Development Website Insta-Review: 8USS is Shvo-Shvo
Monday, June 26, 2006, by Joey
We had very high hopes for 8 Union Square South, the new Shvo-marketed building taking over the land once occupied by the dearly-departed Odd Job space. And could you blame us? The hype knob was turned to 11, as Shvo himself said, "The only thing I can say right now is we’re bringing something that is going to change the face of Union Square more than Whole Foods."
We were intrigued, but now that the 8USS website is live, our initial excitement has given way to mild disappointment and sassy pshaw-ing. The building looks drab and standard—definitely not a design that is going to change the face of anything, unless that face belongs to the Elephant Man or something. Plus, there's no sign of the promised "installation of moving lights that will grace the crown of the building." And the website copy keeps banging home the prospect of "unmatched park views," a statement easily countered by any visitor to DSW or Whole Foods' top-floor dining room. It's still early in the game, but there better be some damn delicious Shvookies if people are going to get psyched about this one.
· 8 Union Square South [8uss.com]
· Rumblings & Bumblings Responses: Union Square Shvo [Curbed]
"A Park To Call Your Own?" I've never been to Union Square when there WASN'T 10,000 people sitting on those steps just hanging out.
I used to not mind Union Square, would take my dog over there to the run sometimes..etc. But now with the unchecked 'art' sellers there and it seeming to have become more of a tourist destination, it's lost a lot of that for me.
It was never my favorite park but I think it's just getting worse and worse with the vendors and I dont see a solution unless Parks is going to start kicking them out -- and we'll just get a whole "Free Speech" protest out of that from the tchotchke peddlers.
Nice GIGANTIC typo on their multi-million dollar apartments site. They have it saying "FOORPLANS". More proof at what a douchebag Shvo and his team is.
QUINTESSENTIALLY overhyped
QUINTESSENTIALLY overpriced
QUINTESSENTIALLY bullshit
#3, only real douchebags pick on spelling errors.
#5,
only illeducated oafs wouldn't understand why typos are unaccetable when advertising multimillion dollar apartments.
#6, I work in real estate and trust me, typos happen on multi-million dollar listings of all types. Not all the time, but they happen.
Using such errors to attack someone you are jealous of is petty and childish.
Why the continued tracking of this douchebag Shvo? He's basically no different from any other developer, just better marketed.
One wonders if Shvo is as forgiving of this as you are. I'll bet he doesn't view this as an insignificant or petty problem.
i kind of like the seemingly unregulated chaos of southern union square. with nyc as sanitized as it is, union square is somewhat endearing.
Hey, any photos of the Whole Foods top floor dining room?
I don't mind the skateboarders and protesters so much as the vendors. They are essentially camping out for the entire day, taking up park space for that entire time period. I think of parks as being a more transient place where there's constant movement of people in and out, maybe staying for a few hours or whatever. The vendors choke off the vibrancy and just create gridlock for what are, in the end, moneymaking ventures, despite their claims to being 'artists.'
bing - if it were a brochure printout which costs thousands, maybe. But this supposedly was a website error which is simple to fix.
I don't think it's the end of the world for him, but I do think it reflects badly on the operation. If I'm looking to spend that much money and I see something like that, it could have an effect on how a potential buyer views it.
I don't think people on Curbed are the only ones who are nitpicky about things like this. Potential buyers could just as easily find this as some kind of warning sign. I know when I look at apartments and some small, but completely preventable, thing happens, it can make me wonder about what other things might be lurking around.
Does Trump tolerate typos in HIS marketing?
When you hype yourself & your product the way Shvo has consistently done, praising himself, his team and his operation to the heavens, then it's fair to pick on him for ANY blooper, including a typo.
Am I the only one that is annoyed at how boring this building looks, and how ugly the bathrooms are. I am looking to buy, and wow this is a dissapointment for the location. This is where an astor place type of building would look cool.
My goodness, the things ppl project.
As a past buyer of nyc RE, from cheap studios to expensive new construction, typos have been the least of my concerns. All I care about are location, price, layout, light and views and, in new construction, who the developer is - not the fricking broker and how many typos he has committed that may reflect poorly on how he does his job.
OK, so they've fixed the typo, but they are still stuck with a website whose floorplans are essentially (perhaps quintessentially) unreadable! Are they economizing by using an incompetent web designer?
I like the part about the concierge service, with access to jet programs, etc. Yeah, because if you live on the corner of University Place and 14th St., you use private jet service a lot! (Probably to get away from that park that you don't want to have anything much to do with. Ya can't beat the ambiance of that SW area of the park with its many vendors, plus the infinite and unique charm of the monthly Critical Mass bike-a-thon. Hmmm, I wonder how come they don't mention Critical Mass as a selling point on the website???)
The people who rent at 1 Union Sq. South have a better view and less noise than the unfortunate buyers at this Shvo building will have.
This location will forever be infested with the spirit of Odd Job.
You (and Shvo's website) forgot to mention the DIRECT VIEW of the fantabulous Diesel store! What an amenity!! That just reeks of high class & sophistication, doesn't it? Makes you want to pay top dollar just as fast as you can sign the contract.
Bring back Odd Job or even Paterson Silks!
Street vending is getting to be a problem all over the city but it's especially a big problem downtown. The city counsel needs to pass some rules about the number of vendors that can be on each block and then the police need to actually enforce the rules.
too much cattyness to take discussion here seriously. Shvo is half the arrogant ass that most of you haters would be if you were in his position. Luckily for us you aren't.
VDH gets today's 'Curbed Contra' award -- it's an award I've created for those posters who most blatantly choose the opposite stance of most posters just to stand out and appear the hard-nosed realist.
I'll be giving out this award daily to Curbed posters. Today's the first day -- enjoy!
you just wanna win the award for the next harlem post, ya schmuck
#21, don't know what your issue is. Most of this discussion has to do with the website not being what Shvo typically wants to present, and that the building's location is certainly way less than prime. That's not cattiness -- that's fact!
Frankly, he could build the Taj Mahal on that corner and I would never want to live there, not even if HE paid ME to move in. It's just a sub-prime location, period, and no amount of marketing genius will change that.
Agree with #25 -- have lived in the area for a long time & there's nothing about Shvo's latest location (no matter what clever address he dreams up for it) that has anything special about it. Plus the building itself appears undistinguished, based on what the web site shows.
yeah the floorplans aren't as legible as they should be, but i'm pleasantly surprised that some of the bathrooms have windows- a rarity in new construction.
i wonder what the common charges will be, though...
You all are my bitches,
My hoes,
My cracked up bros.
You only see me,
But I don't see you.
I am in the TWC,
Man what a view.
I am young.
I am pretty.
I got it all.
You posting on Curbed sucka'
Knocking your heads on the wall.
No, really though, please don't hate on me, because I am rich and successfull and I made it all happen for myself. Sure I had to step on a few of you fools, but I am sure you deserved it.
See you outside the door at my next building launch when you are begging to get in, like a loser, in the rain.
heheh. Bing you are not the sharpest tool in the shed are you?
Most posters are talking about the bad location. You are the one harping on about a typo and how badly that reflects on Shvo's operation.
I am telling you that I and other ppl that I know that have bought RE in nyc couldn't care less about typos when there are far more important issues to consider when spending that much money on your residence.
#21 "Shvo is half the arrogant ass":
Yep, I think we can all agree that Shvo is a half-ass.
VDH - exactly. Shvenvy - jealousy that turns little have-nots into bitching and whining broken records.
homey, so that would be what you are suffering from, with YOUR bitching and broken-record whining?
Anonymous, I fight the good fight against the tyranny that runs rampant in curbedville. Like Stallone in Cobra, I am the cure for you, the disease.
(sung to the tune of "Unforgettable"):
Shvo-forgettable, in every way
And forever more, that's how you'll stay...
#33, apparently you are on the wrong blog. You are looking for either a psychiatric help blog, or a bad-action-movie blog.
Homey, lobbying for the "Curbed Contra" award like that will get you nowhere. The judge is too sophisticated to be taken in by posturing like that.
Bing - my valiant and quasi-ironic commentary will hopefully sway such judges as they did at the last contest I was in: Nathan's hotdog eating contest. Although I assure you its difficult to be persuasive while power-eating.
just me - psychiatric help...TOUCHE! You have tongue tied me with that witty comeback.
homey, how brave of you to admit what a loser you are, even at something like power-eating, since the Nathan's winner has for several years been a polite oriental guy. You won't sway anyone here either... so props to you for consistency!
Anonymous - obviously that was a joke. Do the world a favor and lighten up.
"TOUCHE! You have tongue tied me"
Thanks! Whatever it takes, just so you'll shut up.
PS: Isn't there a hotdog you should be eating???
Actually the building while not one of the seven wonders of [even our ZIP Code] is a heck of a lot more of a contribution than the glorified slum retailer it replaced.
I live across the street, I saw it coming together in like, a few weeks, I think it is prefab, or Lego, or something like that. Can it fall apart real quick? I think the views are nice, but the space small, the kitchen is like a living room wall. You cant watch TV without smelling the Teriyaki.
does anybody know when the 8uss condos will be completed and people can start living there?
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