Architecture And Design

August 17, 2015

For $1.85M This Park Slope Floor-Through Has Pre-War Charm and Parkside Cachet

For some Park Slope buyers it might be enough that this 1,700-square-foot, three-bedroom co-op at 90 Prospect Park West is directly across from the 585-acre park. Of course, there are those three bedrooms, gorgeous pre-war bones, three exposures, custom built-ins and clean, updated interiors. But this prime Center Slope home also has that covetable Brooklyn perk: outdoor space, in the form of a sweet semi-private deck. Currently on the market for $1.85 million, the unit last changed hands in July of 2010 for $1.155 million, so the current ask would add up to a significant payday for the current owners. Another minor historic footnote: in the 1960s and '70s, the building's tenants purchased the then-rent-stabilized building and set up co-operative ownership–making it possibly the first co-op building in Brooklyn.
Take a tour
August 16, 2015

Bring the Elements of NYC Into Your Home (Sans the Grime) With These Printed Pillows

No need to reach for your hand sanitizer after handling these NYC artifacts. Ronda J. Smith's "In the Seam" pillows are meant to spruce up lackluster spaces while celebrating all that makes New York New York. Pigeons, rats and all. Works of art in their own right, each image featured has been shot by Rhonda herself (she's also a photographer specializing in food and still life), then printed on cotton sateen, hand stuffed, and sewn onto cotton-twill fabric in Brooklyn.
Where to get them here
August 14, 2015

Hudson Yards’ Outdoor Observation Deck Will Be the Highest in the City

At the end of last year, we learned that 30 Hudson Yards, the 92-story tower that's part of the west side mega-development, would offer a death-defying observation deck. Initial reports said that a tilting glass walkway would jut out of the building around 1,000 feet, but a new report from the Post confirms that the actual height will be 1,100 feet. This puts it 50 feet higher than the Empire State Building's 86th-floor outdoor observation deck, making it the highest in the city. The paper also has a shiny new rendering of the deck, which will span more than 5,000 square feet and boast 360-degree views.
Find out more here
August 14, 2015

Construction Kicks Off at Morris Adjmi’s 540 West 26th Street, New Renderings Revealed

Construction has kicked off on a sleek, nine-story commercial and gallery building in the heart of West Chelsea's gallery district. It's being developed by Savanna Fund, the Manhattes Group, and the Silvermintz family. Located just half a block from the High Line, the 145,000- square-foot, 159-foot-tall project at 540 West 26th Street replaces a parking lot and a two-story commercial building once home to the Lehmann Maupin Gallery. The building's straitlaced design, penned by Morris Adjmi Architects, is massed in two tiers and adorned with a repeating grid of factory-sash, floor-to-ceiling windows. Adjmi's site notes that the facade's "bead-blasted aluminum frame" is a nod to the district's robust industrial character. Furthermore, the interiors will be detailed with blackened steel, finished concrete, and salvaged wood. The lower level will house gallery spaces, while the floors above will provide full-floor commercial offices with generous floor-to-ceiling heights. The setback of the upper two floors allow for a spacious landscaped terrace with views of the Hudson River.
More on the project right this way
August 14, 2015

Elegant Brownstone in Sleepy South Slope Asks $2.65M

The Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenwood–with Park Slope to the north and Sunset Park to the south–has become a top choice for buyers priced out of other headline-stealing neighborhoods. It retains its somewhat sleepy old-Brooklyn feel, while enabling residents to stay in the loop with an ever-growing roster of amenities–including those in nearby Park Slope, Gowanus and Red Hook. The area is convenient, transit-wise; Prospect Park is its northeast border, and adjacent Green Wood Cemetery is one of the city's most treasured green spaces. South Slope itself has seen a precipitous price leap as it has gone from being a dodgy lower annex to merely a more laid-back option. And homes in Greenwood are no longer the "steal" they once were, but they are still expected to be considerably less costly than their northern counterparts. The row of stately four-story 19th century brownstones that includes 228 17th Street seems almost out of place among the eclectic mix of wood-frame, vinyl-sided and brick homes, larger townhouses and apartment buildings, some of them with modern renovations (plus the unavoidable march of new construction), that give both South Slope and Greenwood their laid-back feel. But variety is certainly welcome here. The home was first listed in April with Brooklyn Properties for $2.95 million, reduced to $2.750 million shortly thereafter, delisted in July, then listed anew in the able hands of Halstead at its current ask.
Take a tour
August 13, 2015

Could This Honeycomb Tower Be Moshe Safdie’s Bancroft Building Replacement?

Images of a mysterious high-rise project have been posted on the website of Architecture Work Office, depicting a balcony-laden 50-story residential tower that balloons in area as it rises. The rendered skyscraper appears to align with a block-through development site near the corner of West 29th Street and Fifth Avenue that has been assembled by Ziel Feldman's HFZ Development. That site was purchased from the Collegiate Churches of New York in 2013 and was partially occupied by the striped brick and limestone Bancroft Building dating to 1896. Despite pleas from preservationists, the building was demolished earlier this year and has gone down as one of the city's most heart-wrenching architectural losses in recent years.
is this new tower in the works?
August 13, 2015

Drovers Tavern, an Upstate Property with Many Past Lives, Seeks a New Owner

In its 195 years of existence, Drovers Tavern has changed hands several times; however, the one thing that hasn't seemed to change is its facade. Completed around 1820, the Cazenovia, New York property is a typical Federal-style house, but its history is anything but. In its earliest days, the four-bedroom house served as a resting spot for drovers shipping livestock down to New York City. After the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, the droving profession, and consequently the tavern, became obsolete. Eventually, the 114-acre property was put to use as a family farm. Drovers Tavern has had its share of notable residents. It was home to Melville Clark, the creator of the Clark Irish Harp, and his nephew Melville Clark, Jr., a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project. Now up for auction, the historic mansion is in search of a new owner to continue its long, quirky history. Bids start at $525,000 and will be accepted until August 31st.
Tour the historic tavern here
August 12, 2015

Former Jehovah’s Witness-Owned Carriage House Asks $9.95 Million in Brooklyn Heights

The Jehovah's Witnesses have a long history in the neighborhoods of DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights, but over the past five years the religious group has slowly retreated from the neighborhoods for a hefty profit. For a little backstory, Jehovah's Witnesses set up a headquarters in Brooklyn Heights way back in 1909, and then went on to acquire significant real estate holdings in the area that included homes in Brooklyn and big hulking warehouses in DUMBO. They decided to start selling off real estate holdings in 2011, which brought in millions upon million of dollars. This carriage house, at 165 Columbia Heights, was sold by the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2012 for $4.1 million. And after a very significant renovation, it's now back on the market asking $9.95 million.
See the reno
August 12, 2015

Bay Ridge Home with ‘Architectural Drama’ Asks an Absurd $4.58M

The quiet old-school neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is filled with grand and storied homes, from the elegant to the eclectic and, more than occasionally, the awkward. Overlooking the Brooklyn shore of the New York Harbor's Upper Bay, Shore Road is an architectural mashup of eras and styles, with everything from Deco-esque apartment buildings both plain and fancy to more than its fair share of large and luxurious dwellings that trade for equally luxurious sums. A $4,580,000 ask breathes some rarified air even in this crazy market, but the house itself fits well within a certain mid- to late-Bay Ridge-style, perhaps best described as an early '90s interpretation of a Catskills resort contained within a suburban home. This wouldn't be the first of its kind on Shore Road to command upwards of $4 million; while it's not the All Marble Everything house, which sold for the tidy sum of $4.4M in April, the house at 7529 Shore Road has charms of its own. The listing promises, "all the architectural drama you can imagine, yet warm and intimate feeling." And there's a wall-length aquarium.
Architectural drama, this way
August 12, 2015

A Toast to Tribeca: More Images Revealed of KPF’s 111 Murray Street

Grounded in the foothills of the downtown skyline, where the quaint streets of Tribeca scale upwards into the shimmering temples of capitalism, lies the 35,000-square-foot construction site of an upcoming 62-story condominium known as 111 Murray (previously called 101 Murray). Architecture critic Carter Horsley exclaims, "111 will be the most elegant addition to the downtown skyline in decades." Truly, the  Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates-designed tower–reminiscent of a champagne flute with its curvaceous body, narrowing mid-section, and flared crown–will be a refreshing expression of form and fluidity that will counteract the blocky towers that have shrouded the once romantic skyline. We've uncovered some brand-new renderings of the tower, and they continue to impress.
Take a look right here
August 12, 2015

$29M Historic Townhouse Looks to Take Back the Title of Most Expensive Sale on the UWS

On Monday, the New York Times reported about the listing of an Upper West Side house at 24 West 71st Street – "a historically significant granite-and-iron-spot-brick townhouse with fanciful terra-cotta embellishments and distinctive interior millwork." The stately residence sold for $4.3 million back in 1996, setting a record for the neighborhood. Now, 20 years later, it's back and is looking to reclaim its title of most expensive townhouse sale on the UWS. The home is asking $29 million, more than the current record holder 247 Central Park West, which sold for $25 million earlier this year. The 7,134-square-foot house was built in 1892 by architects Lamb and Rich, and it underwent a $1 million renovation in 1988 that turned it from a ten-unit apartment building back to a single-family mansion, surely helping seal the record-breaking sale in '96 to current owners Arrien and Robin Schiltkamp. According to the just-launched listing, "Immaculately maintained, the six-bedroom, six and a half-bath townhouse has retained the gorgeous original details that infuse every corner, while augmenting them with opulence by Jonathan Rosen Interiors." Some enviable features of the home include six bedrooms; an elevator; a private, south-facing back garden; top-floor terrace; almost all of the original woodwork; stained glass windows; a 400-pound original door; ten gas fireplaces; and a Japanese-inspired spa.
Find out all about the townhouse
August 11, 2015

The Bronx Is Getting a New Mixed-Use High-Rise Near Yankee Stadium

Brooklyn and Queens have been flush with new condos and rental developments lately, now it's time for the Bronx to get in on the action. Local developer M. Melnick & Co. has begun construction of a mixed-income, 17-story residential and commercial high rise at 810 River Avenue that will be the area's first since it was rezoned in 2009. The company dates back to 1934 and has proven to be reliable builders of multi-family, senior, supportive and mixed-use housing developments around the city.
Find out more right here
August 11, 2015

Be Woody Allen’s Neighbor for $80K a Month in This Historic Upper East Side Townhouse

Trophy purchase, short-term refuge, or family home? Take your pick. This impressive and unique townhouse at 116 East 70th Street was previously owned by philanthropist George Soros’s ex, Susan Weber Soros, who bought the 5,688-square-foot home in 2012 for $22.5 million and proceeded to see it through a thorough renovation, updating infrastructure and interiors and installing every 21st-century comfort known to stratospherically-priced townhouse-owning man (or woman, as the case was). Post-renovation, the barrel-fronted, copper-clad townhouse changed hands in an off-market deal to an anonymous LLC for $31 million. The house was back on the market again for $33 million last February after only four months. With its price pared down to $28 million, it’s still seeking a buyer, but is now having a go at the rental market, too. The stunning single-family manse–all five floors of it–is being offered for $80,000 a month, which comes with the caché of calling Woody Allen your next-door neighbor.
Tour the house, this way
August 10, 2015

Permits Filed for New Faux-Loft Building at the Intersection of Boerum Hill and Gowanus

Avery Hall Investments filed permits last week for an eight-story, 20-unit residential building at the corner of Third Avenue and St. Marks Place. The site is situated in the area where bucolic Boerum Hill meets the utilitarian factory lofts of Gowanus. The development at 125 Third Avenue will replace a one-story commercial building that Avery picked up earlier this year for $5.65 million according to city records. The team also recently broke ground on another Boerum Hill condominium at 472 Atlantic Avenue designed by the context-sensitive Morris Adjmi Architects.
More details on the project
August 10, 2015

New York Times Custom Birthday Book Features Every Front Page Since Your Birth

We've found the ultimate gift for the dedicated Times reader in your life—or a fun indulgence for a day you feel like treating yourself with something cool. The New York Times Custom Birthday Book is a beautifully bound hardback that culls every front page printed since the year of your birth, embossed with your name and birthdate for a super fascinating snapshot of world history over the course of your life.
Find out more here
August 9, 2015

$7.4M Lake George Tudor Has 600 Feet of Private Waterfront and a Five-Slip Boathouse

You'd think having a private peninsula would appeal to people looking for seclusion, but this Lake George estate is geared for the gracious host who's ready to throw a serious lakeside party. The four-bedroom Tudor-style house is nearly ninety years old and is full of original architectural details like stone mullions and steep beamed ceilings. But when it comes to inviting friends and family over, it's the outdoor spaces that seal the deal. The 1.26-acre property has a whopping 600 feet of private waterfront, as well as three outdoor dining and cooking areas, a secluded spot to fish and swim, a massive five-slip boathouse, and a carriage house that boasts amenities like a 2,000-bottle wine cellar and home theater. What'll all this cost you? $7.4 million.
View the lakeside estate
August 6, 2015

2 World Trade Center Could Be the Most Expensive Office Tower in the World

The Post reports that the construction of the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed 2 World Trade Center will come with a $4 billion price tag. The 2.8 million-square-foot downtown tower will top out at 1,340 feet, just 28 feet shy of One World Trade Center, which currently holds the title of the world's most expensive office building with construction costs coming in at $3.8 billion.
More details this way
August 6, 2015

Bold Renovation by Ghislaine Viñas Seeks to Make This the Coolest Townhouse in Tribeca

Where to even begin with the renovation of this Tribeca townhouse on Warren Street? The neon colors? The insane art collection? The spiral staircase? The sheep? Needless to say, this project by Ghislaine Viñas Interior Design, also of Tribeca, nearly defies description. It's big, it's bold, it's fun, it looks like something out of a storybook. In fact, the design firm is no stranger to this kind of work–they designed the infamous 80-foot slide that winds through a FiDi penthouse. Do we dare say that this renovation, sans slide, looks like just as much fun?
See more
August 6, 2015

Michael Hilgers’ BalKonzept Will Turn Your Fire Escape Into an Outdoor Office

City dwellers who are lucky enough to have a balcony (or maybe just a fire escape) and who also work at home now have the perfect setup for the warmer months. German designer Michael Hilgers created a brilliant balcony desk that hooks onto the railing to hold a laptop or papers. Dubbed BalKonzept, this extremely lightweight design comes complete with an integrated flowerbox, so you can have both a perfect outdoor workstation and a garden.
Learn more about this makeshift balcony desk
August 6, 2015

First Look at 22-Story Expansion of Downtown Brooklyn’s Hampton Inn Hotel

We all know Brooklyn's residential market is scorching hot, but its hotel market is booming as well. Two hotels recently opened at the borough's Manhattan Bridge entryway, the 174-room Dazzler Brooklyn Hotel and the 116-room Hampton Inn. The latter has just begun construction on a 145-room expansion on an adjacent lot at 156 Tillary Street, and we've uncovered the first look at what the 22-story Stonehill & Taylor Architects-designed tower will look like (an encore to the striped-brick banality that rose in the first phase).
More details ahead
August 5, 2015

Could This Deconstructivist Office Tower Be Coming to the Garment District?

The visualization wizzes at Hayes Davidson posted this image of a hyper-modern tower addition atop an imposing Verizon-owned building at 230 West 36th Street. While few details are provided with the accompanying image, an article from the Times last year mentioned that the top two floors and some unused development rights of the 1924 building were being shopped around to developers as a potential hotel site. The rendered building appears to be a commercial office building, however. With the dearth of development sites suitable for large office floor plates east of Ninth Avenue, and a hot Midtown South office market where vacancy rates hover near 9 percent, the site could be a prime opportunity to construct new office space in the heart of the Times Square/Penn Station sub-market.
More details ahead
August 5, 2015

The Many Lives, and Miraculous Recovery, of NYC’s First Cancer Hospital

Walking down Central Park West from the north end of the park, it's hard to miss the castle-like structure on the corner of 105th Street. The facade is dominated by great conical towers, majestic turrets, deep red brick, and a soft Belleville brownstone. A closer look reveals stained glass windows and intricate stonework, all convincing details that someone went out to build a fairy-tale castle on the perimeter of Central Park. Among the surrounding townhouses and co-op buildings, it's a stunning piece of architecture that looks like it doesn't quite belong. Indeed, the story of how this building, constructed at 455 Central Park West in 1887, still stands is an unlikely one that is rooted in medical history–a dark medical history, at that. This was New York's first cancer hospital, and the first hospital in the United States dedicated specifically to its treatment. This was a time when cancer treatment was unfamiliar to most doctors–in the back of the castle was a crematorium and smokestack that was often in use. After the hospital's closure in 1955, it became a notorious nursing home known for mistreating its patients. When investigations caused the nursing home to close in 1974, the building was left to rot. Not until a redevelopment plan took off in 2000 was it restored into a luxury condo development. Today, despite its grim past, it remains an important piece of New York's medical and architectural history.
Keep reading for the full story
August 5, 2015

Jack Craig’s Skeletal Coat Rack Turns Into a Room Divider as Clothes Populate It

Detroit-based industrial designer Jack Craig came out with a minimal wooden coat rack that doubles as a room divider. Crafted from light Ash and simply dubbed Coat rack room dividers, it gets "activated" when guests arrive and drape their clothes on its many modular units. As clothing populates the racks, the structure starts to disappear turning into a fabric landscape that also works as a space divider, which seems like the perfect prop for closet-deprived New Yorkers.
Learn more about this multifunctional piece
August 5, 2015

Amy Lau Creates an East Hampton Retreat Using Mid-Century Modern Furniture

When two New York art enthusiasts left the city behind for a getaway home in East Hampton, they made sure to take along designer Amy Lau to create their relaxing lagoon-side residence. After purchasing the four-bedroom house in 2012 for $3.75 million, the couple wanted to create a setting that contrasted their art deco Upper East Side apartment. "We did not set out to collect modernist furniture for our house in the country but rather to find furnishings and art we could live with while relaxing," homeowner Joel Portugal told Modern Magazine. So they enlisted their long-time style influence Amy Lau, in addition to East Hampton architectural consultant Sandra Brauer, to combine mid-century art with tranquil, summery touches.
See the interior here