Corset To Keep Bodacious Koolhaas Condo Jiggle-Free

More on that impossible-looking, OMA/Rem Koolhaas-designed, 24-story condo at 23 East 22nd Street: The gravity-defying design will be supported by a “structural façade consisting of a set of shear walls with openings for light and air...In areas under greatest stress, the window spacing is modified to provide increased structural area and rigidity, supporting the building like a structural corset." Also, lower levels will have "floor windows,” possibly evidence of the smarchitect's ever-increasing bonkers-ness. The new residence will also feature screening facilities–a collaboration with Creative Artists Agency–for resident cinephiles to watch movies starring their One Madison Park neighbors.

(via CityRealty)
9/11/08

Vermin Invasion Timeline

The brief reprieve before mouse season seems like a good time to take stock of the phalanx of furred infesters nibbling tirelessly at the boundaries of our struggle for civility, from raccoons that pushed brownstoners over the edge to a full-on ground war at the Cobble Hill Rat-Squirrel House. A few of the of the fiendish fauna seemed as if they were channelling wraiths of neighborhoods past, but most have been merely fighting for the right to party in the garbage. Highlights below.

• February 07: KFC rat invasion causes lost lunches all over town.
• February 08: Cobble Hill Rat-Squirrel House hits the headines.
• July 08: Big-ass raccoons munch their way through Brooklyn's brownstones.
• December 08: Rat barges into Stuy Town apartment.
• July 09: Rabid raccoon wreaks havoc in Varvatos Bowery boutique.
• July 09: Rat-squirrel house showdown.

More Office Space Available, But Not at 200 Water Street

The vacancy rate for office space in the nation's major markets increased to its highest level–13.7 percent–since the second quarter of 2005, according to a report issued by Cushman & Wakefield. New York City's vacancy rate is still among the nation's lowest at 10.5 percent, along with New Haven, Portland (Ore.), Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C.

The former office building at 200 Water Street–recently in use as an NYU dormitory–will be converted to luxury rental apartments this summer. The Rockrose Development Corporation–who took over the building known as 127 John Street in 1997 and changed its address to 200 Water Street–created the 576 residential apartments in an $80 million conversion that was reportedly the first of its kind in the city, in this case encouraged by zoning changes promoting residential conversions in the area. The new residence looks as if it will retain some of its dorm charm–features include a roof deck with a barbecue grill, cabana and vending machines–but with standard FiDi additions like a rooftop waterfall shower. With studios starting at $2,045 a month–and without the postgrad Wall Street frat rush–the new landlords must be counting on former dormers staying on good terms with their college roommates.

CityRealty.com–New Developments

350 West Broadway Gets Its Wings

Marketing has begun for the 8-unit, 9-story condo at 350 West Broadway in Soho. Hoping for an auspicious start for a residence that boasts a "limited collection of storied homes," developers (Ian Schrager partner Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, which explains the giant George Condo painting in the lobby) have attempted to slip some tongue-in-cheek into its web site, which otherwise resembles most new condo sites in its impossibility of navigation, even when you get past the annoying Flash intro. Do you really want a lobby that "sees it all"? Come to think of it, do you want to "Wake up in heaven"? Divine confusion aside, the building will offer a 24-hour doorman, virtual concierge service, and a fitness center, and apartments will provide direct entry with key lock elevator, separate service entrances, laundry rooms, private storage on each floor, zone lighting and shades, and top-of-the line fixtures in kitchens and baths.

Location: 350 West Broadway btwn Broome/Grand
Size: Eight full-floor units
Prices: $9.575 million to $10.995 million (only three units released so far)
Architects: Moed de Armas & Shannon and SLCE
Developer: RFR
Sales & Marketing: Mary Ellen Cashman at Stribling
Website

More Rooms for the Inn-Crowd: Ace, Standard Hotels Get Ready for Check-In

The Seattle-based Ace Hotel plans to open its first east coast outpost in February of 2009 in the landmarked 1904 Breslin Hotel on 29th Street and Broadway. The rock-n-roll hipster hostel–modeled after the Ace in Seattle–will provide a tongue-in-cheek low-rent atmosphere and a home to Rudy’s Barber Shop (like the one in the downtown L.A. Standard) and an outlet of Portland coffee shop Stumptown. In addition, a restaurant run by Ken Friedman–co-owner of the well-known Spotted Pig–may or may not open at the hotel and join the party. Instead of actual fleas, the the fleabag-chic rooms will allegedly offer vintage SMEG fridges stocked with six-packs, turntables and acoustic guitars tuned and ready for action, according to drawings of model rooms. The 29th street neighborhood isn't much of a destination now, but may well become one once the Ace is on the table.

If your guests will be arriving sooner, you may want to note that hotel developer André Balazs, owner of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and the chainlet of Standard Hotels in that city and Miami Beach, is nearly ready to perfectly calibrate his 337-room Standard in the building straddling the also-opening-soon High Line park. The exact opening date hasn't been set yet, but predictions point to late fall.
CityRealty Smart Match 11/7/08
The Standard
Ace Hotel

Goldilocks Blocks: Sweet Spots Between Crack and Carriage Trades

Between new glass-and-drywall condos in overdeveloped hotspots (Bushwick, Williamsburg), legit up-and-comers (Prospect Heights), big-ticket brownstones (Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Fort Greene) and sketchy–or in New Jersey–broker-fantasy zones, lie "just-right" streets that can be relatively free from corner menace, sticker shock and boom-time developer schlock. Often spanning only a few blocks in each direction–and best found by pounding the pavement–these micro-neighborhoods are close enough to their cool central siblings to legitimately bear their names, but are often better deal-hunting grounds–especially for renters–for anyone willing to do a little legwork.

Just Right: Between Carroll Gardens and newly-minty Red Hook, around Columbia, Hicks, and Henry Streets between Summit and President Streets.

Vibe: The big, bad BQE overpass runs right through this area, which might seem avoidably loud, but the bike-and-pedestrian bridge, the surrounding waterfront and quiet brownstone blocks give this not-next-big-thing enclave a welcoming feel–though you'll know you've left the millionaire's rows of CG proper. A collection of low-key bars, bistros and colorful cafes on Columbia Street caters to a local crowd of artists, hipsters, old-timers and professionals. Artists' lofts (the kind with actual artists) co-exist with buffed-up brick and weathered saltbox. Drawback: It's a hike from the (F) subway–but so is all of Greenpoint and, for that matter, half of the Upper East Side.

Sweet spot sampling:
Sale
79 President Street #3- 2 beds, condo, $529,000
Rental
15 Carroll Street- 2 beds, $2,100

Next: Between Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy and Bushwick.