Monday, April 6, 2020

COVID-19 Response: Suspension of ElectricWeb for March/April 2020

Issuance Date: 03/6/2020
To: Owners and Contractors
Purpose: Guidance to owners and contractors regarding enforcement of Essential vs. Nonessential construction in accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders, and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 published by NYS ESDC Item 9
Related Code/Zoning Section(s):
  • AC 28-103.8
  • AC 28-201.1
  • New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines
  • New York City Mayoral Emergency Order 103 and subsequent mayoral emergency orders

_________________________________________________________________
In accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders published by NYS ESDC Item 9, (1) All non-essential construction must shut down except emergency construction, (e.g. a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow to remain undone until it is safe to shut the site). (2) Essential construction may continue and includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters. At every site, if essential or emergency non-essential construction, this includes maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit. Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation. (3) For purposes of this section construction work does not include a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site.
Only the following construction projects permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall be permitted to continue until further notice. This guidance does not apply to construction on roads, bridges, and transit facilities that is allowable under the Governor’s Executive Orders and ESDC Guidance.
Melanie E. La Rocca
Commissioner

280 Broadway (7th Floor)
New York, NY 10007
Tel 212 393 2002


1. Emergency construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 1):
a. Project necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants:
i. Emergency work ordered by the Department;
ii. Restoration of essential services – heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, or other utility services; or
iii. Work necessary to address any condition requiring immediate corrective action that severely affects life, health, safety, property, or significant number of persons.
b. Project required to continue to the extent it would be unsafe to allow work to remain undone. Such project may continue only until it is safe to shut the site.
2. Essential construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 2):
a. Utilities;
b. Hospitals or health care facilities;
c. Transitional and/ or Homeless shelters;
d. Affordable housing: Construction work on public housing, or a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new building (NB) or that is 100% vacant; or is work on unoccupied public housing units for the designation as housing for specific populations (i.e. shelter set aside, domestic violence referrals), or work on the exterior to address emergency conditions requiring immediate corrective action, set forth in Section 1(a)(iii) or within public housing, correction of critical systems for seasonal preparedness for the 2020-2021 heating season of an existing public housing building. Construction work on a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new buildin (NB) or that is 100% vacant that is now used or will be converted to such use: (i) For the provisio of affordable inclusionary housing or mandatory inclusionary housing pursuant to the New Yor city zoning resolution; or (ii) Where no less than 30% of the residential units are subject to a regulatory agreement, restrictive declaration, or similar instrument with a local, state, or federal governmental entity or a local housing authority in a city with a population of one million or more.
e. Other essential construction as approved by the Department.
3. Work that is limited to a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site (ESDC Item 9, bullet 3)
                                          ALL OTHER WORK TO CEASE
All other construction and demolition work permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall cease and comply with Buildings Bulletin 2020-004.
All complaints from the public or workers should be directed to 311 where a Class “A” complaint will be generated for DOB to address.
For a determination that work is either essential or emergency work in accordance with New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines shall be submitted to the Department in a form and manner acceptable to the Department.
Reference
NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 (MARCH 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM)


Friday, March 6, 2020

COVID-19 Response: Suspension of ElectricWeb for March/April 2020

Issuance Date: 03/6/2020
To: Owners and Contractors
Purpose: Guidance to owners and contractors regarding enforcement of Essential vs. Nonessential construction in accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders, and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 published by NYS ESDC Item 9
Related Code/Zoning Section(s):
  • AC 28-103.8
  • AC 28-201.1
  • New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines
  • New York City Mayoral Emergency Order 103 and subsequent mayoral emergency orders

_________________________________________________________________
In accordance with NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 and the Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders published by NYS ESDC Item 9, (1) All non-essential construction must shut down except emergency construction, (e.g. a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow to remain undone until it is safe to shut the site). (2) Essential construction may continue and includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters. At every site, if essential or emergency non-essential construction, this includes maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit. Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation. (3) For purposes of this section construction work does not include a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site.
Only the following construction projects permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall be permitted to continue until further notice. This guidance does not apply to construction on roads, bridges, and transit facilities that is allowable under the Governor’s Executive Orders and ESDC Guidance.
Melanie E. La Rocca
Commissioner

280 Broadway (7th Floor)
New York, NY 10007
Tel 212 393 2002


1. Emergency construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 1):
a. Project necessary to protect the health and safety of the occupants:
i. Emergency work ordered by the Department;
ii. Restoration of essential services – heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, or other utility services; or
iii. Work necessary to address any condition requiring immediate corrective action that severely affects life, health, safety, property, or significant number of persons.
b. Project required to continue to the extent it would be unsafe to allow work to remain undone. Such project may continue only until it is safe to shut the site.
2. Essential construction (ESDC Item 9, bullet 2):
a. Utilities;
b. Hospitals or health care facilities;
c. Transitional and/ or Homeless shelters;
d. Affordable housing: Construction work on public housing, or a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new building (NB) or that is 100% vacant; or is work on unoccupied public housing units for the designation as housing for specific populations (i.e. shelter set aside, domestic violence referrals), or work on the exterior to address emergency conditions requiring immediate corrective action, set forth in Section 1(a)(iii) or within public housing, correction of critical systems for seasonal preparedness for the 2020-2021 heating season of an existing public housing building. Construction work on a private or multiple dwelling or real property that is a new buildin (NB) or that is 100% vacant that is now used or will be converted to such use: (i) For the provisio of affordable inclusionary housing or mandatory inclusionary housing pursuant to the New Yor city zoning resolution; or (ii) Where no less than 30% of the residential units are subject to a regulatory agreement, restrictive declaration, or similar instrument with a local, state, or federal governmental entity or a local housing authority in a city with a population of one million or more.
e. Other essential construction as approved by the Department.
3. Work that is limited to a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site (ESDC Item 9, bullet 3)
                                          ALL OTHER WORK TO CEASE
All other construction and demolition work permitted by the NYC Department of Buildings or otherwise regulated by the NYC Construction Codes and the NYC Electrical Code shall cease and comply with Buildings Bulletin 2020-004.
All complaints from the public or workers should be directed to 311 where a Class “A” complaint will be generated for DOB to address.
For a determination that work is either essential or emergency work in accordance with New York State Gubernatorial Emergency Order 202.6 and subsequent orders and related Empire State Development Corporation guidelines shall be submitted to the Department in a form and manner acceptable to the Department.
Reference
NYS Governor’s Executive Order 202.6 (MARCH 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM)


Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Midtown Atlanta Project to Change a Full City Block

A massive, multi-pronged project will be swallowing an entire block of prime Midtown Atlanta real estate.

Sited along one of the city’s most active development corridors, Selig Development’s $530 million 1105 West Peachtree mixed-use development is commencing, with major construction milestones on the horizon.

Construction of the 3.5-acre, multi-tower project is scheduled to wrap in by the end of next year.

Google is set to make 1105 West Peachtree its Southeast headquarters, claiming five floors of the planned 31-story office tower.

The Smith, Gambrell & Russell law firm is also taking five floors for its new offices.

Also on the docket is a 178-key Marriott Autograph Collection Epicurean Hotel that Selig reps announced in October.

“We’re currently working with our hotel partners and retail team to fine-tune the office lobby food and beverage service, which will excite Midtown residents, office workers, and visitors alike,” the developer said.

The project, located between MARTA’s Midtown and Arts Center train stations, will also include a 64-unit luxury condo tower called 40 West 12th.

 “We are pleased with the condo sales we have had thus far,” a spokesman for Selig said. “We believe 40 West 12th is hitting on the pulse of what in-town Atlanta condo buyers are looking for, and that’s a high-end product that’s understated yet refined and has access to all the great amenities the project, and Midtown as a whole, have to offer.”

Lastly, at the ground floor, expect some 25,000 square feet of retail space.

Selig has tapped Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio as the design architect and architect of record and Brasfield & Gorrie as the general contractor.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Making Way for Tallest Building on Florida’s West Coast

The demolition of a six-story building in Tampa marks the start of work on a mixed-use condominium project that will become the tallest building on Florida’s west coast.

The new structure replacing the CapTrust building on the Southwest corner of Ashley Drive and Whiting Street will be 53 stories tall, with the title, Riverwalk Place. It has an estimated $350 million construction cost.

Feldman Equities, Inc. and Two Roads Development are the owner/developers. Gensler designed the structure, while Adache Group is building’s architect.

“We are thrilled to show these designs to the Tampa community and are excited for Riverwalk Place to become an icon that Tampa will present to the world,” Gensler said. 

“From the outset, our goal was to do more than just design another tall building. We wanted the project to activate the Riverwalk and contribute to the urban landscape of downtown Tampa.”


The building’s ground floor will be merged with the neighboring MacDill Park, complete with a 450-foot promenade, featuring restaurants and shops, designed to encourage pedestrian connectivity and engagement.


Thursday, January 23, 2020

Skyline Altering Tower Slated for Midtown Atlanta

Atlanta is preparing for major construction projects that could make the Midtown area taller, denser, and more pedestrian-friendly.

Most notably, developer Trillist has big plans for its long-anticipated 1138 Peachtree Street development.

The project will create a 46-story, residential-heavy mixed-use tower at a nearly one-acre site where a handful of high-rise projects—such as a Mandarin Oriental hotel—have fizzled over the years.

Midtown Alliance officials noted the tower could ascend more than 550 feet, potentially ranking it among Atlanta’s top 15 tallest buildings—and the highest built in more than a decade. 

In the works since 2013, the Trillist development will feature 317 luxury apartments and about 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space fronting Peachtree Street and Crescent Avenue.

The project will also include a nine-floor parking deck with 450 spaces.

Midtown board members raised concerns about how the parking deck’s facades would fit against the community’s urban backdrop, and about how the retail space would engage passersby.

“The retail space within the ground floor of the Crescent frontage does not meet minimum depth requirements, nor does the elevation meet requirements which specify the appearance of a horizontally storied building for the first three floors.”

Officials also said Trillist and architects at Smallwood need to further assess the pedestrian connectivity between Peachtree Street and Crescent Avenue.

Also in the works are plans for the Campanile building expansion, which will get underway just across the street from Trillist’s project, at 1155 Peachtree.

The base of the late-1980s office building owned by the Dewberry Group will be wrapped in a six-floor, 125,000-square-foot retail podium. 

In the podium, new floors will align with the existing floors of the office tower to create office floor plates of approximately 45,000 square feet, as well as new terraces on the fourth and sixth floors, which promise sweeping views of outdoor amenity spaces for office tenants.

City officials are focused on designs for the “generous public space” near the tower’s front entrance, along with elements related to the streetscape on all four sides of the block.


Thursday, January 9, 2020

$800M Marriott Coming to Miami Worldcenter

Developer MDM Group has big plans for the Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo, slated to be the largest hotel in South Florida when it opens in late 2021.

The expo center fronts the four large, curved towers that are very dramatic and vertically oriented. At night, the horizontal stripes on the development will light up. NBWW is the architect on the project.

“Many don’t realize how big it is,” the architect said, citing the Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s 1,500 rooms.

Exhibit space will include a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall ground floor, a 65,000-square-foot main ballroom, a 45,000-square-foot junior ballroom, 390,000 square feet of other meeting space, and a 10,000-square-foot, 1,500-seat lecture hall — all for a total of 610,000 square feet.

The hotel will be located within steps of Miami Worldcenter’s shopping mall, which will include a Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. 

The 27-acre development is within a quarter of a mile of All Aboard Florida and Tri-Rail stations.“All Aboard Florida is the linchpin,” the developer said. “This whole area is going through a massive change. We’re excited to be around it.”

Developers received approval from the city of Miami for the first phase, which will include the 765,000-square-foot mall, the 470 unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter condo tower and a newly announced apartment tower. 

The hotel and expo center will generate the need for an additional 2,400 hotel rooms in the area.

Bill Talbert, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the development will complement, not compete, with the planned Miami Beach Convention Center renovation and expansion, which includes an 800-room hotel. “These are complementary. Miami Beach has four halls, this has one. There are some folks who want to be in a downtown environment,” Talbert said.

The Marriott brand, he said, “is the No.1 brand in this community. Marriott sells.”

The hotel will offer 1,800 rooms on levels six through 54, and valet parking for 1,094 spaces.

The hotel and expo component is expected to create more than 1,300 permanent jobs, $175 million in annual revenue and $14.8 million in annual city and county tax revenue through 2045.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Miami's $4 Billion Dream: Build the Largest Mall in America

The American Dream is alive and well in the minds of mega-developer Triple Five Group. The family-owned conglomerate, is preparing to build the nation’s largest shopping mall and entertainment complex on more than 200 acres of former cow pasture by Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike, near Hialeah in northwestern Miami-Dade County. 

The massive $4 billion project is being backed by the developer of the Mall of America in Minnesota, presently the largest entertainment and retail complex in the United States.

Some of the components include a 16-story indoor ski slope, a 20-slide water park, a submarine ride in a man-made salt water lake with an artificial reef, a climate-controlled theme park, a 14-screen 3-D movie theater, a performing arts center, a 2,000-room hotel and much, much more.

The mall would also have 3.5 million square feet of retail space. In contrast, Aventura Mall, the third-largest mall in the U.S. and Florida’s biggest, has 2.7 million square feet of retail.

When completed, American Dream Miami encompass 6.2 million square feet, making it the largest shopping mall and entertainment complex in the United States.

Click to enlarge
The project is expected to create some 25,000 construction jobs, 9,500 permanent jobs, and will provide a historic boost to the county’s economy.

The mega-mall would add $1.36 billion in taxable value and generate $1.6 billion in annual sales of goods, services and leases. That would generate $48.5 million in revenue for local taxing authorities, such as the county and the school board, and $93.6 million in sales tax for the state.

Triple Five Group hopes to break ground in early 2017 and complete the project in late 2019.

The Canadian-based development company is controlled by the billionaire Ghermezian family, which has ventures in real estate development, solar energy, oil drilling, vehicle manufacturing and mining.

This will not be the family’s first super-mall. In 1981, Triple Five built the 5.3 million-square-foot West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. Now the largest mall in North America, West Edmonton Mall has a giant water park, carnival rides, a casino and other forms of amusement.

In 1992 the Ghermezians had co–developed the 4.2 million-square-foot Mall of America in Minnesota, with an aquarium and the Nickelodeon Universe theme park among its features.

The Mall of America is the largest shopping mall in the United States; Triple Five recently broke ground on a $325 million project to expand it further.

Triple Five is also constructing American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a 4.8-million-square-foot retail and entertainment facility near MetLife Stadium.

Using $2.5 billion in private bond money and $1 billion from the state of New Jersey, Triple Five will be building hundreds of stores, dozens of restaurants, a 12-story-tall ski slope, a 200-foot drop ride, a giant aquarium and a water park.