^ Nice photos.
Guys, knock it off with the piers.
http://www.commercialobserver.com/20...-gary-barnett/
“We’re Like The Avis Guys:” An Afternoon With Gary Barnett
By Matt Chaban 5/08/12
Quote:
In the world of Gary Barnett, everything is the best. The president of Extell Development, a company he launched in the 1990s following a stint as a diamond trader in Belgium, made this plainly clear during a recent tour of One57, his 1,005-foot-tall tower near Carnegie Hall on West 57th Street. When completed, the building will rank not only among the city’s tallest properties, but, with its views of Central Park, among its most luxurious as well. In other words, the best. On the One57 amenities: “This will be the best amenities package in the entire city. All the others are good. But they don’t have everything.”
On the One57 finishes: “Look at this kitchen. Where will you find a kitchen anywhere like this? It’s the best, and we have two of them.” On the One57 floor plans: “We have the best floor plans on the market.” On the One 57 views. “That’s a killer view. There’s nothing as good as this. All the other buildings, they say the have a view, but it’s on an angle. This is dead center.” (Having been up on the 68th floor, as of two weeks ago the highest, there is something to this claim—the views are spectacular, and already exceeding the Top of the Rock.) On One57′s astronomical prices: “Look at this, and it’s six-something a foot. If this was one of the other buildings, it would be closer to 10,000 a foot. And in this building, it’s not even the best views. I think it’s one of the best deals in the building, in the city.” On One 57’s architect, Pritzker Prize-winner Christian de Portzamparc: “We hire the best people so we can do the best work.”
Mr. Barnett...pointed out that this project began in 1998. “There have been 15, 20 transactions to get to this point,” he said, buying everything from buildings to air rights, and bringing in new investors, among them the royal family of Abu Dhabi. At one point, Mr. Barnett was close to buying a neighboring plot that would have squared off what ended up being an unusual L-shape site. When that did not materialize, he went ahead and built anyway. “Sometimes you have to work with what you have,” he said.
Like One57, the neighborhood transforming International Gem Tower is finally rising on an otherwise dowdy 47th Street. A new Hyatt is headed skyward nearby, in Times Square, harkening back to Mr. Barnett’s early days in hotels. Another luxury building on West 43rd Street is in the works, as well as one downtown—Mr. Barnett would not say where—and the Carlton House is well underway. Certainly something has been forgotten.
And, according to sources outside the developer, Mr. Barnett has tapped another Pritzker firm, Herzog & de Meuron, of 40 Bond fame, to build a 1,250-foot residential tower at Broadway and 57th Street. Yes, One57 was not enough. When it stops being the best, this project, and so many others, will be ready to carry on the legacy. When asked about the project, Mr. Barnett did not deny it, though he noted that, “Nothing had been settled, not the height, not the architect.” So be it. Perhaps now that Harry Macklowe’s 432 Park is climbing toward 1,395 feet, maybe Mr. Barnett wants to build a 1,400-foot tower.
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Last edited by NYguy; May 9, 2012 at 2:10 PM.
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