Three More Buildings Are Toast

23-34 Park RowWe already knew that 33 Park Row and 34 Park Row, the two buildings south of Beekman, are being torn down to make way for a 25-story building. Developer Urban Muse is calling it One Beekman.

And when I was walking along Broadway the other day, I noticed the sidewalk shed on 23 Park Row and 29 Park Row. Sure enough, the Department of Buildings website shows demolition permits for both buildings (filed in September 2014 and August 2015, respectively). What’s more, it also has a demolition permit for 31 Park Row (filed in September 2014).

The owners are listed as Park Row 23 Owners LLC, Park Row 29 Owners LLC, and Park Row 31 Owners LLC, but the contact email is the same for all three: It’s for Marion Croze, preconstruction coordinator at L+M Development Partners, which I think we can safely deduce is the developer. From L+M’s website:

Our work is based on the belief that affordable housing goes hand in hand with social responsibility. Our vision for vibrant neighborhoods has transformed the urban landscape all over New York City. L+M has consistently been on the cutting edge of urban development and workforce housing. Because of our reputation for creative approaches to mixed use and mixed income developments and emerging market rate luxury housing, community leaders and government housing agencies consistently turn to L+M as the preferred choice for development partner and builder. Our ability to take an “outside the box” view of development has led to innovation and success.

That’s a large lot in a prominent spot. Given L+M’s commitment to social responsibility, I’m sure the company would be happy to send a representative to Community Board 1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee so we can learn more about what it has in store.

 

11 Comments

  1. All 3 are owned in some way by the J&R family through LLCs. They took a loan out for $20 million using 15 Park Row as collateral. Wondering how this will be a part of the “retailing concept and social mecca.”

  2. At first I thought the J&R family would have cut through the base of 15 Park Row to join their Ann Street building to the other three and create a single large retail space, but they decided to turn the commercial office space at the base to residential instead. Nonetheless, the corner unit is ideal for a store like Uniqlo.

  3. I would rather see a multi-building artist mecca with a record store on the corner (J&R Records) and CBGB (yes CBGB) inside the street (small sublevel venue under the ground level venue.) A terrestrial radio station (Radio J&R.) Floors upon floors of artisitc endeavor of all kinds not just music. Use the air rights to the max. It’d be a beacon of light in a sea of darkness.

    Residential towers would be the pits because it’d be less space for places for people to go to for fun and shopping in an area which has NOTHING going for it, sorry. Seriously, walk every street bounded by Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall, Park Row, Maiden Lane, and Broadway and tell me what is there to do on a Thu/Fri/Sat. night besides go to a couple of bars. Nassau Street and Park Row are dead, Fulton Street and Broadway have no soul. No record or book stores. No live music venues. No good places to buy clothing. Barely any place to get a slice or pie of non-chain pizza outside of Rosella’s. Only a handful of real restaurants. It’s beat. Putting up more places for people to live doesn’t make it more vibrant, it just makes it more crowded with people who will only go elsewhere for fun and shopping. The Glass Box On The Water due in 2022 the way it’s going will lose its charm real quick when people realize they can shop for the same stuff online for less.

    The J & R family has a real chance to make that stretch of land a a music and entertainment mecca – they should not blow it.

    • I really hope some form of what you envision happens. L+M look like they are interested in building communities, but they are also responsible for Schaefer Landing and Northside Piers in Williamsburg. J&R was always very supportive of Jazz and R&B artists with the annual concert in the park, although you could claim it only a marketing tactic. And they were one of the last big store holdouts for vinyl. They stayed committed to downtown after 9/11 and I hope they can stand strong against the continued mallification that is hitting the area now.

    • Life Force,

      Why so bitter? You sound jealous of what is going on across the park where the real value lay.

  4. Bitter? Yeah, I’m soooo bitter for wanting a record store, the reopening and rebirth of a famous nightclub, a radio station, dozens of floors of artists, creativity, ideas etc. and all the great things which could come out of that.

    I’m jealous of nothing and what is going on across the park where the real value lay? Wait a minute…what is the “real value”? More luxury housing for rich people who only take up more space and have fun and shop elsewhere?

    The J&R family has a real chance to create something epic and eternal, something I don’t think has ever been done before in this country. How funny, shocking, awesome etc. would it be if they put up a fifty story tower…of artist businesses and spaces?

    • If you feel so strongly about these things and believe it is such a fabulous opportunity, why don’t you try to do these things instead of hoping someone else will?

      • How do you know I don’t do all I can with the resources I have? You don’t know a thing about me and vice versa so can it with the “Why don’t you do this and that?” crap. I know the J&R Family owns a tremendous amount of land which means they can do whatever they so please with it, that I understand. I want them to go against the grain and build a massive art/media/creativity hub instead of yet another massive luxury housing development. In fact, perhaps someone from that family has run across the ideas I have posted on here (why not since it’s most likely the only story about the land? cuz that’s how Erik/TriBeCa Citizen does it : ) and has thought “J&R Records…hmmmm.” Or maybe I’m just bringing up an idea or few they already have. Then again here’s a thought: What I’m doing is posting ideas for the J&R Family on a blog thousands upon thousands of people read daily and maybe, just maybe, someone will show someone with the power to do what I’d like to see my posts and at least give it a thought, put something on that land besides or instead of more luxury housing. That’s what I’m doing besides what I do so you can go stuff it with your rhetorical question which implies I do nothing.

        Sorry I don’t own this land. If I did there wouldn’t be a single luxury apartment built on them. If I had the direct email contact of the J&R Family I would literally send them my ideas for nothing/no charge.

        The animosity towards someone who wants something other than more luxury housing is expected. God forbid I/anyone thinks outside the box and doesn’t think about the bottom line aka the almighty dollar aka top dollar aka etc.

        • You do nothing. If you have a good idea, money can be raised to try to execute your idea. You have no idea what the situation is behind the family behind J&R. Their business at this location essentially failed. They own, or at one point owned the real estate, but very possibly had debt against that or other calls on their financial resources. Rather than worrying about what the J&R family does, you should focus on what you can or should do.

  5. Sorry, but they don’t care about those thing
    All they care about now is…..
    mONEY

  6. J and R screwed their venders out of millions of dollars including my company when they closed I did freelance window displays for them for over 25 years including walking across the Brooklyn bridge after 9/11 to get them back in business only to be screwed out of my outstanding invoices… Not fair… The rich get richer and the little guy gets screwed… Thanks

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