Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was joined today by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and developer Edward J. Minskoff for a groundbreaking ceremony for 270 Greenwich Street, a residential and retail project in Lower Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood.  The development will rise on a long-vacant, formerly City-owned parcel and in doing so will close a chapter on the "Urban Renewal Zone" that was designated in the area back in 1962.  The development will contain about 170,000 square feet of retail space; approximately 425,000 square feet for 228 residential condominiums; approximately 170,000 square feet for 162 mixed income-rental units; and 400 underground parking spaces.  The residential units will be built above a two-story retail base that will include long-awaited retail amenities such as a Whole Foods Market, a Barnes & Noble bookstore and a Bank of America branch office.  The project will create more than 1,500 construction jobs in the next two years and about 365 permanent jobs.

"This important project is in keeping with our Administration's vision for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan as a round-the-clock, vibrant community," said Mayor Bloomberg. "It is also a project that does a spectacular job of striking the right balance between commercial development and community needs. I want to commend Edward Minskoff and his organization for their commitment and determination in working with community members and local elected officials to ensure that this wonderful project proceeds in the most efficient way possible and meets the community's needs."

The site is bounded by Greenwich Street, West Street (Route 9A), Warren Street and Murray Street.  The purchase price of the lot was $110 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a City-owned site.  The developer, 270 Greenwich Street Associates LLC, expects to invest another $450 million in the project.  In addition, the developer has funded $7.5 million for maintenance of Washington Market Park and $3.6 million for the fit-out of the 27,600-square-foot community facility at 200 Chambers Street, a residential and retail development by the Resnick family that is under construction across the street.

"I am thrilled to be playing an important role in the economic revitalization of Lower Manhattan," said Edward Minskoff.  "This nearly one million-square-foot project is the largest retail and residential development south of Canal Street in decades.  Working with the community, the City's Economic Development Corporation  and Department of City Planning and our design team led by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, we have created an architecturally distinctive and beautiful building that pays appropriate homage to its historic TriBeCa environment."

"This project exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships at their best," said Deputy Mayor Doctoroff.  "The development of 270 Greenwich will make an enormous contribution to the quality of life of downtown residents by combining quality residential and retail development with revamped parks and recreation centers.  Coupled with a second residential and retail development across the street, this project speaks to the extraordinary progress we're witnessing in Lower Manhattan every day."

"Affordable housing both in Lower Manhattan and citywide is fundamental to New York City's long-term economic prosperity and is at the heart of Mayor Bloomberg's commitment to create and preserve 165,000 homes and apartments over 10 years," said HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan.  "The affordable housing to be built here will help foster a dynamic mixed-income neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.  We appreciate LMDC's support for affordable housing as a key component of downtown revitalization."

The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC ) is lending $49.8 million to finance the construction of the mixed-income rental housing portion of the development, to be known as 89 Murray Street.  This portion of the development will have 162 apartments, including 33 to be occupied by low-income families and 44 to be occupied by middle-income families.

"89 Murray Street is receiving financing under our award winning, innovative program that encourages people of differing income levels to live under the same roof," said HDC President Emily A. Youssouf.  "We're proud that this program has received so much interest from developers and policy-makers alike."

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP is the architect of this mixed-use development.  Among SOM's numerous New York projects are Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Time Warner Center, 7 World Trade Center, and the landmark office building, Lever House.  In addition, the firm is currently designing the Freedom Tower, the tallest office building on the site of the former World Trade Center.

"From an architectural standpoint, the challenge of this project was to unify several disparate programmatic elements - retail, luxury condos, market-rate rentals and affordable housing - into one unified whole.  Our treatment of the building's surfaces simultaneously unifies this highly complex and very large project and makes it feel smaller and more sympathetic to its surroundings," said Mustafa K. Abadan, SOM's Design Partner in charge of this project.  "By incorporating private outdoor terraces into our design for the residences, we have created an outdoor-living typology not previously seen in the New York market."

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation provided a $15 million subordinate mortgage for the project.  The project is the result of a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the City's Economic Development Corporation. The RFP specified commercial development, but shortly after September 11, 2001, the City reexamined its vision for Lower Manhattan and in conjunction with community leaders determined that the site was better suited for residential development.

The retail base of the development covers the entire 90,565 square foot site and will be clad in glass, limestone and sandstone.  There will be three to four additional retail tenants including a restaurant at the corner of West and Warren.  Above the glass and stone retail podium, Minskoff will build the 89 Murray Street rental apartments in a mid-rise L-shaped building fronting on Greenwich and Murray Streets.  At the opposite corner of the site, at West and Warren Streets, the condominium tower will rise to a height of 32 stories and have the address of 101 Warren Street.  The Condominium will also have a mid-rise section along Warren Street containing duplex townhouse-like apartments.  The condominium façade will be floor-to-ceiling windows and limestone wrapped piers.

Lower Manhattan is undergoing a remarkable transformation.  As the fastest-growing residential neighborhood in the City, Lower Manhattan has experienced a 44% increase in its population since 2000 to 33,000 residents, with a similar increase projected through 2008. Meanwhile, more than 5,700 housing units have been built since 2000 and another 7,400 units are expected to be added by 2008.  The increased population has coincided with an increase in open space, as the City has created or improved 19 open spaces in Lower Manhattan since 2001. Businesses are also making a comeback, as companies leased 500,000 square feet more office space in Lower Manhattan in 2004 than in 2003