Wednesday, April 08, 2015

It's Time To Check In On Lightstone Group's Mega Development In Gowanus Again

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Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos Courtesy Of Ben U.
Photos courtesy of Ben U.

The 700-unit residential Lightstone Group development at 363-365 Bond Street at the edge of the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal continues to rise. The incredible photos of the site were taken by Gowanus resident Ben U.  who graciously allowed me to post them here.  The photos capture not only the large footprint of the project, but also the amount of pile driving that has taken place.

The building seen in these photos only represents half of the entire complex. It stands on the parcel at 365 Bond Street between First and Second Streets.  Some portions of the structure will eventually rise to 12 stories.
A similar building will rise on the 363 Bond Street site, located between Carroll Street and First Street.

Just last night, Geto & de Milly, Inc., the public relation's firm hired by Lightstone, sent out an update on the construction. The email reads:

Dear Neighbor,
I’m writing to provide a construction update from Lightstone for the month of April.
Lightstone is pleased to announce that the environmental remediation of the project site at 363 and 365 Bond Street has been accomplished. Additionally, foundation pile driving at 363 Bond Street has been completed.

In the coming months, there will be a smaller number of piles to be driven in connection with required 1st Street infrastructure work. However, the finished foundation pile driving at 363 Bond Street represents the substantial completion of pile driving on the project.

Please see the attached construction bulletin for more details of upcoming work, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,

Julie Hendricks-Atkins
Geto & de Milly, Inc.


Below are some photos I took a few days ago of the bulkhead installation work that is currently taking place.  The heavy steel sections that now replaced the original wood bulkhead around most of the site, which has been raised to protect the building from flooding.
I think you can agree that this project has already changed the Gowanus landscape forever. And it is only half built.

Lightstone Gowanus Construction Update - April 2015 copy
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has changed the landscape of Gowanus, for now. Change is not good or bad, it simply is.

Jack Ravio said...

I just feel bad for the people that move into Lightstone when it is finished.

Anonymous said...

LAND GRAB without concern for context and environmental realities - hurricane evacuation route - flood zone..

Agnes said...

to Change is not good or bad, it simply is - comes from the mind of nothing is evil or good but thinking makes it so - Shakespeare's Hamlet - so let's do some thinking here. Is there infrastructure to support this? schools, transportation? NO. Is this a viable pace to put such dense population? No. Is this really being done to provide more affordable housing? No. Is this improving the quality of Gowanus and surrounding neighborhood? No. Is this setting an undesirable precedent? No for community, yes for developers who don't live here.I mean, why can politicians take steps to protect their neighborhoods and throw us to the wolves?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if those bulkheads will be the standard for future development. If so, I imagine that for some boaters it will be like canoeing through a sheet metal canyon.

Anonymous said...

I want to throw up.

Anonymous said...

Lightstone was approved before the EPA named Gowanus a SuperFund site. All new projects will have to wait for the area wide rezoning process to finish, the rezoning contemplates most aspects of infrastructure that we as residents should be concerned about. Go to http://bridginggowanus.com to read more about it.

Anonymous said...

looks like good change to me.
And yes infrastructure is there...schools, transportation.

Gowanee said...

@9:14 You obviously do not live in the neighborhood or have to commute or have to put kids in school - and you must not have been here during Hurricane Sandy evacuation of this area -