Seaport Residences Remains Unfinished and Leaning at 161 Maiden Lane in Financial District, Manhattan
Seaport Residences at 161 Maiden Lane. Designed by Hill West Architects.Kicking off our annual Turkey Week rundown of infamous stalled projects in New York is Seaport Residences, a 60-story residential skyscraper at 161 Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Designed by Hill West Architects and developed by Fortis Property Group, the 670-foot-tall tower was planned to span 200,000 square feet and yield 80 condominium units. The property, originally dubbed One Seaport, occupies a narrow rectangular lot bounded by South Street and Maiden Lane, directly across from FDR Drive and the East River.
The incomplete skyscraper has now stood unchanged for more than five years, its progress derailed by the 2019 revelation that the reinforced concrete superstructure is leaning 3 inches to the north. No differences are visible from our last update a year ago, shortly after vandals sprayed graffiti on the upper levels of the northern face.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Glass panels cover most of the middle section of the slender eastern elevation, while the majority of the superstructure remains bare. This reflective envelope was planned to enclose the entire tower, surrounding the column of balconies twisting up across the southeastern corner. The structure would have made a distinguished impression as the only fully glass-clad residential skyscraper along Lower Manhattan’s East River waterfront. Instead, it continues to stand out as a languishing skeleton.
Seaport Residences at 161 Maiden Lane. Designed by Bill West Architects.
The project was beset with problems and delays from as early as 2017, when the Department of Buildings issued ten code violations against the building’s original general contractor Pizzarotti. Then, in September of that year, an employee of the concrete subcontractor fell to his death from the 29th floor. Additional stoppages followed in 2018, including one from a mishap that resulted in concrete being poured onto the street from the 34th story.
In 2019, the project halted once more over a high-profile dispute between Fotis and Pizzarotti, which by then had been dismissed as contractor, involving the disclosure of the superstructure’s lean. After an ensuing legal spat, the structure was deemed safe and work resumed briefly under the leadership of a new general contractor, Ray Builders. However, our construction update in September 2020 revealed that sections of the glass curtain wall had been removed, and no progress has occurred on the exterior since then.
Fortis Property Group originally acquired the property for $64 million and was anticipating a condominium sellout of $272 million. Homes were expected to start at $1.325 million when sales launched in spring 2016, just as the project began construction.
Seaport Residences has accumulated more than two dozen lawsuits with no clear path to resolution. It remains to be seen what will become of the project.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
.
32 Comments
Leave a comment
Related Articles
Updated Design Revealed for 65 Franklin Street in Tribeca, Manhattan
65 Franklin Street. Redesgined by COOKFOX Architects.An updated design has been revealed for 65 Franklin Street, a planned 28-story residential building in Tribeca, Manhattan. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, with Hamish Whitefield Architects having filed for foundation work, and developed by Rabsky Group, the 235-foot-tall structure will span 214,000 square feet and yield 89 condominium units. The project will also include ground-floor retail space. The property is alternately addressed as 360 Broadway and located at the southeast corner of Franklin Street and Broadway.
This is a project that will never get completed.
This is a project that will never get completed.
This is a project that will never get completed.
This is a project that will never get completed.
This is a project that will never get completed.
This is a project that will never get completed.
Care to say it a seventh time? 🙂
The mistake here was using a slab foundation instead of pilings. Everything gets pilings out here in Flushing, even one-story supermarkets.
Just at least enclose it.
I believe the tilt was discovered when the glass panels would not fit. Some were then removed to prevent them from falling out or fracturing.
Wouldn’t that suggest a more potentially catastrophic twisting or settling though. If the concrete structure was formed and poured correctly, a slight settling of the foundation slab would move the entire building, not skew it leading to facade fit issues. I could be wrong though. It’s rare but it happens.
At some point, will the city compel the developers to demolish this? Is that even legally feasible?
yes , if threat to public safety.
City can also demolish and charge developer the costs
Well, even a “languishing skeleton” has a certain charm..maybe a good location for a ‘world graffiti championship’..
..would make a great movie set.
It is time to tear it down . Put the space up for bidding . So many lawsuits with no money left to obtain from parties involved. This project has major losses. Total incompetence . Jail time should be discussed .
Turn it into a tower garden
Why are they allowed to let it sit open like this. Money rules the world.
Will it ever get completed?…
Don’t they have some kind of ground pumping hydrolics tech to get this thing plumb?
If not, it sounds crazy but I think I’d rather see it demolished and hopefully a new developer could purchase 82 South Street and build a new tower with a broader footprint. Fletcher St could pass through the base, that would be pretty neat.
A stylish solution might be to build a cantilever on the south side to pull the structure straight.
Ooof. No thanks.
Are property taxes still being paid? The City needs to issue an ultimatum. A new retroactive ordinance might need to be passed for stalled building projects. Finish the project or sell it for demolition and redevelopment.
Given the famous leaning Millennium Tower in San Francisco, nobody will ever buy a condo here. The project is dead, so bury it.
Looks better than some of its ‘completed’ neighbors
This makes THREE…
Years ago, there was concern that CITICORP was threatening to collapse,
but saved by “retrofitting”.
432 Park has been dealing with numerous CRACKS in the concrete.
Now Seaport Residences has been leaning approx. 3 INCHES to the North!
I think I’d be quite safe and happy in a 3 story brownstone! 🙂
The graffiti artists who tagged this one should get as award.
Turn it into affordable housing.
Yes, a “handyman’s special.”
why build affordable housing in the most expensive Metro areas of the US?
Time for full demolition and move on.
The problem is that they built the top floors in the opposite direction to counter the lean once discovered, so in reality the building is bent not tilted. There is no way to fix it that’s why it’s just sitting there.
We really need to streamline our legal process so when issues like this arise we don’t have to wait a decade for the blame to be decided and we can instead move on to a resolution.