Manhattan Residential Development

[krulltime]

Ground will be broken soon for new condo building on East 34th Street





05-JAN-06

LCOR and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) plan to break ground next month for The Charleston, a 191-unit residential condominium building at 225 East 34th Street on the northeast corner of Tunnel Exit Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenues.

The site is close to the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

David Sigman, senior vice president of LCOR, which is based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, told CityRealty.Com today that the building is expected to be completed next year and that sales should start this summer.

The 21-story building has been designed by SLCE with HLW International as design consultant. Most of the southwest corner of the building, which has a one-story base with about 11,000-square feet of commercial space, is angled and its frontage on 34th Street has three projecting bays that descend from the highest at the west to the lowest at the east.

The building, which convenient to good public transportation and Murray Hill, will have many balconies.

It will have 9-foot-high ceilings, a fitness center, a catering kitchen, a media lounge and an landscaped plaza. It will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and several three-bedroom penthouses.

It is named after Charles Benenson, the New York developer who died in 2004 and had owned the site. Mr. Benenson, a well-known art collector, was the developer of several properties in Manhattan including the Connaught apartment tower at 330 East 54th Street and at one time was the owner of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.

“It was very important to the Benenson family that the building be named in memory of our father, Charlie,” Lawrence B. Benenson, a principal of Benenson Capital Partners LLC, has commented, adding that “LCOR was gracious enough to agree and we are certain The Charleston will be one of their most successful projects.” Benenson Capital Partners LLC sold the property for about $73 million.

LCOR is also developing a 37-story, 199-unit residential condominium building at 101 West 24th Street that is also expected to be completed in 2007.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

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Community Board 4 opposes seminary's building plans





05-JAN-06

Community Board 4 last night unanimously approved the drafting of letters to the City Planning Commission and the Landmarks Preservation Commission opposing the plans of the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea for the construction of a new 17-story building that would contain facilities for the institution and 82 cooperative apartments.

The board noted that “Although there is not yet anything before our Board, the importance of the issue and the concerns of the community compel us to issue this preliminary statement on the matter.”

The seminary gave the board a presentation of its plans November 21 but has not yet officially submitted its plans to the city. Walter Mangoff, a member of the board, however, said last night that plans will probably be heard by the Landmarks Preservation Commission next month.

The seminary wants to replace Sherrill Hall, a low-rise building designed in 1960 by O’Connor & Kilham along Ninth Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets that is part of the full-block campus that extends to Tenth Avenue and is one of the major landmarks of Chelsea and is flanked on the side-streets by some of the best townhouses in the neighborhood.

The seminary is in the Chelsea Historic District. The General Theological Seminary gave a presentation of its plans to the board November 21 at which time the Very Rev. Ward B. Ewing, Dean and President of the seminary, said it was "at a critical moment in its 190-year history" and is faced with "urgent problems." He said that Sherrill Hall and other structures "are severely damaged." He said that since 1999, the seminary has spent $9 million on restoration but “needs $50 million to $60 million” to preserve its buildings.

The seminary’s buildings enclose attractive gardens and the seminary’s block has about 240,000 square feet of unused air-rights and the proposed building would use only about 185,000 square feet of them.

The Polshek Partnership is the architect for the new building, which would include 50,000 square feet for the seminary’s library and offices and 135,000 square feet of apartment space. The developer is the Brodsky Organization.

The base of the proposed building would continue the 51 1/2-foot-high brownstone street-walls of the campus and the southwest corner at 21st Street would have the brownstone cladding rise up much of the height of the new building, which will be covered mostly in glass.

Most of those speaking in opposition at the November 21 meeting and at last night’s meeting were concerned about the height of the building, despite the fact that it is the same height as a 1928 apartment tower just across Ninth Avenue. The new tower would be a bit higher than the seminary’s church spire in the center of the block.

About a dozen speakers spoke in opposition to the seminary’s plans at last night’s meeting and no representatives from the seminary were present.

The draft of the board’s letter maintained that it needed details about the seminary’s “current and projected GTS finances, especially how the costs of repairing the and maintaining the existing historic buildings are to be funded; how the revenue steam from the project is to be divided among the parties; detailed rehabilitation cost projections, pro forma cost and income data on buildings of various size and height, additional engineering data on Sherrill Hall, etc.”

“The Board,” it continued, “is very seriously concerned about maintaining the 75-foot height restrictions of the Chelsea Plan in the Historic District, and that the built form of the Chelsea community and the integrity of the Historic District and its heart, the General Theological Seminary block, remain intact….We are deeply concerned that this proposal will, if successful, form a dangerous precedent and contribute to the reduction of the rich diversity of the community.”


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

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Ripples still cascading from Extell's 2005 splash
The developer's parade of fresh projects sparks excitement - and some alarm


By Alison Gregor
January 2006

Extell Development Corporation galloped onto the New York City real estate scene in full regalia last year with a big land buy on the Upper West Side, and its high-profile arrival has many veteran market observers wondering how fast one firm can move.

The company, led by president and CEO Gary Barnett, formerly a diamond merchant, claimed a multitude of headlines in 2005 - some flattering, some less so.

First was a residential purchase that topped the charts for New York City: Extell - a national real estate developer as well as construction and asset manager in office, retail and multifamily properties - paid a reported $1.76 billion for a swath of land on the Upper West Side owned by Donald Trump and several Hong Kong-based partners.

The move triggered a high-profile lawsuit filed by Trump against his partners for undervaluing the property.

Around the same time, Extell launched a surprise bid to develop the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, attempting to snatch away an opportunity for creation of a New Jersey Nets arena from developer Forest City Ratner. Though the strategy was ultimately unsuccessful, Extell gained much community support - at least in Brooklyn.

However, at about the same time, Extell's twin skyscrapers project, the Ariel, planned for the Upper West Side between 99th and 100th streets, caught flak from area residents for their towering silhouettes. And a building collapse during demolition of a supermarket to make way for the offending structures injured several people.

Since then, Extell has launched sales at six new residential developments, including the two Ariel buildings. At the Orion at 350 West 42nd Street, about 500 of 551 units have been sold since last spring. More recently, Extell put its stamp on the Stanhope Hotel on Fifth Avenue, a leasehold with a 150-year lease that has been converted to co-ops offered for $10 million or more. Sales also just began on Altair 18 and Altair 20, two buildings on 18th and 20th streets off Fifth Avenue, respectively.

"We're not interested in going about tooting our horn," said Barnett, who gave his first New York City interview to The Real Deal. "Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, some of the deals we've done recently have had a higher profile. But we've been fairly active in New York City for over the past 10 years."

Extell, known as Intell Management and Investment Co. until about nine months ago, purchased the 226-unit landmark rental building the Belnord Apartments at 2360 Broadway in 1994. The purchase was made with a group of investors including Ziel Feldman of Property Markets Group, which is no longer involved, though the property has been renovated.

The company also developed the W Hotel in Times Square and 45 Walker Street, a law building converted in 2001 to loft condominiums in Tribeca. Also completed in 2001 was the Gatsby at 65 East 96th Street, a prewar 17-story condominium conversion.

More recently, 330 East 72nd Street, a new development with 13 full-floor condominiums went on the market and recently sold out, Barnett said.

A native New Yorker who lived in Belgium for 12 years, Barnett said he is seeing the same craving for new construction in New York that he experienced in Europe. "We're seeing a bit of a mentality shift to new construction, where people really want something new," he said. "Or if it's not new, it should be really a gut renovation, not just some kind of cosmetic."

As for the potential convergence of a slew of condo projects entering the market at once, Barnett said he believes the New York City market can handle it.

Extell this fall began construction on 100 Riverside, a building on the former Trump property. Extell plans to create a total of about 600 units in two buildings on the property in the near future.

"The first building will have a lot of one- and two-bedroom units," Barnett said. "The second building, which will be magnificent, is a 41-story twin tower building with a mix of larger, family-sized units."

Though Trump's lawsuit claims that Extell intends to flip the property referred to as both Trump Place and Riverside South, Barnett said that ultimately as many as 3,000 units may be created there.

Barnett said the company, along with investment partner the Carlyle Group, a private equity investment firm, purchased a developable footprint of about 20 acres with about five million developable square feet. The rest of the acreage, which reportedly totaled 74 acres, consists of parkland and roads, as well as three rental buildings and parking garages sold for a reported $816 million or more before the deal closed.

"I don't understand the basis for the lawsuit," Barnett said. "Nobody has purchased any of the land from us... and we didn't buy it in a vacuum. At least four or five other very capable large developers saw the property and chose not to pay the price we paid."

Trump did not respond to calls regarding his lawsuit, which a New York state Supreme Court judge dismissed in September. Reportedly, Trump intends to appeal the decision.

Extell is also developing luxury condominiums and retail space at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. At the same time, it has purchased four buildings at West End Avenue and 86th Street that it plans to demolish for a new residential construction.

A complete list of Extell's future New York City developments includes 221 West 57th Street and the Stuart Dean Building at 355-366 10th Avenue, though detailed plans have yet to be worked out for those properties.

Extell's penchant for building up in New York City upset some Upper West Side residents when the company purchased air rights from St. Michael's Church in order to build its Ariel East tower to about 40 stories.

"We're doing everything as of right," Barnett said. "It's unlikely that there will be other tall buildings built, simply because there are no other sites there, but we've tried to do what we could in presenting it to the community."

Extell bought the air rights around the 60-story Orion building to build taller, but also to insure residents will have unobstructed views from the fifth floor up. Unusually, the luxury building has its amenities mid-building, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors.

"We took prime real estate and turned that into amenity space," said Raizy Haas, senior vice president for development at Extell. "We were trying to create a lifestyle for the people occupying the building. The views are unbelievable."

Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of the Corcoran Group, said the brokerage is excited to be marketing numerous developments for Extell in New York City.

"They're not a formula developer," she said. "They're a developer that reads the market very well, and reads the neighborhood well, and then delivers a product that exceeds expectations of value."

As for the community unrest regarding the Ariel buildings, Liebman said, "sometimes what people want is not what the future holds."

David Wine, vice chairman of the Related Companies, said Extell has been particularly canny in predicting the strength of the condominium market on West 42nd Street with the Orion. The Related Companies, Twining Properties, and MacFarlane Partners are planning a gargantuan project with retail, rental apartments and condominiums on West 42nd Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.

"We actually started working on our site before [Extell] started its for-sale campaign," Wine said. "To their credit, they were the first to anticipate real strength in the condo market in that submarket."

Alex Twining, president of Twining Properties, said he is aware of two Boston-area projects being done by Extell, including the Intercontinental Hotel and Residences at 500 Atlantic Avenue and 303 Third Street in Cambridge, where Extell is planning 600,000 square feet of rentals and condominiums.

Twining is doing a 24-story apartment tower across from Extell's Cambridge development.

"In the last several years, [Extell] is one of the more active players in the New York market," Twining said. "They've chosen locations we think are good, and timing-wise, I think they're going to do well, before the market slows down."

Extell has pursued many high-profile deals in other parts of the country in the past decade, including the purchase of the Enron Center South in Houston, which it sold about a year later, and the redevelopment of 1.8 million square feet at the Insurance Exchange Building in Chicago. Currently, Extell is developing more than 500 units in a condominium development called Avenue in Miami.

Miki Naftali, president of Elad Properties, which had a joint venture with Barnett on 65 East 96th Street, said Extell is a bloodhound when it comes to seeking out hot neighborhoods.

"When it comes to their locations, they're one of the so-called two or three developers that are leading the city," he said. "I think they're one of the best in town."


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

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New Residential Developments


East Village
331 East 8th Street
The five-unit condominium, designed by Kutnicki Bernstein Architects, has three two-bedroom lofts with terraces, a duplex penthouse with three terraces and a private roof deck, as well as a duplex with a 796-square-foot private yard. The units have 9-foot ceilings and private storage spaces. Helix Partners are the developers. Prices range from $1.275 to $2.05 million. Rob Gross of Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive broker. Contact: 212-727-6130.

Gramercy
Landmark 17
233 East 17th Street
Originally a convent and later a Hazelden clinic, the Victorian Gothic-style building – built in 1877 – is being converted to 13 condominium units. The façade will remain intact, while the inside will be gutted to create two- to four-bedroom homes. The chapel will be transformed into a four-story apartment with 23-foot ceilings. Eight of the apartments will have private gardens and terraces. Sales will begin this month, with a summer 2006 move-in date, the New York Post reported. Prices are expected to start at $1.5 million for a two-bedroom, according to Tamir Shemesh of Prudential Douglas Elliman. Contact: www.landmark17.com.

Harlem
2002 Fifth Avenue
The seven-story, 24-unit building was designed by Alexander Compagno. Many residences have private outdoor space. Prices for the one- to three-bedroom units start in the mid $400,000s. The building also features a 24-hour doorman, a residents' terrace, fitness center, and a parking garage. Prudential Douglas Elliman is marketing the property. Contact: www.2002fifth.com.

Midtown
610 Lexington Avenue
A hotel-condo tower is going up at the site of the former YWCA, the New York Times reported. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the transfer of unused development rights from the Seagram Building on Park Avenue and 53rd Street to allow for the construction of the building. In return, the owners of the Seagram, RFR Holding, must permanently maintain that building's modernist exterior.

Soho
350 West Broadway
Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures has received a variance permitting residential development of the existing three-story building, which has been vacant since its construction in 1987, GlobeSt.com reported. The newly renovated building will be 11 stories tall and contain 19 one- to three-bedroom units. At street level, the property will have 6,800 square feet of retail space. Rogers-Marvel Architects and Elliot Vilkas designed the expansion, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in October 2007.

Tribeca
1 York Street
Sales are about to begin at the 40-unit condominium complex designed by architect Enrique Norten. The complex occupies an entire block and splices a modern 14-story glass tower with a revamped seven-story building from the 1850s. Prices will range from $1 million for an 850-square-foot one-bedroom to $15 million for the 3,160-square-foot penthouse. A two-bedroom unit with 1,820 square feet will sell for around $2.4 million. Stanley Perelman of Jani Real Estate is the owner and developer. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2007, the New York Times reported. Cantor-Pecorella is the marketing agent. Contact: www.1york.com

Tribeca
414 Washington Street
and 415-423 Washington Street
The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved in December certificates of appropriateness for the two buildings, the New York Observer reported. Both are designed by Joseph Pell Lombardi and Associates and will be clad in red brick and have multi-paned, arched windows. The building at 415 Washington Street will have eight stories and be called the Fairchild & Foster Atelier. The building at 414 Washington Street will have eight stories and be called the Pearline Soap Atelier. Although both properties sit in a manufacturing zone, the Department of City Planning is expected to rezone the North Tribeca neighborhood soon, allowing for residential uses.

Upper East Side
995 Fifth Avenue
The former Stanhope Hotel is going co-op, the New York Times reported. The hotel's 185 rooms will become 26 private residences designed by John Simpson, the architect of the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Studio apartments for cooks, drivers, and maids are available on the ground floor for about $1 million. Upstairs, half- and full-floor apartments, 4,000 and 8,000 square feet each, begin at $10 million. The asking price for a duplex penthouse – 7,000 square feet with 5,000 square feet of outdoor space – is $47 million. The Corcoran Group is selling the units. Contact: 212-634-6500.

Upper East Side
1393 York Avenue
The Sheldrake Organization bought the Church of the Epiphany site and will build a luxury 25-story residential condominium, designed by Polshek Partnership, and a new church. The entrance for the condo tower will be on East 74th Street, and the church's entrance will be on York Avenue, the New York Sun reported.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

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I really like this one...




Tribeca
1 York Street

Sales are about to begin at the 40-unit condominium complex designed by architect Enrique Norten. The complex occupies an entire block and splices a modern 14-story glass tower with a revamped seven-story building from the 1850s. Prices will range from $1 million for an 850-square-foot one-bedroom to $15 million for the 3,160-square-foot penthouse. A two-bedroom unit with 1,820 square feet will sell for around $2.4 million. Stanley Perelman of Jani Real Estate is the owner and developer. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2007, the New York Times reported. Cantor-Pecorella is the marketing agent. Contact: www.1york.com

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Development in Brief
Manhattan (from north to south)


743 Fifth Avenue
The 10 upper floors of the slender Italianate loft building may turn into residential condos, the Post reported. Centurion Realty owns the property.

500 West 23rd Street
Leviev Boymelgreen will construct a 15-story rental of over 100,000 square feet, the Post reported.

140 West 22nd Street
Cronus Capital and Vintage Group bought the 12-story, 70,000-square-foot commercial building and plan to convert it to condos.

Third Avenue between 13th and 14th streets
Toll Brothers has bought the site of the old Variety Theater and intends to build a 77-unit condo tower, the Post reported.

173 MacDougal Street
Property Markets Group will be closing on an acquisition of Church of Christ, Scientist in 2006, the Sun reported. It plans to redevelop the site, building a new church and residential condos.

16 Warren Street
The three-year-old Tribeca Rock Club is closing and will be razed to make room for luxury condos, Curbed.com reported.

127 Fulton Street
New owners 127 Fulton LLC plan to convert the eight-story, 27,000-square-foot office building into condos, according to Helmsley-Spear.


Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.

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Half of the condos at 59 John Street sold since late September





06-JAN-06

About half of the 74 condominium apartments have been sold at 59 John Street on the northwest corner of William Street in the Financial District. Sales started in late September.

The building was formerly a 9-story office building and Broadway Management Co., Inc., added three floors with terraced penthouse units to it in the conversion, which is expected to be completed this summer.

The beige-brick building has a one-story rusticated red-brick base and is one block north of the Federal Reserve Bank Building and it is across Pine Street from Zeytma, one of downtown’s most colorful gourmet food stores and restaurants.

The building will have a 24-hour concierge and fitness center and its large lobby will have a media lounge that will face on a large garden.

Andrés Escobar has designed the interior spaces and bathrooms will feature handsome blue-green glass walls, soaking tubs with controls mounted on the side, and large stainless steel sink bowls mounted above cabinets and beneath very broad mirrors. Kitchens will have very large black granite counters.

Remaining two-bedroom units plus home office units with two bathrooms start at about $1,195,000 and three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, corner units with 1,651 square feet and a foyer leaded to a long, angled gallery start at about $1,300,000.

Broadway Management is also developing Sutton 57 in midtown.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

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$40 Million Buys Ex-Cabby His Own Corner of 5th Avenue


Vincent Laforet
for The New York Times

The Duke Semans mansion,
at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street,
in August.

By MOTOKO RICH and WILLIAM NEUMAN
New York Times
January 10, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/ny...10mansion.html


A former cabdriver who struck it rich in Russian oil and went on to invest in Manhattan real estate has signed a contract to buy a Fifth Avenue mansion for $40 million.

Tamir Sapir, who immigrated to the United States 30 years ago, said he signed a contract on Friday to buy the house, known as the Duke Semans mansion. He said the sellers, relatives of the late tobacco heiress Doris Duke, signed the contract yesterday.

The price for the 1901 Beaux-Arts confection on the corner of 82nd Street opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the highest ever paid for a Manhattan town house, though it is less than the original asking price of $50 million.

The 1901 mansion gained attention when it came on the market last spring because of its provenance and price tag. "I don't know if it's a bargain or not, but it looks like it's a bargain," said Mr. Sapir, 58, who owns the Art Deco office tower at 11 Madison Avenue and the building on lower Broadway where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority leases space for its downtown headquarters. Mr. Sapir is perhaps best known for a dispute that he had with the transportation authority as the building was being renovated. The dispute spawned a series of lawsuits that later were settled.

A collector of European ivory, Mr. Sapir said he planned to use the bottom five floors of the mansion as a gallery to showcase his pieces, mostly sculpture, which he said he had amassed over the past 20 years. He is considering moving into the penthouse on the sixth and seventh floors with his companion, Elena Bonomareva, and their 2-year-old daughter.

Mr. Sapir, who lives in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue and owns a 12-acre estate in Kings Point on Long Island, said he was attracted to the mansion by its location and its history. He had already considered installing his ivory collection in the office tower on Madison Avenue, he said, but the mansion's proximity to the Met and the Guggenheim Museum made him decide "this is the right location for me."

Mr. Sapir said that he had toured the property twice over a period of about three months. The house, which has landmark designation, has 11 marble fireplaces, three elevators, gold-leaf trimmed fixtures, a sweeping brass-and-wrought-iron staircase and a mansard roof. It is one of a few remaining single-family residences on a part of Fifth Avenue that once was known as Millionaire's Row.

A tenant currently leases the penthouse, but Mr. Sapir is considering moving in after the lease expires. He said that he would keep the work on the bottom five floors "simple," demolishing some walls, and installing gallery lighting and display cases. He said he planned to invite friends who collect Fabergé eggs and paintings to exhibit their collections as well.

The musician Lenny Kravitz had been interested in the property, which came on the market last May, but he was never able to work out a deal. About 40 prospective buyers toured the mansion, which houses a doctor's office in the basement.

The Duke family hired Paula Del Nunzio and Shirley Mueller at Brown Harris Stevens and Sharon Baum at the Corcoran Group to handle the sale.

Ms. Del Nunzio said the family had "a stronger than usual interest in what happened" to the mansion after it was sold. "They were very pleased with the idea that it would be devoted to an artistic purpose," she said. "They thought that was quite a wonderful use for it." The previous highest price for a town house, based on records filed with the city, was $31.25 million, for the Academy of the Sciences mansion on East 63rd Street off Fifth Avenue, sold in September.

But neither is the highest price paid for a residence in Manhattan. Last fall, Daniel S. Loeb, who runs the Third Point hedge fund, signed a contract to buy a $45 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West, a condo building designed by the architect Robert A. M. Stern that is being built on the site of the old Mayflower Hotel.

Mr. Sapir said he was not worried about reports of softening in the Manhattan real estate market. "Look, there is now lots of money there," he said. "If you're not going to put money in real estate, where else?"

A refugee from Georgia, in the former Soviet Union, he left with a wave of immigrants in 1973. Mr. Sapir lived in Israel, Germany and Louisville, Ky., before arriving in New York in 1976.

After three years as a cabdriver, he opened an electronics store at 200 Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park where he often sold products to visiting Russian diplomats. His relationship with one customer, a Soviet oil minister, he said, enabled him to begin selling fertilizer, and eventually, oil contracts, in Europe.

In the early 1990's, Mr. Sapir decided to invest in New York real estate, buying a building downtown, on John Street, for $2.2 million and selling it a year later for nearly three times that. Since then, he has bought several other buildings in Manhattan.

Mr. Sapir said that as soon as the sale of the Duke Semans mansion closes, he plans to hire contractors and a curator to organize his collection of ivory pieces, which he said would be a "headache" to count. "I'm going to do everything possible to rush it," he said. "I want to enjoy myself when I can display this 20 years of hard work."

Copyright 2006The New York Times Company

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141 Fifth Avenue to be converted to residential condominiums





09-JAN-06


One of Lower Fifth Avenue’s handsomest commercial buildings – 141 Fifth Avenue on the southeast corner at 21st Street - has been sold and will be converted to residential condominiums.

The 14-story building was erected as the Merchants Bank of New York Building in 1897 and designed by Robert Maynicke.

Kathy Morrow of The Kaufman Organization, which manages the building, told CityRealty.com today that it is too early to release information on the planned conversion and said that no plans had been submitted yet to the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

The building was acquired by SL Green and Savanna Partners recently for about $60 million.

The building’s existing tenants include the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

It has a rounded corner and an arched entrance beneath a large circular window. The white-brick building has a domed roof and elaborate terracotta decoration. It has banded columns on the 7th and 8th floors and the 8th floor has large circular windows and the 10th floor has arched windows.

The building is close to the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park and is convenient to the Gramercy Park, Union Square and Chelsea neighborhoods.

From 1849 to 1890, the site was occupied by the South Dutch Reformed Church.

Robert Maynicke was born in Germany in 1848 and studied at Cooper Union and by 1872-3 was employed by George B. Post where he supervised work on early elevator buildings including the Mills Hotel, the Produce Exchange, the Cotton Exchange, and the Equitable, Havemeyer and Pulitzer Buildings, now all demolished.

According to a report prepared by Donald Presa of the research department of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Mr. Maynicke “oversaw the contruction of the firm’s New York Times Building (1883-89, 41 Park Row, a designated New York City Landmark).” Mr. Maynicke left the Post firm in 1895 to form a partnership with Julius Franke and their new firm would design over 100 large commercial buildings including many stores, lofts and office buildings within what are now the Ladies Mile, TriBeCa and NoHo historic districts and the buildings were mostly in the Renaissance and Classical Revival styles.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

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BETWEEN THE BRICKS





By LOIS WEISS
January 11, 2006

A new building designed by Cesar and Rafael Pelli is going up in lower Manhattan, overlooking the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Christopher Albanese, principal of the developer the Albanese Organization, said this 35-story, 250-unit building at 200 Little West St. will be "all green" in keeping with Battery Park City development rules.

"It's a unique, sleek Pelli design," Albanese said.

He expects the sales office to open in late spring, with the building completed by the end of 2007.

Albanese has also been hired as the developer for the 45-story condo we first told you about at 15 William St. whose owners, SDS Investments and Zar Realty, recently brought in Andre Balazs for design work.


Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc.

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Other Residential news: April 2005

Greenwich Village
70 Bethune Street

The Related Companies has filed plans with the city's Department of Buildings to construct the tallest tower on "the Gold Coast" stretch of West Village waterfront. A 20-story, 104-unit building is planned on the site of the Superior Ink factory, which would be demolished. The project would include retail and underground parking.

Looks Like Superior Ink is Getting Erased

CURBED
Wednesday, January 11, 2006




When the Far West Village won a downzoning decision, the Superior Ink Factory on West Street—long targeted by the Related Company and architect Charles Gwathmey for a Sculpture for Living-like tower—was left out of the deal. Today word comes from the Metro that the city's Board of Standard and Appeals has given the developer the go-ahead to tear down the factory and build a 190-foot-tall residential tower. Sounds biggish, but the new design is some 80 feet shorter than the original plans (see the new sketches here), and the building will use more brick and far less glass than the SfL. Said Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation director Andrew Berman: "We are continuing to fight to landmark the Superior Ink Factory. We haven't stopped that; we’re actually amping that up in the 11th hour." LPC doesn't have it on the docket, though.

· Board OKs Village Condo Plan [Metro]
· Gwathmey Gets Served on Superior Ink Plans [Curbed]

The West Street elevation:

[infoshare]

Said Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation director Andrew Berman: "We are continuing to fight to landmark the Superior Ink Factory. We haven't stopped that; we’re actually amping that up in the 11th hour." LPC doesn't have it on the docket, though.
[/IMG]

That original design (linked by lofter below) was great - big loss for the area.

BTW - on a positive note, this is a great building (and website) I spotted today. http://1york.com/

(update 1) You have to see the "Parking" feature in this building - amazing. The website features it brilliantly.

[krulltime]

16-story condominium building planned for West 72nd Street





13-JAN-06

The Parks and Preservation Committee and the Land Use Committee of Community Board 7 held a joint hearing last night on a proposed new 16-story residential condominium building at 120 West 72nd Street.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission had scheduled a hearing on the project for January 24, but Harry Kendall of BKSK, the architectural firm involved with the development, said that the developer, Anbau Enterprises, has asked the commission to reschedule the hearing for February 7.

After a two-hour presentation and discussion, Klari Neuwelt, co-chairman of the Parks and Preservation Committee, who conducted the hearing, said that the board required a more detailed presentation and asked Frank Angelino, the lawyer representing the developer, to ask the commission to not make a decision at the February 7 meeting so that the Community Board could pass a resolution detailing its analysis of the project. Mr. Angelino said the developer would do so.

The mid-block building is an “as-of-right” project that falls within existing building and zoning regulations. Under zoning it could be 210 feet high but Mr. Kendall said that it would only be 172 feet including rooftop bulkheads.

As presently planned, Mr. Kendall said, the building would have two apartments per floor, one in the front and one in the back, but he added that some of the higher units might be full floor apartments.

The façade of the building will be tan-colored masonry on the eastern half, where it abuts a very handsome white terracotta apartment building, and clear glass on the western half with narrow glass balconies that Mr. Kendall suggested might be “smoking balconies.” Ms. Neuwelt commented that the shallow balconies are simply “an invitation to put a lot of junk out.”

Several members of the committees and residents of neighboring buildings in attendance were critical of the design of the base of the building and the building’s split façade design.

One neighbor argued that there was “nothing ethereal” about the design,” adding that “it’s lost on its way to Second Avenue, it belongs on the Upper East Side, it’s ugly.” One board member said that the design looked like two “sliver” buildings, adding that she had “no objection to modern expression and texture, but it needs to be more refined.”


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY.

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New condo building on Laight Street in TriBeCa





13-JAN-06

The landmarks committee of Community Board 1 voted last night unanimously to support an application for a certificate of appropriateness from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a handsome, new, 8-story, residential condominium building at 50 Laight Street in TriBeCa.

The mid-block building, which is about 100 feet west of Hudson Street, has been designed by German G. Longoria for Kengo Watanabe, the developer.

The red-brick building will contain five full-floor apartments of about 2,100 square feet each and a duplex penthouse.

The top floor of the building will be setback with a terrace behind a row of arches on the seventh floor.

The building will replace a one-story garage building designed by George W. Swiller in 1940 and a one-story freight terminal building designed by Augustus N. Allen built in 1919.

It will have a one-story limestone base and employ light-colored fiberglass spandrels.

The committee concluded that the design was “richly detailed” and “well executed,” and avoided being “slavishly historic.”

The planned building falls within the existing zoning regulation for floor area.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has scheduled a hearing on the project for January 24.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY.

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One neighbor argued that there was “nothing ethereal” about the design,” adding that “it’s lost on its way to Second Avenue, it belongs on the Upper East Side, it’s ugly.” One board member said that the design looked like two “sliver” buildings, adding that she had “no objection to modern expression and texture, but it needs to be more refined.”

Double ouch! Intra-neighbourhood disses AND the apparent new requirement that condo buildings be "ethereal"! Do they have to inspire the soul like some sort of Gothic cathedral?