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The specter of unwanted change has loomed over a quiet corner of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District for nearly the past four years. [...] Displacement is a genuine concern in Network cities, which, in addition to Seattle, include Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto. — Crosscut
Several city staples like Chinatowns are facing the effects of gentrification and urban displacement. "White populations in Chinatowns grew faster, for example, than the overall white populations in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, according to a study by the Asian American Legal Defense and... View full entry
The Minneapolis skyline has been mostly untouched for nearly 20 years.
By the end of June, the city is expected to finalize the sale of the former Nicollet Hotel Block for the Gateway project, a 37-story, mixed-use tower that will become one of the 10 tallest buildings in Minneapolis and one of a few office skyscrapers to be built in the Twin Cities this century. Construction is expected to start soon after, though some work has already begun on the site.
— Star Tribune
Image: United Properties View full entry
Construction at One Seaport, aka 161 Maiden Lane, has been noticeably paused for the past several months.
[...] new reports have revealed the 670-foot-tall building is actually leaning three inches to the north, leading to a series of legal disputes between Fortis Property Group, LLC, the developer, and Pizzarotti LLC, the current contractor. The project is being designed by Hill West Architects while Groves & Co is serving as the interior designer.
— New York YIMBY
"It remains unclear how this will affect the plans for 80 South Street directly next door," writes Michael Young for New York YIMBY about the unclear fate of the 670-foot-tall tower which structurally topped out last September. "There is a question of whether One Seaport should remain standing or... View full entry
This year’s parking crater tournament has us feeling something past contests never did: Hopeful.
We asked readers for the best examples of surface parking lots turned dynamic urban places around the country. We got a great response, with some really exciting transformations.
We had to eliminate a few contestants to whittle it down to the Sweet 16.
— Streetsblog USA
If you've enjoyed the America’s Sorriest Bus Stop contest, organized annually by Streetsblog, and are looking for an alternative 'Madness'-themed tournament this March, then this is for you: Parking Madness 2019 kicked off just a few days ago and pits 16 successful surface parking lot... View full entry
With a 33-15 vote, the Chicago City Council [...] approved the Lincoln Yards planned development, clearing the way for Sterling Bay to move ahead with its $6 billion plan.
The developer faces a final hurdle next month when the City Council considers the creation of the Cortland/Chicago River tax-increment financing district, which would be used to subsidize infrastructure projects that would make Lincoln Yards more accessible.
— Crain's Chicago Business
Lincoln Yards previously in the Archinect news. Image: Lincoln Yards/Sterling Bay View full entry
On March 15, after 12 years of planning and six of construction, the Related Companies will open the gates to its new $25 billion enclave [...] Besides being big, Hudson Yards represents something fundamentally new to New York. It’s a one-shot, supersized virtual city-state, plugged into a global metropolis but crafted to the specifications of a single boss: Related’s chairman, Stephen Ross — NY Magazine
New York's new Hudson Yards is a preview of what major cities may look like in the next few years. Upon first glance, the new complex oozes a distinct look. Some might call it progressive luxury design, others may think otherwise. However, the 12 year project has several people looking to stake a... View full entry
A much loved skyspace work by James Turrell in New York, his installation Meeting (1980-86/2016) at MoMA PS1 in Queens, has been closed to the public because the scaffolding from a nearby high-rise development has encroached into the viewing field. The artist requested the work be shut, the museum says in a statement, and “it will remain closed until the temporary construction scaffolding is no longer visible.” — The Art Newspaper
Unobstructed installation view of James Turrell's MoMA PS1 piece, Meeting, 1980-86/2016. Image: MoMA PS1.Molly Kurzius, MoMA PS1 Communications Director, told Gothamist (where the story first broke) that the construction scaffolding currently visible in the Meeting installation would not be part... View full entry
Lincoln Yards, one of the most ambitious real estate projects ever proposed for the city’s North Side, was approved Thursday by the Chicago Plan Commission, an important step toward reshaping the city’s skyline and a large swath of land along the Chicago River.
Sterling Bay’s $6 billion plan for about 55 acres of riverfront land was approved during the commission’s monthly meeting.
— Chicago Tribune
The $6 billion master plan for Chicago's North Side, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, CBT Architects, and James Corner Field Operations, was unveiled to the public last summer. Image: Lincoln Yards/Sterling BayView the entire master plan in detail here (PDF, 7 MB). View full entry
The rapid transformation of downtown Los Angeles’ skyline is being fueled in good measure by huge investments from Chinese companies eager to burnish their global brands and capitalize on L.A.’s real estate boom.
Now some of those projects have become a focus of federal agents seeking evidence of possible bribery, extortion, money laundering and other crimes as part of a corruption investigation at City Hall.
— Los Angeles Times
The FBI search warrant lists a number of high-profile property developers and real estate companies from mainland China that have considerably shaped the skyline of Downtown Los Angeles with monumental high-rise projects in recent years, such as Shenzhen New World Group, Shenzhen Hazens... View full entry
What's next for Airbnb? The estimated $38 billion dollar company has transformed the home-sharing network forever. Having successfully turned homes, mud huts, even castles into spaces for rent, the global enterprise is searching for new ways to to think about housing. In 2016, Joe Gebbia the CPO... View full entry
With a $630-million construction loan in hand, Related Cos. will begin site preparation this month for The Grand, a long-awaited Frank Gehry-designed tower complex in Downtown Los Angeles.
The approximately $1-billion development, slated to replace a parking structure across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall, was conceived more than a decade ago as a public-private partnership between Related and various city and county agencies.
— urbanize.LA
Image: Gehry Partners/Related Cos.About a decade delayed, the Frank Gehry-designed The Grand development (formerly known as Grand Avenue Project) will finally start coming to life atop Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles. Pre-construction work is scheduled to commence this month on the plot... View full entry
JMF Development Co. [...] hopes to construct a 53-story tower on the vacant, L-shaped lot which wraps the historic structure. [...]
Arquitectonica is designing the proposed 784-foot-tall glass-and-steel tower, which is highlighted by a collection of cantilevered, glass-bottom pools for residents on the building's upper levels. While some of the protrusions would extend over the Pershing Square Building, none would hover above the public right-of-way.
— Urbanize LA
Image: JMF Development Co., via urbanize.la.A rather dramatic example of the stacked-boxes scheme might go up at 5th and Hill, near Pershing Square, in Downtown Los Angeles soon. Designed by Arquitectonica, JMF Development Co. proposes the 53-story tower with its fiercely... View full entry
This week, the Navy Yard released new renderings and an expanded master plan that shows a 30-year plan for the complex. Developed with the multidisciplinary design firm WXY, the master plan includes three new buildings totaling 5.1 million square feet [...]. The plan also includes increased public access to the complex, including retail and open space, and improved wayfinding and circulation. The expected cost is $2.5 billion, coming on the heels of a nearly complete $1 billion expansion. — Curbed NY
Curbed New York has a lengthy piece up about the recently unveiled new master plan for the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard megadevelopment. Rendering: bloomimages; Image via BNYDC/WXY architecture + urban designMembers of the public are invited to join a series of tours of new projects... View full entry
At its current rate of growth, Brooklyn is about to be more populous than the entire city of Chicago.
Saying “we need more housing” is a given, but no one agrees on where, how high, and for whom. And New York has been later to that discussion than San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles: While the city is building housing, technically, it is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of 144,000 new Kings County residents since 2010.
— Curbed New York
Alexandra Lange takes a closer look at Brooklyn's contested 80 Flatbush mixed-use development and argues why it's good for the borough. View full entry
A new social housing project by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes was recently completed this year in Paris near the Clignancourt University campus. The 63 housing unit structure is part of a larger development comprised of two apartment buildings and a university cafeteria. Croisset Social Housing by... View full entry