Midtown

As 6sqft reported earlier this month, Bjarke Ingels' restoration of the landmarked Lord & Taylor building won't alter the design of the original structure all that much. But one major update the Bjarke Ingels Group will bring to the 104-year Fifth Avenue department store includes a new roof terrace with multi-use areas and a glassy courtyard. The firm's proposal, set to be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday, reveals a new rendering of the rooftop as well as plans to change the iconic store's signage.
Design updates here

FAO Schwarz’s new Rockefeller Center flagship is now open

Gigi Hadid and toy soldiers; she designed their uniforms. Photo credit: Rony Alwin.

November 16, 2018

FAO Schwarz’s new Rockefeller Center flagship is now open

To mark the return of the iconic FAO Schwarz toy emporium to NYC in the form of a new 2.5-story, 20,000-square-foot-plus flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the store hosted a celebrity-studded VIP preview Thursday night ahead of Friday's opening. Guests included Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Whoopi Goldberg, Bethenny Frankel, Morena Baccarin, Carrie Berk, and Disney's Mia Sinclair Jenness. Doors opened today at 10:30 a.m., kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. With a nod to the brand's magical history as part of New York City lore, the new store uses the Art Deco architecture of its new home to amplify memories of FAO experiences from years past; a look toward the future begins with FAO Schwarz toy soldiers flanking the store's 49th street entrance sporting new uniforms designed by supermodel Gigi Hadid.
Welcome back to our world of toys

Uncategorized

Daniel Libeskind’s 900-pound star brings the bling to this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Image: Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Tishman Speyer via TimeOut

November 15, 2018

Daniel Libeskind’s 900-pound star brings the bling to this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The star that tops the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree each year never fails to dazzle; this year is no exception. The 12-ton Norway Spruce has been crowned by architect Daniel Libeskind's creation consisting of 3 million Swarovski crystals and weighing in at 900 pounds. The World Trade Center master site planner, known for his geometric, angular designs, called the star “a symbol that represents our greatest ambitions for hope, unity and peace.” And we can all use plenty of that.
106,400 lumens of white light, this way

Bjarke Ingels’ design for WeWork’s Lord & Taylor takeover shows few changes

Via Bjarke Ingels Group

November 7, 2018

Bjarke Ingels’ design for WeWork’s Lord & Taylor takeover shows few changes

The first set of renderings of Bjarke Ingels' restoration of the landmarked Lord & Taylor building was released last month and it appears the starchitect's firm will not sway too far from the original structure's design. WeWork hired BIG last year to preserve the 104-year-old store, which will become the co-working company's new global headquarters. In its presentation on Oct. 30 to Manhattan's Community Board 5, the firm explained its plan to reconfigure the ground-floor, install canopies, replace signage, and more, as first reported by the Associated Press.
See the design

Architecture And Design

Surpassing 1,000-foot mark, SHoP’s skinny supertall shows off incredible Central Park views

Photo by Michael Toolan

November 2, 2018

Surpassing 1,000-foot mark, SHoP’s skinny supertall shows off incredible Central Park views

Without even reaching its final height of 1,428 feet tall, SHoP Architect's Midtown supertall is already boasting amazing views. New photos released this week of 111 West 57th Street, which recently surpassed 1,000 feet high, show off views from the tower's 64th, 72nd, and 73rd floors. Upon completion, the Billionaires' Row tower will become the tallest residential building in the world, taking the title from 1,396-foot 432 Park Avenue, (until 1,500-foot Central Park Tower tops out). With a super slender frame (a ratio of 1:24), 111 West 57th Street is also set to become the skinniest skyscraper in the world.
See the views

12-ton Norway spruce is headed for Rockefeller Center’s 2018 holiday HQ

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree-to-be in its birthplace in Walkill, New York.

October 30, 2018

12-ton Norway spruce is headed for Rockefeller Center’s 2018 holiday HQ

That's right, it's not even Halloween yet, but the 2018 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been selected and is now being groomed for duty as the centerpiece of New York City's treasured holiday tableau. The tree, a 72-foot Norway spruce, born and raised in Walkill, New York, is 45 feet in diameter and weighs about 12 tons. The tree will be lifted by crane onto Rockefeller Plaza on Saturday, November 10. After being wrapped with five miles of LED lights, the enormous evergreen will be crowned with a new Swarovski star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind for the free, public tree-lighting extravaganza happening this year on November 28.
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Columbus Circle is getting a ‘small-format’ Target next year

Rendering via Target

October 29, 2018

Columbus Circle is getting a ‘small-format’ Target next year

New York City is getting its 28th Target store, the retail giant announced on Monday. The company will open a "small-format" store near Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side in 2019. This new Target is part of the company's plan to open 130 small-format stores by the end of next year in urban and highly-populated suburban areas, as well as near college campuses.
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New Developments

With sales still sluggish, Trump Tower sees only its second deal of the year

Via Krystal T on Flickr

October 22, 2018

With sales still sluggish, Trump Tower sees only its second deal of the year

A one-bedroom on the 57th floor of Trump Tower closed earlier this month for $1.825 million, marking just the second sale of 2018 at the Midtown building, as Mansion Global first reported. Comparatively, there were seven sales in 2017 and eight in 2016 at the building, developed by President Donald Trump. While the sales slump at Trump Tower reflects a broader decline in sales at luxury properties across Manhattan, politics surrounding the building may also be playing a role.
More here

Uncategorized

Sales launch at Extell’s Central Park Tower, the world’s tallest residential building

Via Extell

October 15, 2018

Sales launch at Extell’s Central Park Tower, the world’s tallest residential building

Sales have launched for Central Park Tower, the tallest residential tower in the world, Extell Development announced Monday. Located at 225 West 57th Street, the 1,550-foot tower is rising on Billionaires' Row, a strip of ultra-luxury residences at the southern end of Central Park in Midtown. While Extell hasn't officially released pricing for its 179 condos, the Real Deal reported last year that 20 of the units have a price tag of $60 million and higher, with a $95 million penthouse being the most expensive. If the building achieves its projected $4 billion sellout, the tower would become the most expensive condo project in New York City.
More here

Real Estate Trends

Governor Cuomo says controversial Columbus monument will get historic listing

Photos via Public Domain Pictures and Flickr cc

October 9, 2018

Governor Cuomo says controversial Columbus monument will get historic listing

Photos via Public Domain Pictures and Flickr cc Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that New York City's Central Park-adjacent monument to Christopher Columbus has been listed on the State Register of Historic Places by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation. Cuomo also recommended the 76-foot rostral column statue, erected in 1892 by the city's Italian-American community, for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The statue was the subject of controversy earlier this year after violent white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virgina protested the city’s plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. Mayor Bill De Blasio announced the statue would remain, following a 90-day review of the city’s monuments by a mayoral advisory commission.
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Policy

As it creates new fashion hub in Midtown, the city still pegs Sunset Park as next garment district

Image via Wally Gobetz/Flickr CC

October 4, 2018

As it creates new fashion hub in Midtown, the city still pegs Sunset Park as next garment district

The city is looking to partner with a nonprofit to buy a building in the Garment District that would become a new hub for fashion businesses. The New York City Economic Development Corporation on Thursday released a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) seeking realtors who want to work with the city to acquire a Midtown property, the Commercial Observer first reported. While the city is looking to preserve Midtown's Garment District, primed for a rezoning, at the same time, it is still luring apparel makers and other manufacturers to Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
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Policy

October 2, 2018

Listings go live at the world’s skinniest skyscraper, 111 West 57th Street

The race to build the tallest residential building in the world has long been underway along Billionaires' Row, but 111 West 57th Street not only boasts height (at 1,428 feet it'll surpass the current record holder, 1,396-foot 432 Park Avenue until the 1,500-foot Central Park Tower tops out) but a frame that is so slender (a ratio of 1:24) it garners it the title of skinniest skyscraper in the world. And after six years watching the development unfold, listings have finally gone live for the 46-unit condo, first spotted by Curbed. The first batch includes seven units, six of which are three-bedrooms ranging from $18 to $30 million, along with a $56 million penthouse.
Ogle the floorplan porn

October 1, 2018

Lord & Taylor will end its 104-year run with a massive sale and just two holiday windows

Photo courtesy of Lord & Taylor At the beginning of next year, Lord & Taylor will close its Fifth Avenue flagship after a 104-year run. Owner Hudson’s Bay Co. sold the 676,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance building to WeWork for $850 million a year ago in an attempt to keep the department store brand afloat. With just a few months left at their storied location, Lord & Taylor will launch on Thursday a final “store closing” sale that will last through the holidays, according to the Post. And speaking of the holidays, they've also decided that instead of their normal six window displays between 38th and 39th Streets, they'll only decorate two this holiday season.
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To live across from Central Park, you’ll pay 25% more than every bordering neighborhood

Via Wikimedia

September 25, 2018

To live across from Central Park, you’ll pay 25% more than every bordering neighborhood

To make Central Park your front yard, you'll have to fork over $277,000 more than the median sale price of every bordering neighborhood. A new report by Property Shark looks at just how much more New Yorkers are willing to spend to be near the 843-acre oasis, a real estate trend which the group calls the "Central Park effect." According to the analysis, the median sale price of units along the first row of blocks across the park was 25 percent more expensive than that of every nearby area. And in the priciest section, the Upper East Side's Lenox Hill, that rose to a 93 percent difference.
More on the Central Park effect

Real Estate Trends

Photo Credit: Courtesy L&L Holding Company

September 24, 2018

Plans, new renderings revealed for $2.5B redevelopment of Times Square’s Palace Theatre

A year after renderings were released and three years after the project's approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment Group have revealed plans for TSX Broadway at 1568 Broadway, beginning with the demolition–planned for this winter–of the existing 1,700-seat landmarked Palace Theatre, which will be replaced by a 46-story tower with 550,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. The theater will be elevated 30 feet and secured within the new building and will be completely renovated, after which an entirely new structure containing a 669-key luxury hotel will be built around it.
More renderings this way

See George Washington’s handwritten farewell address and more at NYPL’s new permanent exhibit

Guttenberg Bible; Via Jonathan Blanc/NYPL

September 13, 2018

See George Washington’s handwritten farewell address and more at NYPL’s new permanent exhibit

The New York Public Library announced on Thursday it will open a permanent exhibition of rotating treasures at their Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street location. The exhibit will be the first to showcase the depth of the library's holdings, which includes over 46 million items in its research collection. While the specifics are still being determined, some notable artifacts from the collection being considered for the treasures exhibit include the original Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, a handwritten farewell address from George Washington, the original Winnie-The-Pooh, writings from Lou Reed, and manuscript material from Maya Angelou.
See the treasures

September 11, 2018

Pay to break stuff for fun at these ‘rage rooms’ in NYC

Some New Yorkers in need of major stress relief are skipping meditation and trying an unusual, but apparently effective, alternative. As a self-described provider of destruction services, the Rage Cage lets visitors smash printers, VCRs, dishes, and other items with a sledgehammer or baseball bat. Sessions range from $45 for 25 minutes of raging to a $120 30-minute session for four people (h/t WSJ).
More breaking news ahead

City Living

Sales to begin at super-skinny supertall 111 West 57th Street; priciest units are $57M

Image: Hayes Davidson

September 7, 2018

Sales to begin at super-skinny supertall 111 West 57th Street; priciest units are $57M

Despite a long history of financial and legal woes, Property Markets Group, Spruce Capital Partners and JDS Development’s tall and slender tower at 111 West 57th Street is gearing up to begin sales (for real this time) according to the New York Times. After years of lawsuit threats, reports that construction had stalled over budget overruns and a potential foreclosure, the 1,428-foot, 86-story tower will kick off sales, to be handled by Douglas Elliman, on September 13.
Pricing and more, this way

August 29, 2018

FAO Schwarz will reopen this November in Rockefeller Center

It's been more than three years since FAO Schwarz closed its doors after 150 years, ending its run as the nation's oldest toy store. At the time, owner Toys “R” Us blamed rising rents at Midtown's General Motors Building, but assured the public they'd be looking for a new location. And since California-based firm ThreeSixty Group Inc. took over ownership in 2016, that day has finally come. According to the Wall Street Journal, FAO Schwarz will open a new 20,000-square-foot location in Rockefeller Center this November. Part of the company's new strategy is to bring a "sense of theater" to the store, which will include costumed employees, magicians and dancers, and product demonstrators.
Get a look at the new storefront

Uncategorized

August 22, 2018

Empire State Building reveals its new Deco-inspired Observatory entrance

There are two things people remember when they visit the top of the Empire State Building, "the views and the line," said Anthony Malkin, CEO and Chairman of Empire State Realty Trust, at an unveiling this morning of the landmark's new Observatory entrance. As phase one of the decade-long Empire State ReBuilding project to modernize the building, the new entrance will greatly increase space and reduce the wait time for the 4.2 million annual Observatory guests. The space includes a "grand staircase which splits around a two-story architectural model of ESB," along with new self-service ticket kiosks, digital screens showing images of the building over its 87 years, and high-tech "airport-style" security.
Take a tour!

Uncategorized

July 31, 2018

LPC landmarks Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building at 550 Madison

This morning the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue as an individual landmark. Designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1984, the world’s first postmodern skyscraper originally served as the AT&T headquarters. A decade later, Sony moved in and it became known as the Sony Tower. Recently, a growing roster of preservationists and architects have been urging the LPC to landmark the building after plans surfaced showing significant changes to its architecture.
So what happens now?

July 9, 2018

SHoP Architects reveal ‘vertical tech campus’ at 335 Madison

Since the announcement of One Vanderbilt more than four years ago, much attention has been paid to the controversial Midtown East Rezoning, which was approved last summer. Howard Milstein was one of many developers looking to take advantage of the rezoning, proposing a plan to raze the Grand Central-adjacent office tower 335 Madison and replace it with a modern structure that would expand the building's tech incubator. But he ultimately decided to forego the demo and undertake a $150 million renovation by SHoP Architects that more than doubles the square footage of Grand Central Tech and creates a new lobby and retail/amenity spaces for tenants. Renderings for the new "vertical tech campus" known as Company have now been revealed by Arch Daily.
More details and all the renderings

Architecture And Design

July 6, 2018

City says Trump can’t claim $48K tax break on his NYC apartment

New York City has said no to a $48,000 break President Trump has been receiving on the annual tax bill for his Trump Tower condo after inquiries by the Daily News into his eligibility. The News reports that the city says the president was set to get $48,834.62 knocked off his condo taxes for the tax year beginning July 1 via the city's condominium abatement, which is available for condo and co-op owners on their primary residence. Tax rules state that only “the dwelling unit in which the owner of the dwelling unit actually resides and maintains a permanent and continuous physical presence” is eligible for the savings, and Trump hasn't kept a “permanent and continuous physical presence” in the Midtown pad since he moved to the White House in January of 2017.
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Policy

July 5, 2018

Live in Al Pacino’s former Central Park South condo for $2.7M

By Annie Doge

Before the stretch became known as Billionaires' Row, Al Pacino called 301 West 57th Street home. The Oscar-winning actor, best known for his roles in "Scarface" and "The Godfather," lived in different units in the building between 1988, when the building was built, and 2013, including a 14-floor corner condo that just hit the market for $2.7 million, reports the Post.
Check it out

Qatari fund closes on $600M Plaza Hotel buy

Photo via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

July 5, 2018

Qatari fund closes on $600M Plaza Hotel buy