785 Eighth Avenue - 40-story Condo - Theater District - by Ismael Leyva Architects

[krulltime]

785 EIGHTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY


In the heart of Manhattan, in the so called “Movie District” of 8th Avenue and close to Times Square section of Manhattan, ILA crafted a beautiful residential glass tower. The featured design responds to the challenge of an oddly shaped site which results in a 40-story building with a still, rigorous geometry, defying the difficulties of the site: irregular shape and very small footprint. The angular nature of the site is exacerbated in the triangular shapes of the penthouse. The volumetric composition is complemented by the addition of cascading balconies with glass railings. The abstract sculptural quality of the whole resonates with the nearby very dynamic theater district. The slick curtain wall will reflect the setting sun and calming waters of the Hudson River.

The tower has 110 condominium units distributed on forty floors above ground level, a cellar and partial sub-cellar. The Ground Floor consists of residential lobby and a commercial space which extends to the outdoor garden in the rear. The building has two entrances with the Main residential lobby being accessible from 48th street and Eighth Avenue providing access to the retail and residential functions. The Ground floor residential entry has a skylight and a waterfall. The cellar also has a fitness center, lounge space, changing rooms and bicycle storage. Each apartment unit features high ceilings, floor to ceiling glass, wood floors and interior finishing in stone and marble. The apartments on second and seventh floor have outdoor terraces and from each of the units from the 8th through 40th floors have balconies. The rooftop has outdoor terraces with hot tubs and is part of 40th floor penthouse and 39th floor apartments. The northern portions of upper floors offer wonderful views of the northern and eastern parts of Manhattan as well as the Hudson River.


http://www.ilarch.com/projects/residential.html

[krulltime]

I have to believe that this is the tower they mention on this New York Sun article...

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/sh...9&postcount=42

A third tower is planned for West 48th Street and Eighth Avenue.

[Eugenius]

A sliver if I ever saw one.
More such slivers, I say!

[antinimby]

Wow. Very nice and thin.
The balconies seem to work very well here, just like notches they even improve the design!
Even got that Citigroup slanted top.
Top notch.

What are the realistic chances of this one going up?
What is the timeframe?

[TonyO]

Very nice use of the space.

[lofter1]

Hoping they are going to tear down / build something on the site where the horridly painted yellow / red building currently stands just to the south of this one.

DOB Records for 785 8th Avenue show only one application for work on this site dating from 2001 for "INSTALLATION OF HEAVY DUTY SIDEWALK SHED 25' DURING FAADE [sic]REPAIR"

The C/O (dated 1924) shows it is currently a 3-story building with commerical on the first 2 floors and a "dwelling" on the 3rd floor.

More info:


Most Recent Sale

Price $9,900,000

Date 11/30/2005

Building

Building dimensions 24 ft x 80 ft

Lot dimensions 23.58 ft x 100 ft

Ratio of Building SF to Lot SF (FAR)

FAR as built 2.12

Max allowed FAR 10

SF under FAR 18,581

At the Total allowable FAR @ 24,000 ft. sq. / 40 stories (proposed) = 600 ft. sq. / floor

At the existing floor size @ ~ 1920 ft. sq. (which would seem to be the minimum size needed to build the 2+ units per floor as described) and to retain the needed space for the "outdoor garden in the rear" the developer will need to obtain some of the transferrable air rights available within the Special Theatre District to build this.

[NoyokA]

Originally Posted by lofter1

Hoping they are going to tear down / build something on the site where the horridly painted yellow / red building currently stands just to the south of this one.

DOB Records for 785 8th Avenue show only one application for work on this site dating from 2001 for "INSTALLATION OF HEAVY DUTY SIDEWALK SHED 25' DURING FAADE [sic]REPAIR"

The C/O (dated 1924) shows it is currently a 3-story building with commerical on the first 2 floors and a "dwelling" on the 3rd floor.

More info:

Most Recent Sale

Price $9,900,000

Date 11/30/2005

Building

Building dimensions 24 ft x 80 ft

Lot dimensions 23.58 ft x 100 ft

Ratio of Building SF to Lot SF (FAR)

FAR as built 2.12

Max allowed FAR 10

SF under FAR 18,581

At the allowable FAR @ 18,581 ft. sq. / 40 stories (proposed) = 464.525 ft. sq. / floor

At the existing floor size @ ~ 1920 ft. sq. (which would seem to be the minimum size needed to build the 2+ units per floor as described) and to retain the needed space for the "outdoor garden in the rear" the developer will need to obtain some of the air rights available within the Special Theatre District to build this.

I'm sure with the version posted above air-rights would be transferred from other properties.

[Peteynyc1]

Wow, looks awesome! Thats the same block as that horrible big apple tour building which I always thought looked prime for a buy out and redevelopment. If that happens (and they still retain air rights), the view to the South from this new building will be severly impaired. Is the eyesore Bennigans on that block too?

[stache]

Beautiful building.

[londonlawyer]

Originally Posted by Peteynyc1

Wow, looks awesome! Thats the same block as that horrible big apple tour building which I always thought looked prime for a buy out and redevelopment. If that happens (and they still retain air rights), the view to the South from this new building will be severly impaired. Is the eyesore Bennigans on that block too?

I agree. While I like this tower's design, it is sad to see the Benigin's and the Big Apple Tour buildings remain. They are horrible eyesores.

[Fabrizio]

That tower is freakish ...oddball.... desperate looking. Considering the space limitations, it looks like the architect did "the best he could"..... the way surgeons do after a bad accident.

What´s the point of this building? The residents will have their views blocked-in, in a big way, soon enough.

Let´s hope something nice goes up, right along side it.

[Derek2k3]

As Stern said, they most likely bought some of their air rights from adjacent buildings.

[Fabrizio]

The rendering above makes it look like a high-rise squeezed into a third-world slum.

[Peteynyc1]

I wonder if there are balconies on the back side. That is the side facing the protected Clinton district, the side with the nice sunsets that could use balconies.

[Fabrizio]

That would complete the chain-saw asthetic.