I was wondering if you know what is going on with the construction on Franklin Place. The permits seemed to have disappeared at the end of last year. There has been no movement in a while and all the construction stuff seems to be gone. There was a truck there with a blimp recently that enables you to take birds eye pictures but that’s about it. —A.

I contacted the El Ad Group, which bought the plot, so to speak, last summer, but I got a chilly reception—which made me wonder if it was stalled, because why not just say it’s still on?

Franklin Place is the alley that runs parallel to Broadway (on the western side), between Franklin and White. The address was a way to avoid any Broadway stigma, and the entrance really was going to be on the alley. Initially, the plan was for a cool, curvy, black building by Ben Van Berkels; then, Richard DeMarco of Montroy Andersen DeMarco was hired to come up with something more recession-friendly. (The new/old image is courtesy Curbed.)

I went over to the site this morning. There were a few people working on the site, down in the pit, but they seemed to be cleaning up more than anything else. (I forgot to check out the permits—I’ll do that in a little bit and post any updates here.)

I poked around online, and Montroy Andersen DeMarco had a description of the project on its site, including renderings for the 19-story, 55-unit building, with plans for automated parking and a rooftop pool. But when I called the firm to speak to someone about it, I was told, “That job is no longer; that job has been abandoned.” I’d prefer to hear it from the developer, because it’s possible they just want a different architecture firm, but this will have to do for now.

UPDATE 1/17: From a reader: “They have spent the past six weeks doing demolition (very loud jackhammering) as their new building is not as per either of those old plans. It still is condos with the 5 Franklin Place address though. Once demolition is complete it sounds like they will start building up.”

Some photos from the Franklin Place side—the first one shows how the Broadway façade is like something from the Old West.

Got a question? Email it to tribecacitizen@gmail.com.

Previous Nosy Neighbor posts:
• What’s going on with 88 Thomas?
• Is another Equinox opening in IPN?
• Is this the new dog run?
• Any update on the Chambers construction?
• Who’s responsible for the snowflake lights?
• Is the scaffolding on 110 Hudson ever coming down?
• Are the Hudson and Chambers reconstructions delayed?
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• Why is Pier 25 ripped up?
• Is 28 N. Moore going residential?
• Why does cobblestoning require sprinklers?
• Do newspaper boxes need permits?
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