By Patrick Hedlund
Church’s Face Work
The multimillion-dollar renovation of 100 Church St. has proceeded with the start of façade work at the site, including new window installation and exterior additions, with a scheduled completion date in the fall.
The 21-story office building, between Park Pl. and Barclay St., is undergoing reconstruction as part of a $30 million capital improvement program, which will feature new energy efficient, double-paned glass windows and a black-granite refinishing of the exterior.
The building’s renovations began with a restoration of its lobby, including granite floors, the world’s largest collection of Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and a fountain designed by developer Tamir Sapir of The Sapir Organization.
“We are proud to be part of the rebirth of Downtown New York,” Sapir, who’s also a partner on the controversial Trump Soho condo-hotel at Spring and Varick Sts. said in a statement. “One hundred Church is emerging as an anchor building in the neighborhood and is in the same company as the five-star Four Seasons Hotel, which is located across the street.”
The 1.1-million-square-foot office building features full-floor sizes ranging from 43,374 to 64,451 square feet.
Hitting a Wall
Office occupancy at the landmark 14 Wall St. in the Financial District has reached 90 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
The 37-story building, between Broadway and Broad St., counts 222,000 square feet of leasing activity since it was purchased by Capstone Equities last year.
The building, located across from the New York Stock Exchange, includes a renovated lobby, a 100-capacity bike rack, the conversion of all building supplies to environmentally friendly products, and the start of work on steam plant and building automation programs that is believed to reduce operating expenses for utilities approximately 10 to 25 percent.
The most recent leases bringing the building to 90 percent occupancy include Kable Distribution for 12,500 square feet, Fergus Partnership for 3,500 square feet, EidosMedia for 5,000 square feet, Intway World Corp for 3,000 square feet, and BATS Trading for 6,000 square feet.
Other tenants include Bank of America; New York Stock Exchange; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; TheStreet.com; Time Warner Telecom; and FJ Sciame Construction Company, Inc. and Sciame Development Inc.
Pine couture
Fashion-conscious Downtowners who want their pads to emulate their threads can buy into the pair of new Armani-designed penthouses at 20 Pine St.
The first of the two penthouses is a two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,873-square-foot unit selling for $3.2 million; the second is a 1,829-square-foot one-bedroom with 1.5-baths, priced at $3.1 million. The penthouses have been outfitted by the Armani/Casa Design Studio — the clothing label’s interior design division — using pieces from its most recent collections.
The 409 units at The Collection, at the corner of Nassau St., are 90 percent sold and range from studios and alcove studios to one-, two- and three- bedroom residences. Prices start from $715,000.
Referred to as “living works of art” by Shaya Boymelgreen, chairperson of developer Leviev Boymelgreen, the penthouses, as well as the rest of the units, feature the Armani stamp of “clean, modern geometries… offset by the sumptuous materials and subtle, rich detailing,” according to a press release.
Prolific real estate marketer Michael Shvo, president of Shvo, Marketing Concepts and Sales, the exclusive sales and marketing agent The Collection, said 20 Pine’s “mix of lifestyle and pure style has redefined and refined Downtown living.”
Soho wunderkind
Fashion-design darling Richard Chai just inked a deal for new Soho digs, leasing a floor of loft space in the eight-story building at 107 Grand St.
Chai, a Marc Jacobs protégé and Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner, will take over 8,600 square feet, comprising the entire seventh floor of the building at Grand and Mercer Sts. Asking prices were in the $60-per-square-foot range, according to Sinvin Realty, which arranged for the 10-year lease.
The young designer “hit his stride this season” after gigging for Jacobs and Donna Karan, introducing his eponymous line in 2004 and expanding every year since, according to a high-ranking fashion editor and source close to Mixed Use. The designer most recently struck a deal with Target’s GO International collection to design for the retail giant.
“He has an Uptown feel with a Downtown edge,” the editor noted, making the location in the 1915 building’s “sun-washed loft space…an ideal home for a creative company like Richard Chai,” said Sinvin broker Christopher Owles.
Sinvin’s Owles and Michael Glanzberg represented the landlord, Man Yun Real Estate Corp., in the deal. The lease was guaranteed for Chai by SK Networks, overseers of businesses including manufacturing and distributing for designers Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan. Chai was represented in the transaction by Esther Zar of Metro Spire, L.L.C.
What’s in a name?
More sales for brokers and developers, according to an article Sunday in the New York Post’s glossy Page Six Magazine. The piece cites the newest additions to the Downtown lexicon, such as BAMBI (Beyond Allen Manhattan Bridge Intersection) SoFi (South of Fifth Ave.) and BelDel (Below Delancey), as examples of real estate interests pushing tongue-defying acronyms to market specific neighborhoods.
“I always hated Dumbo (sounds like a Disney movie) and Nolita (sounds like a Nabokov novel),” Village Voice scribe Michael Musto said. “But I sort of like the affectionate nickname for the East 20s — Curry Hill.”
mixeduse@communitymediallc.com
