After the LPA voted 7-0 to deny his project last month, Times Square property owner Terry Persaud is taking his hotel building proposal to the Town Council this Monday. He’s toned the project down some, but will it be enough to get 3 votes to pass?
Last month LPA members shot down the height of the building, the Floor Area Ratio (2.5), the equivalency factor Persaud needed to use to come up with 50 hotel rooms, and his lack of any public benefit in return for such a big ask.
By right, Times Square property owners can build up to 3 stories, 1st floor below flood of 20’, 15’ above grade, and two more stories on top for an additional 30 feet. Persaud’s original proposal to the LPA was 5 stories and 65’ to 70’ above grade on .5 acres of buildable land. Persaud’s proposal is now 4 stories with 31 hotel units, down from the 50 hotel units the LPA rejected, retail on the first floor, a restaurant on the 2nd floor and rooftop bar.
When we posted his new pictures to our Facebook page earlier this week, Persaud commented: “This was the envisioned use of Time Square when it was created and is written into the Land Development Code. Unfortunately Times Square will never be what it was pre Ian. It has been 2.7 years and this proposal meets the requirements of this area per the staff report. Folks with the opinion of no hotel rooms don’t even live here or have a clue how difficult it will be to rebuild Time Square and recreate a vibrant and entertaining pedestrian square.” At the LPA meeting, Persaud’s argument was similar, stating that building this hotel was the only way people were going to return to Times Square.
The public benefit Persaud put on the table at the LPA meeting was a bike rack, a paved pathway to the beach, a rooftop bar, retail space, and an unknown amount of money for Persaud’s properties prorate share of replacing pavers in Times Square. He’s added a mobi mat to his public benefits list for Monday.
LPA members wanted to send a clear message of denying this project when they were unanimous last month, taking aim at every request Persaud was making to try to build this hotel on that small piece of land in Times Square. On our show last Sunday Councilwoman Karen Woodson said a unanimous vote against a project carries a lot more weight than a split vote might.
Comments are closed.