Midtown West

August 21, 2015

Mayor de Blasio Proposes Ripping Out Times Square’s Pedestrian Plazas

There are a lot of nuisances to be found in Times Square, but apparently for Mayor de Blasio, none are as bothersome as the topless women and aggressive Elmos traipsing around the area's overly lit streets. As the NYDN reports, de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have formed a special task force aimed at ridding the bustling tourist destination of its "jiggly panhandlers." And the solution at the top of their list is tearing up the pedestrian plazas and letting cars back in.
Find out more on the issue here, as well as alternative plans

August 14, 2015

Cozy Ground-Floor Duplex in Midtown West With Big Terrace Asks $1.1 Million

By Emily Nonko

If you're looking for space and a central location like Midtown Manhattan, check out this one-bedroom co-op that is now for sale by owner. It's a duplex in Midtown West at 453 West 43rd Street located on the ground and lower floors. It comes with two bedrooms, 900 square feet, and a large, 575-square-foot terrace. Of course, extra space and a convenient Manhattan location don't come cheap–the ask comes in at $1.1 million.
See the interior

Distinctive Homes

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/13-8/19

Image via Amusing Planet

August 13, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/13-8/19

By Lori Zimmer

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top end of week picks for 6sqft readers! This week, time travel to relive two iconic, yet very different, New York moments. Head to Times Square to recreate the 1945 sailor kiss that became famous on the cover of LIFE Magazine, or scoot up to the Bronx for the restaging of City Maze, the seminal exhibition from 1980 during the dawn of street art. Revive Marcel Duchamp at the Queens Museum, experience the exciting new present of an art-infused South Street Seaport, or get a glimpse of the future by spotting a dude walking around in an air conditioned suit (we swear it's art). You can live in the now and see what Brooklyn’s Cotton Candy Machine is up to, or see if athletes can really cut it in contemporary art.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

August 12, 2015

Venus and Serena Williams Sell Midtown West Apartment for $2M

By Dana Schulz

Just in time for the U.S. Open, superstar tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams have sold their Midtown West apartment for $2.1 million, according to city records released today. The 1,800-square-foot loft at 28 West 38th Street is currently configured as a one-bedroom, but the wide open layout lends itself to a two- or three-bedroom setup. The sisters bought the unit in 2005 for $1,335,000, but were quoted a couple years later saying they had yet to furnish the space. And judging by the seemingly staged listing photos, they may never have gotten around to it. The buyers are Ted Wells, the criminal attorney recently hired by the NFL to investigate the "deflategate" issue, and his wife Nina Mitchell Wells, former Secretary of State of New Jersey.
See the rest of the space

August 5, 2015

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

By Ondel Hylton

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

July 20, 2015

Pepsodent, Camel, and Yashica: The Ads and Architecture of Old Times Square

By Jason Carpenter

Everyone has an opinion on the ways Times Square has changed over the decades, but the basic look has been a different variation on the same theme since the late 19th century: Classic architecture covered in gigantic advertisements. Take a trip back in time with us through some pictures ahead—you might be surprised by what kinds of things used to be displayed in this Midtown hub.
See the ads of Old Times Square this way

July 17, 2015

Renderings Revealed of Helpern Architects’ Times Square Hotel for ‘Fashion-Alert Urban Millennials’

By Ondel Hylton

Here's our first look at a four-star, 290-room hotel set to rise just south of Times Square at 252 West 40th Street. Developed by OTO Development, the 20-story, 147,000-square-foot hotel will be the South Carolina-based company's third venture in the city. The 230-foot-tall midrise will be designed by Helpern Architects. According to their website, "the project is targeted to cosmopolitan, fashion-alert urban millennials and is expected to set a new standard and trend for the independent business traveler."
More details this way

July 6, 2015

Royal Letdown: Queen Elizabeth Actually Won’t Be Coming to NYC

By Annie Doge

A few weeks ago, various media outlets reported that Queen Elizabeth had bought a $7.9 million apartment at 50 United Nations Plaza. City records listed the buyer of the three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot residence as “Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand.” But as the Post informs us today, the royal family will not be taking up residence in NYC after all, as the actual buyer is the New Zealand government’s UN ambassador.
More details on the transaction

June 26, 2015

Chris Meloni of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Fame Tries Again to Unload Park Imperial Condo

By Annie Doge

Everyone's favorite "Law & Order" hunk is looking to ditch NYC for good. Christopher Meloni left the incredibly popular television show in 2011 after a 12-year run, relocating with his family to a home in the Hollywood Hills. The following year, he put his 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom Park Imperial condo on the market for $12 million, but after failing to get the asking price, he settled on renting it out for the past several years. Now it's back, asking a significantly reduced $8.95 million (he bought the Midtown West pad for $5.45 million back in 2005), reports the Wall Street Journal.
See what Meloni has to say about his condo

June 19, 2015

Queen Elizabeth Comes to NYC: Royal Family Picks up $8M Apartment at 50 UN Plaza

By Annie Doge

As The Real Deal reports, "Even the British royal family is getting into the business of pieds-a-terres in New York." Queen Elizabeth herself has picked up a $7.9 million apartment at 50 United Nations Plaza. City records released today list the buyer of the three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot residence as "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand."
More on the new royal pad

June 3, 2015

Starchitecture Firm Snøhetta Will Design Vornado’s Penn Station Area Overhaul

By Dana Schulz

Back in April, we learned that Vornado Realty Trust was hoping to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into revitalizing the Penn Station area with new retail space, public plazas, and other infrastructure. Now, Crain's reports that the developer has tapped Oslo-based starchitecture firm Snøhetta to handle the overhaul's master plan, the same architects responsible for the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion and the public plaza in Times Square. Snøhetta will be responsible for creating a "framework" for both Vornado's Penn Plaza buildings and the surrounding street-level spaces. And in a similar vein to the recently approved One Vanderbilt scheme at Grand Central, the master plan will include closing off part of West 33rd to vehicular traffic in the hopes of creating a permanent pedestrian plaza near Madison Square Garden.
More details and specifics on the street closures ahead

June 3, 2015

POLL: Can Snøhetta Transform Manhattan’s Most-Hated Area?

By Dana Schulz

Earlier today, we learned that Vornado Realty Trust tapped Oslo-based starchitecture firm Snøhetta to create a master plan for the redesign of the Penn Station area. Even the developer referred to Manhattan’s most-hated and most-congested location as “the collision of humanity.” But Snøhetta worked their magic creating the Times Square pedestrian plaza, so we want to know if […]

Real Estate Trends

May 22, 2015

Fully-Furnished Rentals Launch at One57

By Dana Schulz

In the past when we've talked about the latest occupancies at billionaires' row blockbuster One57 we were referring to the record-breaking $100 million condo sale (the most expensive in the city ever) or Bill Ackman's $91.5 million flip attempt. But now those looking to get in on the city's most expensive condo building can do so without dropping seven figures in one fell swoop. Extell Development, after selling most of the condos at One57, has quietly listed 38 fully-furnished apartments for rent on the building's seven lower residential floors. But don't get too excited if you're not in the billionaires' club; asking prices range from $13,350/month for a one-bedroom unit to $50,366 for a three-bedroom.
More details ahead

Real Estate Trends

VIDEO: Preview the Interiors of Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower Ahead of This Week’s Sales Launch

Image: Bloomberg

May 18, 2015

VIDEO: Preview the Interiors of Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower Ahead of This Week’s Sales Launch

By Michelle Cohen

Since it started making news in 2006, the starchitect-designed condominium tower at 53 West 53rd Street, officially known as 53W53 along Manhattan's "Billionaire's Row," has progressed slowly, stalled until last September when developers were able to obtain 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church for $85.3 million and secure a $860 million construction loan. The Jean Nouvel-designed 1,050-foot asymmetrical tower, often called MoMA Tower, is adjacent to the museum and will occupy three of its lower floors. Now Bloomberg brings us a video interview with Nouvel and interior designer Thierry Despont from the building's sales gallery that opens the door on the building's interiors–or at least those of the building's furnished model unit, which is more than we've gotten so far. We also get to behold a sleek model of the tower's facade surrounded by its neighbors. The architect says that there are "...almost no two similar apartments in the building because on every floor the shape and the layouts are different."
Check out the interiors and the video this way

May 15, 2015

Hang with Don Draper on a Midtown Bench; Brooklyn Half Is Saturday

By Michelle Cohen

The Brooklyn Half Marathon is this Saturday; some streets will be closed and the race ends at the Coney Island boardwalk. Good luck to all! [Sheepshead Bites] Foreign money: This map shows the city’s Chinese-backed real estate developments. [Curbed] As “Mad Men” signs off, a bench outside the Time-Life Building in Midtown will immortalize Don Draper for the summer. [Pentagram] Six tiny […]

Uncategorized

May 13, 2015

Jean Nouvel Says He Has ‘No Favorite Color’ at Event Honoring 53W53

By Dana Schulz

Last night, MoMA held an event to honor Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel and his much talked-about project 53W53, which is also known as the MoMA Tower for its location next to the museum and the fact that the institution will occupy three of its lower floors. Furthermore, its developers bought more than 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA, as well as the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, for $85.3 million back in September, at which time they also secured a $860 million construction loan for the 1,050-foot asymmetrical tower. And now that construction has moved forward and interior renderings of the condos were revealed, what better time to pat this long-stalled project on the back. The celebration drew a diverse crowd, including Richard Meier, Martha Stewart, and broker to the stars Dolly Lenz. In a Q&A with filmmaker Matthew Tyrnauer, Nouvel discussed his inspiration for the forthcoming project. Dressed in head-to-toe black (down to his socks and tie), he also revealed that he has "no favorite color," according to the Observer.
Find out about Nouvel's inspiration for 53W53 here

May 8, 2015

Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks Buys $1.16M Midtown Pad That’s Anything but Modern

By Annie Doge

We don't think the uber-chic, ever-polished Joan Harris would approve of this pretty basic, slightly cluttered midtown apartment that her real-life counterpart Christina Hendricks just picked up, but seeing that the actress is so well known for her timeless fashion sense, we think she'll turn it into her very own glam pad in no time. The Daily News reports that Hendricks and her husband, actor Geoffrey Arend, bought the one-bedroom unit at the Parc Vendome at 353 West 56th Street for $1.16 million. The timing makes sense, as "Mad Men," which films in Los Angeles, is airing its series finale in just a couple weeks.
Take a look around the home here

VIDEO: Bjarke Ingels Takes Us Through His 57th Street Pyramid ‘Courtscraper’

Photo by Field Condition

May 7, 2015

VIDEO: Bjarke Ingels Takes Us Through His 57th Street Pyramid ‘Courtscraper’

By Diane Pham

Even though big dreamer and BIG architect Bjarke Ingels's 57th Street pyramid was recently christened a less-than-desirable "Via" by its developer, Ingels and his team have given the building a moniker of their own, nicknaming it "courtscraper." In this video produced by Bloomberg, the architect takes us inside his 625 West 57th Street project, which he describes as "the lovechild of a courtyard building and a skyscraper."
Watch the video here

Andy Warhol’s 1960s Screen Tests to Be Played on Times Square Billboards

From a 1965 screen test of Edie Sedgwick, via Andy Warhol Museum

April 29, 2015

Andy Warhol’s 1960s Screen Tests to Be Played on Times Square Billboards

By Dana Schulz

Plans for a New York City branch of the Andy Warhol Museum may have been scrapped, but starting Friday the pop artist will take over Times Square for three minutes every night of the month. As Gothamist reports, Times Square Arts will show Warhol's rarely-seen 1960s Screen Tests on the electronic billboards every night at 11:57 p.m. as part of their monthly Midnight Moment series. Warhol's 500 Screen Tests are "revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals," both famous and not, frequent visitors to the Factory and newcomers. Those on the Times Square roster include Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed, Twist Jim Rosenquist, Harry Smith, and Edie Sedgwick.
More info here

Events & Things To Do

United Nations Tower Has Floating Wrap-Around Gardens, Will Be New World’s Skinniest Tower

Renderings via ODA

April 23, 2015

United Nations Tower Has Floating Wrap-Around Gardens, Will Be New World’s Skinniest Tower

By Dana Schulz

Just last month, Perkins + Will announced a new 65-story, 700-foot, pencil-thin tower coming to 37th Street. But it wasn't the height or slender design that got our attention; it was the sky-high gardens, five clusters of shared amenity and park spaces located at specific intervals on the building. Now, this project will be joined by another urban garden wonder near the United Nations. The Daily News reveals today renderings from ODA Architects of a super-skinny, 41-story, 600-foot skyscraper at 303 East 44th Street that will feature "six 16-foot-high gaps in the façade — each filled with a full-floor, canopied green space that will wrap around the core of the tower." These floating gardens will occupy the 2,600-square-foot floor plates, which are far smaller than the 4,800-square-foot floor plates at 111 West 57th Street, which has therefore lost its title of will-be world's skinniest tower.
More details ahead

New Renderings Revealed for 217 West 57th Street, the Will-Be Tallest Residential Building in the World

Rendering via NY Yimby

April 20, 2015

New Renderings Revealed for 217 West 57th Street, the Will-Be Tallest Residential Building in the World

By Dana Schulz

It's been relatively quiet on the Nordstrom Tower front since we saw some skyline renderings in September. But now YIMBY has uncovered the official renderings for Extell's 217 West 57th Street, the 92-story, 1,775-foot supertall that will take the title of tallest residential building in the world when completed, surpassing Mumbai’s World One Tower by 29 feet. The images continue to show how the tower will dominate the skyline, but they also give us a detailed look at the façade and a peek into one of the penthouses.
See all the renderings here

April 16, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 4/16-4/22

By Lori Zimmer

This week, I suggest rediscovering Times Square, by participating in an incredible installation by Justin Bettman, and experiencing a screen-takeover with a short film by Peggy Ahwesh. Then observe and educate with a visit the Jewish Museum, or hit up Lincoln Center for a special art film program, an art exhibition that deconstructs notions of beauty, or an epic art fair catered toward photography. But if you're looking to shake it up and strike up a conversation with someone new, visit Salon Demimonde, a resurrection of the 17th century salons of the past where creatives and intellectuals can mix and mingle. You can also get your dance on at Aperture's Spring Party!
All the best events here

Events & Things To Do

REVEALED: SL Green to Build Another Times Square Spectacular at 719 Seventh Avenue

Image courtesy of Akueous Design

April 10, 2015

REVEALED: SL Green to Build Another Times Square Spectacular at 719 Seventh Avenue

By Ondel Hylton

Here's our first look at what commercial heavyweights SL Green have in mind for a small Times Square corner at 719 Seventh Avenue and West 48th Street. Building permits filed earlier this month call for a four-story, 9,000 square-foot retail building designed by TPG Architecture. Demolition permits were filed back in December and the doomed three-story structure is already shrouded in construction netting and scaffolding. The site also shares its Seventh Avenue block-front with Witkoff's upcoming 40-story Marriott Edition Hotel that will flash one of the largest LED displays in the city.
Find out more on the project here

April 9, 2015

VIDEO: Meet the ‘Pimps and Hos’ of Seedy ’70s Times Square

By Diane Pham

Although Times Square has transformed into a commercial beast filled to the brim with advertising, its very sordid and seedy past is certainly not lost on us. One man who found himself in the midst of the area when it was considered the worst block in town was Sheldon Nadelman. From 1972 to 1980, Nadelman worked at Terminal Bar—the city's “roughest bar" by many accounts—directly across from the Port Authority. Between pouring drinks, Nadelman found himself snapping photos of the folks who passed through. Over his decade-long stint, he accumulated a collection of more than 1,500 photos. His subjects were diverse ranging from actors to cooks to business people to tourists to, of course, the pimps and prostitutes that roamed the surrounding streets.
Watch the video here

History

April 8, 2015

Developer Vornado Plans to Spend Hundreds of Millions on Revitalizing Penn Station Area

By Dana Schulz

Most New Yorkers only venture to the area around Penn Station when it's absolutely necessary–traveling to New Jersey or Long Island, going to a business meeting at Penn Plaza, or seeing a Rangers game. Otherwise, we avoid it like the plague. But Vornado Realty Trust, one of the country's largest office landlords–they own roughly nine million square feet around Penn Station worth $5.5 billion–is hoping to do a complete 180 on the area by "investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new retail space, public plazas and other infrastructure, according to real-estate executives briefed on the plans," according to the Wall Street Journal.
More details ahead

Real Estate Trends

New Rendering and Teaser Site Released for 111 West 57th Street

Rendering via Hayes Davidson and SHoP Architects

March 30, 2015

New Rendering and Teaser Site Released for 111 West 57th Street

By Dana Schulz

"111 West 57th Street defines the idea of a modern classic: a residence whose timeless design evokes the prewar Golden Age of Manhattan skyscrapers, while also delivering high-technology performance, 21st century engineering, and contemporary comfort without compromise." This is the text from 111 West 57th Street's new teaser site. The webpage for the will-be world's skinniest tower is accompanied by a new rendering, which makes the SHoP-designed supertall appear even more dominant in the skyline than previously envisioned and tacks an additional seven feet onto its height, bringing it to 1,428 feet.
More details and a new height comparison ahead

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