[NYguy]

NY TIMES

Tall and Shorter Towers Set for Mayflower Site

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/08/04/nyregion/04mayflower_lg.jpg

A view of Central Park West looking north from 61st Street, with the new buildings rising between the Trump tower and the Century.


By DAVID W. DUNLAP
August 4, 2005

Perhaps the biggest mystery in Manhattan real estate - what are they ever going to build on the Mayflower Hotel block? - is being answered with a pair of limestone-clad apartment buildings, 19 and 35 stories, for buyers with at least $2 million to spend on a one-bedroom. Or $45 million for something bigger, with a terrace.

Having spent years to acquire the full block between Central Park West and Broadway, 61st to 62nd Streets, and having kept the $1 billion project secret for months even as demolition and construction crews readied the site, Zeckendorf Development is now showing its plans to community leaders on the Upper West Side.

As designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and S.L.C.E. Architects, the 886,000-square-foot complex - called 15 Central Park West - is to have a 231-foot-high apartment house on the park side and a 550-foot midblock tower, separated by a private courtyard. Stores will line a five-story base along Broadway.

There are to be 201 condominium apartments. The building is to open in 2007.

Asked if they feared that the real estate bubble would burst by then, the co-chairmen of Zeckendorf Development, Arthur W. and William Lie Zeckendorf, sounded confident. "The market remains - knock on wood - very strong," Arthur Zeckendorf said, "and this caters to the upper end, which is a market with a limited amount of inventory."

Although developers customarily use hyperbole when speaking about their projects, William Zeckendorf may be accurate in saying that the Mayflower site "is likely to be the last full block front on Central Park West or Fifth Avenue, south of 96th Street, that will be available in our lifetimes." The hotel on Central Park West was recently demolished. The rest of the 1.3-acre parcel has been vacant for 18 years.

To put the new tower in context, it is roughly 35 feet shorter than the Trump International Hotel and Tower to the south and 210 feet taller than the Century Apartments to the north. Mr. Stern said he was taking design cues more from older West Side buildings than from modern, glass-skinned skyscrapers.

"You'll see plantings, and you'll see people from time to time," Mr. Stern said, "as opposed to many buildings where you have no sense of the human life within."

This would be achieved, he said, through the use of large windows, small balconies, rooftop loggias and set-back terraces like the one stretching 282 feet around the 6,600-square-foot penthouse in the Central Park West structure, which will be offered for $45 million. In the tower will be a few 1,000-square-foot units for $2 million.

About 87,000 pieces of Indiana limestone will clad the structures, William Zeckendorf said, from Oolitic, Ind., the quarry that supplied the Empire State Building.

Between the buildings will be a 70-by-200-foot courtyard and driveway with an oval pavilion at its center and a glass-bottom reflecting pool at the north end. This will be directly over the indoor pool of the residents' health club.

Unless Zeckendorf Development applies for a permit for a parking garage, the project will be constructed "as of right" under existing zoning rules, William Zeckendorf said, meaning that it would not be subject to discretionary review.

Nevertheless, the Zeckendorfs and Mr. Stern this week began making presentations to neighbors and officials, including City Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer.

"Design-wise it seems very appropriate for Central Park West and Broadway," Ms. Brewer said. She added, however, that it was too bad the courtyard would be private, even though it follows the example of West Side landmarks like the Apthorp and the Belnord.

"You just wish," she said, "that people could enjoy it for some period of the year."

[NYguy]

Another look at where the tower(s) will sit on the skyline (2nd pic)..

rendering

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/08/04/nyregion/04mayflower_lg.jpg


http://members.aol.com/nycskyscrp/skylines/stmz1.jpg


wirednewyork.com photo

http://www.wirednewyork.com/hotels/trump_international_hotel/images/trump_international_central_park.jpg

[Lecom]

Wow, they look better than I expected. Good replacement for the originally good but irreversibly raped in the 50's Mayflower Hotel.

[JACKinBeantown]

That lot has been vacant since at least 1993 when I first came to New York. It's time for something to go up. It looks like this building will fit in with the old school UWS buildings.

[Chi-town]

I've been wondering what's going there. I walk past that site every day - all I could think was "Damn, that's a big hole".

[NYguy]

It looks like this building will fit in with the old school UWS buildings.

To go up on CPW, it had to have that "classic" CPW appeal to it. I wish there were larger, more detailed renderings available. I'm sure we'll get one though.

[CityGawd5]

Are they tearing down the Mayflower? Because it almost looks like they're just re-cladding it.

[NYguy]

Are they tearing down the Mayflower? Because it almost looks like they're just re-cladding it.

Haven't been paying attention to it, but I thought it was down already. I pass so many construction sites in Manhattan...


The hotel on Central Park West was recently demolished. The rest of the 1.3-acre parcel has been vacant for 18 years.

[NYguy]

CPN (commercial property news)

Central Park West $1B Complex Banking on Hot Condo Market

http://www.cpnonline.com/commercialpropertynews/photos/other/CPW.jpg

August 11, 2005
By Colleen Corley


After securing $900 million in construction financing yesterday, plans are getting off the ground to develop a 200-plus unit condominium complex on the former Mayflower Hotel site in Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The development's two condo towers, anchored by a private courtyard between them, will reach 231 feet and 550 feet, respectively, on the city block between 61st and 62nd streets.

In a neighborhood known for large commercial or not-for-profit tenants like the YMCA and the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, a nearly $1 billion residential development--and a condo investment, at that--is an attention-grabbing investment.

Though the buildings will include a five-story retail component, the residential presence will be noticed in the neighborhood. "There aren't many (luxury apartments) on Central Park West," noted Nicholas Sardone, senior vice president at Corporate Real Estate Service Advisors, which is not involved in the deal.

But the developers of property at 15 Central Park West are banking on the persistence of the hot condo market. Sales of high-end residential units in Manhattan are up to as much as $1,500 per square foot in some places, Sardone said. "Commercial rents don't support that kind of value," he said. "This is a unique asset."

According to a New York Times report on the buildings, one-bedroom units in 15 Central Park West will go for at least $2 million, although those with terrace views of the park could go for as much as $45 million--the builders are currently showing plans to community leaders. But market watchers will have to wait until the complex opens in 2007 to see its tenants will still be willing to pay those prices.

The complex will be built by a partnership between Zeckendorf Development LLC, Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds and Global Holdings.

[Daquan13]

Another look at where the tower(s) will sit on the skyline (2nd pic)..

rendering

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/08/04/nyregion/04mayflower_lg.jpg


http://members.aol.com/nycskyscrp/skylines/stmz1.jpg


wirednewyork.com photo

http://www.wirednewyork.com/hotels/trump_international_hotel/images/trump_international_central_park.jpg



What else is being built on the spot next to the tower in the botom pic?

Looks like there's a pile driver and other construction equipment there.

[billyblancoNYCII]

That's all the development spot.

[billyblancoNYCII]

Though the buildings will include a five-story retail component, the residential presence will be noticed in the neighborhood. "There aren't many (luxury apartments) on Central Park West," noted Nicholas Sardone, senior vice president at Corporate Real Estate Service Advisors, which is not involved in the deal.


Not sure what this means...CPW is one the most expensive places in the city.

[Chi-town]

Not sure what this means...CPW is one the most expensive places in the city.
No shit... a friend of my roomate's lives with her family on CPW... her neighbor across the hall is Elton John and downstairs is Tom Cruise. Definitely not a luxury building, of course...

[NYonward]

A couple very interesting facts about this site that I am not sure are in the other articles (I read them in Real Estate Weekly)...

- The site has been assembled over 30 years. One part of the block has been a fenced lot for 20 years.

- The building will be clad in Limestone.

[lakegz]

i think it fills in that site pretty nicely.

[NYguy]

What else is being built on the spot next to the tower in the botom pic?
Looks like there's a pile driver and other construction equipment there.


Another look at the rendering:

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/47986139/original.jpg



As designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and S.L.C.E. Architects,
the 886,000-square-foot complex - called 15 Central Park West - is to have
a 231-foot-high apartment house on the park side and a 550-foot midblock tower,
separated by a private courtyard. Stores will line a five-story base along Broadway.

[Daquan13]

Thanks.

[Chi-town]

They've begun moving the parts of the tower crane to the site (I walk past in the morning).

[kazpmk]

Good to hear construction beginning

[NYguy]

They've begun moving the parts of the tower crane to the site


Always good news.

[colemonkee]

Some pics from Friday, the 25th. I happened to be in the neighborhood.:D Looking northwest at the beginnings of the tower crane from the North side of Trump International...

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7919/15centralpark08250511gd.jpg

Looking west into the site from Central Park West...

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9987/15centralpark08250524am.jpg

[Daquan13]

Thanks!

[ltsmotorsport]

Another look at the rendering:

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/47986139/original.jpg
I really like this shot showing just how long Central Park is. The building is also a nice addition.

[CGII]

So is it a recladding? It certainly looks like it.

[BayRidgeFever]

It's a brand new tower meant to evoke the older towers of Central Park West. You can see the huge hole in the pic above!

[CGII]

I can tell that much, but it looks like (in the renderings) that the Mayflower is simply being reclad with a second tower behind it.

[BayRidgeFever]

The Mayflower is completely gone. Demolished.

[NYguy]

Thanks for the pics. Yet another 500 ft plus tower under construction in New York. And the city barely notices...


Some pics from Friday, the 25th. I happened to be in the neighborhood.:D Looking northwest at the beginnings of the tower crane from the North side of Trump International...

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7919/15centralpark08250511gd.jpg

Looking west into the site from Central Park West...

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9987/15centralpark08250524am.jpg

[NYguy]

Hopefully we'll get more construction pics soon.

This link was posted at the wirednewyork forum:
http://www.triplemint.com/triplemint/2005/10/15_cpw.html


http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/15cpw50_1.jpg?


http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/crowndetailsm.jpg


http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/setbacks.jpg


http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/court.jpg


http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/bwayretail.jpg



Here's the website of the building itself:
http://15cpw.com/home.html

[CGII]

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/court.jpg
Aww......It's so cute and suburban. :)

That driveway is bound to be a failure.

[NYguy]

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/court.jpg
Aww......It's so cute and suburban. :)

That driveway is bound to be a failure.

In what way? That's just the courtyard the "seperates" the two buildings. Manhattan is full of residential buildings with courtyards.

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/15cpw50_1.jpg?

[colemonkee]

From the renderings it looks like the whole building will be clad in stone, not painted concrete. That's great.

The top's a little funky IMO. Not bad, but funky.

[CGII]

The courtyard just looks so small and useless as a driveway. Though I suppose it would be used a lot less if it were, say, a hotel.

[Antares41]

I like this building. It fits well with Central Park West. I'm seriously considering drawing it for the NYC diagram.

[NYguy]

The courtyard just looks so small and useless as a driveway.


I'm not sure what you mean. It won't be used for parking.

[colemonkee]

The courtyard just looks so small and useless as a driveway. Though I suppose it would be used a lot less if it were, say, a hotel.

A friend of mine lives in a building with a driveway/courtyard similar to this. Speaking from experience, this doesn't look too small, and far from useless.

[trvlr70]

This is a terrific addition to CPW. Is the entire building going to be clad in limestone? If so, that would be a terrific choice, although very expensive. Also, I think the courtyard/driveway is awesome. The Elysian being built in Chicago also incorporates a hotel-like vestibule for automobiles. Is the place already sold out?

[NYguy]

Is the place already sold out?


From the DAILY NEWS


Can you trump the real estate deal?


Because you're not a real New Yorker unless you're seething with jealousy over some other guy's real estate deal: Developers are gossiping about the tenant who made out like a bandit from the old Mayflower Hotel, which was demolished to make way for ultraluxe condos at 15 Central Park West.

Word among real-estate types is that the unnamed renter pocketed a record-setting $15 million to be bought out of his rent-controlled two-bedroom apartment ... for which he paid the princely sum of $200 a month.

"He asked for $15 million and he got it," says a source familiar with the story.

If that sounds crazy, consider these figures: So far, 74 apartments at 15 CPW have been sold for a total of $650 million. Prices max out at $43 million for the penthouse, which until recently was earmarked for mogul Carl Icahn.

The developers themselves, however, say that rumor belongs alongside the alligators in the sewer.

"We are sworn to confidentiality," said a rep for Zeckendorf Development, "but $15 million sounds ludicrous."

[Spooky873]

wow i didnt even know this tower was going up, but i like it. it looks like the others, i think the design fits very well with the area, and at 550 feet itll fill in a major gap next to trump.

wessssssst siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide

[FRED]

I like this !! A new addition to Central Park !!

[NYguy]

NY POST

$45M APARTMENT

By BRADEN KEIL
November 22, 2005


A brash hedge-fund manager is putting his money where his mouth is — agreeing to pay a record $45 million for a Manhattan residence.

Daniel Loeb, the outspoken founder of New York-based Third Point LLC, has signed a contract to buy a more than 10,000-square-foot penthouse condominium under construction at 15 Central Park West at the site of the old Mayflower Hotel.

The hard-charging investment mogul, who manages a $3.6 billion fund, is known for his publicly circulated poison-pen letters to executives he claims are pretentious or lazy. The New Yorker magazine described him as an investor's version of the late political columnist H. L. Mencken, but added that his manner could be "self-interest disguised as moralistic bombast."

Loeb had no comment about his purchase.

Plans for the 10,700-square-foot, full-floor pad include eight bedrooms, 10 full bathrooms, two powder rooms, a large screening room, his-and-hers offices, a library and terraces measuring nearly 800 square feet. The 39th-floor apartment features 14-foot ceilings. It is to be completed by spring 2007.

The towering sales figure beats the previous record held by News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, who paid $44 million earlier this year for the late Laurance Rockefeller's triplex co-op penthouse on Fifth Avenue. News Corp. owns The Post.

It also bests the previous record condo price of $42.25 million that Mexican financier David Martinez paid at the nearby Time Warner Center. Martinez combined a full-floor apartment on the 76th floor with a half-floor residence above. He then recently purchased the other half of the 77th floor for about $12 million, giving him almost 17,000 square feet total after spending nearly $53 million.

Loeb's purchase comes seven months after he bought a sprawling eight-bedroom West Village town house for $11.2 million.

The 15 Central Park West complex — designed by renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern and developed by brothers Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf — will comprise two structures between Broadway and Central Park West (from 61st to 62nd streets).

A drive-in courtyard will separate the 20-story building and a 43-story tower, both with pricey Indiana limestone facades. There are 200 residences ranging in price from $1.97 million for a one-bedroom place to Loeb's $45 million palace. Also featured in the complex are retail stores, a private 13,500-square-foot gym and spa, a private restaurant, wine cellars and staff quarters.

According to a release by Zeckendorf Development, the building is about 40 percent sold, with 12 of the 16 penthouses already spoken for.

[Jularc]

Wow and the record for the most expensive place in NYC just keeps going up. :eek:

[Jularc]

Oh I found this cool shot...

http://www.curbed.com/2005_11_15cpwbiggest.jpg

From...

Curbed.com (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005/11/22/15cpw_penthouse_sale_sets_new_manhattan_record.php)

[Daquan13]

Oh, I heard about THAT website. It gives out bogus info.

[JACKinBeantown]

There is a building on the upper east side along Central Park (5th Ave) that this building is an exact replica of, only taller. The top is exactly the same. I've always liked the old EUS building because I thought it looked like it could have been designed by Dr. Seuss. I looked for a photo to post, but I couldn't find one. Does anyone know the building I'm talking about? It's along 5th Avenue in the 70's.

[Jularc]

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/54963643.15cpw3.JPG

[Jularc]

A billion dollar baby


http://specialsections.nypost.com/news/nypost/nyphome/20060114/img/e_2_p36.jpg


By Braden Keil
January 14, 2006

IT’S hard to believe that Manhattan’s residential real-estate market is slowing down, with sales at 15 CPW just surpassing the billion-dollar mark.

“We’ve sold just over 100 apartments [out of 202] for just over $1 billion,” said Arthur Zeckendorf, the co-chairman of Terra Holdings, which is developing the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building at 15 Central Park West. “Fourteen of those apartments were over $20 million.”

Zeckendorf and his brother William Lie Zeckendorf, another co-chair at Terra, say they’re looking forward to selling another billion’s worth with the remaining residences, which would be a record for a single condo building.

Helping that sales figure along was the $45 million apartment sale to hedge-fund heavy Daniel Loeb.

Construction is on target, now up to the eighth floor on the first tower, and the limestone used on the complex’s facade should be arriving next month.

Among the units that are still available is a $43 million apartment on the 20th floor. The price has just been raised to $45 million.


Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc.

[Swede]

Zeckendorf and his brother William Lie Zeckendorf, another co-chair at Terra, say they’re looking forward to selling another billion’s worth with the remaining residences
Noo! you don't say! :rolleyes:

[SJPhillyBoy]

How much will it cost to build 15 CPW, including the purchase of the property and demolition of the prior buildings?

[NYguy]

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/54963643.15cpw3.JPG


I like the Broadway side much better than the 8th...

[NYguy]

FEBRUARY 5, 2006


A New York classic rises...


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772236/medium.jpg_http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772239/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772240/medium.jpg_http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772242/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772242/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772246/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772250/large.jpg


Bonus shot: I've always loved this nearby entrance to Central Park...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/55772252/large.jpg

[JACKinBeantown]

Wow, I didn't realize this one was so far along.

[colemonkee]

Wow. This thing's flying. When I was there in late August, they were still digging the hole.

[Spooky873]

this thing is kickass. when this thing is completed i bet itll fool alot of people when they find out it was just built.

[NYguy]

when this thing is completed i bet itll fool alot of people when they find out it was just built.


Yeah, it was designed to fit in with those CPW buildings. What's visible now is the higher of the two towers...

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/54963643.15cpw3.JPG

[Spooky873]

they need to build more like that.

[NYguy]

ny observer


http://therealestate.observer.com/dbox_15CPW_Screening%20copy.jpg


While Harvey Weinstein's old pad might be a fun place to watch movies, 15
Central Park West's new screening room--designed by Theo Kalomirakis--
could be even better.

The glamorous screening room will accommodate 20 people and will be
located on the fifth floor of the new luxury tower. It will also feature plush
velvet, extra wide seating in a neo-classical environment with clean lines and modern details.
The 11 foot by 7 foot screen is in state-of-the-art high
definition, according to the press release.

After reportedly spending $45 million on his penthouse apartment;
hopefully, hedge funder Daniel Loeb will get to reserve it for the Super Bowl.

-Michael Calderone

[Spooky873]

xiaaaannngg.

[NYguy]

Look who made the cover of this weekend's NY Post real estate section:


http://www.nypost.com/img/re/cover.jpg


http://specialsections.nypost.com/news/nypost/nyphome/20060225/img/p27.jpg?

[NYguy]

Here's the Post article:

COLUMBUS NEW WORLD

http://www.nypost.com/photos/re02252006034.jpg

A 15 CPW unit that went for less than $1,700 per square foot in September is now worth more than $2,000 per square foot.


By JENNIFER GOULD KEIL
February 25, 2006

New buildings turn up the heat around Time Warner Center

One of Manhattan's hottest neighborhoods is in such a state of flux that it doesn't even have a name yet. Perhaps it will become TiWa. For now, call it the Time Warner Center area or Columbus Circle. Or even Midtown West. Whatever you call it, it seems like it's where everyone wants to be.
The Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle is the area's anchor. The transportation hub is its heart - from the A, B, C, D, 1 and 9 trains at 59th Street and Columbus Circle to the N, R, Q and W trains at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue to the F train at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue. Central Park is its soul.

The neighborhood, which can be defined from 54th Street to 63rd Street from Broadway to West End Avenue, began to come into its own with the 2000 opening of the Hudson Hotel on West 58th Street. But the opening of the Time Warner Center and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in 2004 is what really redefined the area.

The Time Warner Center brought with it some of the finest restaurants the city has ever had: Per Se, Masa and Caf‚ Gray, all competing with the already stellar Jean-Georges restaurant across the street in the Trump International Hotel & Tower.

Next came the celebrities: P. Diddy and Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson found places at the Park Imperial at 230 W. 56th St., while Jay-Z and Ricky Martin crashed at the Time Warner Center - where one apartment sold for the record-breaking price of $42.2 million.

Now the neighborhood is in the midst of a second wave of development, with residential buildings including 15 Central Park West, Element, at 555 W. 59th St., and The Hudson across the street at 225 W. 60th St.

The Hudson is a prime example of the how the area is changing. It's one of a handful of new buildings - details are still being worked out for three others - planned on a formerly desolate block that was once home to a taxi-repair shop and part of an elementary school. The block, says Halstead Property broker Jill Sloane, who has sold two units at The Hudson, "will become its own neighborhood. This building is the first on the block. Three other large buildings are targeted for the block."

The Hudson, built of steel and glass, will have about 80 units, including 800-square-foot one bedrooms for $815,000 and 1,000-square-foot two-bedrooms for $1.1 million. Perks include floor-to-ceiling windows, a gym and a rooftop terrace and outdoor bar.

Prices in the Time Warner area are high and continue to climb.

Prudential Douglas Elliman super broker Dolly Lenz, who bought her own four-bedroom apartment at the Park Imperial last year for $4 million, says she has already been offered $6 million for it. Lenz said she bought in the building because she "felt the excitement, the heat of the location. It was an emerging area that was really going to explode."

Halstead Property broker Dorothy Somekh has also seen her investment grow.

Somekh paid $2.5 million for a two-bedroom at 15 Central Park West - which is still under construction and will be completed next year - and similar units there are now selling for $3.025 million.

"It could be the deal of the century," she says, especially considering that condos at the nearby Plaza hotel are selling for "$3,000 to $5,000 per square foot, depending on the view."

Halstead Property's Eric Janssen recently sold lawyer Hector Torres an $8.7 million, four-bedroom apartment in 15 Central Park West. Torres, who currently lives in Sands Point, Long Island, is looking forward to moving back to the city with his wife and four children.

"Suburban life was too homogenized," Torres says. "I love that this is a new building adhering to the traditional architectural format of Central Park West."

Once he moves in, Torres says he will love being able to walk to work in Midtown, stroll to the park with his kids, and dine with his wife at restaurants like Per Se, Jean-Georges, Shun Lee and Picholine.

Brothers Arthur and William Zeckendorf and Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds are developing the massive two-wing, 200-unit condo building Torres will be calling home. The project takes up a city block from 61st Street to 62nd Street, bounded by Central Park West and Broadway.

The brothers want 15 Central Park West, with its limestone fa‡ade, to fit in with "New York's prewar architectural splendor" while adding a 21st-century high-tech sensibility.

Amenities include a 20-person screening room designed by Theo Kalomirakis, wine cellars (see story on 42) and storage bins. (Halstead's Somekh purchased a 60-square-foot bin for $35,000.) The building will also offer a library, two restaurants and continental breakfasts for residents.

Those who have been in the neighborhood a long time have, of course, seen their investment grow along with the 'hood.

One couple who live on West 57th Street recently combined a three-bedroom apartment they bought 13 years ago for about $400,000 with a one-bedroom they bought two years ago for $480,000. Even after a $500,000 renovation, they believe their apartment has more than doubled in value.

Certainly, new construction is adding to the allure of the area.

Consider Element, located between West End and Amsterdam avenues, in an area that Shlomo Reuveni, senior vice president of Corcoran Group Marketing, is selling as Columbus Circle West.

The 35-story glass-tower building has 198 units, including five townhouse residences, and is more than 50 percent sold.

Prices at Element go from about $815,000 for a 791-square-foot one-bedroom to $2.7 million for a 1,476-square-foot penthouse.

Amenities include cold storage for fresh-food deliveries, a wine valet service with Morrell & Co. and a three-lane, 60-foot indoor lap pool with a whirlpool and a children's pool.

There will also be an indoor half-court basketball area, a racquetball court, a children's playroom created by FAO Schwarz, children's gym classes provided by Jodi's Gym - which holds classes and parties for posh tots around the city - and landscaped outdoor space, including a "great lawn," a meditation garden with yoga classes and an outdoor lounge.

"The neighborhood," Reuveni says, "has really arrived."

http://specialsections.nypost.com/news/nypost/nyphome/20060225/img/a_2_p35.jpg

[JACKinBeantown]

This building is going to look great on Central Park West. I've said this before, but it's the exact same design as an old building across the park on 5th Avenue... but 20-25 stories taller.

[Spooky873]

is that building still around?

[NYguy]

This building is going to look great on Central Park West. I've said this before, but it's the exact same design as an old building across the park on 5th Avenue... but 20-25 stories taller.

Not surprising. They're trying to give it a look of something that's already been there, and for years.

[Spooky873]

good, they should do it more.

[Jularc]

March 26, 2006:


http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57740869.IMG_8153.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/57740870.IMG_8158.jpg

[NYguy]

Lookin good...I'd say they should be topped out by the fall.

[Spooky873]

they did a good job fooling everyone. great design

[Lecom]

Sweet pic. Facade is looking nice.

[LostInTheZone]

I'm surprised such a high-profile project doesn't have a construction thread.

Fifteen Central Park West
West 61st-62nd streets
between Broadway and CPW

website (http://15cpw.com/home.html) - check out the panoramic views, it's worth waiting for the Flash to load

ARCHITECT: RAM Stern
HEIGHT: two buildings, 20-story "House" facing Central Park,
43-story "Tower" on the Broadway side, 550 feet (emporis)
FACADE: limestone and glass
CONSTRUCTION: reinforced concrete
COMPLETION: 2007

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/15cpw50_1.jpg

penthouses:

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/crowndetailsm.jpghttp://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/setbacks.jpg

courtyard between the two towers, with a pool underneath:

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/court.jpghttp://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/pool_1.jpg


Broadway side retail:

http://www.triplemint.com/photos/uncategorized/bwayretail.jpg

[LostInTheZone]

this building is already well into the middle of going up, and some of the facade is already there. From emporis, from June:

http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/sixwm/2006/06/463647.jpg
http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/sixwm/2006/06/463650.jpg

[Scruffy]

Its hard to link straight to Emporis. Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn't. but since I actually took those pics, here they are:

June 1 2006
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/CPT2.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/CPT4.jpg

and the low rise directly on the park
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/CPL3.jpg

[Jonovision]

Good to finally have a thread! I had no idea this was so far into construction!

It's looking good.

[NYguy]

I'm surprised such a high-profile project doesn't have a construction thread.


You'd be surprised at what you'd find with a little search. We've had a thread going here for a while now...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=84043

[Zerton]

a modern hanging gardens

[Swede]

You'd be surprised at what you'd find with a little search. We've had a thread going here for a while now...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=84043

Merge-arific!

[Thefigman]

A shot from the Family Truckster as we head home from the Museum of Natural History today.

8/23/06

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/thefigman70/IMG_1066.jpg

[hoosier]

Sweet shot! You can the New York Times Tower in the distance down Eighth Street!!

Does anyone know if this beauty is topped off yet? WNY had some pictures from this weekend where it looked pretty close to being at full height.

[NYguy]

Does anyone know if this beauty is topped off yet? WNY had some pictures from this weekend where it looked pretty close to being at full height.


Haven't checked it out personally in a while, but it could be. This was a fast riser...

[Patrick]

Nice Addition ot central park, fits in with all those older Central Park Towers.

[Scruffy]

9/4
Hiding behind Trump International Hotel and Tower. Its not topped out but its getting pretty close.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02024.jpg

the loft in the front, tower in the back
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02038.jpg

the walls of the loft.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02041.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02046.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02048.jpg

[NYguy]

9/4
Hiding behind Trump International Hotel and Tower. Its not topped out but its getting pretty close.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02024.jpg



Love this shot from Columbus Circle.

[hoosier]

It's getting there. Is this one taking a little longer most likely because it is so luxurious and high-end?

[JACKinBeantown]

It also has a very non-uniform top (exactly like an old shorter building on the upper east side) that takes longer to construct than a uniform box.

[Lecom]

Too bad Trump Int'l Tower won't tower anymore all by itself from Broadway looking north like it used to, but at least tis gives that view some more dimension and bulk. Buildings looks shorter than I thought it would, but it's an amazing building nevertheless. Great location, and good to see that some developers still have the balls to use limestone on a building facade. No wonder so many celebs are already snatching up residences in this place.

[Scruffy]

what celebs?

[trvlr70]

I'm surprised ya'all NYC forummers are not more excited about this project. I think it is the highest quality skyscraper being built in the country right now....and yet it gets no love.

[Thskyscraper]

I'm surprised ya'all NYC forummers are not more excited about this project. I think it is the highest quality skyscraper being built in the country right now....and yet it gets no love.
I don't know about that. I like it, but there have been better. IMO the NYT is one that is better at least here in New York. The Heasrt Tower, recently completed (I think) and not far away, is one of NYC's best new towers.

[antinimby]

what celebs?I'm sure there are others but he's one I know for certain that bought a unit in the building.

Btw, they're going to have $1.8 billion in total sales. What residential in the world can touch that?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Denzel_Washington.jpg

[antinimby]

I like this building very much. The only thing I'm disappointed with is the thin floorplates in the tower portion. You'd think they would make the floors thicker in such an upscale project like this.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC02046.jpg

[Busy Bee]

^If the required strength is achieved and through-floor sound and vibration transmission is under control, what is the point of wasting money of thicker concrete slabs?

[ardecila]

Thicker floorplates = thicker or MORE columns to support the weight. Thinner floorplates = marginally higher ceilings, maybe you can fit 1 or 2 more floors into the same height. Sound transmission I'm sure won't be a problem - they can install advanced thin soundproofing materials that work better than concrete.

[antinimby]

^If the required strength is achieved and through-floor sound and vibration transmission is under control, what is the point of wasting money of thicker concrete slabs?That's the point. Money here is not as much of a concern, so why not make it well beyond just "under control?"

If I'm paying $20 million, I'd want something more solid than the condo going up down the street.

[antinimby]

Sound transmission I'm sure won't be a problem - they can install advanced thin soundproofing materials that work better than concrete.I'd like know how well that soundproofing material will do when someone drops a bowling ball onto the floor. :drummer:

[NYguy]

NY Times

New Star in the Columbus Circle Orbit

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/10/18/business/600_columbus.jpg

A new building at 15 Central Park West, just north of the newly revitalized Columbus Circle, will contain a Best Buy outlet and other stores.


By ALISON GREGOR
October 18, 2006

In what is among the year’s biggest retail transactions in Manhattan, Best Buy has signed a lease for 46,000 square feet of space on a portion of Broadway just north of Columbus Circle that was a brick-strewn lot for many years.

The company, a consumer electronics retailer, recently signed a $75 million lease over 15 years in 15 Central Park West, a pricey limestone condominium building designed by Robert A. M. Stern that is going up on the site of the former Mayflower Hotel.

Best Buy took 6,200 square feet of ground-floor space on the southeast corner of Broadway and 62nd Street — including about 65 feet of frontage on Broadway. The remaining space is on two levels constructed below street grade.

Property marketers said about 40,000 square feet remained at the building and would most likely be configured into three or four smaller spaces for home furnishing or apparel shops, a bank or a sporting goods store.

Brokers said the retail space at 15 Central Park West, scheduled for occupancy a year from now, was the final slice that would complete a radical transformation of Columbus Circle over the last decade.

“This is definitely the last piece of the urban streetscape puzzle in that area,” said Gene Spiegelman, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, which is marketing the space. “It’s just so alive now. Think back 15 years ago — this was a dust bowl.”

Columbus Circle, which punctuates the southwest corner of Central Park, is a perilous roundabout once surrounded by uninspiring structures like the New York Coliseum. It has experienced significant redevelopment, beginning with creation of the monolithic Trump International Hotel and Tower in 1997.

The area’s transformation took hold with the opening of the slick, curvilinear Time Warner Center. That twin-towered complex, which has condominiums, a hotel and office space, houses the Shops at Columbus Circle, a collection of top-shelf retailers and restaurants including Sephora, Coach, Whole Foods and Tourneau, among others.

Its drawing power has made Columbus Circle a shopping destination for residents, office workers, transit riders and tourists, brokers said.

“It was never a proven theory that upscale retail could flourish on the Upper West Side, and Time Warner did that,” said Gary Trock, a senior vice president at the commercial brokerage CB Richard Ellis. “It’s my understanding that the retailers within the Time Warner Center have done exceptionally well there. That has enabled other retailers to see there’s opportunity here.”

Javid Jameer, the manager of Bose, an audio equipment store, which opened in February 2004, said that all the retailers seemed to be thriving. Bose’s sales are now about 15 percent ahead of projections for the year, with as many as 400 customers visiting on weekdays and 800 a day visiting on weekends.

The total number of sales in 2006 at the Time Warner Center is up 12 to 13 percent over last year, said Kenneth Himmel, president and chief executive of Related Urban Development, the developer of the Shops at Columbus Circle.

The developers of 15 Central Park West said they had serious discussions with Nordstrom about creating a department store, but the company needed more square footage. They also spoke with Bloomingdale’s. But the fact that another electronics retailer, Samsung, is thriving in the Time Warner Center inspired negotiations with Best Buy.

“Electronics to me are high-end for the new generation,” said Arthur Zeckendorf, who was the developer of 15 Central Park West, along with his brother, William Lie Zeckendorf. “The Samsung store in Time Warner Center has been a great success.”

Though some might debate whether Best Buy is high-end, Mr. Spiegelman said the lease with the electronics store brings in a stable tenant that is not currently in the Upper West Side market. The closest of the four Best Buy stores in Manhattan is at 529 Fifth Avenue at 44th Street.

The remaining space at 15 Central Park West has 170 feet of Broadway frontage. There is also a 25,000-square-foot second-floor space. The asking rate for the prime ground-floor space is more than $300 a square foot annually, while the average asking rate on the four retail levels is in excess of $100 a foot, Mr. Spiegelman said.

Those rates are high, but prices in Columbus Circle continue to be dwarfed by those at the southeastern corner of Central Park — 59th Street and Fifth Avenue — home of the Plaza Hotel, the distinctive new Apple Computer store and numerous high-end retailers.

“At about $1,350 a foot, Fifth Avenue has the highest retail rents in the world, and retailers and nonretailers feel it’s the best place to expose their brand,” Mr. Spiegelman said. “On the West Side, retailers come to do sales. They’re not necessarily here to brand.”

On another directional axis, the retailing at 15 Central Park West will help to link the now-thriving Columbus Circle with the Lincoln Center area and the West Side’s traditional retail stronghold at Broadway and 72nd Street, brokers said. Just north of 15 Central Park West, the Chetrit Group is converting the former Empire Hotel at Broadway and 63rd Street into condominiums and more than 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Starbucks has signed on for about 2,500 square feet, said Jeff Winick, the chief executive of Winick Realty Group, which is marketing the space. He said brokers expected to attract a spa and a 10,000-square-foot restaurant along with other shops.

“It’s becoming its own little city in that area,” he said. “Columbus Circle at 57th Street is finally connected to Broadway and 66th Street.”

Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Center Business Improvement District, said the inclusion of a Best Buy in the West Side retail mix, which includes Gracious Home and Bed Bath & Beyond farther north on Broadway, made sense for a heavily residential neighborhood.

“It’s great to have retail that serves the residential population as well as the tourist population,” she said.

Other Columbus Circle improvements are under way, including a $72 million reconstruction of the subway station, scheduled for completion in June 2009, and the contentious overhaul of the Venetian gothic facade of 2 Columbus Circle, the home of the Museum of Arts and Design.

The refurbishment of the traffic circle around the monument to Christopher Columbus, erected in 1892, was completed in 2005, and it has also helped pick up the neighborhood. Planners redirected traffic so that it circles the plaza, which has been upgraded with trees, benches and fountains. Traffic patterns had not been circular since 1929.

[NYguy]

from curbed.com

15 Central Park West From Above

http://www.curbed.com/2006_11_15cpw.jpg

Somehow, we found ourselves on the 65th floor of the Mandarin Hotel in the Time Warner Center, at a panel discussion sponsored by Haute Living. Among the participants: 15 Central Park West developer Arthur Zeckendorf, who gazed over his creation as we took the crappy cameraphone shots seen above. As he watched the chimney vents being installed for the upper-floor penthouses, he whispered that completion was on track for next summer. No word, though, on the Best Buy.

[trvlr70]

This is my current favorite skyscraper going up right now in America. It is so rare that the facade is real limestone. How fabulous.

[pico44]

what celebs?

Sting

[NYguy]

This is my current favorite skyscraper going up right now in America. It is so rare that the facade is real limestone. How fabulous.

I have to say, it does look classy. A real New York tower.

[trvlr70]

I have to say, it does look classy. A real New York tower.
I agree. Because of price points in NYC, buildings like this are rare in the US. I don't think you could ask enough money in LA, Chicago, Las Vegas or Miami to cover the expense of limestone clading on residential buildings. But, perhaps DC, San Francisco or Boston could also accomplish this feat.

[StatenIslander237]

:omg: I love how much this building blends into the fabric of Central Park West. It's amazing how this tower which isn't neo- anything, but a 21st century design, blends so seamlessly into the skyline points north.