Church Street bombing

The Church Street bombing was a car bomb attack on 20 May 1983 in the South African capital Pretoria by Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress. The bombing killed 19, including two perpetrators, and wounded 217, and was one of the largest attacks engaged in by the ANC during its armed struggle.

The attack consisted of a car bomb set off outside the Nedbank Square building on Church Street at 4:30 pm on a Friday. The target was South African Air Force (SAAF) headquarters, but as the bomb was set to go off at the height of rush hour, those killed and wounded included civilians. The bomb went off ten minutes earlier than planned, killing two of the perpetrators, Freddie Shangwe and Ezekial Maseko. At least 20 ambulances took the dead and wounded to hospitals.

Truth Commission hearing

In submissions to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1997 and 1998, the ANC revealed that the attack was orchestrated by a special operations unit of the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), commanded by Aboobaker Ismail. Such units had been authorised by Oliver Tambo, the ANC President, in 1979. At the time of the attack, they reported to Joe Slovo as chief of staff, and the Church Street attack was authorised by Tambo.

Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building

The Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building, also known as The Eli, is a skyscraper at 227 Church Street in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The former headquarters of the Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET), the Art Deco building was completed in 1938, and was the tallest building in the city until 1966 (it is currently the tenth-tallest building in New Haven's skyline). Some 1,200 SNET employees worked in the office building after its completion. Beginning in 2004, the building was converted to a luxury apartment building and rechristened "The Eli"; it now is home to 142 apartments and two storefronts. The building, designed by Douglas Orr and Roy W. Foote, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

It is regarded as New Haven's "premier" example of Art Deco architecture, and displays one of the area's most extensive employment of Stony Creek pink granite. When built in 1937, it was the tallest and largest office building in the city.

Union and New Haven Trust Building

The former Union and New Haven Trust Building, located at 205 Church Street in New Haven, Connecticut, was renamed The Union in 2014. Constructed in 1927, this Georgian-Colonial Revival skyscraper was designed by architects Cross and Cross. The building sits on the northeast corner of the historic New Haven Green.

History

Lying on the corner of Elm and Church streets, the site was the home of Richard Perry in the 1640s, who served as secretary to the General Court of the Colony of New Haven. Built for the Union and New Haven Trust Co. during the Roaring Twenties, the building was designed to reflect the architecture of the Green and its three historic churches; the building's golden cupola intentionally mirrors that of the Green's United Church. The Union Trust Company moved its headquarters to Stamford in 1981, but kept a branch on the ground floor. The bank was purchased in 1995 by First Union Corporation, which later took the name of its Wachovia acquisition and in 2010 merged into Wells Fargo. The building's ground floor is still occupied by a Wells Fargo branch. On March 28, 2013, Cooper Church LLC, a New York-based developer, purchased the 184,480 square-foot building from Hampshire Hotels & Resorts for $13.5 million. The New Haven Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved Cooper Church’s proposed zoning variances in June 2013. Construction to convert the former office building to 138 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom market rate rental apartments began in April 2014.

30 Park Place

30 Park Place, Four Season Private Residences New York Downtown, is a new tower currently under construction in Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City. At 937 feet, the property will be the tallest residential building Downtown, offering residents panoramic views of the Midtown skyline and New York Harbor. The top floors of the 82-story building will have 157 residences, ranging from one to six bedrooms, all reached through a dedicated residential lobby at 30 Park Place. Below will be a 185-room Four Seasons Hotel, with its own lobby on Barclay Street, which is scheduled to open in July 2016.

Construction and financing

The property was purchased in 2006, but funding for construction was not secured until 2013. Developed by Silverstein Properties, the tower was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and will be serviced by the Four Seasons Hotel. In May 2013, Silverstein Properties secured $660 million for construction financing.Tishman Construction is managing the project. Construction began in the fall of 2013 and is expected to be complete in 2016. The building topped out in early 2015, and installation of the exterior and windows was finished in Augsust of 2015. When completed, 30 Park Place will be the second tallest residential building in Downtown Manhattan, after 70 Pine Street.