Architecture And Design

According to sources close to the project, plans for Norman Foster’s Red Hoek Point, a 7.7-acre commercial campus at the former Revere Sugar Factory on the Red Hook shoreline, appear to be getting scrapped, The Real Deal reports. The website still advertises the “revolutionary office campus on the Brooklyn waterfront,” but Thor Equities is reportedly going to abandon the 800,000-square-foot complex and replace it with warehousing, a change of course that Thor’s founder Joseph Sitt may have been considering as early as last October, as new renderings for Red Hoek Point were being developed.
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Facing poor sales, the partners behind Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 seek additional price chops

Rendering by Hayes Davidson

February 14, 2019

Facing poor sales, the partners behind Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 seek additional price chops

The partners behind the Jean Nouvel-designed tower at 53 West 53rd Street (also known as the MoMA Tower) will be serving even more price chops to the ultra-luxury project in the midst of lackluster sales, though they disagree on how much that should be. As Crain’s reported, Hines, Goldman Sachs, and Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group recently underwent an arbitration process to settle the matter, with Hines seeking aggressive discounts. The 1,050-foot condo building has already received $167 million in price cuts since hitting the market almost four years ago with a projection of $2.14 billion in sales. About 15 percent of the 145 units at 53W53 are under contract currently, with closings set to begin in the spring, a spokeswoman for the project said.
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Timber bridge between Greenpoint and Long Island City gets support from local politicians

Rendering via CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture and Design

February 14, 2019

Timber bridge between Greenpoint and Long Island City gets support from local politicians

6sqft reported last May on a proposal for a civic design project aimed at reconnecting the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Long Island City. Brooklyn-based studio CRÈME's concept, called Timber Bridge at LongPoint Corridor, calls for constructing a floating bridge made of durable timber that would span Newtown Creek and expand past it to the LIRR rail yard in LIC. Not only would the new bridge provide greater access to transit options, but, according to the design team, Timber Bridge would give cyclists and pedestrians a safer commute than the car-jammed Pulaski Bridge. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that this grassroots initiative is now just a bit closer to becoming a reality with the creation of a nonprofit and new support from local civic leaders.
Bridge love, this way

Architecture And Design

February 13, 2019

For $849K, this Westchester geodesic dome home offers energy efficiency and endless views

Just 45 minutes from Manhattan, this three-bedroom home in the Westchester County, N.Y. village of Pleasantville, asking $849,000, sits on a 40-foot granite rock cliff. Though that alone might make it a standout property, the 2,519-square-foot home is a geodesic dome, built by the dome kit experts at American Ingenuity, according to Curbed. The current owners built the home to follow their dream of building a geodesic dome within an hour of NYC, with a view, close to town and the Metro North commuter train. Its construction far exceeded the building codes at the time while making it 50 percent more energy efficient than a regular house.
Get a closer look

February 13, 2019

Landmarks approves Snøhetta’s new designs for Phillip Johnson’s 550 Madison Avenue

In December, 6sqft reported that architecture firm Snøhetta had unveiled a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue; last month brought more details from the firm's proposal that was submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The most recent design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. Yesterday LPC approved the new preservation-friendly designs–with some modifications. The office tower is now on track to reopen in 2020.
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February 13, 2019

New renderings for Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed redevelopment of One Madison Avenue

Last December, SL Green announced plans to renovate its building at One Madison Avenue with an 18-floor addition and modern interiors. On Tuesday, CityRealty uncovered a few new renderings of the planned redevelopment, which is being designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. The developer will reduce the 13-story building to its ninth floor and then add the 18 column-free floors above, as well as wraparound and rooftop terraces overlooking Madison Square Park.
See them here

Architecture And Design

New plan by BIG and WXY will help make Downtown Brooklyn a ‘competitive national urban center’

Image courtesy of Downtownbrooklyn.com.

February 12, 2019

New plan by BIG and WXY will help make Downtown Brooklyn a ‘competitive national urban center’

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership announced today the selection of a joint proposal from design firms WXY Studio (WXY) and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG Architects) for a public realm action plan aimed at implementing long-term improvements to Downtown Brooklyn’s plazas, streets, and public spaces to keep pace with the neighborhood's unprecedented growth. According to a press release, the two firms will conduct a comprehensive study and create an implementation plan for Downtown Brooklyn’s public realm and help "advance Downtown Brooklyn as a competitive, national urban center."
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Architecture And Design

See new photos and renderings of Bjarke Ingels’ The Spiral as it rises in Hudson Yards

Skyline rendering with The Spiral via Tishman Speyer

February 12, 2019

See new photos and renderings of Bjarke Ingels’ The Spiral as it rises in Hudson Yards

The Hudson Yards mega-development on Manhattan's far west side is fast becoming a collection of notable new skyscrapers; construction is underway on what may be the most recognizable of the bunch, the office tower known as The Spiral that will occupy full-block site at 66 Hudson Boulevard between West 34th and 35th Streets. Bjarke Ingels Group's design features setbacks that wind their way up the building's exterior, hosting landscaped terraces for tower-level floors along the way.
Many more renderings, this way

Designs sought for two new waterfront parks in Inwood

Inwood Hill Park via Flickr

February 11, 2019

Designs sought for two new waterfront parks in Inwood

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is seeking ideas for two new waterfront parks in Inwood, as first reported by Curbed. The city's Economic Development Corporation released a request for proposals on Monday for a consultant or team to design a pair of parks along the Harlem River in the Manhattan neighborhood. The plan falls under the Inwood rezoning, which was approved last August and intends to deliver $200 million in public investments. During the process, stakeholders pushed for new open space and upgraded parks to be included in the rezoning, as the waterfront remains inaccessible to many in the community.
More here

Architecture And Design

The hidden loft buildings of the Upper West Side

By Mike Mishkin

When most of us think of “lofts” in relation to Upper West Side apartments, our first thought is probably the commonplace storage or sleeping loft found in converted brownstones and townhouses. While we tend to associate actual loft apartments with downtown neighborhoods like Tribeca and Soho, there are a handful of Upper West Side condos and co-ops where you can find the same soaring ceilings and open floor plans. Ahead, we've rounded up the five loftiest options you'll find north of Columbus Circle.
Learn all about them

Architecture And Design

Bjarke Ingels-designed 2 WTC may move forward without anchor tenant

Rendering of 2 World Center via DBOX, courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group

February 11, 2019

Bjarke Ingels-designed 2 WTC may move forward without anchor tenant

Silverstein Properties, Inc. chairman Larry Silverstein has said construction may begin on the final World Trade Center tower before a committed tenant signs a lease, Bloomberg reports. Following work on the building's foundation, the developer was waiting to progress with further work until a lease was signed. But optimism about the economy and strong leasing progress at neighboring towers may mean the building might rise "on spec." The 2.8 million-square-foot office tower, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, will be the last of Silverstein’s four skyscrapers to occupy the site.
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February 7, 2019

Eleanor Roosevelt’s historic Upper East Side townhouse is back for a reduced $13.5M

Here’s a chance to own the former home of Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the nation’s favorite First Ladies. She lived at 211 East 62nd Street in Lenox Hill from 1953 to 1958 following her husband’s death. In the opulent spaces, she entertained the likes of Indira Gandhi, Adlai Stevenson, and John Kennedy, pursued her social justice and political causes, and penned her popular column for “My Day.” Investor Charles Ueng purchased the townhouse for $9 million in 2011 and spent $2 million on renovations before putting it on the market for $18 million in 2015. The property has been on and off the market since then and was just relisted with a lower asking price of $13,500,000.
You don't want to miss this

After two years on the market, historic Brooklyn Heights home that inspired Truman Capote relists for $7.6M

Photo of Truman Capote via Wiki Commons

February 7, 2019

After two years on the market, historic Brooklyn Heights home that inspired Truman Capote relists for $7.6M

In 1959, Truman lived in Brooklyn Heights around the corner from 13 Pineapple Street, a Federal-era home that inspired him to write the following lines: “Cheerfully austere, as elegant and other-era as formal calling cards, these houses bespeak an age of able servants and solid fireside ease; of horses in musical harness,” as 6sqft previously noted. The house, one of the oldest in Brooklyn, hit the market for the first time in 26 years in January of 2017 for $10.5 million and received a price chop the following year to $8.4 million. Now, after being on the market for two years, the owners have reduced the price again to a more conservative $7.6 million.
Look around

MoMA will be closed all summer as it wraps up the final phase of its $400M expansion

Exterior view of The Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street. Rendering by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, courtesy of MoMA.

February 5, 2019

MoMA will be closed all summer as it wraps up the final phase of its $400M expansion

The Museum of Modern Art will be closed throughout the summer as it prepares to open its expanded campus on October 21st. The $400 million expansion, developed by MoMA with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, will add more than 40,000 square feet of gallery spaces and allow the Museum to exhibit more art in new, interdisciplinary ways. The final phase of construction will expand into Jean Nouvel’s new residential tower 53W53 and into the site of the demolished American Folk Art Museum. It will add innovative performance and education spaces, expand the MoMA Design and Bookstore, and add free street-level galleries on the ground floor that will make art more accessible for all.
Get all the details

Memorial honoring those stricken by illness after 9/11 to open May 30

Rendering by Moso Studio.

February 4, 2019

Memorial honoring those stricken by illness after 9/11 to open May 30

As 6sqft previously reported, after the rescue and recovery effort for the September 11th attacks ended, an estimated 400,000 people were exposed to life-threatening toxins, and since then, nearly 70,000 first responders and more than 14,000 survivors enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. Last May, 9/11 Memorial & Museum president Alice Greenwald revealed the official design for Memorial Glade, a monument to all those who have lost their lives or are sick due to these related illnesses. The New York Post now reports that work is underway at Liberty and West streets.
Find out more about Memorial Glade

City calls on architects to design innovative affordable housing on super small lots

The city hopes to develop affordable housing on this lot at 829 Freeman Street in the Bronx; via Google Street View

February 4, 2019

City calls on architects to design innovative affordable housing on super small lots

The city is calling on architects to help design innovative affordable housing on irregularly-shaped lots, the New York Times reported Monday. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development will launch a design competition, along with the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, seeking ideas for housing on 23 unusually small or narrow lots across the city. The program, called Big Ideas for Small Lots NYC, was first announced by the city last year and falls under Mayor Bill de Blasio's ambitious Housing New York 2.0 plan.
More details this way

February 4, 2019

Amazing photos show COOKFOX’s Domino Sugar tower getting its crystalline facade

The installation of 1 South First's (formerly known as 260 Kent Avenue) innovative exterior is officially underway, its molecular pattern now visible. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, the tower, part of the Domino Sugar project in Williamsburg, will feature concrete window panels made using 3D-printed molds. New photos from the Gate Precast Company reveal the start of the crystalline-inspired facade as the building's construction is more than halfway complete (h/t CityRealty).
See the photos

Manhattan will get its first public beach at Hudson River Park

Image by Max Guliani, courtesy of the Hudson River Park Trust

February 1, 2019

Manhattan will get its first public beach at Hudson River Park

The Hudson River Park Trust has unanimously approved a proposal by James Corner Field Operations—the same firm that brought us the High Line and Brooklyn’s Domino Park—to design a 5.5-acre public park on the Gansevoort Peninsula, located at the western end of Little West 12th Street and the only remnant of 13th Avenue. It will be the largest single green space in the four-mile-long Hudson River Park. The design will incorporate recreational areas and provide direct waterfront access for the public with a beachfront on the southern edge that will double as a protective barrier to combat flooding and storm surge. The beach might be best for sunbathers, though, as swimming in Manhattan’s murky west side waters is unlikely to be viable.
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Architecture And Design

Rendering: Economic Development Corporation.

January 31, 2019

Downtown Brooklyn’s Willoughby Square Park project is officially dead

It appears that residents at Downtown Brooklyn's new Brooklyn Point development won't be getting their "beautifully landscaped one-acre oasis" after all. Plans to add a new park atop a high-tech parking facility on Willoughby Street across from City Point in Downtown Brooklyn are officially off the table, Brooklyn Paper reports. The plan was set in motion a decade ago under the Bloomberg administration. City officials said Wednesday that a deal with the developer chosen for the job back in 2013 failed to close.
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Architecture And Design

January 29, 2019

Private heart-shaped island with Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes can be yours for $12.9M

Perhaps the perfect gift for your Modernist Valentine, this private island in Carmel, NY (15 minutes by air from Manhattan via rooftop helipad) has an interesting backstory and boasts a Frankly Lloyd Wright-designed house that rivals his iconic Fallingwater. 6sqft reported on the property when it was previously listed in 2017; Curbed reports that it's back on the market for $12.9 million. In addition to the amazing home featuring Wright’s signature cantilevering and outdoor terraces outside and massive stone boulders within, the 11-acre, heart-shaped property known as Petre Island boasts a Wright-designed guest cottage.
Take a spin around the island

January 25, 2019

Beautifully restored Victorian townhouse with views of Morris Jumel Mansion asks $2.8M

Overlooking Highbridge Park and the historic Morris Jumel Mansion (Manhattan's oldest home), this impeccable High-Victorian townhouse at 427 West 162nd Street in Washington Heights is brimming with eye-catching details and artistry. Currently a two-family home with the potential for rental income, this is a one-of-a-kind property in a neighborhood that's been drawing a surge of new residents lately. Over four years ago, a townhouse sold on the same street for $2.4 million—a record-breaking sale for the neighborhood at that time. Now, offering six bedrooms and a combined total of 4,500 square feet, this fully restored stunner with a huge garden and amazing views is a catch for the asking price of $2,795,000.
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First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

Rendering of Metropolitan Lounge via FXCollaborative

January 24, 2019

First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

New renderings, as well as additional details, were released this week of Amtrak's new amenity space in Moynihan Train Hall. ClubAcela is getting rebranded as the Metropolitan Lounge and moving across the street from Penn Station to the new train hall, which is set to open in early 2021. Designed by FXCollaborative, the sleek new space offers more room, private restrooms, free WiFi, and better food and drink options.
See the renderings

January 24, 2019

Asking $15M, one of the last Gramercy Park townhouses comes with keys to the park

Here’s a rare opportunity to own one of only five remaining single-family townhouses with a Gramercy Park address and one of the city’s most coveted accessories: keys to the famous neighboring park. A former 19th-century boarding house with rooms “decorated with ferns, foliage, and Autumn flowers,” according to an 1895 article in The Times, 40 Gramercy Park North is one of the last survivors from the initial period of development around the park, now sandwiched between two large apartment buildings. For $14,950,000 the six-story home carries plenty of historic charm but has been updated for modern living, complete with an elevator.
Take a look inside

Second-tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere may rise across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Tower Fifth rendering by TMRW courtesy Gensler

January 23, 2019

Second-tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere may rise across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral