The view from the South Street Seaport is about to get a “lot” higher for everybody — aside from some cranky neighbors at nearby Southbridge Towers.
A state appeals court Tuesday slammed the door on apartment residents who fought to dam recent buildings from rising at an empty lot on Water Street that might block their views.
The choice signifies that Howard Hughes Corporation’s long-planned, $850 million apartment complex at 250 Water St. can finally go forward.
The project is to have 399 apartments, of which 100 shall be reasonably priced, together with stores, offices and community space.
As a part of the deal, Hughes pays $40 million for air rights from Pier 17 and Tin Constructing to support the nonprofit South Street Seaport Museum.
Howard Hughes Corp. has owned the vacant eyesore since 2018.
It desired to create a mixture of market-rate and reasonably priced housing and green space to enrich Hughes’ revival of the South Street Seaport round the corner.
Rendering of 250 Water St.Credit: Howard Hughes Corporation
But Southbridge-dwellers across Water Street preferred to maintain the land vacant somewhat than lose their river views.
Activists led a years-long struggle to torpedo the plan, with some going so far as urging the town to make use of the lot as a tow pound to forestall construction.
Although Hughes’ plan was approved by the City Council in 2021, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron nixed it last winter, citing an allegedly “impermissible” relationship between Hughes and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The Appellate Division unanimously threw out Engoron’s ruling that the Seaport District project was wrongly approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
“The court’s decision confirms what we’ve got maintained all along: The Commission’s approval was proper and made in full compliance with Landmarks Law,” Zach Winick, co-president of Hughes’ Latest York operations, said in an announcement.
Since the appellate ruling was unanimous, it is extremely unlikely it might be reviewed by the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
