk through throngs of the demonstrators than to walk among them. But a new Toll Brothers development on Park Avenue has inspired angry Upper East Siders to take up the picket.

In a vertical city like New York, simple signs on sticks do not do much good, so neighbors have resorted to a more high-flying technique for their "visual protest" this morning, unfurling homemade banners from one of their buildings that read "Save Our History."

"We're all rookies at this, not professional protesters," said Lucinda Ballard, who lives in 1112 Park Avenue, right next to the two pre-Civil War townhouses that the Philadelphia-based Toll Brothers is almost certainly planning to replace with a tower, but has thus far refused to confirm.

Plans for something are certainly moving forward, however, and applications for building permits to remove cornices, replace windows and do "partial demolition," have been filed with the city.

Park Avenue Neighbors claim that the work is "clearly a first step toward razing these two historic buildings. The clock is ticking and the wrecking ball looms."

Limited liability corporation 89 Park Avenue LLC purchased both 1110 Park Avenue and 1108 Park Avenue in March, paying a total of $29.5 million ($16.5 million for 1110 and $13 million for 1108). Between the two properties, air rights allow for a 40,000-square-foot potential project (the Toll Brothers tower is rumored to be 15 stories).

Residents, particularly those of 1112 Park Avenue—who stand to lose not only the historic buildings but also their views—have launched a campaign to landmark the buildings, gathering hundreds of signatures on a petition to save the buildings and requesting an emergency meeting with Landmarks Preservation Commission chair Robert Tierney.

Wedged between two much-larger buildings and located outside the Carnegie Hill Historic District, the townhouses seem like obvious marks for development, but Ms. Ballard said that in the past, the owner of 1108 had assured them that he would never sell the property to a developer.

"This is not about disgruntled people losing their views. That is really not the issue," Ms. Ballard said. "These houses were built in 1856, when everything around them was cornfields, they are the oldest residential homes on Park Avenue north of 63rd Street. It is wrong to tear them down without a debate."

Although a request for Landmarks Preservation to extend the Carnegie Hill historic district from 86th to 96th Streets was filed two years ago, the request has not been calendared and residents are looking toward landmarking just the two townhouses to stop the construction work from damaging the buildings and weakening the case for preservation. They hold up the preservation of a historic horse stable in Greenwich Village as an example of what they hope to achieve.

"They're not architectural masterpieces, they were the houses of working class people and they tell a different story about Park Avenue," Ms. Ballard said.

For its part, Landmarks has not been particularly encouraging. "While it may be eligible for historic district status, the proposed district is not a priority at this time," spokeswoman Elizabeth de Bourbon wrote to The Observer. And views were not among the factors that the Commission considered, she told the The Wall Street Journal. "It is our job to protect the historic character and integrity of a neighborhood."

But if such traditional techniques fail, the group is not against adopting some very unPark Avenue-like tactics.

"This is the first time I've really been involved with anything like this," said resident William Simmons, sounding both surprised and excited to find himself in the role of protester. He admitted that he was a little disheartened by how small the banners appeared from the street, but not dissuaded from trying new and unorthodox methods.

"We're trying to figure out how to get our concerns in the public eye," Mr. Simmons said. "Do we take placards and go out and march? Maybe."

kvelsey@observer.com

Will these townhouses soon meet the wrecking ball? Signs point to yes.

Toll Brothers is still pulling a "no comment" when it comes to rumors of  a Carnegie Hill tower, but plans for something are certainly moving apace on Park Avenue.

The same limited liability corporation—89 Park Avenue LLC—that purchased 1110 Park Avenue for $16.5 million (10 percent more than the $14.9 million ask) has also closed on 1108 Park Avenue for $13 million. And 1108 wasn't even listed for sale!

It is entirely possible some unknown entity likes this block enough to spend $29.5 million on two nice-enough but kind of meh townhouses—stranger things have happened, and this gives a fat 40 feet of frontage—but the far more likely plan would appear to be development.

Although the two townhouses hardly look like tear-downs, they're wedged between two, much-larger apartment buildings, so it probably didn't take a great deal of imagination on the buyer's part to see a potential site for a residential tower (rumored to be 15 stories). Besides, the Salomon Brothers listing for 1110 Park Avenue even hyped the property's air rights that would permit over 20,000 square feet to be built on the site. According to Property Shark, an equal amount of development rights is available at 1108, making for a 40,000-square-foot potential project.

If Toll Brothers is behind these purchases, it would make a lot of sense. The Philadelphia-based McMansion builders have done very well adapting to the Upper East Side with Touraine, their ritzy East 65th Street development  (although interior photos of the units suggest that the tastes of Upper East Siders may not be so different from that of suburban McMansion dwellers).

The seller was the estate of Joseph Bogen.

We'd guess that the sale of both townhouses will spur the residents of neighboring buildings, who have already been quietly mobilizing to stop the still unconfirmed development, to take more aggressive, maybe even public, action against the building.

Even before any official word is released, the residents of 1112 are said to be mulling a lawsuit against the view-obstructing development, and Carnegie Hill Neighbors is circulating a petition to have the historic district extended north to 96th Street, which would encompass the two buildings. Not that that would stop the project, but it would at least give the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission oversight over whatever gets built.

kvelsey@observer.com

A Toll Brother's tear down?

It turns out that Carnegie Hill residents are not so thrilled about whatever plans Philadelphia-based McMansion builder Toll Brothers might have for their neighborhood.

Following news that the builders, who have slowly been expanding their Manhattan presence, had closed on the purchase of a townhouse at 1110 Park Avenue and also had their eye on neighboring 1108 Park Avenue, Tolls' new neighbors are trying to stop them.

Toll Brothers has kept mum about the whole thing (a rep told the Observer that the company is not commenting on the transaction), but rumors are circulating that the developer plans to build a 15-story tower where the two townhouses now stand, according to Curbed.

It comes as no surprise that nearby townhouse dwellers are not super happy about the possibility of a new tower rising in their midst. Even if the developer's New York properties are a far cry from McMansion, they do share at least one characteristic—size.

Curbed reports that not only are residents writing letters to get the Landmarks Preservation Committee to extend the historic district from 86th to 96th Street (the buildings lie right outside the Carnegie Hill historic district), but residents of neighboring 1112 Park Avenue may have hired a lawyer in attempt to block any project that could block their view. (Never mind that theirs, and just about every other building on Park, is now quite large, the days of townhouses and mansions on the boulevard long since passed.)

Extending historic districts, or at least trying to, is not uncommon—at the moment, expansions are being considered in Bed-Stuy, Park Slope and Crown Heights. But it's a lengthy process and Toll Brothers, or whoever is behind the purchase, appears to be moving fast—Curbed reports that the developer has asked three commercial tenants in the buildings to leave by July 1.

kvelsey@observer.com

Curbed recently heard rumors that Toll had closed on the purchase of 1110 Park Avenue, a 25-foot-wide redbrick townhouse, and might even have an eye on neighboring 1108 Park Avenue. The former indeed appears to be true, as the property just sold for $16.5 million, according to city records. That is a big premium on the $14.95 million ask, too.

Assuming a combo is in place, a premium makes sense. A bidding war seems unlikely, considering the home sat on the market for 14 months before selling. The name on the deed is 89 Park Avenue LLC, but it is care of Ken Greenspan, a corporate council for Toll, and the return address is the company headquarters in the Philadelphia suburb of Horsham, Penn.

The home once belonged to Judith Rothschild, the abstract artist, and it was sold by her estate at the peak of the market in 2007 for $15 million. A foreclosure followed, and it was sold again in 2010 for $8.75 million. Three months later, it came back on the market with its eight-figure asking price. The seller is Nicole Salmasi, according to the deed, whose husband Allen, founded NextWave wireless and once bought his wife a $250,000 necklace. If he keeps flipping homes for many millions of dollars, he should have no problem keeping the habit up.

The listing, from Stephen Salmon of Slamon and Co. brokers, even hyped the development potential. "Air rights permit over 20,000 square feet to be built on the site," Mr. Salmon notes, adding for good measure, "The property is not landmarked." Indeed, it lies just outside the Carnegie Hill historic district.

That means Toll could build pretty much whatever it wants, though it bears noting the firm has a strong track record of hiring quality architects, among them FXFowle and Rogers Marvel Architects. And if the rumors about 1108 Park are true, this is quite the site—according to Property Shark, that four story townhouse, which has belonged to a Joseph Bogen since 1976, according to city record, also has 20,000 square feet of air rights available, making for a formidable little 40,000-square-foot development.

Toll Brothers has developed another townhouse site at the corner of Madison Avenue and 65th Street, where the developer tore down the 11,200-square-foot Crocodile Manor, for which it paid a little less than $30 million to CUNY, the former owner of the property. Toll turned the site into a faux turn-of-the-century condo tower called The Tourraine.

Why tear down such prime property, for which much was paid? Two penthouses at the Tourraine are currently on the fmarket for $20 million and $13.6 million, that's why. No unit costs less than a million dollars, either.

Update, 4:23: This post has been updated with additional details about the property and Toll Brothers.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC

The developers vying for the right to develop Pier 1, that’s who.

While all of the teams vying for the 100,000-square-foot project have found hotel operators and are prepared to make a go of a waterfront hostel, some bidders, as well as those who considered the project but ultimately decided not to make a pitch for the plot, have told The Observer that having a hotel is a drag on the project.

“It’s a great view, sure, but it’s far from mass transit, it’s far from a lot of activity, you’re basically between the BQE and the park, and that’s about it,” one participant said. “There’s Dumbo, but Dumbo isn’t exactly jumping after dark.”

According to bidders, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, the city-backed agency responsible for the open space and the development underwriting it, is unwilling to nix hotel space from the project’s requirements because it is outlined in the original agreement between the city and the state. Changes would require approval in Albany, which was hard to get in the first place, and therefore officials are afraid to open the process up again and risk any unexpected consequences.

At a time when New York City is seeing record number of tourists, it seems hard to believe that hotels would not be a hot commodity. But it has more to do with long-term, reliable income streams and, more crucially, banks general unwillingness to lend to developments in the city at the moment. Adding a hotel to a project makes it that much more complex of a deal and thus a harder sell.

That is why events spaces—bars, ballrooms, conference centers—are prominent features of many of the hotel proposals submitted by developers. They add reliable income that takes advantage of the waterfront and skyline appeal.

"It wouldn't be a prime, prime location, but it is a good location," Roland Demilleret told The Observer. A managing director at hotel consultancy HVS, Mr. Demilleret actually consulted on some of the projects, and he said there was a general excitement among the hotel operators but less so among the developers.

"The only problem I see for the site is it's far from the business districts," Mr. Demilleret said. "It won't draw the commercial client, but the leisure client will still come." He also said that hotels in Brooklyn still tend to be price-sensitive, less a first choice than a cheaper alternative to Manhattan, so the room rates cannot be too high. "As long as you keep it small, it will work," Mr. Demilleret said. "I don't think a 400 room hotel would work there." The plan currently limits hotel rooms to between 170 and 225 rooms, the apparent sweet spot.

"We think a hotel is a great fit with the project and the site, and we have never thought twice about including it," Brooklyn Bridge Park spokeswoman Ellen Ryan told The Observer last week.

Still, these challenges have not deterred the final three teams still in the running, Dermot, FXFowle and Hyatt with space set aside for the St. Anne's warehouse theater; Toll Brothers, Rogers Marvel Architects and Hampshire Hotels; and Starwood Capital, Alloy Development, Bernheimer Architecture and nArchitects. (The winners were reported recently by Crain’s.) Not making the cut were bids from RAL, Extell Development, Two Trees and SDS Procida.

An announcement for the winner is expected in the next few weeks.

All three winners offer proposals with high-wattage design behind them, which is counter to what some competitors had said was a bias toward money above all else. It is an attitude that makes sense, given the conservancy’s desperate need for funds to keep the park afloat—85 acres of parkland, much of it built on piers, does not pay for their own maintenance.

Other entrants said that design has been an important part of the competition, pointing to the presence of notorious nitpickers Amanda Burden, the City Planning Commissioner, and James Polshek, chair of the Public Design Commission, as signs that quality architecture is just as important as the promised payment. “Some entries were definitely dismissed because they were not good enough,” one source said.

It echoes a commitment conservancy president Regina Meyer outlined to The Observer during a tour of the park in the fall, just before the finalist were announced. "In terms of design and pedestrian experience, we were real clear this was very important to us," Ms. Meyer said standing on the path between the lush park and the vacant development site. "We don't want anything to undermine our huge public investment in design already."

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC