Proposed: Five Franklin Place - 21-story condo - TriBeCa - by Ben van Berkel

[Merry]

Tribeca Tragedy: UN Studio's Loopy Five Franklin May Get Disbanded

By Matt Chaban

Can good design survive the recession? We may find out when, or even if, anything ever gets built at 5 Franklin Place in Tribeca.

Originally designed by Ben Van Berkel and his Dutch firm UN Studio—also known for the still-unopened New Amsterdam Paviliion—5 Franklin Place was one of the giddiest starchitect-designed condo projects to appear during the boom, doing so in early 2008, in those surprisingly heady days between the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. The 20-story tower was all ropy bands of black metal, lassoing their way up the building, creating balconies where they protruded. The project gave nearby Frank Gehry a run for his money for sure.



Yet when the economy came clattering down a few months later, so did the building, getting as far as the demolition of the original five-story building located on Broadway three blocks south of Canal Street. In May, Procida Advisors was hired to help sell off the mortgage on the site, and Curbed just got its hands on a new set of alternative plans that come with the project, designed by local firm Montroy Andersen Demarco. While their proposal is not bad per se, it is far more run-of-the-mill than the one proposed by their predecessors, clearly designed with cost in mind. As Billy Procida told Curbed, "The borrower has signed over the deed-in-lieu and the market is as hot as ever. We've made sure that the buyer can start construction on this project immediately."

This is still a prime site in prime Manhattan, one deserving of a top-notch, if expensive building. While there is no guarantee top-flight architecture will pay off, it certainly looks that way, with the successes of Gehry and Robert Stern of late, among so many others. Whether the developer realizes this and goes with UN Studio's design or whether it takes the quickest route to cash should say a lot about the kind of architecture the city has to look forward to for the foreseeable future.

Better yet, The Observer dares these new, hypothetical buyers to come up with something even more daring of their own.

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...nklin-replaced

[lofter1]

Auction of 'one of last' sites in TriBeCa pulled

Sale of $40 million first mortgage on what was to have been 20-story Five Franklin Place
condo called off after buyer emerges; price seen as “satisfactory and fair.”

CRAIN'S
By Amanda Fung
November 24, 2010

The scheduled auction of the $40 million first mortgage on the stalled condominium project Five Franklin Place in TriBeCa was indefinitely postponed after a foreign company signed a contract to buy the note, according to Procida Advisors, the real estate turnaround firm that had planned to conduct the auction on Wednesday.

“The buyer hit a number that is satisfactory and fair,” said Bill Procida, president of Procida Advisors, adding that the buyer will pay all-cash and that the deal is expected to close by mid-December. He said the purchase would be the buyer's first real estate property in the city. Further details on the purchase were not disclosed.

Five Franklin Place, better known as 369-371 Broadway, was being pegged as one of the last development sites in the TriBeCa area. Procida was retained by the lender, an undisclosed hedge fund, in January to auction the site. It was originally to have been developed by Sleepy Hudson into a 20-story luxury condo with 55 units. The building's architect was well-known Dutchman Ben van Berkel of UN Studio. The auction was supposed to begin Monday and end on Dec. 13. Mr. Procida said he already had 100 people on the bid list before the sale occurred on Tuesday.

According to Mr. Procida, foundation work and two stories of concrete of the site are already complete. Plans and permits are now in place for a 17-story, 130,000-square-foot residential building with ground floor retail. Procida also offered an alternate, more cost-efficient design by architecture firm Montroy Andersen DeMarco for the project.

It's too early to know what the new owner will do with the property, but “this project will finally get built,” Mr. Procida said.

© 2010 Crain Communications Inc.

[londonlawyer]

Let's keep our fingers crossed for this project.

[Merry]

Further to previous posts here:


Update on Broadway Building's Hated New Look

December 8, 2010, by Joey Arak



The world basically recoiled in horror when the facade facelift on 365 Broadway was finally revealed after a mystery-laden renovation. Now that we're somewhat over the shock of what's been done to this classic cutie on the outskirts of Tribeca, a tipster sends along an update on the building's rooftop addition:

All windows are now in...notice the hideous disharmony of the upper windows and doors –they couldn’t make two apartments the same? Moreover, the grill work on the upper floor looks like it should be on the roof.

Still no word on the apartments or when they'll be available. Will there be interest? But of course. Everyone loves a bad boy.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/1...d_new_look.php

[Derek2k3]

To make us feel a little better. This trio seems to have gotten a nice exterior renovation.
They could have easily knocked it down in the pospect of building something bigger.


Hopefully the neighboring midblock tumor will be redeveloped soon.


Along with this favorite that was inspired by the Mcdonald's bathroom floor.

[londonlawyer]

That mid-block POS and the McD's detract from an area filled with truly magficent old towers. I walked by there today and thought how I can't wait for that junk to go.

[randy]

What about this building at 372 Broadway?



Its been boarded up for years and looks pretty dangerous. I don't understand how this eyesore of an abandoned building is allowed. It doesn't even look stable.

[lofter1]

DOB Shows a recent Complaint for 372 Broadway.

But after a number of DOB inspections ("Exterior Inspection Only") it's been deemed of "No Immediate Threat" ...

12/26/2010 S5 STALLED: SUPERSTRUCTURE DETERIORATING - NO IMMEDIATE THREAT
12/20/2010 EXTERIOR INSPECTION ONLY BROKEN TOP FLOOR WINDOW

The Stalled Work Site Job Application shows:

Owner: Abe Lesser / Abe Lesser Group

The ALG address is on 47th Street in Brooklyn.

The link lists a phone number for ALG.

Not sure if there is a connection, but according to the BK CB 10 BOARD MEETING Minutes [pdf] from September 2010 regarding the troubled Victory Memorial Hospital (P. 3-4):

" ... the building is actually owned by Abe Lesser who won the building during the bankruptcy proceedings ..."

And back in 2003 an Abe Lesser submitted a proposal for renovation of Pier 40 ...

$30 million needed for pier-park w/o Home Depot

[lofter1]

Cursed?

Broadway Reopens After TriBeCa Building Scare

A section of Broadway in TriBeCa was closed Friday as
investigators responded to a "structural issue" at 372 Broadway.

DNAInfo
April 29, 2011

MANHATTAN — A section of Broadway was closed for more than an hour Friday after a "structural issue" at a TriBeCa apartment building, the city's Office of Emergency Management tweeted.

The building appeared to have moved, leaving a foot-wide gap between it and the adjoining one - though a neighbor said it had always been like that.

It couldn't be confirmed if that had prompted the street closure.

Broadway between Franklin and Walker streets was closed off as emergency responders investigated the problem at 372 Broadway.

The building's first floor is for sale and looked to be having construction work done.
The FDNY said there were no reports of injuries.

The Department of Buildings had one open complaint on the building, for "superstructure deteriorating," but it was listed on the department's website as being of "no immediate threat."

Copyright © 2009 - 2011 Digital Network Associates dba DNAinfo.com

[BBMW]

One wonders how a property in an obviously commercially valuable location goes derelict. Either someone is carrying it, or it's been forclosed on or taken over by the city. Some has to own it. It has to worth doing something with.

[hooverville]

372 Broadway between White and Franklin Streets does not look dangerous--
THIS IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER AND IS INCREDIBLY AND ASTOUNDINGLY PERILOUS!!!
Look at the Department of Buildings site for 372 Broadway and you will be absolutely terrified!
As I read it, there are no sprinklers, floors and there is no standpipe for the fire department. THE BUILDING IS FILLED WITH REFUSE AND GARBAGE and has not any tenants for years. It is my understanding that this building actually has GARBAGE DELIVERED TO IT!
The Department of Buildings actually placed a class 1 violation (immediately hazardous) on this building, a DOB violation reads:
"FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE HOUSEKEEPING PER SECTION REQUIREMENTS. CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL AND DEBRIS NOT PROPERTY STORED OR REMOVED FROM SITE. NOTED: UPON INSPECTION DEBRIS PILED ON 1ST FLR APPROX 8'HIGH & 20'""
I am totally terrified that this building will burn at any moment. Please someone clean up this building before there is a tragedy!!!!

[Merry]

Big Deal | Chronicle of a Project Foreclosed

By SARAH KERSHAW


The partly built 5 Franklin Place condo.

Every detail of 5 Franklin Place was mapped out: Bosch washers and dryers, cantilevered staircases wrapping around cylindrical glass elevators and a facade with reflective black metal bands that would twist like ribbons and, just maybe, make Frank Gehry squirm.

But the condominium planned for TriBeCa with the dizzyingly ambitious vision of a small development firm, and an exotic design by the Dutch architect Ben van Berkel, may stand out as one of the worst casualties of the city’s banking and housing crises.

Many new developments, of course, were stalled or thwarted by the economy’s tumble, but the mortgage note on the condo project, which was to have risen 20 stories and contained 55 luxury apartments, has been sold twice. Now a foreclosure auction for the property, with a $47.04 million lien on it, is scheduled for Sept. 12.

The minimum bid on the TriBeCa property must be higher than the lien, which includes the $28.25 million the developers originally borrowed to finance the project, as well as the interest rates, penalties and fees that piled up after they defaulted on the mortgage, according to Calin Onet, a marketing analyst for PropertyShark, which produced a detailed report on the project’s financial history. If no one bids that high — or bids at all — the real estate investment firm that acquired the mortgage note on the property for about $48 million last December, Glacier Global Partners, will obtain ownership, Mr. Onet said. The firm cannot proceed with development plans unless it officially owns the property.

Yaniv Blumenfeld, the chief executive of Glacier Global Partners, declined to comment, saying he did not want to discuss possible plans for the project until after the auction.

The travails of 5 Franklin Place began when Sleepy Hudson, a development firm that had specialized in small-scale projects like modest conversions and brownstone rehabilitations, bought the site, which has frontage on Broadway, for $36.6 million in 2006, property records show.

The firm had done well in developing a 12-story condo, High Line 519 on West 23rd Street, which was completed in 2007 at the height of the real estate market. The developers had built in West Chelsea before many others marched in — and even before plans for the High Line were firm — so they had hoped to repeat the strategy with a bigger condo on the up-and-coming eastern edges of TriBeCa, they said. In the heady days of the boom, a 20-story luxury condo, with prices ranging from $2 million one-bedrooms to $16 million penthouses, seemed like a sure thing.

After buying the property Sleepy Hudson moved quickly: construction began in early 2007; the condo offering plan was approved by the state; a showroom opened on Harrison Street; apartments went on the market in the spring of 2008; and contracts were signed on eight units, including a $16 million penthouse, the developers said.

Leo Tsimmer, a co-founder of Sleepy Hudson, had commissioned Mr. van Berkel to design a country house in the Catskills. He and his partner, David Kislin, then brought the architect into the Franklin Place project. In the design, Mr. van Berkel would “pay homage to TriBeCa’s iconic cast-iron aesthetic without compromising his passion for radical design,” according a description of the condo prepared for the sales team.

But by the time the apartments hit the market, the developers had already defaulted on their mortgage, as they struggled to secure financing in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown and the collapse of Bear Stearns.

Their lender, Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, had assured them of additional loans that would finance the construction, Mr. Kislin said. After the Bear Stearns debacle, there were “two weeks of radio silence,” before the lender told the developers there would be no new loan, and they were then turned down elsewhere, Mr. Kislin recalled.

They halted construction after building 5 of 20 floors, returning deposits to the eight buyers who had signed contracts. The bare bones of a partly built condo shrouded in scaffolding with boarded-up windows, the property bears little resemblance to the architectural renderings.

“If the world were different,” Mr. Tsimmer said, “I think the city would have appreciated this property being built. I think residents would have viewed it as a great addition to their neighborhood. The prices were great, and we felt it was going to be a very beautiful project.”

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20...etro&seid=auto

[lofter1]

They halted construction after building 5 of 20 floors ...

Incorrect. The 5-story facades seen behind the scaffolding and facing Broadway are what's left of the previous structures (which were somehow to be worked into the design. Behind them are about 25' of the same and then a chasm with a couple of stories (mostly below grade) of reinforced concrete supports.

By keeping part of the old structure they were able to file this work as an A-1 Alteration Application, rather than as a New Building.

[randy]

update: http://therealdeal.com/newyork/artic...shman-holdings

[infoshare]

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/artic...shman-holdings
Excerpt: Fishman's rendering could not look more different that the original Sleepy Hudson design by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel. The previous design featured an exterior of reflective black steel bands that twisted and morphed as they wrapped themselves around the structure. The new design, by Richard DeMarco of architecture firm Montroy Andersen DeMarco, is much more akin to other new development condos on the market today.


The 'new design' makes for a nice-looking building - but the former (by Berkel) was a sublime architectural design.
Clearly the developer decided on a major value engineering makeover.