Financial District

After stalling for years, the $243 million World Trade Center Performing Arts Center started to make headway in recent months, first with a decision to go with REX as the designers and then with a $75 million gift from Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman (who is gaining naming rights). And finally, the official renderings have been revealed, and they showcase a nearly 90,000-square-foot, translucent veined marble cube that both stands out as an impressive piece of cultural architecture and co-exists with the other structures on the WTC complex such as the 9/11 Museum and transportation hub. According to a press release from developer Silverstein Properties, "The Perelman Center is inspired by the Center’s mission to defy experiential expectations. Its design cues were taken from [an] aim to foster artistic risk, incubate original productions, provide unparalleled flexibility, and deliver the most technologically advanced and digitally connected spaces for creative performance."
See all the renderings

September 6, 2016

Port Authority plans to sell One World Trade Center for up to $5B

It's been almost two years since Condé Nast's 3,400 employees moved into One World Trade Center. At the time, only 58 percent of its 3 million square feet of space was leased, but the hope was that the media company's presence and perceived confidence in the $3.8 billion tower would attract more tenants. This didn't quite pan out, as it's still one third empty, and the Port Authority continues to drop $3 million a month to cover Condé Nast's old lease (this amounted to $47.6 million in 2015 alone). Due to these issues, along with the fact that the tower only brought in $13 million in revenue last year-- a mere 0.35 percent return on its investment--the cash-strapped Port Authority has made plans to sell One World Trade Center for as much as $5 billion. As Crain's notes, this would be the highest price ever paid for an office building in the country.
More details ahead

Uncategorized

August 29, 2016

$2.3M Financial District pad has been completely remodeled into an open-concept loft

By Emily Nonko

This three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at the Financial District condo 54 Pine Street has been totally remodeled into an open-concept loft. The owners moved the kitchen (and then outfitted it with new appliances) to create the third bedroom/office space. The open kitchen now looks out onto a long, open living and dining room that's anchored by exposed brick and arched ceilings. The entire apartment, in fact, boasts lots of lofty details, and it's now on the market for $2.285 million.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

August 12, 2016

Triarch Uses Lipstick Hues and Gallery Walls to Meld Two Downtown Apartments

At this Beekman Street residence, two small apartments had been combined into one large one by a previous owner. Architecture and design firm Triarch reworked the floor plan to better connect the apartment's series of separate rooms. The end result combines candy-coated pops of pink, red and purple, eye-popping art and contemporary finishes to make the home feel playful and creative, as well as livable.
See more of the interiors this way

Friday Five: 5 Upscale Manhattan Buildings Offering Free Rent and Gift Cards

Every Friday 6sqft is rounding up five of the best rental deals showcased on CityRealty’s newly launched no-fee rentals page, a space where house hunters can find the best concessions being offered by landlords across the city.

July 15, 2016

Friday Five: 5 Upscale Manhattan Buildings Offering Free Rent and Gift Cards

By Annie Doge

A new week means a slew of new rental deals being offered across the city. Today we're focusing on upscale rentals in Manhattan, scanning the island from top to bottom, from the Upper East Side to FiDi, for the most generous of rental concessions. Standouts ahead include one month’s free rent and a $1,000 MasterCard gift card at a Robert A.M. Stern-designed Tribeca tower, and two months of free rent on beautiful new rentals in Yorkville.
5 of the Best deals here

Uncategorized

World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex Gets $75M Gift From Billionaire Ronald Perelman

Image pointing to the site of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. Rendering by DBOX

June 30, 2016

World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex Gets $75M Gift From Billionaire Ronald Perelman

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman has made a $75 million gift towards the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PACWTC) reports the New York Times. The donation will finally make one of the last unfinished projects at the site a reality, and the Center will therefore be named for Perelman. "I think that this is a project that must happen. It is more than just a pure artistic center to serve a community. It is that, but at the same time it’s much more than that," he said. This is not Perelman's first time donating to the World Trade Center site. Under the Bloomberg administration he gave $5 million for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and said then that he was interested in making the lead gift for a performing arts center at the site.
Find out more this way

Real Estate Trends

June 29, 2016

25 Feet Above Street Level, World Trade Center’s Liberty Park Opens Today

The World Trade Center's Liberty Park, the new one-acre public park at 25 feet above ground level spanning Liberty Street between West and Greenwich Streets, opens today. NYYimby reports that the park is getting the last few finishing touches in preparation for its grand opening dedication ceremony. As part of the landscape design by Joseph E. Brown of architectural and engineering firm Aecom, a 300-foot-long "living wall" composed of 826 panels of varying plant types is a highlight of the new park, which also functions as a pleasant disguise for the entrance to the WTC’s security hub that sits beneath.
More of what you'll find in the new park

June 27, 2016

New Renderings Show Supertall Status for Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich Street

The new mixed-use tower to rise at 125 Greenwich Street will indeed be adding another supertall to the Financial District’s skyline. New renderings confirm a final height exceeding 1,000 feet, inching the tower above the the 977-foot 4 World Trade Center nearby at 150 Greenwich Street, according to YIMBY. 6sqft previously reported on the progress of the slender tower-to-be, designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects and developed by a joint venture comprised of Michael Shvo, Bizzi + Partners Development, and Howard Lorber’s Vector Group that will offer a limited collection of condominium residences with unparalleled views of the lower Manhattan skyline and beyond.
Check out the new renderings

New Developments

June 27, 2016

Financial District Loft Rental Comes With Its Own 800-Square-Foot Patio

By Emily Nonko

Located in the Financial District, just one block from the South Street Seaport, is this 1,800-square-foot pre-war duplex with a very cool private patio. The building at 324 Pearl Street was built in 1888 as a warehouse, so the apartment now boasts 14-foot ceilings, exposed brick and lots of open space. Even the patio has a lofty vibe, surrounded by greenery against more brick. Although this is a condo, you can now rent it for $6,495 a month.
See the entire pad

June 22, 2016

City Will Allow Landlords to Convert Lower Manhattan Public Spaces to Retail

6sqft recently covered the controversial proposal by the Alliance for Downtown New York (ADNY), the Department of City Planning (DCP), and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), to change zoning laws to allow property owners in the Water Street Subdistrict of lower Manhattan–at One New York Plaza, for example–to bring in retail tenants like restaurants and clothing stores in exchange for making improvements and upgrades to the public plazas and arcades adjacent to their buildings. Crains reports that the City Council passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the Financial District landlords to convert the public corridors in front of 20 buildings in the Water Street corridor to retail shops. The public corridors, which cover ten blocks, were created when the Water Street buildings that abut them were built. Building developers agreed to create the public arcades and walkways in exchange for more buildable square footage.
Read more

June 21, 2016

The King of FiDi: Developer Nathan Berman Talks Transforming Downtown and 443 Greenwich

By Annie Doge

He’s been called the King of FiDi with over 2200 apartments under his management. The founder and principal of Metro Loft Management, Nathan Berman specializes in transforming landmark office buildings into luxury rentals. He recently acquired the leasehold for 20 Broad Street, the former New York Stock Exchange building, and plans to convert it to white-glove rental […]

June 6, 2016

A Giant Musical Swing Set Is Coming to Brookfield Place This Friday!

If you work downtown or are just looking for a break from the weekday hustle, head to Brookfield Place starting this Friday and channel your inner-child by hopping on one of the many swings of "The Swings: An Exercise in Musical Cooperation" installation. The traveling public artwork is debuting in Manhattan for the first time ever and will be on display for a month for New Yorkers to play on. Designed by studio Daily tous les jours, this interactive work consists of 21 swings, each representing a musical instrument (a harp, vibraphone, guitar or piano) and different notes. The cooperative element of the work requires that participants adjust their movements with respect to one another in order to unlock the perfect melody—a musical work that has been pre-composed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh.
more on the swings here

June 5, 2016

Art-Deco Masterpiece 70 Pine Street Opens, Offering Two Months Free Rent

It's not everyday that one has the chance to live in one of the world's finest skyscrapers. Details of The Pinnacle at The Woolworth Tower Residences have yet to be revealed, but for those of us still saving to buy a piece of history, the rentals at 70 Pine Street await. Soaring to a cloud-popping height of 66 stories and 952 feet, the building is essentially downtown's Empire State Building and was the world's third tallest building upon completion in 1932. Designed by Clinton & Russell, Holton & George for the utilities conglomerate Cities Service company (later known as CITGO), the tower was sold to the American International Group (AIG) in 1976, where they held their offices until the last recession. Breathing new life into the landmarked building, Rose Associates is re-conceiving the commercial icon into 644 rental apartments, a 137-room extended stay hotel, and 35,000 square feet of retail space. And for a limited time, Rose is offering two months free rent or one month free rent and paid broker's fee for newly-signed leases. The homes are divided into the city, tower, and penthouse collections and as we await construction to fully wrap up, 17 apartments are currently available throughout its mid-level city collection floors.
Find out more this way

May 27, 2016

All Engines SHVO at Three New Manhattan Condo Developments

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal profiled broker-turned-developer Michael Shvo and revealed his development company SHVO now has more than $4 billion dollars worth of projects in the works for the city. While many are still in planning stages and have yet to be released to the public, construction is moving ahead on a trio of condominium developments along Manhattan's western spine -- the Getty, 125 Greenwich Street, and 565 Broome SoHo (as a development partner). While varied in neighborhood and scale, they all enlist high-caliber architects and will bring Shvo's characteristic high level of attention to detail and "pursuit of perfection."
Get the rundown on all three developments

May 19, 2016

Madison Equities Files Permit for 1,115-Foot Supertall Condo in the Financial District

Madison Equities and Pizzarotti Group filed a new building application yesterday to construct a 1,115-foot supertall skyscraper at 45 Broad Street in the heart of the Financial District. When finished, reportedly in 2018 (good luck with that), the tower will be the second tallest building in lower Manhattan after 1 WTC, and the sixth tallest in the city. As detailed by the application, the tower will comprise 371,634 gross square-feet of floor area spread across 66 floors. Listed are 150 units, a bit less than the 245 condo-residences Pizzarotti CEO, Rance MacFarland said there would be earlier this year. Supposedly, the building will cater to "entry- and mid-level buyers" with relatively conservative prices of below $2,000 per square foot on average. To afford the maximum amount of residences with coveted views of the harbor and the skyline, apartments will begin on the 15th floor where they are configured at four-units per floor up to the 33rd level. Floors 35-51, 53,55 and 57 will have three units per floor and floors 52, 54, and 58 just two units. Floors 61 and 62 will host two duplex aeries and the uppermost residential floor, 62, will house a single full floor penthouse that will be the highest residence in hemisphere outside of Billionaires' Row. Amenities on the lower, view-deprived floors will include a 60-foot indoor lap pool, a gym, a garden, a pet spa, a game room, bike room and other entertainment areas.
find out more here

Rendering of 45 Park Place via Williams New York (L); Aerial view of 45 Park Place in the downtown skyline created by CityRealty

May 19, 2016

45 Park Place Condos on ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Site Will Move Forward With $219M Loan

Soho Properties has received $219 million in construction loans for a $174 million luxury condominium project at 45 Park Place in Tribeca, according to a statement from Manhattan developer Sharif El-Gamal, The Real Deal reports. The deal was funded by the London branch of Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) and Kuwait-based Warba Bank, with Saudi investment firm MASIC providing a $45 million mezzanine loan and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo serving as documentation agent. The developer had previously secured $33 million in financing from Madison Realty Capital in 2014. The funding will be used for the residential tower and an Islamic cultural museum to be built next door at 51 Park Place. The condo project, to be designed by SOMA Architects, will be a 665-foot, 43-story tower with 50 high-end apartments, including two penthouses on the top four floors. Ismael Leyva Architects is listed as the architect of record.
Find out more

The World Trade Center’s Elevated Liberty Park Will Open This Summer

Construction image via Port Authority

May 18, 2016

The World Trade Center’s Elevated Liberty Park Will Open This Summer

The city will cut the ribbon on another landscaped elevated this park this summer with the opening of the World Trade Center's Liberty Park—although no exact opening date has been pinned down, reports DNA Info. The park, which will measure just over an acre and rise 25 feet, is sited next to the Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas National Shrine (still under construction) and will provide an overhead view of the 9/11 Memorial and a leafy pocket of respite for FiDi workers, dwellers and tourists alike. But more practically, the park will give way to a pleasant pedestrian connection across West Street, on top of hiding the entrance to the WTC's security hub that sits beneath.
See more here

Architecture And Design

May 9, 2016

Off the Beaten Path, This $1.8M Seaport Loft Keeps It Real

Though the appliances and fixtures are state-of-the-art, and lots of consideration has been given to comfort and daily life, this 1,000-square-foot lower Manhattan loft at 330 Pearl Street is no "loft." It's just the sort of authentic downtown space your cool friends lived in when they moved to the city back in the late '80s, with its flexible open spaces (or lack of actual rooms, depending on how you look at it), industrial finishes, big windows, beams, brick, white, and custom-built almost-everything. And though it's less common to find a loft like this on the market in the places you might have back then (Soho, Noho, Tribeca), the Seaport comprises a rare corner of the city that's geared up for growth but still a bit undefined–perhaps the perfect spot for an authentic loft.
READ MORE

Distinctive Homes

Norman Foster Still in the Running to Design 2 World Trade Center

Foster’s original design

May 5, 2016

Norman Foster Still in the Running to Design 2 World Trade Center

Nearly one year ago it was revealed that starchitect Bjarke Ingels would be taking over the design of 2 World Trade Center from Norman Foster as developer Silverstein Properties was in talks with Fox and News Corp. to make the tower their new headquarters. However, plans fell through in January when the media companies opted to remain at their Midtown headquarters at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue. Now without a tenant and two different designs in hand, Chairman Larry Silverstein is said to be weighing both options. “[The top of] Two was a distinguishing feature of Norman Foster’s design,” Silverstein told The Post. “Opposed to what Bjarke Ingels proposed. We can go in either direction. Which way, we are not sure yet.” But he did add that they were leaning towards Ingels' design in discussions being had with prospective anchor tenants, which include BlackRock and JPMorganChase.
Find out more here

Architecture And Design

May 5, 2016

Hula-Hoop Master Lists Colorful and Quirky Financial District Condo for $2.2M

By Emily Nonko

In the midst of New York's gray and rainy weather, this apartment is sure to brighten your day. Located at 111 Fulton Street in the Financial District, it belongs to Stefan Pildes, a hula-hoop instructor and the president of Groovehoops, a performance troupe of hula-hoop entertainers. (He bought it in 2009 for a little over $1 million.) The 1,738-square-foot apartment already has good bones -- eight-foot windows, 11-foot ceilings -- but it's been completely decked out with wallpaper, colorful furniture and art, and custom lighting.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

April 18, 2016

Skyline Wars: In Lower Manhattan, A New Downtown Is Emerging

By Carter B. Horsley

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us his fourth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the evolution of the Lower Manhattan skyline. Lower Manhattan at the start of the Great Depression was the world’s most famous and influential skyline when 70 Pine, 20 Exchange Place, 1 and 40 Wall Street, and the Woolworth and Singer buildings inspired the world with their romantic silhouettes in a relatively balanced reach for the sky centered around the tip of Lower Manhattan. Midtown was not asleep at the switch and countered with the great Empire State, the spectacular Chrysler and 30 Rockefeller Plaza but they were scattered and could not topple the aggregate visual power and lure of Lower Manhattan and its proverbial “view from the 40th floor” as the hallowed precinct of corporate America until the end of World War II. The convenience and elegance of Midtown, however, became increasingly irresistible to many.
More on the the history of Lower Manhattan and what's in store

April 12, 2016

The Port Authority Paid $47.6M in 2015 to Cover Condé Nast’s Move to One WTC

Though the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would like you to think it's been smooth sailing finding tenants for One World Trade Center, their spending habits say otherwise. As Crain's reported, more than a year after Condé Nast made the big move from 4 Times Square to One World Trade, the agency is still dropping $3 million a month to pay for the old lease. This deal came about in 2011 when the Port Authority offered the incentive to entice the media company to relocate amid floundering activity at the downtown tower. In 2015 alone, they spent $47.6 million, and the payments are expected to continue into 2019 (when the lease ends) unless building owner the Durst Organization can find a new tenant.
More details ahead

Policy

March 30, 2016

A Closer Look at ODA’s 75 Nassau Street & Other Nearby Towers Planned For Fulton Street

Capitalizing on a revitalized Financial District, Fulton Street is bursting with residential development activity. With a re-imagined Fulton Street Transit Hub open and the second coming of the World Trade Center shopping center and Pier 17 on the horizon, at least five sizable towers are jostling to join the street's renaissance. Most interesting of the bunch is a 40-story residential skyscraper set to rise at 75 Nassau Street. Developed by Lexin Capital and designed by ODA Architects, its 307,000-square-foot, slab-like massing is distinguished by fragmented and nibbled-away edges that run vertically along the tower's corners. At its more than 500-foot-high pinnacle, a forest of trees will top the structure, giving the high rise a profile that will recall the iconic finials of the district's skyscrapers.
More on ODA's tower and its four other neighbors

March 30, 2016

Controversial Zoning Change Would Fill Lower Manhattan Public Plazas With Retail

Whether you consider them "dead-end" corridors devoid of street life or nifty urban shortcuts (or just convenient rain shelters), the city's covered public walkways and arcades are finding themselves in something of a spotlight, reports the Wall Street Journal. This recent focus is on the covered walkways that run alongside skyscrapers in the Water Street corridor in lower Manhattan. A proposed zoning change, which would affect property owners in the Water Street Subdistrict, would allow retail to open up shop in these arcades.
Find out why some object to new retail additions

March 18, 2016

1,436-Foot Supertall May Rise at 80 South Street in the Financial District