A new 7-story mini-tower housing a mere 5 condos will soon rise at 56 Spring. This one is sited on a street which offers everything from assiette de fromages all the way to zeppole, with assorted other things in between. This wee tower shows some facade switcheroo, which appears to be inspired by a Gravitram or possibly a Space Warp and comes from the mind of architect Arpad Baksa. It will nestle up next to 225 Lafayette Street, home of the $100,000 closet. Both are just east of the always busy intersection of Lafayette and Spring, down where Soho meets Nolita meets Little Italy meets Chinatown. The back side of 56 Spring will butt up against some terrific little gardens, hidden behind two old brick walkups facing onto Cleveland Place, one of which was sadly mauled and decapitated last summer. That broken bit of brickage is piled just across from the forlorn Lieutenant Petrosino Square, where recently ground was broken for a much-needed makeover. All said, whoever ends up residing at 56 Spring won't be able to complain about a lack of options, food or otherwise.
· Portfolio > On the Boards > 56 Spring [Arpad Baksa Architect website]
· Celebrity Real Estate Wrap: The $100,000 Closet [Curbed]
· Cleveland Place Construction Chronicles: Razing the Roof [Curbed]
NOLITA—Sure, there's some controversy as to whether SHoP Architects' wavy 290 Mulberry Street is "real" brick façade, but we don't care! We think it's purty, and these updated Construction Watch photos sent in by a Curbed tipster do nothing to dissuade us from that opinion. We'll take that penthouse, please! [CurbedWire Inbox]
WaHI—Residents of 700 Fort Washington Avenue were joined by Manhattan Borough Prez Scott Stringer today at a rally against their building owner, the Ohebshalom family, also known as the Shalom family (they reportedly own over 100 buildings under various names). This latest protest against the notorious slumlords was held because Con Ed had to shut down gas to the 73-unit building in May, and cannot restore service until repairs are made to the cooking gas system in the building, which obviously will never happen. [CurbedWire Inbox]
UPPER EAST SIDE—According to a press release from developers the Ascend Group, Georgica, the latest family-friendly glassy addition to the Upper East Side, is over 30% sold. Must be all that sweet sweetkhaki. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Those gazing up at the Manhattan skyline of the future will be forgiven for getting a little seasick. Every developer and their mama is building waves--waves of glass, waves of black bands, waves of crinkled steel, etc. One of our favorites, however, is SHoP Architects' waves of bricks coming to 290 Mulberry Street. And after keeping a close eye on the rising guts, finally, we get to see some skin. Curbed Photo Pool contributor Stu_Jo caught workers in the act of installing some of the brick panels that will put Nolita in motion. Maybe now that purty penthouse will sell?
· SHoP Piling On the Bricks at 290 Mulberry [Curbed]
· Inside 290 Mulberry Street's Wavy Goodness [Curbed]
· 290 Mulberry [Official Site]
And now the latest from Racked, covering retail from the sidewalks up.
1) Soho: Topshop has turned its giant plywood wall on Broadway into a giant billboard with Kate Moss. That's more like it.
2) Nolita: Racked has full photo gallery treatment of the latest spot cementing the neighborhood's reputation as a go-to destination for natty men. It's a shaving salon amongst the bespoke suiting shops on Elizabeth Street called The Shave New York.
3) Nolita: Sure, cigarettes may now cost, like, $10 a pack, but they're back.
4) Soho: The Phat Farm and Baby Phat Flagship at 129 Prince St between Wooster and West Broadway has closed, with no indication of relocation.
1) In last week's PriceSpotter, we touched on the madness of the resale market at 15 Central Park West (right). Now, Josh Barbanel reports that the buyer of a $30 million penthouse in the building has been offered $100 million for it (he turned it down!) and there are rumors that $125 million has been offered for another apartment. Also, the world is a cold, dead place. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
2) Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., is endangered, and yet his Urban Ass House in Hudson Square, Richguyville, is just dandy. Up in Architect Heaven (it's like regular heaven but the zoning is lax and there are no community boards), PJ just took off his glasses and shot the residents of Connecticut quite the look. ['A Tiny Masterpiece, Unloved, Faces Threat'/Andy Newman]
3) Luxury condo buyers along the isolated Williamsburg waterfront will most likely have to throw some additional cash into the kitty if they want that ferry service that every developer has advertised as an amenity. Also, this photo makes Williamsburg look post-apocalyptic. [Posting/C.J. Hughes]
4) Artsy Brooklynites priced out of Park Slope are gentrifying Kensington, and rumors of a coffee shop (a coffee shop, people!) are making the rounds. Ah, Brooklyn. [Living In/Jake Mooney]
And now, the latest from Racked, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.
1) Bowery: Sometimes, life is disappointing. Last month, came word that Hamptons fashion retailer Blue & Creamapplied for a permit to have beach chairs out front of the store on the sidewalk. Racked had "visions of Saturday afternoons, Pimm's Cup in hand, reclining on The Bowery in a fabulous lounge creation." The "harsh reality" is another matter.
2) Soho: Is the new Kira Plastinina store at 594 Broadway in Soho "the space scream Barbie's dreamhouse" or "Lolita's boudoir"? Check out the photos and decide.
3) Everywhere: Need a "decently-sized" supermarket of more than 10,000 square feet? There are only 550 of themleft in the entire city.
4) Brooklyn Heights: Speaking of supermarkets, remember the Gristede's that went up in a smoky blaze fueled by rotisserie chicken fat? It's a "charred mess."
Our ongoing obsession with 49 East Houston Street—architect Arpad Baksa's big red hangover—is unending. Blame all the wacky elements involved: the seven stories of cantilever action over its neighbor at 51 East Houston Street; the razing of the cute little one-story storefront that housed nonprofit group Times Up!; the proximity to the rising awesomeness at 290 Mulberry Street. Yeah, this is a fun one. Now, in a piece explaining how a nonprofit group originally wrangled the prime real estate, the Village Voice's Runnin' Scared blog put up some sketches of the building that show the many setbacks and terraces in greater detail, as well as the proposed rear yard and balconies. If only Tetris rules applied to real life, then the first four floors of this entire block would now disappear, and Nolita would have a far better soundtrack.
· From Community Group to Condo: The Saga of 49 E. Houston and Times Up! [Runnin' Scared]
· East Houston Tumor To Be Red, Tiered and Terraced [Curbed]
· A Tumorous Neighbor for SHoP and Kopp [Curbed]
NOLITA—A special Curbed correspondent sends in this shot of a sign outside BApple Realty on Prince Street in Soho. Desperate times? [CurbedWire Inbox]
TURTLE BAY—Over at 303 East 51st Street, the site of the tragic and fatal crane collapse that touched off a wave of overdevelopment criticism and a high-profile resignation or two, a reader has some questions: "I live near the crane collapse site and walk by it every day on my way to work. It’s been more than a month since the crane collapse, and now the site is quiet. No workers, just a security guard. I also noticed that Reliance Construction Group has vacated its storefront office on Second Avenue between 51 and 52 (they were using the former space of a restaurant called Fusia). What’s going to happen to the site? Will it basically remain in limbo for years? And is Reliance Construction Group out of the picture?" [CurbedWire Inbox]
SHoP Architects' 290 Mulberry is one of a small crop of very intriguing new Nolita developments, and while a lot of the attention lately has been focused on its new red neighbor, the gang at Core Group Marketing knew precisely how to win us back: release the penthouse listing, with brand new renderings. Yes, we've had some looks into the wavy brick (not metal!) building before, but not of the $7.5 million, 2,613-square-foot duplex crown with private roof deck. From the copy: "Eight private exits to three separate private terraces, twelve oversized windows, three levels with 360 views everywhere and a 30 tall south facing atrium in glass." Um, yes please?
· Listing: 290 Mulberry Street [CORE]
· SHoP Piling On the Bricks at 290 Mulberry [Curbed]
· 290 Mulberry [Official Site]
Pity the poor residents of 51 East Houston Street. A bit of digging around reveals that the owner there goes by the mysterious name of Sultan's DaVinci Ltd. When we posted the news about the tumorous growth rising over that little walk-up some readers couldn't believe their eyes. But one guest commenter had no doubts and kindly directed us to the Arpad Baksa Architect website for a look at what's to come. And then the mystery deepened.
Comments
1) In last week's 
