40 Mercer - Located at Broadway in SOHO - Condo - by Jean Nouvel

[ASchwarz]

From the NY Post: Jean Nouvel is a fantastic architect. *He had designed a hotel for the Broadway/Grand property. The rumor is that this second property will also be a condo.


HIP HOTELIER DROPS INN FOR CONDOS

By BRADEN KEIL


November 21, 2002 -- HOW hip will you have to be to buy a condo in hip hotelier Andre Balazs' proposed downtown apartment complex?

The building, located at 204 Lafayette, was slated to be a sister inn to his trendy Standard Hotel in Los Angeles, but has been re-conceived by celebrated French architect Jean Nouvel as an apartment complex.

Balazs plans to break ground in the next few months on the site, now occupied by a parking lot.

The new building, according to sources, will have several full-floor, multimillion-dollar residences with a non-SoHo feel. Nouvel may have his work cut out for him developing residences rather than his usual hotel rooms.

Balazs, meanwhile, has also scuttled plans to develop a hotel at Broadway and Grand Streets.

Balazs could not be reached for comment.

[Derek2k3]

What do they mean by scuttle?

[NoyokA]

Jean Nouvel is a great architect, modernist, but this building could be from the 60's, nothing special.

[Fabb]

The combination of metal and transparent glass was not prevalent during the 60s. That's Nouvel's signature.

[Kris]

June 8, 2003

Hotel or 'Trojan Horse'?

By JIM O'GRADY

André Balazs, the owner of the Mercer Hotel, has decided that he doesn't want to build a bold 12-story hotel designed by the architect Jean Nouvel on a 40,000-square-foot lot on Grand Street near Broadway. Instead, he wants to sidestep the slumping, post-Sept. 11 hotel business and build a bold 12-story residential tower of the same design in the same spot.

But some people who supported the hotel oppose the tower. They say the zoning change needed for the switch would open the door to unwelcome development.

"It's a Trojan horse," said Sean Sweeney, the director of SoHo Alliance, a neighborhood group. "We're worried that changing the zoning would allow developers to build dormitories, multiplex cinemas, big-box stores like Kmart and a number of noxious uses."

To make the switch, Mr. Balazs must first persuade the city to modify SoHo's zoning, which prohibits new residential buildings. This process has already started. On Monday, the Department of City Planning approved his proposal to allow builders to seek permission to erect new residences in the SoHo/NoHo Historic District. Community Board 2 plans to consider the issue next month.

"I share all the concerns of the SoHo Alliance," Mr. Balazs said. But he argued that the zoning change could be written to exclude unwanted developments, for example, by allowing only residential buildings on relatively small lots.

Arthur Strickler, the district manager of Community Board 2, is not convinced. "It's an old trick to say you're building a hotel,'' he said, "and then claim economic hardship to sneak in a residence."


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[Kris]

October 12, 2003

NOHO/SOHO

The Shadow From One Modest Tower Grows to Cover a Whole Neighborhood

By DENNY LEE

It started as a small boutique hotel. Then it became a slightly taller residential tower. Now, in pursuit of their tower, the developers are trying to overhaul the zoning rules that apply to at least 16 vacant lots in SoHo and NoHo, and local activists have drafted a rival zoning plan.

The original plan, by the developer André Balazs, called for a shimmering 12-story hotel at the corner of Broadway and Grand Street, a site currently occupied by a parking lot. The design of the hotel, by the noted French architect Jean Nouvel, was warmly received, even by some prickly residents.

After the city's tourism took a dive, Mr. Balazs and his partners decided instead to build a 14-story residential tower. But since SoHo is not zoned for residential construction, the developers have asked the Department of City Planning to allow for any type of development on unbuilt lots.

The developers say they have no plans to build on any other sites; Stephen Lefkowitz, a lawyer for Mr. Balazs, said they were seeking the area-wide zoning change because "this is a better process in terms of community involvement.'' (Local opponents say a variance seems unsuitable for the site, making an area-wide zoning change the developers' only option.)

But with many vacant lots nearby - local groups count more than twice as many as the 16 the city counts - residents fear that any zoning change will lead to a developers' gold rush.

"It will destroy NoHo and SoHo as we know it," warned Councilman Alan J. Gerson, who represents both areas. "Loft living will be replaced by high-rise, small apartments. You'll have an expansion of the monolith of uptown Manhattan."

And some residents suggest that the proposed changes would result in development that resembled a strip mall. "I cannot exaggerate enough the damage this would cause," said Sean Sweeney, director of the SoHo Alliance, a neighborhood group. "It would permit dormitories, electric power substations, multiplex theaters; pretty much anything you want, you can build there."

In response, community groups have drafted their own, more restrictive zoning proposal, and the two competing plans were debated at a packed hearing before the City Planning Commission on Sept. 24.

In defense of the Balazs version, the Real Estate Board of New York said the zoning changes reflected the new makeup of SoHo and NoHo, and other defenders of that plan compared the vacant lots to "broken teeth" in the smile that is the neighborhood.


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[Gulcrapek]

Broadway Grand
13 floors
50 units
Architect: Jean Nouvel



"Broadway Grand is a new 13-story, 50-unit luxury residential condominium located in the Soho Historic District in lower Manhattan. The currently vacant site was formerly a department store demolished many years ago. Consistent with the neighborhood, the project will include retail and residential amenity spaces on the ground and basement levels."

http://www.hines.com/hines/propertyP...PropertyID=463

[Derek2k3]

Broadway Grand
465 Broadway 106-112 Grand Street
14 stories 175 feet
Atelier Jean Nouvel
Proposed Late 2004-2006

Very similar to the previous hotel design but improved slightly. This new article mentions it also.

http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts...183/index.html

[RedFerrari360f1]

Shrunk a tad bit. Still wouldnt mind a Jeany in the city.

[monknyc]

Three new renderings of 40 Mercer on the Jean Nouvel site (jeannouvel.com > news > Ground Broken for Soho Grand Residential Apartments).

Any news of who is handling sales for the building?

[Derek2k3]

Thanks^





http://www.jeannouvel.com/

[AJphx]

wow so this broke ground back in December. It must be under construction now? It looks like it will be a nice building and a good addition to the neighborhood.

[monknyc]

Placeholder web site. No pics yet...

http://www.40mercersoho.com/

[JonY]

The renders look rather plain and staid for a Nouvel design. His forte is glasswork.

In reality, I'm sure Nouvel's 40 Mercer will turn out just great.

[monknyc]

From an e-mail flyer I received:

40 MERCER RESIDENCES

by Andre Balazs
Architecture by Jean Nouvel
Developed by Hines

Amenities and Services

- 24-hour concierge available for floral services, personal shopping, automotive care, technical support, leisure pursuits, theater/restaurant reservations, travel arrangements, pet care and kennel services, renovation supervision, housekeeping, dry cleaning, laundry service and home maintenance.
- Indoor parking
- Continental breakfast delivery
- The Pool House, featuring an indoor T-shape, 50-foot lap pool, a fully equipped fitness center, steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi, with private bar and lounge
- Massage and spa services available in-residence or at the spa
- A private landscaped garden accessible to all residents
- Additional terraces available for private use
- Private storage
- Valet parking
- Event spaces for use exclusively by residents

Lifestyle

40 Mercer Residences have been created by Andre Balazs, the visionary hotelier behind some of the world's most innovated and acclaimed hotels. His properties are distinguished by a carefully considered sense of place, rigorous attention to detail and atmosphere, and faultless service, all conveyed within buildings of pioneering design and groundbreaking visual excitement. The same qualities of luxury and discreet modern elegance that he has injected into his luxury hotels, winning a passionate and dedicated clientele, will be integrated into the residential life of 40 Merder Residences. Now, his hotel can be your home.

Architect

Jean Nouvel is recognized as one of the world's most outstanding and inventive architects. His work merges a Bauhaus aesthetic in his use of glass and steel with a dramatic, even decorative, sensibility that incorporates transparency, light, and shadow as major design elements. His projects often become major urban events in their own right. His notable buildings include the Lyon Opera House, the Cartier Foundation in Paris, and the Galeries Lafayette flagship in Berlin. He has received the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, France's National Grand Prize for Architecture, and Italy's Borromini Prize. 40 Mercer will be his first residential project in the United States.

Building

An extraordinary testament to progressive architecture and ingenious engineering, this stunning, 15-story new building offers magnificent glass curtain walls with a rhythm of panes in vibrant hues of red and blue. Jean Nouvel has conceived a building in which glass acts as both a presence, as in massively scaled transparent sliding walls, and an absence, as in the disappearing floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the outside in and puts all the excitement of SoHo at your feet. Breathtaking panoramas and brilliant light abound in virtually every room.

Residences

Jean Nouvel brings as much ingenuity to the interiors as to the striking exterior of the building, with floor-to-ceiling oak and walnut doors, multi-hued flooring, 12-foot ceilings, and the most distinctive, custom-designed kitchens and bathrooms in the marketplace. Thoughtfully considered and painstakingly assembled, these residences are modern settings distinguished by their old-world craftsmanship and quality of finish. No detail is overlooked.

1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom residences of 1,222 to 4,017 square feet priced from approximately $1,975,000 to $5,875,000. Penthouse residences - two with private pools - are also available. Penthouse pricing available upon request.