181 Mercer Street

NYU's controversial plan to replace their Coles Sports Center site at the corner of Mercer and Houston Streets received approvals way back in 2012, but due to community opposition and lawsuits, they only filed plans and began demolition this October. The Wall Street Journal now shares the first renderings of the hulking, 23-story, 735,000-square-foot building at 181 Mercer Street designed by Davis Brody Bond (who's also responsible for the 9/11 Museum) and KieranTimberlake. It will cost a whopping $1 billion and host a bevy of uses, including 60 classrooms, common spaces, two cafes, practice/instruction rooms for the arts, three theaters, a giant athletic facility that'll have four basketball courts and a six-lane lap pool, 30 to 60 faculty apartments, and a 420-bed freshman dorm.
Lots more renderings and details