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Industry experts told The Post that it will be those new buildings, designed with cutting-edge tech and with future pandemics in mind, that will have the greatest advantage on the market.

“There is no question the buildings provisioned for the 21st century-plus are going to be in a better position to cash in on the leasing opportunities ahead,” said David Goldstein, vice chairman of real estate services provider Savills. “It could be an older building reimagined, or a new one under construction or in planning stages.”

Such new office buildings and redevelopments include among others, One Madison Ave., 561 Greenwich St., Zero Irving, 799 Broadway, 106 W. 56th St., the Terminal Warehouse at 261 11th Ave. in Chelsea and the nearby 610 W. 26th St. Meanwhile, the GM Building at 767 Fifth Ave. is getting a new amenity center.

“Property owners want to offer a unique proposition and promise [to tenants] that this is like no other property,” said strategic design expert Thomas Vecchione of architecture firm Vocon. “[Business owners] need a destination and a reason to be in New York and bring people together in an office.”

Other COVID-19-inspired tweaks will include larger stairwells, individual washrooms, numerous outdoor terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows and larger elevators.

In Hudson Square, 561 Greenwich St. is being combined with the adjacent 345 Hudson St. to create larger floor plates as floors become available. Tommy Craig, senior managing director of Hines — which is part of the ownership group including Trinity Church Wall Street and Norges Bank Real Estate Management on land that was owned by Trinity — and 561 Greenwich’s development manager, said the pandemic prompted their team to start “circling back” to items like the elevator banks that are now being redesigned to enable better social distancing.

The 250,000-square-foot concrete building, designed by Rick Cook of CookFox, will also utilize a hydronic air heat pump — which uses water for heating and cooling — to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent. The project is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“No fossil fuel or natural gas is used,” Craig said.

Another new project, Zero Irving, located on East 14th Street between Third Avenue and Union Square East on the site of a former PC Richards, is rising on city land.

Developed by RAL Companies, it is designed by architect Davis Brody Bond to host a tech hub and learning center, and to appeal to tech-savvy tenants with an “ecosystem” that will “foster growth, flexibility and productivity.” It’s due to open in the first half of 2021.

A digital skills training center and tech accelerator in the lower portion, dubbed “The Tech Hub at Zero Irving,” will occupy the second through seventh floors.

Floors eight through 21 are being pitched to companies that could help teach the tech courses (if desired) and employ some of those that are trained below. Zero Irving also has two separate lobbies to reduce congregation at the elevator banks.

According to Josh Wein, managing director of finance at RAL Companies & Affiliates, there will be a touchless experience coming into the rotunda with personal phone apps providing the keys to the elevators.

Additionally, every floor includes an “isolated VRF [variable refrigerant flow] system” so no air is circulated with other floors. Tenants can upgrade to the best-of-their-class MERV filters or add a bipolar ionization system themselves.

The asking rents are in the “low triple digits: and so far, they are ‘holding steady,’ ” Wein said. Its 6,300-square-foot, tenant-only rooftop Sky Lounge has “cool lighting” and panoramic views. There are also private terraces on the 21st and 15th floors and double-height cubes along the west end of the building that will glow with colored LED lights and enhance the views along Irving Place, which terminates on the other side of East 14th Street.

Wein expects more biking to work than in pre-COVID days, so along with extra bike parking there are showers at the fitness center, which has windows looking out to a courtyard.

Public market curator Urbanspace has been tapped to run a food court and is lining up vendors.

“It is a well-conceived project not withstanding a tough environment for lease-up because they put a very sophisticated offering out there,” said Goldstein.

Nelson Mills of Columbia Property Trust (CPT) calls the upcoming 799 Broadway at East 11th Street “a bright spot for us.” The construction of the 182,000-square-foot boutique property topped out over the summer and now the curtain wall, elevators and other systems are being installed for delivery later this summer.

“It’s a special property in a great location built with modern construction and integrated indoor-outdoor space, which is more important now,” Mills said.

The coronavirus sent them back to the drawing board with Chicago-headquartered architects Perkins&Will to add touchless doors throughout the building, destination elevators and an upgrade of the air filtration system.

“It will separate us further from the competition,” Craig added as discussions are ongoing with “well-known tech type” names. Neighbors include Facebook at 770 Broadway, IBM at 51 Astor Place and Netflix’s new 100,000-square-foot office in the renovation of 888 Broadway. It is also just few blocks from Union Square.

“The buildings don’t come cheap but there is a relative scarcity of high-end, small-scale new development,” said Goldstein. “It’s very sophisticated and will be well-positioned to compete.”

The Six at 106 W. 56th St. is a new boutique office project with 87,000 square feet. Its broker, Peter Turchin, vice chairman of CBRE, said the 4,000-square-foot floorplates will enable smaller firms to have offices in a newly constructed building — it topped out in 2019. It is expected to attract family offices and finance firms.

Hines is also overseeing the redevelopment of One Madison Ave., a “groundscaper” as Craig called the large and currently low-rise building that stretches the entire block along East 23rd Street between Lexington and Madison avenues.

Being redeveloped by SL Green Realty Corp., the National Pension Service of Korea and Hines, the addition of a new glass tower will pump it to 1.4 million square feet and offer 57,000 square feet of outdoor terraces across from Madison Square Park. It will open in 2023.

The building will also have a dedicated outdoor air system HVAC unit that brings in 100 percent outside air for tenants, an 800-person event space, a 9,000-square-foot club-style tenant lounge and a full-service fitness center. The building is targeting both WELL and LEED-Gold certification.

At the groundbreaking in November, Mayor de Blasio praised its eco-friendly design.

“SL Green and all the partners in this project are taking that idea and bringing it to life and proving that we can do something different and this city can be in the forefront of stopping global warming,” de Blasio said. “They had a strong foundation to build on but they believed that they could reach greater heights. There is your metaphor for New York City. We have a strong foundation to build on.”

The Terminal Warehouse at 261 11th Ave. at West 28th Street, is still in pre-development planning and getting approvals.

Here, a partnership of Columbia Property Trust, L&L Holding plus JPMorgan Chase and CalSTRS pension fund will reinvent the building into a tech campus. Architects CookFox calls it a “high-performance, biophilic workplace.”

CPT’s Mills said it will be a combination of vintage and new. Sitting next to the West Side Highway and overlooking the Hudson River, it will have new glassed-in office space with substantial retail at the base. The 11th Avenue side will be brick and beam.

The Terminal’s former Tunnel nightclub area has old train tracks that ran completely through the building to bring goods to awaiting barges and will become what CookFox calls the “beating heart” of the renovation that will include retail shops and a planted center courtyard when it opens in 2023.

Columbia is also redeveloping 250 Church St. and is rebranding 101 Franklin with a new roof deck.

“It is a good location and good bones,” Mills said. “We pressed pause for a few months and want to build the right thing.”

And in Times Square, TSX will become a mixed-use project with retail, offices and the historic Palace Theater in a 550,000-square-foot, $2.5 billion 46-story tower currently under construction at 1568 Broadway. It’s slated to open in 2022 — possibly with a casino.

“The smart money is on companies who can repurpose and create an exciting communal space that people want to come to, and that will be the draw that gets them back in the office,” said Goldstein.

The post Inside NYC’s new high-tech, COVID-19-proof office towers appeared first on Zero Irving.

Many real estate executives now believe companies will call their workforces back into the office starting in June and July. But how exactly they will do that safely and efficiently remains a matter of opinion — with buildings owners, health experts and designers all weighing in.

As a result, everything from build outs, technology and even toilets are currently being reimagined in an attempt to get tenants back to the office quickly.

“They are all trying to position themselves as the better building,” said Peter Turchin of CBRE, which manages 2.7 billion square feet of office space worldwide — 20 million square feet of which is in New York. “They are looking at their competition very acutely and at what they need to do for their buildings.”

While pre-COVID some companies were down to as little as 60 to 125 square feet per person with benching, the amount of space per employee is now rising.

Most clients have scrapped plans to double the size of their offices to accommodate six feet of social distancing and are instead having employees come into work every other day or rejiggering the furniture to alternate chairs and desks.

“There will be less density and they are not putting employees back in elbow to elbow,” said Nelson Mills, president and CEO of Columbia Property Trust, which owns the Times Building at 229 W. 43 St. and 315 Park Ave. South among others in Manhattan.

Examples of the race to restructure can be seen at SL Green Realty Corp.’s 1.1 million-square-foot Midtown office tower, 1185 Sixth Ave., where thermal scanners and giant air filters in the lobbies have been installed, and at private equity giant Savanna’s Grand Central-area office building at 521 Fifth Ave., which will soon have a usable outdoor terrace at every setback.

At both 545 Madison Ave. and 10 Grand Central (155 E. 44 St.) Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, has overseen the installation of UV lights in common areas and the bi-polar ionization system AtmosAir to target — and hopefully kill off— most COVID particles.

“Once people start coming back, others in the same industry will see they have a competitive advantage,” said Deitelzweig, whose company also owns properties that include 430 Park Ave., 201 E. 57 St. and the Cross County Center in Yonkers.

In most offices, new air-filtration systems with upgraded MERV filters were added, while others are changing the outside air more frequently. Along with a boatload of hand-sanitizer stations, most owners have used the lockdown to install “sneeze guards,” automatic doors and destination elevators, as well as programming phone apps that can be used instead of key fobs.

“Owners are spending money and putting it into the infrastructure and focusing on wellness and health,” said Bill Rudin, chief executive of Rudin Management, which owns among others, 345 Park Ave., 3 Times Square and Dock 72 in Brooklyn. “[Our app] allows our tenants to see how many people are in the lobby waiting for elevators. We have people stationed in the lobby wearing white gloves hitting the elevator button. We have limitations on elevator occupancy and are pumping more fresh air into the elevators and have upgraded filters.”

Where touchless sensors or anti-microbial covers on buttons have not been installed, owners are being as creative as possible to make occupiers as comfortable as possible — and they’re tapping design firms to help.

“Most executives are thinking of a new mix of employees and deciding who needs to be in the office or not,” said architect Thomas Vecchione, principal of the design firm Vocon, which is advising office building owners on cutting-edge new layouts. “When employees come back in June, they are saying they want it to feel post-COVID in a smart way. We’re all worn out and want to come back, but we also want to come back to an office that is fresh, light and inspired.”

But it’s not all about adding flashy tech and piling on amenities. The practical issue of deciding who to bring back first and how to position employees is a hot-ticket conversation going on behind the scenes in virtually every company in New York that leases office space, insiders told the Post.

“Companies won’t go from zero days to five days in eight-hour increments all at once,” explained Jay Neveloff, partner and real estate chair of the law firm Kramer Levin, which advises clients on development, leasing, conversions and financial structuring. “Many businesses are trying to scope out different alternatives in order to phase in employees for both days and hours.”

Businesses are now exploring a hybrid occupancy model where some employees may come to the office just two or three days a week — or more.

“We have been in regular communication with our tenants as to when they will come back and we want to give them confidence that the building is a safe place to be,” said.

Meanwhile, Tommy Craig, senior managing director of Hines, which owns a portfolio that includes stakes in One Vanderbilt and the Hudson Square Portfolio, said the focus for most office buildings is on “the path of travel” from entering the buildings, to the concierges, entry gates, elevators, common hallways, bathrooms and into their offices.

At the soon-to-be completed Zero Irving at 124 E. 14th St., Josh Wein, managing director of the developer, RAL Companies, said all the restrooms will be individual rooms with their own sink — similar to what you might find in some restaurants. Along with the now de rigueur touchless auto-flushes and sinks, for added room cleanliness, the porcelain tile floors and walls were installed with minimal germ-collecting grout lines.

Cleanliness is now extremely important to tenants, agreed Robert Ioanna, senior principal at Syska Hennessy Group, a global engineering firm that also provides facilities management, as the science shows smaller spaces are more likely to have COVID germs suspended in the air.

He is advising his client owners and tenants to “put a lid on it” — the toilets that is — because fecal matter carries COVID for 30 days while flushing sends a nearly invisible plume of particulates into the air.

“Get in and get out of the bathrooms and bring a Lysol spray and don’t talk to anyone when you are in there,” Ioanna said. “Face the wall and don’t talk in the elevator.”
While that may sound a tad dystopian, building owners are assuring tenants that nothing will boost company moral quite like being back in the office.

“When everyone is back this summer, we’re having a ‘No More Zoom & Gloom’ party for the tenants,” said Deitelzweig.

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Recent photos show the degree of progress that has occurred on the façade since YIMBY’s last visit in September, shortly after the reinforced concrete superstructure topped out.

The rising glass envelope features thin metal fins that protrude out from the flat surface.

The edifice is visible from a number of places across Manhattan, with an architectural height that matches its neighboring structures. The only building in the vicinity that eclipses the roof parapet of Zero Irving is the Consolidated Edison Building at 4 Irving Place, just across the street.

4 Irving Place’s clock face is seen reflected on the glass.

The metal canopy that will sit atop the final floor and cover the outdoor terrace space is being assembled behind scaffolding and black netting.

The office component of Zero Irving is planned to occupy 176,000 square feet spread across the top 14 floors. A portion of the commercial space will be marketed as affordable office space as a way to attract small firms and start-up companies. Also part of the building program is the Digital Skills Training Center, which is designed to teach the necessary skills and the knowledge for high-paying jobs in the technology sector. More information and details regarding this can be found in our last article. The New York City Economic Development Corporation anticipates the center will create over 550 permanent jobs. The developers are aiming for LEED Certification.

Zero Irving is estimated to be completed sometime next year.

The post Zero Irving’s Glass Façade Rising Quickly At 124 East 14th Street In Union Square appeared first on Zero Irving.

Zero Irving has been designed to grow the next generation of companies, industries and tech workers.

In a ceremony held on September 3, in accordance with COVID-19 safety measures, RAL was joined by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), local officials, and members of the community to mark the occasion.

“We are excited to celebrate a major milestone for one of the most promising new developments in the city,” said Spencer Levine, President of RAL Development Services. “We are confident this uniquely transformative public-private project will be an engine of opportunity and prosperity for New Yorkers and the local community. We are proud to be working with the city’s administration, Community Board 3, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, Manhattan Borough President  Gale Brewer, and EDC to deliver a project that benefits the local community and all of New York City.”

The 240,000 s/f building will include flexible office space, an event space, a fitness center, and 176,000 s/f of amenitized office space across 14 floors at the top of the mixed-use development.

Urbanspace will operate a food hall in the building

Zero Irving’s Digital Skills Training Center space will create permanent jobs and prepare New Yorkers to enter one of the city’s fastest-growing business sectors.

Steps away from Union Square, the Digital Skills Training Center at Zero Irving is designed to help diversify New York City’s tech sector and serve as a hub for the city’s growing tech economy.

NYCEDC anticipates the center will create over 550 permanent jobs and also serve as a pathway to good-paying jobs for communities around the Union Square area and across the city.

Zero Irving will incorporate a collaborative accelerator/incubator and co-working center that will focus on advancing innovation, clean tech, smart cities, and digital government services as well as advance creative businesses and further empower local businesses. In addition, the Digital Skills Training Center will provide technology classes that teach in-demand skills that employers are seeking.

“Milestone moments like these reinforce that New York City is and always will be a hub for talent and innovators to call home,” said Rachel Loeb, Chief Operating Officer of New York City Economic Development Corporation. “This project not only builds on the City’s tech ecosystem, it creates pathways to good-paying jobs for New Yorkers. As the City looks towards the future and the economic recovery that lies ahead, investments like these will build a stronger future for us all. We are thrilled to have played a role bringing the community’s vision to life.”

RAL Development Services previously announced the leasing of 10,000 s/f of space at the ground floor for Urbanspace who will operate a new food hall at Zero Irving. The company plans a mixed online/offline platform that will provide enhanced online ordering with delivery and pickup options for building tenants and the local community.

Located at 124 East 14th Street, Zero Irving has several outdoor amenity spaces as well as touchless access from street to desk and private, customizable HVAC systems.

The building embraces the latest in sustainable design and green building technology. Zero Irving is engineered to comply with both WiredScore Platinum and LEED Gold Certifications, providing the Digital Skills Training Center and all tenants with best-in-class connectivity through a design that is sustainable and respectful of the environment.

Additionally, the building is being constructed using Suffolk’s innovative Plan and Control process that increases predictability during construction and helps to drive down material waste and delays.

The team behind Zero Irving is also comprised by financial partner Junius Real Estate Partners, architecture firm Davis Brody Bond, and construction manager Suffolk.

https://rew-online.com/ral-tops-out-union-square-office-building/

The post RAL tops out Union Square office building appeared first on Zero Irving.

“We are excited to celebrate a major milestone for one of the most promising new developments in the city,” said Spencer Levine, president of RAL. “We are confident this uniquely transformative public-private project will be an engine of opportunity and prosperity for New Yorkers and the local community.”

Zero Irving’s Digital Skills Training Center space will incorporate a collaborative accelerator/incubator and co-working center that will focus on advancing innovation, clean tech, smart cities, and digital government services along with digital technology classes.

https://www.connect.media/ral-tops-out-at-zero-irving-in-union-square/

The post RAL Tops Out at Zero Irving in Union Square appeared first on Zero Irving.

RAL Development Services said topping-out ceremonies for the 21-story, 240,000-square-foot office building, located at the site of the former PC Richard & Son store, were held last week.

The building will house the Union Square Training Center, which is expected to create 550 permanent jobs for the area.

“We are excited to celebrate a major milestone for one of the most promising new developments in the city. We are confident this uniquely transformative public-private project will be an engine of opportunity and prosperity for New Yorkers and the local community,” said Spencer Levine, president of RAL Development Services, in a statement.

The building is called Zero Irving because of its proximity to Irving Place.

The first seven floors of the building will house the technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, event space, and a street-level food hall. The next 14 floors will house 176,000 square feet of Class A office space. The building is supposed to open later this year.

RAL and its equity partner previously secured $120 million of construction financing from Bank OZK and simultaneously entered into a long-term ground lease with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), RAL said. The project broke ground in summer 2019.

“This project not only builds on the city’s tech ecosystem, it creates pathways to good-paying jobs for New Yorkers,” said Rachel Loeb, COO of NYCEDC, in the statement.

https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2020/09/08/zero-irving-tech-hub-building-at-tops-out.html

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“It is very challenging for chef entrepreneurs to get started, now more than ever,” said Eldon Scott, president of Urbanspace. “Our platform lessens those barriers and is a great, turnkey opportunity, while giving our customers something special, the newest local flavors, and the never-before-tasted combinations.”

Urbanspace plans a mixed online/offline platform, along with a catering option offered to both building tenants and users of Zero Irving’s event and conference center.

For Zero Irving, Mitch Konsker leads a JLL team with Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan. Urbanspace’s Claire Bernard represented the tenant.

Along with RAL, the Zero Irving team includes financial partner Junius Real Estate Partners, architecture firm Davis Brody Bond and commercial construction company Suffolk Construction.

https://www.connect.media/urbanspace-will-open-food-hall-at-zero-irving-mxu/

The post Urbanspace Will Open Food Hall at Zero Irving MXU appeared first on Zero Irving.

RAL Development Services (RAL) announced that Urbanspace has signed a 10,000 square foot lease to operate a new food hall at Zero Irving, a trophy quality mixed-use development by RAL in New York’s Union Square neighborhood. Urbanspace currently operates four popular food halls in Manhattan, and the new Union Square location represents an expansion into a tech-focused new property development within an area that is a magnet for technology and media tenants.

“We have the ideal business model to help the NYC culinary community recover. It is very challenging for chef entrepreneurs to get started, now more than ever“ said Eldon Scott, President of Urbanspace. “Our platform lessens those barriers and is a great, turn-key opportunity, while giving our customers something special, the newest local flavors, and the never before tasted combinations.”

Urbanspace will be a unique amenity for Zero Irving’s tenants, users of the building’s event space, and the surrounding neighborhood. Urbanspace plans an innovative mixed online/offline platform that stays true to its exceptional, immersive food hall experience while providing enhanced online ordering with delivery and pickup options for building tenants and the local community. Urbanspace also plans a catering option offered to both building tenants and users of Zero Irving’s event and conference center, unique in the Union Square market.

“The Union Square Partnership community could not be more thrilled that Urbanspace is officially on board as the food hall operator at Zero Irving, which will be a terrific new addition to Union Square-14th Street,” said Jennifer Falk, Executive Director, Union Square Partnership. “Urbanspace has a wonderful track record in our community having operated their landmark Holiday Market in Union Square for over three decades. We know they will do something truly special with this project and we thank them for making this incredible investment in our district, particularly during these challenging times.”

The new food hall will also benefit from several COVID-19 favorable attributes RAL has deployed for both Urbanspace and the building’s office users. Among them, RAL is introducing new technology to deliver a completely touchless entry experience from street to desk, along with privately controlled and customizable HVAC systems for each tenant floor, air quality monitoring stations, and 5 individual bathrooms per tenant floor built with modern materials that facilitate cleaning and disinfecting.

Zero Irving brings 176,000 square feet of thoughtfully amenitized, newly constructed Class A office space across 14 beautifully designed and appointed floors at the top of the 240,000-square-foot, 21-story building. The project also includes a technology training center and incubator, state-of-the-art event space, and of course now Urbanspace at grade level. Zero Irving will also be offering flexible office space on the building’s upper floors. The flexible office space, distinguished by shorter terms and lesser credit requirements, is available for a number of users, including both growing and established companies. Zero Irving is fully financed and currently under construction, with delivery expected in early 2021.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that Urbanspace will open at Zero Irving, it brings a remarkable amenity that will be available to both the building tenants and the neighborhood at large,” said Josh Wein, Managing Director at RAL. “The RAL team is steadily pulling together all the ingredients to realize our vision of Zero Irving as a great mixed-use building that is additive to the community and ideal for tenants as well.”

Steps from Union Square Park and the Union Square transit hub, Zero Irving’s location provides tenants with the ability to attract and retain their workforce – a major consideration for tenants today. Newly constructed space is also rare in the area, which offers mostly older or renovated building stock. As such, Zero Irving is in a unique position to offer flexibility and adaptability as New York continues to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The building’s distinctive design, along with various outdoor spaces, touchless access, and private HVAC systems , are key in attracting tenants who will be able to decide how to set up their space and tackle office life post pandemic.

Zero Irving embraces the latest in sustainable design and green building technology. The building is engineered to comply with both WiredScore Platinum and LEED Gold Certifications, providing tenants with best-in-class connectivity through a design that is sustainable and respectful of the environment.

Mitch Konsker, Vice Chairman of JLL, leads the leasing effort alongside Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan. Claire Bernard, AVP of Leasing & Curation, leads the leasing efforts at Urbanspace (inquire at urbanspacenyc.com/become-a-vendor).

Zero Irving is the result of RAL’s successful response to an RFP issued by NYCEDC. The team behind the project is also comprised by financial partner Junius Real Estate Partners, architecture firm Davis Brody Bond, and commercial construction company Suffolk Construction.

https://newyork.citybizlist.com/article/623482/zero-irving-signs-urbanspace-for-10000-sf-food-hall

The post ZERO IRVING Signs Urbanspace for 10,000 SF Food Hall appeared first on Zero Irving.

Urbanspace currently operates four food halls in Manhattan, and the new Union Square location represents an expansion into a tech-focused new property development within an area that is a magnet for technology and media tenants.

“We have the ideal business model to help the NYC culinary community recover. It is very challenging for chef entrepreneurs to get started, now more than ever,” said Eldon Scott, President of Urbanspace. “Our platform lessens those barriers and is a great, turn-key opportunity, while giving our customers something special, the newest local flavors, and the never before tasted combinations.”

Urbanspace will be an amenity for Zero Irving’s tenants, users of the building’s event space, and the surrounding neighborhood.

Urbanspace plans a mixed online/offline platform with enhanced online ordering, delivery and pickup options for building tenants and the local community. The company also plans a catering option offered to both building tenants and users of Zero Irving’s event and conference center.

“The Union Square Partnership community could not be more thrilled that Urbanspace is officially on board as the food hall operator at Zero Irving, which will be a terrific new addition to Union Square-14th Street,” said Jennifer Falk, Executive Director, Union Square Partnership.

“Urbanspace has a wonderful track record in our community having operated their landmark Holiday Market in Union Square for over three decades. We know they will do something truly special with this project and we thank them for making this incredible investment in our district, particularly during these challenging times.”

The new food hall will also benefit from several COVID-19 favorable attributes RAL has deployed for both Urbanspace and the building’s office users.

Among them, RAL is introducing new technology to deliver a completely touchless entry experience from street to desk, along with privately controlled and customizable HVAC systems for each tenant floor, air quality monitoring stations, and 5 individual bathrooms per tenant floor built with modern materials that facilitate cleaning and disinfecting.

Once complete, Zero Irving will offer 176,000 s/f of new Class A office space across 14 floors at the top of the 240,000 s/f, 21-story building.

The project also includes a technology training center and incubator, event space and Urbanspace at grade level.

Zero Irving will also be offering flexible office space on the building’s upper floors with shorter terms and lesser credit requirements.

Zero Irving is fully financed and currently under construction, with delivery expected in early 2021.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that Urbanspace will open at Zero Irving, it brings a remarkable amenity that will be available to both the building tenants and the neighborhood at large,” said Josh Wein, Managing Director at RAL. “The RAL team is steadily pulling together all the ingredients to realize our vision of Zero Irving as a great mixed-use building that is additive to the community and ideal for tenants as well.”

Newly constructed space is also rare in Union Square, which offers mostly older or renovated building stock.

The building’s distinctive design, along with various outdoor spaces, touchless access, and private HVAC systems, will be key to attracting tenants who will be able to decide how to set up their space and tackle office life post pandemic.

The building is engineered to comply with both WiredScore Platinum and LEED Gold Certifications.

Mitch Konsker, Vice Chairman of JLL, leads the leasing effort alongside Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan. Claire Bernard, AVP of Leasing & Curation, leads the leasing efforts at Urbanspace.

Zero Irving is the result of RAL’s successful response to an RFP issued by NYCEDC. The team behind the project is also comprised by financial partner Junius Real Estate Partners, architecture firm Davis Brody Bond, and commercial construction company Suffolk Construction.

RAL signed a 99 years lease with the city for the site, which was formerly home to a PC Richard & Son store.

https://rew-online.com/ral-signs-10000-s-f-union-square-food-hall-deal/

The post RAL signs 10,000 s/f Union Square food hall deal appeared first on Zero Irving.

The market will be at Zero Irving, a new mixed-use project by RAL Development Services at 124 E. 14th St.

The new location will include online ordering with delivery and pickup options and a catering option for building tenants and those using Zero Irving’s event and conference center. Urbanspace’s food halls include vendor space for multiple tenants offering a range of cuisines.

Zero Irving will include 176,000 square feet of Class A office space across 14 floors, at the top of a 240,000-square-foot, 21-story building. The project also includes a technology training center and incubator, an event space, and flexible office space with shorter lease terms and lesser credit requirements.

Zero Irving is under construction and is expected to be completed in early 2021.

RAL — a third-generation New York real estate developer — has made tweaks to the building for the post-Covid-19 era, including touchless entry, privately controlled HVAC systems on each tenant floor, air quality monitoring, and five individual bathrooms per floor.

RAL was awarded the project through a request for proposals issued by the New York City Economic Development Corp.

Junius Real Estate Partners is a financial partner. Davis Brody Bond is the architect. Suffolk Construction is the commercial construction firm on the project.

The building is about a block from Union Square Park. It’s about a minute walk from the subway station, with access to the 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R and W trains.

Urbanspace was founded in London. It has four locations in Manhattan, all in Midtown, at 570 Lexington Ave., 230 Park Ave., 152 W. 52nd St., and in Times Square. The company also operates pop-up markets around the city.

Mitch Konsker, Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan of JLL lead Zero Irving’s leasing.

Claire Bernard is in charge of leasing at Urbanspace.

Eldon Scott, Urbanspace’s president, said the company, which leases vendor space to various tenants, could help New York’s culinary community recover from the turmoil brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is very challenging for chef entrepreneurs to get started, now more than ever,” Scott said in a statement. “Our platform lessens those barriers and is a great, turn-key opportunity, while giving our customers something special, the newest local flavors, and the never before tasted combinations.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2020/08/10/urbanspace-signs-lease-for-union-square-food-hall.html

The post Urbanspace signs lease for new Union Square food hall appeared first on Zero Irving.

Located at 124 East 14th Street, at the former site of the P.C. Richard & Son building, Zero Irving has faced opposition for years, as local preservationists and community groups felt that the rezoning required for the development should have included protections for the surrounding neighborhood, which is largely low-rise and residential.

Nevertheless, the $200 million project has been under construction for the past year. Despite the thousands of small business closings around the city, UrbanSpace founder and president Eldon Scott is confident in what will be his company’s fifth food hall in New York City. “We have the ideal business model to help the New York culinary world recover,” he told the Post.

UrbanSpace’s other locations are Urbanspace Vanderbilt near Grand Central (the first location, which opened in 2015), Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, 135 West 50th Street, and 152 West 52nd Street. They’re also behind the holiday markets in Grand Central, Union Square, Columbus Circle, and Bryant Park, as well as seasonal food market pop-ups like those at Madison Square and the Garment District.

For the Zero Irving outpost, UrbanSpace will employ its normal selection of curated food and drink vendors, along with a new interactive online ordering system.

[Via NY Post]

https://www.6sqft.com/urbanspace-will-open-a-new-food-hall-at-union-square-tech-hub/

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The $200 million project by RAL Development Services stands on city-owned land leased to RAL for 99 years. The site was once home to the 1980s Palladium disco and more recently a two-story PC Richard & Son store.

The new UrbanSpace, the fifth in Manhattan, will differ from the others in having interactive online ordering in addition to traditional “curated” food stands. It is set to open in the first or second quarter of 2021.

RAL Managing Director Josh Wein said the whole project needed to go through the city’s time-consuming land-use review process. Although he always wanted to make a deal with UrbanSpace, the lease was only just signed.

It should be a boon to the neighborhood’s food scene where many popular eateries had closed even before the corona­virus pandemic.

“We have the ideal business model to help the New York culinary world recover,” said UrbanSpace President Eldon Scott.

First-class offices will take up 176,000 square feet on the top 14 floors. The project will also be home to a tech-focused training center run by nonprofit organization Civic Hall.

The office component is being designed for the new normal” with “touchless” technology and tenant-controlled HVAC for each floor.

Wein admitted the office-leasing situation is “tough right now.” But he’s shooting for rents north of $100 a square foot. JLL’s Mitch Konsker leads the leasing team.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/06/urbanspace-to-bring-new-life-to-nycs-union-square-amid-covid-19/

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The city is the last region in the state to open all construction sites officially, although work has been ongoing in many non-essential locations since the late March shutdown, industry sources confirm.

With city virus metrics improving, allowing all construction sites to reopen meets Phase 1 of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to revive the state economy.  Regions must successfully complete this phase before other businesses such as personal care salons and commercial offices can open, with new rules for all workers to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus.

Construction in other state regions opened last month.

Protests in the city related to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis did not delay the reopening; a city-imposed curfew of 8 p.m. was ended on June 7, a day earlier than planned. There was no significant damage to construction sites, although plywood boarding and other protections for retail locations remain in place in numerous areas of Manhattan and other boroughs.

“In general, [construction industry] firms are looking for slow openings or a gradual return to work to support positive re-entry,” says Bill Edwards, an associate principal at engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti. “In volatile times, personal awareness and good decisions are a must when it comes to personal safety. I see a lot of businesses using good common sense to support this return.”

As of June 8, 33,556 previously closed non-essential sites were allowed to resume construction activity as part of the Phase 1 reopening, according to the New York City Dept. of Buildings. That is in addition to 8,243 essential construction sites that remained open during the shutdown, the department says.

The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, Building Trades Employers’ Association and Real Estate Board of New York announced on June 8 a “remobilization plan” in concert with Cuomo’s office to set health and safety protocols for construction worksites during the pandemic. Protocols include requirements for personal protective equipment, social distancing, health screenings, increased washing stations, frequent cleaning and disinfection. They also call for face coverings “to be worn at all times on union construction sites.”

Additionally, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order requiring that employees and visitors to construction sites wear face coverings at all times.

The new protocols also point to “creative measures” to reduce worker density on sites, including staggered start times, shift work and other alternative work schedules, which could involve 10-hour, 4-day weeks, which the groups say “will require the cooperation of the City of New York.”

The three industry groups say they have formed an oversight committee “that will closely monitor on-the-ground activity” and “review any submissions by construction managers,” related to compliance issues.

The city will need to grant variances for different work hours, and the agreement also stipulates a 5% wage-benefit premium for workers who take on second or third shifts, according to a June 7 report by real estate online trade publication The Real Deal.

“The safety of our members, and of all construction workers, must be the priority of any plan that remobilizes the construction industry,” said Gary LaBarbera, building trades council president,  in a statement.

Spencer Levine, RAL Development president, says some of the firm’s projects, like the Zero Irving tech hub, were considered essential and remained open, so the firm was able learn first hand how to proceed with non-essential sites once those reopened. He says the company brought “project medics on all of our projects earlier than planned” and “implemented daily health questionnaires and temperature-taking.”

Because Zero Irving is located in Union Square, it was “in the center of the ongoing demonstrations” against police violence, Levine says.

RAL’s safety and facilities manager was in constant communication with third-party security professionals to monitor and secure the site, Levine says. He adds that while the firm was “concerned about the concentration of pedestrians gathering in the area around the site, as long as these demonstrations remained peaceful and non-violent, we applaud the exercise of the right for peaceful demonstrations and change.”

According to one city-based project executive with several projects of more than 1 million sq ft, “working to some degree this entire time … gave us the opportunity to try out different protocols and products before our sites were back to full strength, so that was helpful.” The executive notes that the firm “learned that we didn’t like the way UV-C lighting was used to disinfect our shanties, but we did like the way it worked within our HVAC system.”

According to the manager, “social distancing isn’t really a problem as most workers are willing to comply. The toughest issue we have had has been implementing and documenting the daily health screening. Workers do not want to pass around a paper and pen to answer the CDC health screening questions,” the executive notes, with 14-day required paperwork storage “onerous” on large sites, some with “800+” workers.

The firm is pursuing use of apps for digital storage. “There will be a learning curve when this goes into effect next week,” says the project executive. “Most of our sites were back at 50-60% workforce [on June 8] and are targeting 80-90% workforce by next week.”

For one open shop CM working on mid-size and smaller projects, “all of our jobs were at least partially open before June 8,” says the firm’s CEO, adding that there are “operational protocols that prevent running the site at full capacity.” He notes staggered start and stop times for different trades and limited occupancy due to social distancing, including hoist limits of four persons. He characterizes productivity at 80%.

There are more than 100,000 unionized construction workers in New York City, the trade organizations say. But it was unclear how many would be returning to work in the city. The state Dept. of Labor notes that for April, the most recent month for which statistics are available, the overall unemployment rate was 14.6%, compared to the 3.7% rate in April 2019.

While the Dept. of Buildings doesn’t track the city’s specific employment numbers in construction, “at a minimum we expect tens of thousands of construction workers to return to work,” DOB press secretary Andrew Rudansky says.

With so many sites and employees getting back to work, the city’s late arrival into Phase 1 may have a silver lining: the ability to learn from other regions in New York state that now have moved to Phase 2.

“The essential sites that opened before today did help to normalize the new protocols,” says Marguerite Pinto, another Thornton Tomasetti associate principal. She notes all that sites she’s visited require masks and have supplies of them on hand, that there is enforced 6-ft spacing between workers “wherever practicable,” and circulating site safety monitors warning people if they’re too close.

“We will have to see how it works as it expands to all sites,” Pinto says of the protocols.

“As we restart the economic engine that is our construction industry, there is no excuse to abandon the social distancing and health measures that we know save lives,” City Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca says. She points out that her department “will be out in force, sweeping every work site in the city, to ensure compliance.”

https://www.enr.com/articles/49527-new-york-city-construction-sites-now-open-adjust-to-new-realities

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RAL Development halted work on the 21-story office building earlier this week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all nonessential construction was suspended to prevent the spread of the respiratory virus. Before then, workers had put up six stories of concrete and were getting ready to pour the seventh floor on the site of the former P.C. Richards store near Union Square South.

However, it’s not your typical office project. The development, which is being built on city-owned land, is going to be partially devoted to training new generations of coders and helping them get jobs. It will also include “step-up space” for young, growing tech companies.

The ground floor retail space is about to be leased to Urbanspace, which will operate a 10,000-square-foot food hall with a 1,700-square-foot outdoor terrace in the rear yard. Tech networking group Civic Hall plans to operate the second through seventh floors on a significantly below-market lease of $50 per square foot. (Civic Hall has been involved in the project for quite some time, but its lease is not yet finalized.) There will be an event and conference center on the second floor, and the third, fourth and fifth floors will be licensed to job training and workforce development organizations focused on placing people at tech companies. The eighth through 12th floors will offer “step-up” space for younger startups that need shorter lease terms, ranging from six months to five years. As part of RAL’s ground lease with the city, the developer can’t ask for more than one year’s security deposit from tenants who rent on these floors. The rent for these floors will not be discounted.

The remaining 13 floors will be typical market-rate office space for established tech firms. Asking rents range from $95 to $145 per square foot, with higher floors renting at pricier rates. The 14th and 21st floors have smaller private terraces, and there will be a top floor, 6,300-square-foot roof deck with seating and landscaping that’s accessible to all of the office tenants. The building will also feature a full-service gym. JLL’s Mitch Konsker and Ben Bass are handling the leasing.

Some developers have struggled with supply chain issues since coronavirus hit China and Italy, but RAL planned so far ahead that most of its materials were ordered before the pandemic.

“The vast majority of our curtain wall system is actually coming from Colombia,” said RAL President Spencer Levine. “We’ve been working on the curtain wall for two years. The vast majority is ready to ship. We have a small portion that is being fabricated in China. There is a slight delay in that and we’re seeing how we can work with the sequencing of construction to fit that in afterwards.”

https://commercialobserver.com/2020/04/zero-irving-union-square-tech-hub-construction/

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The 11 transportation projects on the list totaled $1.84 billion. Highlights include improvements to heavily used roadways in Jersey City, N.J., worth $97 million. Mixed-use buildings accounted for 10 jobs worth $1.4 billion. One notable project, Phase Two of the Liberty Harbor North One Park Vantage Mixed-Use Complex, was valued at $160 million. The project, also in Jersey City, will rise 448 ft and consist of 452 residential units, 7,000 sq ft of retail space and more than 100 parking spaces.

Also in New Jersey, the $86.5-million Gateway Expansion natural gas pipeline project aims to meet the state’s increased energy demand.

Residential developments include the highest-ranking project on the list, the Hunters Point South Phase 2 Parcel C (North Tower) in Long Island City, Queens, expected to cost $500 million. The 1.4 million sq ft of residential and retail space will include 1,400 apartments.

Additionally, the list ranks five warehouses together worth $612 million. Highlights in the category include what’s being touted as a record-size two-story fulfilment center, located in the Bronx. The $260-million project aims to bring same-day delivery to e-commerce shoppers in the New York metro market.

In September 2019, Amazon started its own 1-million-sq-ft fulfilment center in Shodack, N.Y., worth $100 million. It will become the company’s first large-scale distribution center in upstate New York.

Education projects on the list include the $107-million Phase 2 of the Greece Central School Capital Improvement Project in Rochester, N.Y., and a Camden, N.J., high school worth $99.59 million. Notable university projects include the $90-million, 1,200-bed North Campus freshman dormitory at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a $118-million renovation of the Carrier Dome’s iconic air-supported roof at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., which fits within a 20-year plan for developing the physical campus.

Two projects from the NYC School Construction Authority—ENR New York’s Owner of the Year—also are on the list: Staten Island’s $78.12-million New Hungerford School, also called IS/HS 86R Intermediate & High School, and Intermediate School 419 in Flushing, Queens, worth $68 million.

Three projects in the technology, medical/pharmaceutical and research sectors totaled $375 million—notable because, as ENR previously reported (ENR New York 7/16/18 p. NY6), scientific laboratories and offices are a big opportunity for the region. The Life Sci NYC initiative in 2018 set aside $300 million for tax abatements when a developer builds life science spaces and another $100 million in capital spending for an innovation hub.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s $188-million Regeneron Manufacturing Facility in East Bush, N.Y., will include a two-story, 346,000-sq-ft structural steel frame building. A life sciences facility conversion from a former warehouse in Long Island City, worth $67 million, includes a six-story, 91,210-sq-ft building with reinforced concrete that includes laboratory and office spaces.

These projects, along with Zero Irving­—also called the Union Square Tech Hub and worth $200 million, including a $120 million loan—contribute to hopes that New York and New Jersey will become a tech and life sciences hub.  Joshua Wein, managing director of finance at RAL Cos., the developer of Zero Irving, says he believes spaces for tech companies and R&D centers will become a bigger construction trend for the region.

“This RFP became one of several responding to New York City seeing the need to promote 21st-century jobs,” Wein says. “We’ll likely see a lot more like this one.”

The tech hub at 124 E. 14th St., a nearly 237,900-sq-ft, 21-story reinforced concrete building, will yield affordable and market-rate office space for tech firms. It will also offer space for retail and for dining facilities managed by Urbanspace. Civic Hall, a collaborative work and event space, will anchor the center.

Wein says the development is designed to give back to New York and inspire tech entrepreneurship. Partnerships with Civic Hall and the New York City Economic Development Corp. allow the Union Square Tech Hub to dedicate three floors to digital skills training. “We’ll see collaborative spaces licensed out for training to organizations at rents and shorter leases they can afford. Any for-profit organization renting the space must offer either free education or scholarships,” Wein says. “We’ve not seen this before.”

He points to architectural details of the building, which include elevated ceiling heights. Tenants can use the area as a collaboration space. Wein says he’s most proud of the exterior view with its all-glass double height spaces and wide column spacing.

Builders of tech centers in New York City must deal with constrained sites as well as issues related to renovating and repurposing old buildings.

The project team on Zero Irving, which has LEED Gold certification and a WiredScore platinum rating, also overcame special challenges to install the right level of  “connectivity” for high-tech spaces, Wein says.

The site is sandwiched between two large buildings, with the L-train running parallel. Because the subway runs down the roadbed, existing infrastructure is sandwiched between the train tunnel and the building lines, creating “a complex web” of infrastructure “knowns and unknowns,” which required “a great deal of exploratory work throughout the entire connectivity process,” he says.

While conversions remain RAL’s bread and butter, Wein sees more tech hubs and increased commercial development in its future. “Be creative and do something different nobody’s heard of,” he encourages other developers. “And if you’re building tech hubs, ensure you’re giving back to the tech community.”

Source: https://www.enr.com/articles/48890-transportation-mixed-use-tech-lead-top-starts-in-new-york-new-jersey 

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Architectural photographer Tectonic captured a couple of images showing a large amount of temporary supports and wooden formwork for the future floor slabs and columns. It’s definitely possible that the reinforced concrete structure can top out by the end of 2020.

124 East 14th Street will feature a large glass curtain wall on the main northern elevation and will be topped by a large open-air terrace overlooking Union Square. The main rendering also shows double-height spaces on the western end of the floor plates, each illuminated in a different bright color. The building incorporates one setback at the 14th floor that corresponds roughly to the roof height of the adjacent structures.

The project site sits immediately east of Union Square between Broadway and Third Avenue. The New York City Economic Development Corporation reported that the Union Square Tech Training Center will create over 600 construction jobs and an additional 550 permanent positions by 2020. The nearest subway lines are the L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, and 6 trains at the 14th Street-Union Square station, making the location very convenient for workers and visitors to access.

124 East 14th Street is slated for completion next spring.

https://newyorkyimby.com/2020/02/union-square-tech-training-center-begins-ascent-at-124-east-14th-street-in-union-square.html

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NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — RAL Development Services (RAL) officially launched Zero Irving, the new mixed-use development that brings to New York’s Union Square 176,000 square feet of thoughtfully amenitized, newly constructed Class A office space across 14 beautifully designed and appointed floors at the top of the 21-story building. The project also includes a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, state-of-the-art event space, and street level food hall on the 7 floors beneath. Zero Irving is fully financed and currently under construction, with delivery expected in late 2020.

“We’re confident that Zero Irving will deliver the finest office space offering in Midtown South,” said Josh Wein, Managing Director of Finance at RAL. “Zero Irving brings the trifecta that top tenants are seeking: stellar location with access to transportation, food, and nightlife; newly constructed space in a modern, nearly column-free design, with all the latest tech infrastructure baked in; and the most highly sought-after amenities such as a roof deck with unobstructed views, terraces on multiple floors, and brand new, high-quality event space within the building.”

Zero Irving’s location is practically unmatched. Steps from Union Square Park and the Union Square transit hub, the site provides tenants with the ability to attract and retain their workforce – a major consideration for tenants today. Newly constructed space is also rare in Midtown South, which offers mostly older or renovated building stock. And the ability to host events within one’s own building, in a shared state-of-the-art event space on Zero Irving’s second floor, hardly exists in Midtown South. Roof decks and terraces are also high on the list of tenant priorities, and Zero Irving’s outdoor spaces will provide outstanding views of Manhattan and beyond.

The top 14 floors of the 21-story building will offer state-of-the-art, market rate office space designed to attract industry-leading corporate and creative tenants within the tightest submarket in the country. “There is an incredible demand for high-quality office space in the epicenter of Midtown South and this building will offer something that does not exist in that market. The interconnection with the building’s amenities, programming, and access to a desirable and talented labor pool enhance the appeal of this project,” said Mitch Konsker, Vice Chairman of JLL, who will be leading the leasing effort alongside Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan.

In addition to its central location, some of Zero’s Irving’s access to talent is expected to come from within the building. Zero Irving’s lower floors offer a tech-focused digital skills training center, a tech incubator, co-working spaces, event space, and an urban food hall. Zero Irving is the result of RAL’s successful response to an RFP issued by NYCEDC, and through the innovative ecosystem RAL proposed the project is expected to help create over 500 quality jobs in Union Square, fueling the growth and continued diversification of New York City’s unique tech sector by providing accessible tech training and space for companies to grow and hire within the building. The digital skills training center will span three floors. The center will feature programming from providers such as Per Scholas, FEDCAP, CUNY, and Mouse. Together, these training opportunities will develop a talent pipeline between New Yorkers and the city’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.

In addition to the tech training facility and related uses on the lower floors, Zero Irving will be offering flexible office space within the market-rate offering on the building’s upper floors. The flexible office space, distinguished by shorter terms and lesser credit requirements, is available both for growing companies that have graduated from the incubator or co-working spaces, and for traditional office tenants occupying the building. “Growth companies as well as established firms can certainly benefit from flexible office space,” adds Spencer Levine, President of RAL. “We view the flexible office offering at Zero Irving as an economic boost for second stage companies and a further amenity for traditional companies.”

RAL and its equity partner previously secured $120 million of construction financing from Bank OZK and simultaneously entered into a long-term ground lease with NYCEDC. The project broke ground in Summer 2019.

About RAL Development Services

RAL Development Services LLC (RAL), http://ralcompanies.com/, is a real estate development firm with a three-generation, 38-year track record of success in building complex, high-profile projects nationally and internationally. RAL’s multidisciplinary in-house expertise includes predevelopment and approvals, urban planning, architecture and design, finance, construction management, landscape architecture, marketing and leasing, and property management. RAL operates both as a principal owner/developer and as an owner’s representative, bringing its expertise to residential, commercial, mixed-use, planned communities, Resorts and hospitality, and other property types. RAL prides itself on its dedication to the communities it works with, creating strong and lasting relationships with local constituencies wherever they build, as well as employing union labor and collaborating with MWBE contractors when possible. RAL uses and believes in cutting-edge processes and technologies, but never substitutes them for the experience, ingenuity, creativity, passion, leadership, and professional judgment provided by its people.

Contact:
Great Ink Communications, Ltd. – 212-741-2977
Eric Waters (227798@email4pr.com)
Francisco Miranda (227798@email4pr.com)

SOURCE RAL Development Services

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zero-irving-to-bring-176-000-square-feet-of-newly-constructed-class-a-office-space-with-luxury-amenities-in-new-yorks-union-square-300943313.html

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In April, after years of planning, navigating the city’s long rezoning process and dealing with pushback from some community groups, RAL Development Services finalized its deal with the city to build a 21-story tech hub on the site of a former P.C. Richard & Son building in Union Square.

SEE ALSO: Talking Diversity, Green Construction and Safety Training with Suffolk’s Charlie Avolio

The project at 124 East 14th Street, recently dubbed Zero Irving because of its proximity to Irving Place, aims to combine a technology training center and startup incubator with traditional office space all under one roof, said Joshua Wein, the financial director of RAL.

“The whole idea behind this building is everything was supposed to be synergistic in different uses of the building,” Wein said, “where we see graduates of this digital skills training center getting jobs and being an employee pipeline for some of those companies upstairs.”

RAL partnered with nonprofit Civic Hall to run a training center on the third through fifth floors, with plans to license out that space to organizations like Per Scholas, which runs tuition-free technology classes, and dedicated the sixth and seventh floor as an incubator. The top 14 floors of the new building — which should finish laying its foundation next month and open in 2020 — will be leased to market-rate office tenants, with a particular focus on technology companies.

“It’s a big step for the city, it’s a big step for the region, and it’s something different,” said Spencer Levine, president of RAL. “We hope that it becomes a model for other cities or even other areas within New York City.”

While Zero Irving’s addition of a training center makes it unique, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has opened or invested in several technology hubs in the past decade to help grow the city’s burgeoning tech market.

“Tech hubs, in various forms, are critical pieces of the innovation ecosystem,” Ana Ariño, the chief strategy officer for the EDC, said, adding the hubs offer startups flexible office space, expensive equipment to prototype projects and access to regional and international partnerships. “These offerings are what makes these physical places the place where the community wants to go, particularly in a city of the scale of New York City. The startup community is essentially a network and it thrives when the ecosystem is strong.”

Founders of startup companies have a rough road ahead of them when launching (an estimate of 90 percent fail) but incubators can make it easier by providing everything from office space to connecting them to venture capitalists for funding, according to Shaun Stewart, the CEO of the New Lab tech hub that opened in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 2016.

“Starting a company, you have to be in a suspension of belief, it is crazy to build a company,” he said. “We’ve built a support system … that will ensure a greater likelihood of success.”

The 84,000-square-foot New Lab focuses on startups focused on developing cutting-edge frontier tech — like Honeybee Robotics, which built parts used on NASA’s Mars rovers — and a hub like it is especially important because it provides nearly $6 million in equipment for prototype development along with a campus filled with experts in many similar fields.
And there’s plenty of demand for tech companies in recent years, especially after local universities boosted their technology programs, Ariño said. Tech jobs — which includes developers, programmers and information systems managers — surged 38 percent from 2011 to 2017, a CBRE report found.

In that time, a total number of 70,500 tech jobs were added, putting New York City behind San Francisco as the largest market in the country, the report found. While San Francisco still has 74,880 more people in the labor pool, the tide has begun to shift to the East Coast in recent years as more workers want to get out of Silicon Valley — and its traffic jams — to move to New York City, said Stewart.

“People used to suffer through that kind of quality of life,” he said. “You don’t have to anymore. You can have the quality of life of Brooklyn and partner and work with large, interesting corporations.”

The EDC first stepped in to create tech hubs around the city in 2014 when it teamed up with New York University to open a 10,000-square-foot business incubator, the Urban Future Lab, at 15 MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn. It agreed to provide up to $750,000 in seed funding over two years for it, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Ariño said the incubator proved to be successful but created problems for some companies that moved out, who then had to deal with navigating the city’s office environment; some ditched the city altogether.

“Companies that were graduating were moving into traditional office spaces across the city but losing the benefits of that community or losing the benefits of flexible space,” she said. “We said we want to invest in true urban tech hubs to continue supporting their trajectory.”

The hubs also make it easier for companies to keep skilled employees, which is something Stewart wish existed when he opened Expedia’s East Coast office in Jersey City, N.J., in 2002.

“We didn’t have any community of support or anyone we knew who was working on similar projects, it was very hard to attract talent,” he said. “Communities like ours changed that significantly. If you’re a five-person startup now you can have an incredible home in Brooklyn.”

The EDC partnered with companies to open hubs including Grand Central Tech in Midtown, New Lab and Zero Irving. More recently, the EDC offered $90 million in tax subsidies for Deerfield Management Company for its $635 million biotech campus at 345 Park Avenue South and started a $100 million partnership with JVP and SOSA to spur the cybersecurity industry in the city, including a 50,000-square-foot investment hub at 426 Broadway, Crain’s New York Business reported.

“There’s an insatiable demand for cybersecurity jobs,” Ariño said. “We want to make a big investment to turbocharge the next generation of cyber talent in the city.”

And some of the EDC’s early incubators have said they experienced huge success. Stewart said the 137 companies to come out of New Lab have had above-average valuations and exits, including Jump Bikes which Uber bought for $200 million last year.

Grand Central Tech — a joint venture with landlord Milstein Properties — started in 2014 with just 15,000 square feet at Milstein’s 335 Madison Avenue and focused on providing rent-free space for people who’ve founded their second or third startups.

“What they didn’t need was a traditional accelerator or incubator,” said Matt Harrigan, a co-founder of Grand Central Tech. “If you’re a repeat founder, they’re just teaching you stuff you already know.

Milstein and Grand Central Tech (rebranded as Company) is planning to spend $150 million to renovate the entire 1.1-million-square-foot property into a tech campus. The building will have 250,000 square feet dedicated to startups — and 90 percent of that is already filled — with 700,000-square-feet set aside for larger companies, Harrigan said. Facebook nabbed a full, 40,000-square-foot floor at 335 Madison Avenue in December 2018, returning to the building after it left in 2014.

“Grand Central Tech is actually a bigger notion than just a technology accelerator,” Harrigan said. “It’s a thesis for how you can fill an entire large-format Midtown building.”

Company will offer startups flexible deals for office suites that give them the ability to grow their company easily without long-term leases weighing them down, Harrigan said.

“We really can take companies and move them through the funnel of growth,” he said.

Both Harrigan and New Labs’ Stewart said it’s important to not just choose any startup and throw them together but to curate them with tenants that can benefit each other.

“I think for a period there was this notion of, let’s create a tech hub! And many were created,” Harrigan said. “I think at this point more nuanced and more niche approaches are necessary.”

Ariño said the city has invested in several other hubs around the city and plans on adding more in the future. And some people want other boroughs aside for Manhattan and Brooklyn to benefit as well.

Emil Skandul, the founder of digital innovation firm Capitol Foundry, wrote an op-ed in the New York Daily News after the news of Zero Irving’s deal-closing calling for similar campuses to be built in Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx, which would make it easier for residents of those boroughs to benefit from them.

“I don’t want it to just be Manhattan,” Skandul told CO. “I think as time progresses we’re going to start to realize as automation takes its toll on the city’s workforce we need to upskill and retool the workforce.”

“Queens resembles the diversity of Silicon Valley,” Skandul added. “Queens can be this next tech hub.”

For Zero Irving, the developers said its Manhattan location will help preexisting training programs who couldn’t afford to be in the borough reach even more people because of its central location.

“These organizations really can’t do it in the center of Manhattan,” RAL’s Levine said. “Union Square, really being the hub of Manhattan, was a great place to be able to create this kind of facility that could leverage its location and have [organizations] only commit to the time they need for their curriculum.”

Zero Irving stemmed from a request for proposals the EDC released in 2016 to create a job creation hub in the area. RAL eventually won the bid and signed a 99-year ground lease with the EDC in April.

The deal called for RAL to pay $5 million to the EDC upfront and was granted three years of free rent, which switches to $2.3 million annually in the first five years. RAL’s plan from the beginning always called for market rent tenants up above to pay for the training center and incubator below, so it didn’t have to rely on any more city help.

“We’re not asking the city for any subsidies here,” Wein said. “We presented a program that is completely self-sufficient where the building itself can provide all these different benefits to the city as well as providing this great 21st century traditional office space.”

Hubba Hubba: Zero Irving and the City’s Growing Number of Tech Hubs

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RAL, developer of the project through a joint venture with Junius Real Estate Partners, secured $120 million of construction financing from Bank OZK and simultaneously entered into a long-term ground lease with NYCEDC.

Meridian Capital Group’s Drew Anderman and Alan Blank arranged the financing.

RAL plans to start demolition of the former PC Richard’s store immediately and with vertical construction getting underway this Spring.

The upper floors of the 21-story building will feature Class A market-rate space for “forward-thinking” office users, with lower floors offering a tech-focused digital skills training center, a tech incubator, co-working spaces, event spaces, and an urban food hall.

The Tech Hub, the result of an RFP issued by NYCEDC, is expected to create over 500 jobs in Union Square.

“This project is incredibly exciting and we’re happy to complete the transactions needed to start building it,” said Josh Wein, Financial Director of RAL Development Services.

“In addition to the multitude of benefits this development provides for the City and its workforce, which have been designed to promote job creation and growth in the technology sector, we’ll be creating the finest modern office building in Midtown South.”

The project secured City Council approval in 2018, the final stage of the ULURP process. Since the Tech Hub was announced in February 2017, NYCEDC and the project’s development team have worked with local elected officials and met with over 40 community organizations to find ways to make the project even more impactful for New Yorkers.

The digital skills training center, operated by Civic Hall, a non-profit focused on using tech for the civic good, will span three floors. The center will feature programming from providers such as Per Scholas, FEDCAP, CUNY, and Mouse.

The aim is to create a talent pipeline between New Yorkers and the city’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.

The top 14 floors of the 21-story building will offer state-of-the-art, market rate office space designed to attract industry-leading corporate and creative tenants.

“There is an incredible demand for high-quality office space in the epicenter of Midtown South and this building will offer something that does not exist in that market. The interconnection with the building’s amenities, programming, and access to a highly sought-after labor pool will enhance the desirability of this project,” said Mitch Konsker, Vice Chairman of JLL, who will be leading the leasing effort alongside Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan.

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NEW YORK CITY—Demolition of the building that housed the PC Richard & Son store at 124 E. 14th St. will begin immediately followed by construction of a 21-story, mixed-use office building that will house the new Union Square tech hub. Suffolk Construction will be the project’s general contractor.

RAL Development Services in a joint venture with Junius Real Estate Partners closed a $120 million construction loan from Bank OZK. Junius is a real estate investment unit of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, a division of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Its focus is high yielding real estate equity and debt investments.

The developers also signed a 99-year ground lease with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The New York Post reported the joint venture has agreed to the following arrangements: It made an up-front payment of $5 million and will not pay rent for the first three years during construction and lease-up. Afterwards the annual base rent will be $2.3 million for the first five years. The rent will then increase by 2% every year through the 30th year. Following this period, the rent will be subject to fair market resets. A spokesperson for RAL confirmed these financing terms with GlobeSt.com.

Last year, the city council approved the tech hub following New York City’s ULURP process. The steps were required to increase the as-of-right building height from 14 floors to 21 stories.

For 25 years, RAL will lease six of the floors to the non-profit Civic Hall, which will create a digital training center, a tech incubator, co-working spaces, event spaces and an urban food hall. RAL will lease the top 14 floors of the 21-story building at market rate. According to the RFP issued by NYCEDC, the tech hub is expected to create over 500 jobs in Union Square.

Josh Wein, financial director of RAL, says, “In addition to the multitude of benefits this development provides for the City and its workforce, which have been designed to promote job creation and growth in the technology sector, we’ll be creating the finest modern office building in Midtown South.”

Brokers from JLL who will be negotiating leasing for the market-rate offices say they will be state-of-the-art. “There is an incredible demand for high quality office space in the epicenter of Midtown South and this building will offer something that does not exist in that market. The interconnection with the building’s amenities, programming, and access to a highly sought-after labor pool will enhance the desirability of this project,” says JLL’s Mitch Konsker. He’ll be working on the office leasing with his colleagues, Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz and Kristen Morgan.

NYCEDC and the developers met with local elected officials and over 40 community organizations for input to help the project address the city’s needs. They note the center will feature programs from organizations such as Per Scholas, FEDCAP, CUNY and Mouse and will provide training opportunities.

Community groups including the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (now named Village Preservation) advocated for neighborhood protections to accompany approval of the tech hub. They supported the educational and public goals of the project but protested its development without inclusion of rezoning for surrounding neighborhood streets. They requested limited heights for new developments, removal of current incentives for hotel and dorm development, and the inclusion of affordable housing with new construction for a limited area around the center.

The neighborhood organizations expressed they were concerned about an eventual destruction of the unique character the Village—starting with its now being referred to as Midtown South.

https://www.globest.com/2019/04/09/union-square-tech-hub-jv-closes-120m-construction-loan/

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RAL Development Services and Junius Real Estate Partners last week inked the bottom lines to develop 124 E. 14th St., a site owned by the city since 1968 that was most recently a two-story P.C. Richard store.

The soon-to-come, 21-story tower between Third and Fourth avenues is dubbed NYC Tech Hub. It will include a tech-focused training center and incubator run by nonprofit organization Civic Hall; digitally attuned office space; and a multi-vendor market run by growing food hall outfit Urbanspace.

RAL was tapped by the city to develop the site following a request-for-proposal last year. Although not previously reported, it recently teamed up with Junius, a real estate investment unit of JPMorgan Private Bank, a division of JPMorgan Asset Management.

The team on Friday closed on a 99-year ground lease with the EDC and also made an up-front payment of $5 million.

The joint venture will enjoy three years of free rent during construction and lease-up, followed by base rent of $2.3 million annually for the first five years. The rent jumps by 2 percent every year after that through the 30th year, with “fair market” resets later.

The developers closed on the ground lease after nailing down a $120 million construction loan from Bank OZK. The total development cost is $200 million. Work is to start immediately.

RAL financial director Josh Wein not surprisingly termed the project as “incredibly exciting.”

The long-awaited deal comes at a transitional time for 14th Street, which little resembles the way it looked a few decades ago. Open-air shops that sold goods on the sidewalk gave way to chains and “fast-casual” food shops, and taller buildings replaced low-rise tenements.

The 124 E. 14th St. site’s history is long and winding. The city government seized it as part of a 1968 condemnation when John Lindsay was mayor — but we couldn’t pin down the reason.

Various city actions in 1983 and 1992 divided the land into several different lots, which were developed into apartment buildings and NYU dorms, one of which replaced the old Palladium disco.

But 124 E. 14th St. remained low-rise. There was some community and preservationist resistance to the Tech Hub plan — which required rezoning — over fears that it would accelerate the transition of the Union Square area into a “Silicon Valley” full of tall buildings. But the City Council signed off on it last summer.

Civic Hall will operate an 80,000- square-foot community facility. It will feature a 40,000-square-foot digital skills training center, a conference center and collaborative workspace for tech innovators. Mayor Bill de Blasio praised it as a key component of New York Works, an initiative to spur creation of 100,000 jobs in the next decade.

The office floors above will be open to anyone, but “we’re branding the whole building as a tech hub, and the focus will be on tech,” Wein said.

“We’d love to see tech companies move in upstairs and hire people who graduated from the digital training facility downstairs,” he added. A JLL team headed by vice-chairman Mitchell Konsker will handle leasing.

Wein said the building should be finished by the end of 2020. RAL has developed One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Franklin Tower in Tribeca and Loft 25 in Chelsea, among other major projects.

https://nypost.com/2019/04/08/nyc-tech-hub-to-bring-an-end-to-long-running-land-use-saga/

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The Union Square Tech Hub, now officially known as the Union Square Tech Training Center, has received the unanimous approval of the City Planning Commission. The latter voted Wednesday to advance the project to the City Council, where it is expected to receive a final vote of approval.

Wednesday’s decision follows the approval of Community Board 3 in March, and is the latest step in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), that needs to be complete in order for the 21-story tech training center to rise on the site of the P.C. Richard & Sons store on 14th Street.

“The Tech Training Center in Union Square will create a new model for accessing New York City’s tech sector – connecting New Yorkers to modern skills training and job opportunities with growing companies, all under one roof,” said Ryan Birchmeier, a senior associate within the public affairs department at the city’s Economic Development Corporation—the agency pushing for the creation of this tech hub.

The 240,000-square-foot tech training center is hoping to open up the tech industry to a broader range of New Yorkers. In addition to the training center, there will also be co-working spaces, and market-rate office space for bigger, more established tenants.

Ahead of the vote today, the EDC also released a new video that details the mission of the building.

Though the tech center has received the support of local residents, many preservation groups have also called for a larger rezoning of the area to ensure that the tech hub doesn’t usher in massive development. The proposal received the backing of the community board in March, but hasn’t gained much traction since.

Link: https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17510050/union-square-tech-training-center-city-planning-approval

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