Luxury retailer Coach, Inc. will become the first tenant in a tower that developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, both of New York, plan to build on Midtown Manhattan’s West Side. Coach will occupy more than 600,000 square feet, or more than one-third of the initial tower of the Eastern Rail Yards, part of the 26-acre, mixed-use Hudson Yards site that the city hopes to develop. The 1.7-million-sq-ft, 51-story tower will generate more than 20,000 construction jobs, according to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s office. When completed in 2015, the tower will be the largest commercial building in New York

Macy’s announced today that it will invest $400 million in a four-year renovation of its Herald Square flagship store in Midtown Manhattan. Work is scheduled to begin in early spring 2012 and will continue in phases through the fall of 2015. The project is expected to create about 1,600 construction jobs and 800 permanent jobs. Rendering Courtesy of Macy's The majority of each floor and department as well as the exterior of the building will be renovated as the store remains open to customers, Macy’s says. The renovation will include a 100,000-sq-ft expansion of selling space to a total of

Forest City Ratner Companies, Brooklyn, N.Y., has canceled its plan to build the Four Sparrows Retail Center at Mill Basin on Flatbush Ave., in Brooklyn, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. Forest City Ratner did not return calls by press time. The Mill Basin project, estimated to cost between $15 million and $25 million, according to McGraw-Hill Dodge reports, was to include an 11,000-sq-ft automotive sales and service center as well as a shopping center. It had been scheduled to begin by 2014. AKRF Engineering, New York was the architect on the project and Bical Development

The New York construction market next year is likely to mirror that of the national market, which McGraw-Hill Construction recently forecast as flat at about $412 billion in starts. McGraw-Hill Construction, the parent company of ENR New York, expects 2011 total starts to hit $410 billion, a 4% drop over 2010. The company cites slow economic growth, diminished federal and state funding, and "pervasive uncertainty." Next year "the top-line numbers are not expected to show much change, but there will be variation within the major construction sectors, with some gains predicted for housing and commercial building, assuming the U.S. economy

The Connecticut Laborers’ District Council is not a fan of ESPN’s non-union choice of general and site contractors to build a new $100-million, 193,000-sq-ft digital center in Bristol, Conn., and it is encouraging union players in the major sports leagues to boycott ESPN. The district council charges that the GM, Associated Construction Company, Hartford, and site contractor, Mizzy Construction in Plainville, Conn., are non-union shops that “do not pay living wages or follow area standards.” Union members have been picketing the ESPN site. Photo Courtesy of the Conn. Laborers' District Council Neither ESPN nor the contractor firms returned calls for

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Joseph J. Lhota to serve as chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Lhota, whose appointment is dependent on confirmation from the senate, is expected to start serving as interim CEO within one month. Lhota currently serves as the executive vice president/administration for Madison Square Garden Co. He once served as the NYC commissioner of finance and has been an MTA board member. Lhota also was the NYC deputy mayor for operations under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, as well as budget director.Gov. Cuomo also selected Nuria Fernandez as COO of the MTA, and Kevin Rae

New Jersey’s Sheraton Parsippany Hotel is set to begin a $15-million renovation of its seven floors on Nov. 1. First Finish, Columbia, Md., is the general contractor on the project, which is part of the Sheraton brand’s $6-billion globalization revitalization efforts, and AIOA, Annapolis, Md., is the architect. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by April 2012.   The renovation includes a lobby-based connectivity hub, newly designed seating, an interactive check-in area, enhanced lighting, and a club lounge. It will also feature a new 20,000-sq-ft facility including indoor and outdoor pools, racquetball and spa services, work that is also

Consultancy Turner & Townsend, London, continues its geographic expansion with the acquisition of Ferzan Robbins & Associates, a N.Y.-based project management and services firm that will be merged with Turner & Townsend’s New York office. Terms were not disclosed. Turner & Townsend says the deal is part of its previously announced strategy to boost its U.S. presence and will provide the critical mass needed to support U.S. clients. Ferzan Robbins & Associates provides “a team with deep experience, an outstanding reputation, and a client list boasting many Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of sectors including banking, media/communications and

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Patrick J. Foye to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and has called for consolidation of the Moynihan Station Development Corp. and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. operations into PANYNJ. Foye currently serves as the governor’s deputy secretary of economic development and oversees the Empire State Development Corp. There is no fiscal impact to PANYNJ as a result of these actions, he says.   “Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “The Port Authority is

With the possibility of Indian Point Energy Center closing and the potential for a strong economic recovery, New York City needs to be prepared to add enough electric generating capacity to prevent blackouts and price spikes, according to a recently released New York Building Congress report.   The report, Electricity Outlook: Powering New York City Through 2030, concludes that current in-city generation and transmission capacity is sufficient to meet the city’s electrical needs through 2015 but that 1,000 megawatts of capacity needs to be added between 2014 and 2016, in addition to projects currently in the works to meet future