It certainly does seem like it will be a tall building. The pilings are being doubled up to a depth of 80+ feet (some of the ones in the ground are marked to 43 ft and have connection caps on them; others that haven't been driven in have markings to 87'). I can't imagine they'd be going that deep if they were only going to build 4 stories. The foundation of a 3-story multi-family across the street from this one was poured a little over a year ago, and did not have any pilings pounded into the ground beforehand. Also given that the warehouse they tore down was about 3 stories in height (with its high first floor ceiling), I find it hard to believe they would only be building 3-4 stories (it would probably have made more sense economically to just add onto the warehouse in that case).

I'm thinking about stopping in 30 Montgomery sometime this week to get some info since this building is so close to where I live (plus I'm curious to see what 380 Newark Ave is going to look like).

I think I also might ask Binny what's going on with the plans to replace his store with that 4-story building next time I stop in.

Well, a few months ago, a 2-story addition was approved for the building by the Planning Board. Of course, they knocked the entire building down a few weeks ago and then brought in the crane on Wednesday after marking up the site and doing other prep work.

Even more surprising than this one and the one going up at 3rd & Brunswick is the MASSIVE 12-story building that's about to go U/C at 380 Newark Ave, on a lot surrounded by all the auto shops. An excavator was dropped off there this morning, and the building to be torn down has markings all over it. This little corner of downtown is starting to explode with new construction!

On that note, does anyone know what's going on across the street with the other 12-story building at 361 Newark? The site was so active up til about winter, but ever since then, it's been dead quiet (they pretty much stopped working there around the time the Planning Board approved the increase in height from 6 to 12 stories). I suspect that they're just waiting for permits, but I could be wrong.

Better yet - try racing someone UP the Down escalator at the Exchange Place PATH station. Of course, it's not a good idea during rush hour....I tried it once on a Friday evening after drinking a few shots of Vodka and trust me - it was hard as heck (or at least it seemed like it was )

The last thing I read about this former warehouse was that it was supposed to be converted to a residential building with a parking garage on the first floor and two additional stories added to its roof for a total of four stories.

It was standing yesterday morning, but when I got home from work, it was just a pile of rotting wood and crumbled brick. Does anyone know what's going on there?!

Wait, what's going to happen to Binny's? Are you saying he might close?! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where am I going to go to buy cheap liquor now?

Oh, it was so nice having a liquor store only a block away....farewell Binny.

I know there was a thread on here a few months ago, but I couldn't find it...anyway, the sign went up today on the side of the old furniture outlet that read "Brick Haus Fitness Center - Opening Summer 2007" (or something like that).

Has anyone heard anything about the equipment/amenities/services and pricing? My membership at my current gym is up in a few weeks and I was wondering if I should just renew for a month and then switch over to this new gym.

"If the city really wanted distinguished architecture in its high rises, it should have pushed for that where they were actually building the high rises, not smack dab in the middle of a district with mid-rise warehouses rich in history."

Here's a suggestion for you - go to the Empire State Building's entrance on Fifth Avenue, look across the street, and tell me what you see. Directly across the street is a set of midrise buildings, older than the Empire State Building. The ESB stands a massive 1250 feet tall across from these midrise buildings (ie there is a mix of buildings in the immediate vicinity of the ESB), yet is regarded by many as the greatest skyscraper of the 20th Century.

So why should we not build a single skyscraper across from a few midrise buildings (also keep in mind that the Athena Tower was topped off today and it stands 33 stories tall right across the street from 111 First). We already are preserving 140 & 150 Bay Street. Good architecture involves diversity in building heights, shapes, and sizes, so long as they form a visual unification of an area. 111 First will have at least one setback at the height of the original facade, which will help it fit in with the surrounding warehouses.

I realize that some people on here like the "feel" of the industrial zone that used to be the PAD; it was truly unique with its massive mid-rise structures, cobblestone streets, and other remnants of the industrial era.

Others of us like the feel of the "big" city and are looking forward to the presence of more retail, a more noticeable skyline, and the feeling of being in the center of it all.

I, for one, am looking forward to the creation of a new skyline element in place of the warehouse that used to occupy 111 First Street.

A few more comments:
alb - Lorillard was the owner of a tobacco company, not a development company. J. P. Lorillard was to this area's Industrial era what companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are to the area's present era (at least in some respects) - GS and MS both give their workers plenty of perks such as continued education, health care, bonuses, etc. (keep in mind that back then we had a surplus of manufactured goods and today we have a surplus of services, as we have changed from an industrial-based economy to a service-based economy - and if you disagree, take a close look at the numbers released the other day regarding our nation's trade deficit).

-Also, as you (alb) suggested, Lorillard was nothing to be proud of - his products were responsible for the deaths of many, many human beings from horrible diseases ranging from cancers to heart disease (for those of you who weren't aware, the plant was a distribution facility for tobacco, which has been shown to cause the illnesses I have mentioned). Personally, I feel better with the destruction of the remnants of a company whose business led to the destruction of many lives; others of you may feel more comfortable with the preservation of that "death" factory.

-Artists did not move into the building upon its closing; drug dealers and squatters occupied (and destroyed) at least parts of the building before any artists arrived (maybe some on here weren't around before the waterfront became a safe place?).

-In addition, anyone who knows anything about the buildings knows that they were pretty much crap architecture thrown up quickly based on the demand at the moment (as evidenced in the fact that if you looked along Warren Street, the buildings' windows were staggered at different heights from ground level since the plant was composed of several buildings built in several phases and not very well-planned).

I will not disagree with anyone that Goldman is a greedy, self-centered bastard looking out for only his own interests, but I personally like the idea of having another skyline element in JC.

The lot across the street has been empty for quite some time now...I think they cleaned it up a little a few months ago, and as I mentioned above, they did a traffic study on division street back in August. No signs of contruction yet though...I'll give you guys an update as soon as I see some markings around the site ;)

I live 'very close' to 361, so trust me, I'm all for the redevelopment of that area. Looked like nothing was going on there this morning, though, so I guess they delivered equipment and its just sitting there at the moment. The lot across the street - 380 I believe, has been sitting dormant for quite some time now as well. It appeared that they had a traffic study going on with some equipment to track traffic along Division street in August, but other than this, no signs of site preparation for construction there.

Does anyone know what that rusted van is doing on the site? It's been sitting there since the beginning of the summer, and they keep moving it around.

Again...where did you hear about this action to be taken, mrrogers?

They have been slowly demolishing 111 First for the past two weeks, taking it down section by section. Apparently, they are putting each section of the facade in its own storage container in preparation for rebuilding it as part of the new Koolhaas tower.

mrrogers - where did you get this info from??

Seems like progress is on-and-off at the site...it picks up dramatically for a few weeks and then stops completely for a few...new equipment was delivered a few days ago, I guess to start spreading gravel for the foundation/first floor.

I'm all in favor of seeing that thing rise 12 stories.

Did anyone notice the demolition going on at the Metropolis Towers in downtown today? Are they finally building those new towers that the Planning board approved awhile back?

It looked like a pretty big demo job from the amount of construction workers at the site today.