http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/re...ref=realestate
Square Feet | The 30-Minute Interview
Barbara van BeurenBy VIVIAN MARINO
Published: December 1, 2011
Ms. van Beuren, 55, is a managing partner of Anbau Enterprises, a Manhattan developer that specializes in for-sale residential real estate. The company’s projects have included 110 Central Park South and 120 West 72nd Street.
Ms. van Beuren, a registered architect who once ran her own firm, manages the business with her husband, Stephen Glascock, the company founder.
Interview conducted and condensed by VIVIAN MARINO
Quote:
Q Speaking of building, have you considered expanding into the hot rental market?
A Our business model has really been to build and sell, though at this point we would really like to diversify a little bit, and if we could find a rental property we’d be interested, definitely.
We would love to do rentals. But you need a certain size building — at least 100,000 square feet — to really make it viable, and today we just really haven’t found the property at the right price. Many of our buildings are really too small to justify as rentals.
Q Is business good?
A It’s good for certain segments of the residential market, and that segment would really be high-end properties that are well located and well constructed. Those that have come on the market recently — and there haven’t been a lot — have just flown out the window. So we’re confident our project on 124 West 23rd Street will fit the criteria.
Q Tell me about that project.
A That one is 40 units; it’s a 16-story building. We plan to start sales at the end of February, beginning of March, and have construction completed by June.
Q What will the price points be?
A I can’t really talk about that, because our offering plan hasn’t been declared effective. It’s fair to say that it’s competitive with new construction product that’s coming to the market.
Q What’s the status of your project at 39 West 23rd Street?
A Thirty-nine we bought recently from the bank — U.S. Bank — and it’s going to be a 23-story glass tower. We really haven’t determined the unit mix — it’ll probably be two apartments per floor with some full-floor penthouses at the top. It will be a very high-end building.
Carlos Zapata is the architect, and it’s in a landmarked district. We are in the process of completing the drawings, and we hope to begin construction on it in the next 9 to 12 months. Occupancy may be 20 months after that.
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