NEW YORK l 70 West 45th St l 514 FT / 157 M l 47 FLOORS | T/O

[photoLith]

Actually, its not quite as bad as I thought it would be. I kinda like it in fact. Its very different.

[nycdagreatest]

from today 5/10

[HomeInMyShoes]

It's almost groovy.

[JACKinBeantown]

I respect the fact that it looks like an old computer punchcard.

[Antares41]

^My sentiments exactly! My mom was a keypunch operator. The sides of this building remind me of those cards. Wonder if the architects recognize the similarity.

[nycdagreatest]

soham pablo

[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

When Rendering Doesn't Match Reality



By ANTON TROIANOVSKI
SEPTEMBER 7, 2010

Sometimes New York skyscrapers turn out almost exactly the way their architects envisioned.

The new condo-hotel on West 45th Street, called Cassa NY, isn't one of those.

The facade of the 48-story tower, which is getting its final touches, won't be what the building's star architect, Enrique Norten of Ten Arquitectos, initially had in mind. Mr. Norten had wanted a glass curtain wall over the base, to be covered by a more advanced stainless-steel screen, creating a contrast with the facade of the tower.

Instead, developer Solly Assa decided to cover the base with a white skin and rectangular punched windows—just like the tower facade. A louver screen that will cover the seven-story base, bringing it flush with neighboring buildings, will be added in the next four months.

"They took away the glass condition of the facade and substituted it for the same solution of the punched windows," Mr. Norten says. "That was a huge mistake. We were not part of the decision."

Mr. Norten, who served on the jury that selected the design of the World Trade Center memorial, says that Mr. Assa made the move amid financial pressure. Mr. Assa, a Syrian-born developer now based in New York, said the changes were made for engineering reasons—not because of cost.

"Things change because you want to make sure that, engineering-wise, you can handle them," Mr. Assa says. "All in all, we're very satisfied with what we have."

The building, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, opened last month, offering 166 hotel rooms and 57 condominiums. Mr. Assa said about half the condos are under contract.

The design of Cassa NY departs from the glass facades that have become common for new buildings in Midtown. Rectangular windows are punched into its white skin, some of them seemingly at random. Other windows wrap around the tower's corners, creating glass edges.

"Our main intention was to create a building that would be part of the concert of Midtown New York but at the same time had its own voice," Mr. Norten says.

[Obey]

Beautiful tower but I wished they followed up what the base was going to look like.

[sterlippo1]

as a layman i must say, Manhattan deserves much better this sure is ugly

[BStyles]

WHOA!

What in the hell have they done?! I propose a reclad!

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/0..._good_time.php

Cassa Showing Midtown a Bloody Good Time


http://twitter.com/unclegrambo/status/25352794045

Friday, September 24, 2010, by Joey

The new Cassa Hotel & Residences is really taking this Showtime House thing seriously! The purity of the white West 45th Street tower has been compromised to promote the season premiere of the network's serial killer drama Dexter, complete with blood-red window lighting. Wonder what mouthy architect Enrique Norten thinks of his baby being used as a billboard. Enrique, the comments section awaits you, amigo.

[northbay]

ugly fugly

[NYC4Life]

Dexter needs to kill this tower ASAP. What a letdown.

[Dac150]

Clearly not one of the finest, but still filler.

[Roaming]

I like this building. Is good to built a non-all glass tower once in a while. I like the way it set backs as it goes up.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

good filler,it add to NY's ever growing density. simple and sleek,its good in my books

[NYguy]

No Americans bite...

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/artic...ouglas-elliman
With no domestic buyers, Cassa NY replaces Prodigy with Bracha

October 13, 2010
By Amy Tennery

The developers at Cassa NY Hotel and Residences have swapped brokers, after roughly 40 percent of the Midtown project's 57 units sold. Prudential Douglas Elliman's the Bracha Group, led by Ilan Bracha, is has taken over sales, replacing Prodigy Network.

Solly Assa, president of Cassa developer Assa Properties, said he made the switch in an effort to attract more domestic buyers -- thus far, only international buyers have snapped up units at Cassa, located at 70 West 45th Street near Sixth Avenue.

"Prodigy is a great group -- they're just more focused on international," Assa said, noting that his team preferred to have more of a mix of international and domestic buyers.

So far, the 48-story building has attracted buyers from France, Israel, Mexico and Argentina, among other countries. Still, Assa said he's optimistic that local "professional" types might be interested in the building.

"It appeals to someone who's coming from outside [the city], who wants it to be a second, third or fourth home, [but] in the local market, it will appeal [to] a single, working guy," Assa said.

Of the 40 percent of the units that have sold, 20 have closed so far. The building received its temporary certificate of occupancy about a month ago, Assa said. Units there start at around $980,000 for a studio and climb upwards of $20 million for larger, penthouse-style apartments.

Neither Ilan Bracha, nor representatives from Prodigy immediately responded to requests for comment.

International buyers have continued to be a driving force in the New York City residential market, accounting for an estimated 10 to 15 percent of all sales in the city, the New York Times reported earlier this week.

[NYC4Life]

Maybe international buyers have a better interest in terrible architecture than do Americans.

[tommaso]

This one should be moved over to the completed section.