The more indecisive among us will be able to relate to the back and forth dance Silverstein Properties is currently doing as it tries to make a decision about what to build on a large property in Manhattan’s Far West Side.
Before purchasing a Mercedes-Benz dealership on the site for $115 million and demolishing it back in 2015, Silverstein announced its plans to build two 60-story-plus towers with a total of around 1,000 apartment units. But after the purchase was made official, Silverstein instead decided to build a 1,100-foot tower with 1,400 apartments and a large retail component, Curbed New York reports.
But the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry, and Silverstein has once again scrapped its plans and appears to be pursuing a different approach. The new plan, which, according to Crain’s, has not been set in stone, eliminates the supertall tower and goes back to a two-tower approach; one residential and one commercial.
This time, however, the project would be constructed in two phases. The first phase of the new plan would see a CetraRuddy-designed 600,000-sf condo tower rise on the site. Building the residential tower first would prove to be more lucrative and could help fund the construction of the second tower in phase two. The second tower would be the larger tower of the two, comprising 1.2 million sf of office space.
Plans have not been filed for the new two-tower project yet, however, and Silverstein is still exploring other options for the site. So don’t be too surprised if another change of plans occurs.
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