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History of Tribeca Buildings
Construction Update: 65 Franklin / 360 Broadway
So many neighbors have written to see if we — and I say we, since this is a series of rabbit holes and everyone has been following a few, including T., P. and R. — can figure out what’s next for the empty lot that is 65 Franklin aka 360 Broadway. Not only is it a sad pit, but it has also compromised the buildings around it. 59 Franklin is in the worst shape — abandoned and, from what one neighbor can tell, held up in spots with 2x4s.
(The original site is below, but warning: it will just make you sad.)
The site was scheduled to be a 19-story, 41-unit residential tower called the Rebel (yes) and developed by HAP Investment Developers; they bought the site in 2018 for $46 million. Construction on the 210-foot building started in 2019, and the original schedule had them finishing in 2022; their website now says the project will be finished in 2024.
There were also (similarly stalled) plans for a separate L-shaped building wrapping around 65 Franklin that would run from 59 Franklin to 358 Broadway, which is in similar disrepair. Those drawings below are from 2016.
So to the update: 65 Franklin has been under a Stop Work Order for a couple of years now, but it does still currently have an active work permit for a new 19-story building active until late March, so theoretically if the owner corrects the violating conditions they can ask the DOB to lift the Stop Work Order and continue with the project until the permit expires (they will need to apply for a renewal of the existing permit if they’d like to continue after that).
The DOB was most recently on the site on Feb. 2, investigating a 311 complaint we received that indicated construction debris was blocking pedestrian traffic. Inspectors observed that the construction site was closed and appeared to be abiding by the Stop Work Order, however the Department issued multiple violations after observing loose debris outside of the construction site and that the construction fence was not properly maintained.
Neighbors have made tons of calls to learn that the architects originally associated with the site no longer list it on their website, and while the developer still has the project listed, they do not respond to any emails or phone calls.
All equipment except for one large pile driver is still gone (including building materials), neighbors say, and nobody has been on the site for at least a month now. “There is nothing except the gross green exterior shed which continues to disrupt both pedestrian and vehicular traffic (on Broadway and Franklin),” said P.
Clearly the project is not continuing in its current form. But I am afraid I can’t figure out what happens next. Hopefully HAP sells the project to someone who can complete it. It may also be in some sort of court process, and those can take years for the case to wend its way through. Could they be poised to jump back in and renew their permits? Yes, in theory, but…
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Thank you for the update! Been wondering what’s been happening there, it’s an eye sore every time I walk by it!
Frankly, it is quite sad to see this stalled. Same for 317 Broadway. The more development the more likely this bleak stretch of Broadway can get cleaned up.
This was their web-site: http://www.tribecarebel.com
It looks like it’s hasn’t changed since 2020. Maybe Nest Seekers (the company who was retained to sell apartments) has some information on what happened.
Same sad old story. I live on Murray Street near West B’way, so I’ve heard it before. It takes shady developers about 5 minutes flat to destroy gorgeous and irreplaceable old structures, some from the 19th century. Then they promptly go bankrupt or into litigation or who knows what…and the neighboring buildings are weakened and undermined and there are rats and mostly there’s just an ugly hole for years and years to come. Why do we let them do this to our beautiful, historic, unique city?!?!?
At this point I’m just numb. We’re destroying what gives our city its value, what makes it magical and the greatest city in the world, a living museum. And with what?!?! A hole in the ground.
This is totally unacceptable, imagine what the neighboring buildings have to put up with! Again, development does not have to come in the form of high rise monstrosities, left alone the ones they couldn’t even deliver.
People have no voice in these matters as we know. The only way to resolve this disastrous situation is to call out those who are responsible and publicly hold them accountable.
The neighboring buildings were all contacted prior to construction and worked with our legal counsel(s) to have vibration monitors installed in our basements that gather and report on the data – a lot of good that did to 59 Franklin which we watched crack in front of our faces – tenants fled, and 2×4’s are still in select windows holding up the sills. The pile driving damaged some pipes under Franklin Street (we had leaks under the sidewalk) in addition to the damage to the surrounding buildings. It might be an ugly hole but at least it has been quiet!
I (and others) have reached out various times to our Councilman’s office, to the DOB and 311 – the most that we have accomplished are the various stop work orders. As Pam notes, who knows what (if anything) will happen – We have exhausted all available leads (from realtors, to lenders). If anyone has any information please pass it along.
I just hope that whoever takes it over is more considerate of their neighbors – and from a personal perspective, I would prefer NOT to have another generic steel and glass building on the corner. We already have the ugly brick rental on the NorthWest corner of Franklin and Broadway!
Based on the history of other development sites I’m guess this site is currently listed for sale off-market. Sometimes the sale is quick, but I’ve seen it take several years for another developer to buy. With mortgage rates up, it wouldn’t shock me if it sits for a long time.
The developers did irrepairable damage to all the surrounding buildings like ours with their irresponsible piling work. What they did to 59 Franklin is egregious. We made many complaints to 311 for more than a couple of years and they got some temporary stop work notices. Yes, the hole looks bad now but the whole project was completely unnecessary and extremely insensitive to the surrounding mostly older historic buildings and the needs of the neighborhood. We do not need another generic ugly overpriced apartment building in the corner.
I am one of the tenants that fled 59 Franklin/358 Broadway! What the construction, development, management, and other related companies did was horrible! The building was cracking and leaning as tenants were ACTIVELY still living in them! They employed scare tactics against some tenants who tried to stand their ground as well. Didn’t even give proper notice for the timeframe of when tenants should leave too! Whatever they’re doing or up to is very very fishy and illegal from what I’ve experienced sadly.
Does anybody have any updates on this site? There were inspectors here that said 59 Franklin is now going to be demolished. Does the site have a new owner/developer? Are they now going to build something bigger with the added properties? It is very sad that the same people who are responsible for cracking the adjacent building and driving out the tenants now stand to profit from grabbing their space.
There are numerous development sites in Tribeca where neighbors were damaged by developers and contractors who cared only about finishing their building and letting insurance pay for the destruction left in their wake. You could write a whole article on this topic alone.
Walking by there today – there were definitely people on site working and there’s also new “scaffolding” around the surrounding buildings. Not sure what exactly is going on, but there was construction noise and people in hard hats there. So something must be happening. Anyone know if the old plans are still moving forward?
Has anyone some news about this development ?
That plan is likely dead. The next question is what is going on with the site that includes the two buildings next to it that were just recently razed…