Renderings for the incoming Union Square Tech Training Center now adorn the former P.C. Richard & Son property on 14th Street at Irving Place, site of the mayor's so-called tech hub.
The renderings here show that the 21-story building — "a community and collaborative work and event center" — is going by 14th @ Irving, a name that was first introduced in December 2016 though not always mentioned in more recent news accounts on the project.
The 14th @ Irving website has details on what to expect here, like the Food Hall:
The Food Hall will enhance the street life and activate the mid-block area on 14th Street between 3rd and 4th avenues. Food and other vendors will provide amenities to the local community and the building tenants. 25% of all booths will be reserved for first time, local entrepreneurs and new businesses. The event space within the building will also provide catering opportunities to help support these new businesses while the digital skills training center will provide access to training to both vendors and employees.
As previously reported, the project is being developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and developer RAL Development Service. The 240,000-square-foot building includes Civic Hall, which will offer tech training for low-income residents, as well as market-rate retail and office space.
The hub, initially announced in early 2017, passed through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) earlier this year, capped off by a unanimous City Council vote in August. A rezoning was required to build the the 21-story structure, which is larger than what current commercial zoning allows.
For months, some residents, activists, small-business owners and community groups expressed concern that the rezoning necessary for the project would spur out-of-scale development on surrounding blocks. (You can read more about what transpired in the links below.)
The 14th @ Irving website states that construction will start in the first quarter of 2019, with the building opening in the fourth quarter of 2020. To date, there aren't any permits filed for the address at the DOB website.
[Image via Davis Brody Bond]
Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC
Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood
P.C. Richard puts up the moving signs on 14th Street; more Tech Hub debate to come
Preservationists: City schedules next public hearing on tech hub without any public notice
City Council's lone public hearing on the 14th Street tech hub is tomorrow
City Council unanimously approves tech hub; some disappointment in lack of zoning protections
The conversation continues on the now-approved tech hub for 14th Street
I miss Luchow’s.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Astor Place "Death Star" this building will come to symbolize the end to our neighborhood's character and livability. Expect more hotels, office towers, expect to be forced out of your affordable or rent stabilized apartment as more buildings are sold to landlords like Jared Kushner. Expect more suburban box stores on the street level of these new large footprint buildings further erasing any retail diversity and survival of small businesses. Remember it was Carolina Rivera's pivotal vote to allow rezoning of this building and it's surrounding blocks. She served her REMBY Mayor and his developer backers well, she can be certain of a long career with campaign money from big real estate.
ReplyDeleteSo well put.
DeleteThis project is 15 years too late and horrendously out of scale and anybody who believes the concept will benefit low income residents with training and amenities is fooling themselves. And when's the construction start date on one of the most congested parts of 14th Street? Just in time for the L train shutdown when congestion will be at its worst ever. Brilliant. A done deal is a done deal.
ReplyDeleteSeriously what is the problem with this building ?
ReplyDeleteUnion Square is full of large buildings
Union Square has historically been a place where innovation happened
it was first commercial theater district in NYC
this is replacing a PC Richards for god's sake!!!
a tech hub can provide many many jobs for neighborhood
So crazy and disappointing how Carlina Rivera our new Council Member completely and entirely violated her clear and explicit campaign promise not to support this unless there were concurrent zoning protections for the rest of the area. Rosie knew how to stand up to bullies like the real estate mayor Deblasio. Carlina I am afraid seems to have all the hallmarks of an opportunist. Resit Trump way over there and do this or that liberal thing but here in our backyard roll over for the Mayor. Terribly sad and disappointing her first real vote.
ReplyDeleteAnd just in time for the L Trains shutdown.
True there are tall buildings on 14th, but this site did not allow this and it was city-owned, given away to the mayor's real estate donors-surprise- who hire Capalino also involved in Rivington House.
None of these places ever ever ever live up to the promises and hype,or have true and verifiable oversight- even the recent Essex crossing, 1 % of construction jobs and maybe 10 % of the low paying retail jobs went to locals. Some groups get some $ for training and workshops to be cheerleaders and that's that while the millionaires make off with the money based on a public resource.
In total agreement this project is too late in the making. How about increasing the accountability on existing so call "workforce centers" many of whom are under the auspices of NYCSBS, as well as local CBO'S, Henry Street Settlement, etc, .They are all suppose to account for training, job placement for consumers (many of whom reside in our inner city neighborhoods). This mimics what Brooklyn 'Metro Tech" was supposed to have been. And, yes bearing in mind the zoning issues at large. NYU, NEW SCHOOL all stand to benefit from Tech Hub.
ReplyDeleteOn every major issue our council person has failed/betrayed her community: rezoning, Boys Club, garbage trucks and our homeless/traveler problem. She spits our the usual "I wrote a letter. I showed up at a rally... All the acts that belong in a Dog 'n Pony Show. And today's biggest, most important Dog 'n Pony Show is
ReplyDelete"progressive " politics. - "progressive/socialist" politics. The "progressive" claims to be down with the people but are really down with corporate America. This building is a perfect example. "It's a win for the community. It will provide jobsjosjobs! But these tech centers are dying off. This building is a day late for tech jobs. So now they push the food court. Just what the community needs - low paid food service jobs.
This project is about moral bankruptcy.
I knew that Robot Rivera was morally bankrupt when she said she wouldn't move from her subsidized apartment until she was elected.
What did we expect she would do when the mayor and his cronies told her how to vote. Was she going to stand up for her community? We don't have to answer. We see the results clear as day.
This is about ONE PARTY RULE.
This is about the MORALLY CORRUPT.
CARLINA RIVERA SHOULD RESIGN.
There was nothing morally bankrupt about Ms. Rivera and her Section 8 apartment. The optics looked suspicious because of her husband whom she had recently married, but she was qualified to live in the Section 8 apartment, even after her victory. But she pledged to vacate the apartment if she won and she did promptly move out after her victory.
Delete@9:01 AM
ReplyDeleteThe building and its intended purpose is not the problem, the tech will succeed of fail is not the point. Rivera was the deciding vote not for the building but for a change to the zoning laws which will allow this building to grow an additional 4-5 stories higher than originally planned. The zoning change be exploited by developers to build more out of scale office buildings finally realizing the bullshit "mid-town south neighbored which was once a residential East Village. This was handout to the developers who back politicians in are city REGARDLESS of their party, it is about making as much money as possible on this island with no regards to the citizen who live on it.
This project is going to be an amazing addition to the neighborhood. I understand people like to complain about everything but this project really has so many positive benefits. I'm excited for the day that it opens.
ReplyDeleteSheesh, Noble, i’d think somone who chose a screen name based on a Lost In Space character would embrace sceince and technology and progress. Lets at least give the project a chance before we get on our spaceships to colonize other worlds.
ReplyDelete@3:43pm: Is that you, Carlina? Or the developer?
ReplyDeleteThis project is years late, a lot of dollars short, and IMO is going to be an oversized white elephant in the neighborhood. I don't believe for one minute that this is going to somehow give lots of tech training to young people (or even older people, for that matter) THAT WILL RESULT IN JOBS. We already have offices of FB and Google nearby - if there is such a burning need, they could have addressed it.
The presumption is that there is a bottomless need for "tech" people - in whatever vague way that's defined - and that this building will somehow take school dropouts and make them into highly-paid tech workers. I absolutely doubt this as an outcome.
But the food hall, AHA! Yeah, b/c we need a "food mall" here on 14th St., right? There's nowhere to eat right now, we lack for restaurants and chain food stores, right? Hell, even Walgreen's sells sandwiches.
What an effin' mess this is going to be. I call it DeBlasio's Folly *with traitor Rivera's help!* - but we will pay the price in degradation of neighborhood & quality-of-life.
And yeah, whichever geniuses decided to do this right when the L train shutdown happens, please STAND UP so we can throw tomatoes at you.
PS: I miss Luchow's, too.
When this project was first proposed, a man from Avenue D testified in favor of it because the nonprofit that launched his career would then be able to offer the same services much closer to his neighborhood. (The nonprofit was previously based in the Bronx.) To imply that he was lying and no one would be helped by this seems completely implausible to me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, a job incubator is a just job incubator, rather than some kind of Trojan horse for the neighborhood. It astonishes me that so many have fought it tooth and nail, simply for being slightly taller than the previous zoning allowed. I'm happy Carlina Rivera saw fit to approve it.
Rumor has it that Amazon is going to put a new headquarters in Long Island City. Seattle is full of small companies that sprang up because of Amazon. Looks like a new tech hub training center may have been a good idea after all.
ReplyDelete@4:33 PM
ReplyDeleteI also embrace reading and understanding what I read. Look at my comment again, I am against the change in the zoning law which was made in regards to this building. The extra 4 or 5 floors which required the zoning change were added by the developer to make more of a profit. The extra floors were the Trojan horse to remove height restrictions in this neighborhood which in turn will increase development of hotels, taller luxury condo's etc...
This was a classic bait and switch by De Blasio admin to help his financial backers, big money developers.
What use is a "Civic Center" that only holds 250 people? Walking by site the other day I was warmed by a block of sunlight - that will be gone with the higher building. Also the neighborhood is gentrifying, why not have made something useful for all the people that actually live in the area (lot's of us put up with the "old" 14th street for 30+ years) and now it is not geared to us at all?
ReplyDeleteZoning is not just about 4 extra floors in one building. It provides stability and variety to a neighborhood. It's a shield against overcrowding and overbuilding and the associated hazards and unpleasantness. When the city ignores its zoning laws and the state ignores the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law we keep marching towards unlivability. Perhaps we have already lost the fight to preserve the EV, to the extent that there was a fight. My soapbox.
ReplyDeleteIf you think tech training has any relation to the jobs Amazon will bring, well. I have an Amazon Governor to sell you. Hint take a look at the men in vests in the street at the back of unmarked truck in the rain sorting packages in the gutter to put on handtrucks, or maybe that is a tech job.
ReplyDeleteThis is an act of extortion. Historically it has never benefited the home city. Promised jobs are forgotten by the next administration. And we the voters are left holding the bill.
ReplyDeleteDonnieMolder
ReplyDeleteYou can dismiss it as "optics " but her decision is based on selfishness: what's good for her... not what is the right thing to do. Win or lose, you move.
As you state, she was qualified to live there but was she and her husband qualified?