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Land Use, Housing & Zoning
400 Park Avenue South, application for the renewal of a special permit facilitate the construction of a new building within a C5-3 zoning district
WHEREAS, The applicant, 400 Park Avenue South LLC, was granted a Special Permit on December 14, 2004 pursuant to Section 74-721(a) for the purpose of constructing a new building on a 73,587 square foot zoning lot located at 400 Park Avenue South on the southwest corner of 28th Street; and
WHEREAS, The Special Permit was renewed in 2008 for a second three-year term that is set to expire on December 15, 2011 but economic conditions and uncertainty since the grant and the renewal of the Special Permit has meant construction has not yet commenced; and
WHEREAS, The property consists of three vacant tax lots that currently contain a public parking lot; and
WHEREAS, The Special Permit permits the construction of a building with (a) 8-foot side yards between the proposed development and adjacent buildings, (b) windows (not required for light and air) opening on the southern side yard above the height of the adjacent building, and (c) modification of the sky exposure plane, all of these changes dictated by the architecture of the proposed development designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc; and
WHEREAS, The proposed building will have 417,544 square feet consisting of two stories of retail use, a residential lobby, and 342 residential apartments on floors 3 through 40, comprised of both market-rate rental apartments and condominiums; and
WHEREAS, The proposed building includes a new subway entrance at 28th Street and Park Avenue South; and
WHEREAS, The applicant has stated that the facts upon which the Special Permit was granted in 2004 and renewed in 2008 have not substantially changed; and
WHEREAS, The applicant has a prospective buyer for the development site that will not agree to purchase the Zoning Lot unless the term of the Special Permit is renewed and if sold, any purchaser would need a new Special Permit to construct a different building or else could construct an as-of-right building; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five approved this application when it was first before the Board in September 2004 by a vote of 23 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 abstention and then approved it again for its first renewal in November 2008 by a vote of 29 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of application of C04095ZSM for the renewal of a Special Permit pursuant to Section 11-43 for the purpose of constructing a new building on the zoning lot located at 400 Park Avenue South.
The above resolution passed passed the following resolution by a vote of 28 in favor, 2 opposed, 2 abstaining.