March new building review: Total sf falls again, likely impacted by DOB NOW rollout

By Atticus O’Brien-Pappalardo

The combined square feet of all new building projects filed with the city’s Department of Buildings fell last month for the third month in a row, dropping to the lowest monthly total in at least the last nine quarters.

New York City developers filed for just over 1 million square feet of new construction. The total was a 24 percent decrease from the 1.4 million square feet of new construction filed for in February. The total was the lowest since at least the start of 2019, and the third consecutive month that the total has fallen since 4.4 million square feet of construction was filed for in December of 2020.

It is important to note that the figures may be slightly skewed due to perceived delays with the New York City Department of Buildings’ new DOB NOW: Build platform. For example, plans filed by a Sam Chang affiliate calling for the construction of a 297-key, 108,357-square-foot hotel at 143-16 135th Avenue and a 213-key, 70,399-square-foot hotel at 144-06 135th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The plans were made public on the DOB NOW Open Data site on April 2, with a filing date of April 2. However, the DOB NOW Public Portal indicates the plans have a “Filing Status Date” of March 16. For the sake of this analysis, PincusCo only included plans that were made public in March, meaning the above mentioned hotel plans were excluded.

The five largest plans called for 457,783 square feet of new construction. The sum was slightly greater than 434,244 square feet of new construction the five largest plans in February totaled. With that being said, the figure was still on the lower side. For comparison, the five largest plans filed for in January called for over 1.5 million square feet of new construction. Two of the five largest new developments were in Manhattan, two were in Queens, and one was in Brooklyn. The buildings were a mix of residential, mixed-use, and commercial buildings. The buildings had a total of 251 dwelling units.

Hal Fetner’s Fetner Properties filed the largest plans of the month. On March 16 the developer filed a permit application for construction of an 235-foot tall, 23-story, 124,591-square-foot residential building with 71 dwelling units at 270 West 96th Street in the Upper West Side. SLCE Architects is listed as the architect.

According to a report from PincusCo in 2019, the building will have micro units as well as 68 affordable units.

Plans for the second largest development of the month were filed on March 29 by Li Tian Ji through the company Northern Star Management LLC. The plans called for a 140-foot tall, 11-story, 72,563-square-foot commercial office building with retail space at 36-63 Main Street in Flushing, Queens. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings’ new DOB NOW: Build platform, under number Q00486849.

The building, which will be designed by Raymond Chan Architect P.C., will have retail space on floors two and three, and ambulatory health care facility space on floors four through seven. Floors eight through 11 will be used for office space.

The third largest plans of the month were filed by Gandolfo Difiore on March 15. The plans called for a 90-foot tall, seven-story, 48,566-square-foot mixed-use building with 52 dwelling units at 23-81 31st Street in Astoria, Queens. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings’ new DOB NOW: Build platform, under number Q00484597.

Gerald J. Caliendo, R.A, A.I.A Architect is listed as the architect for the development, which will occupy property which the developer purchased for $8.5 million in 2017. The ground floor will have retail space, per the plans.

Argo Real Estate and Bsafal, a subsidiary of Safal Constructions India Private Limited, were behind the fourth largest plans of the month. The plans, pre-filed on March 31, called for the construction of a 125-foot tall, 11-story, 28-unit, 55,474-square-foot residential building at 64 University Place in the West Village of Manhattan. The property was acquired for $30 million on June 27, 2019. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings’ new DOB NOW: Build platform, under number M00492685.

The fifth largest plans were filed by Joshua Markovics through the company 1530 60th Member LLC. The plans called for construction of a 97-foot tall, eight-story, 64,817-square-foot commercial building at 1514 60th Street in Borough Park. According to the plans, the building will have retail space in the basement while the upper floors will be used for office space. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings’ new DOB NOW: Build platform, under number B00489174

PincusCo looked at all new building (NB) filings of 2,000-square-feet and above. For residential buildings, the analysis covered those with four or more units, and did not include residential units in hotel (R-1) buildings.

The total number of residential units filed for in March also fell from the month prior, by 35 percent. The 771 units were down from 1,181 in February. Once again, it was the lowest monthly total since at least the start of 2019 and the third consecutive month it has dropped. The month marked the first time since the start of 2019 that less than 1,000 dwelling units were filed for.