Every day digest: Watch a historic Instances Sq. theater get lifted 30 toes, development might search for this 12 months, and extra

Good afternoon and welcome back to another nearly-end-of-the-week news roundup. Despite the still as of yet uncontrolled spread of the Omicron variant of COVID slowing, if not closing, public transportation, venues, and cultural institutions, there’s still more breaking news than you can shake a stick at.

Here’s what you need to know today:

Times Square’s historic Palace Theatre is being jacked 30 feet in the air

News that the 99-year-old Palace Theatre would be elevated 30 feet for the construction of the $2.5 billion TSX Broadway project in Times Square isn’t exactly breaking—AN reported on the project winning approval all the way back in 2015. But as time marches on, so too do project deadlines, and the theater began its ascension last Friday, January 7.

It’s a win-win for developers and preservationists alike, as the entire theater (currently inching its way skyward) will be preserved while opening up ground-level retail space. Once completed, the new 46-story tower at 1568 Broadway will hold hotel rooms, retail, and an elevated, landmarked theater with 1,700 seats.

A new survey shows contractors are optimistic that things will look up in 2022

A new survey from the Associated General Contractors of America sees members optimistic for 2022, even as a majority of construction firms are still having trouble filling open positions. Still, a reported 74 percent of firms are expecting to hire this year.

The member survey, available here, was also optimistic about multifamily housing starts picking up again (net 32 percent over 2021), although that was tempered by the stark acknowledgment that material costs remain higher than expected and will likely remain high. Ninety percent of surveyed members also reported experiencing significant supply chain problems, which likely won’t be alleviated too much this year barring intervention at the federal level.

H/t to Construction Dive

Designboom is acquired by the same company that owns Archdaily

The design media aggregation continues. In May of 2020, Archdaily was sold to architecture products platform Architonic, which itself is owned by Swiss media conglomerate NZZ. Now, NZZ has another brand under its umbrella: Designboom. Today, the international design platform announced that it had been acquired and that Archdaily, Architonic, and Designboom would now constitute DAAily Platforms (a combination of all three names). Although now under one umbrella, all three companies will continue to operate independently.

H/t to Designboom

A survey of big tech firms show they aren’t living up to their housing promises

Are Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and other Silicon Valley behemoths living up to their pledges to create more affordable housing nationwide? Not really, according to a feature from The Real Deal tracking what’s been promised versus what’s been delivered thus far. Despite the companies’ roles in spurring the housing crisis currently gripping California, relief has been slow; the group announced a $4.5 billion investment to create 40,000 new homes across the state two years ago, and only a sliver of that has been built (or subsidized) thus far.

H/t to The Real Deal

David Zwirner’s plans for an East Hampton artists’ retreat isn’t going over well with locals

Mega gallerist David Zwirner and wife Monica are reportedly riling up East Hampton, New York, residents over plans to convert 17 lakeside cottages and a home into a new artists’ retreat. All 18 buildings along Lake Montauk would need to be renovated, but the Zwirners also have plans to build a yoga pavilion as well (and subsidize the cost of each cabin, putting the retreat within reach of the non-super wealthy). Unfortunately, residents are pushing back due to the state of a dilapidated waterfront bulkhead; while they’re worried it could collapse, the Zwirners have no plan to rebuilt it, as that would require a variance and the cleanup of the adjoining lake.

H/t to The East Hampton Star

A design team has been chosen for an Indigenous culture center in Ontario

Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Smoke Architecture have been selected to design the new Mukqua Waakaa’igan in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on the campus of Algoma University. According to Canadian Architect:

“Mukqua Waakaa’igan will showcase the decades of ‘truth telling’ work led by the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre,” said Algoma University President and Vice-Chancellor Asima Vezina. “As part of our commitments to the Calls to Action, Mukqua Waakaa’igan will provide a safe and culturally appropriate space to house and care for the archives from the residential schools history, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation Collection and other important historical documents.”

H/t to Archinect