With the Thompson LES nearly open (fingers crossed), HotelChatter drops by Thompson's hotel-condo Smyth Tribeca for an update: "Scoping out the site ourselves revealed that not only are they progressing nicely despite structural concerns, but you can already walk through their lobby at 85 West Broadway. Don't think you're just around the corner from checking in; what we mean is they've injected a pedestrian walkway right into the first floor construction, allowing any passers-by to tromp right through what will someday be a scene to rival the Saturday night wait for Plunge at The Gansevoort." [HC]
How much dazzling European-bred starchitecture can one small swath of Tribeca handle? We're about to find out! On tiny Franklin Place, between Broadway and Church Street, Dutch wonderboy Ben van Berkel's black and bendy5 Franklin Place is set to rise 20 stories. Just one block over, at 56 Leonard Street (at Church), Swiss misters Herzog and de Meuron will go even bigger—a fact that 56 Leonard developer Alexico Group has finally acknowledged (though they've hinted at it, and there's nothing really secret about the Street View image seen above). In a press release just sent out, Alexico announced the hiring of the 40 Bond architects to drum up something special for the site, though the designs have been under wraps for months. The renderings will not be revealed until the fall. But Alexico, now having to compete with Berkel's burka for luxury bucks, has an ace up its sleeve. Alexico has also commissioned artist Anish Kapoor (of Sky Mirror fame) to create a sculpture that will have a permanent home on the ground floor of 56 Leonard. What's up now, Benny boy?
· Exclusive: Herzog and de Meuron Go 57 Stories in Tribeca [Curbed]
TRIBECA—A special Curbed correspondent found that the fence was going up this morning at the triange park below Canal Street at Varick that will become CaVaLa Park, which will come complete with its own faux canal. Get those picnic baskets ready. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WORLD TRADE CENTER—Reaction to the very elongated and unclear time line for the World Trade Center project have been less than enthusiastic today, and then there's developer Larry Silverstein's statement: "As of today, my company's projects – Towers 2, 3 and 4 – are fully designed and on schedule. Construction of Towers 3 and 4 is underway, and all three buildings are slated for completion, as projected, by the end of 2012. As demonstrated by the success of 7 World Trade Center, as well as other recent developments in the area, Downtown is energized like never before. It is vital that we maintain that momentum and finish the rebuilding.” [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—We thought that the Toll Brothers North8 development on Kent Avenue had already gained all of its Temporary Certificates of Occupancy, given that the first was issued at the beginning of the year, but apparently not. A tipster writes: "The rest of the building finally got the TCO. Only half the residents have been able to move in so far. The original move in dates ranged from January 2007-August 2007. I guess a year and half late is not so bad for a 6 story building." [CurbedWire Inbox]
The silliness over truffles seems endless, and developer Jack Parker has only added to the nonsense with the recent addition of some very teeny and oddly-placed openings on his black 'n' bulky development down at 450 Washington Street. No doubt we've all heard of doggy doors, but piggy portals are new to us. Perhaps swine must be free to roam. After all, an ungulate's return from late night wanderings might become bothersome to the hog's housemates. Maybe we're confusing their boar-ish behavior with the actions of those involved in another downtown menagerie. Is there some allusion to a sow's ear that we could toss in here? A mention of a pig's snout would at least bring us full circle. But enough said for now. We'll open that door when we come to it.
"Dear Curbed, say I wanted to rent out my massive loft in TriBeCa to vacationing Eurotrash or whatnot. Is there an agency that specializes in short term rentals? Besides Craigslist." Gotta be, though we're drawing a blank. Thoughts? [CurbedWire Inbox]
Tribeca's 200 Chambers Street, where residents are complaining about smoky apartments, was apparently quite the scene on Saturday night, the Post reports: "The pajama-clad super of a ritzy lower Manhattan high-rise chased a burglar but was mistakenly grabbed by security guards when the wily thief screamed for help, police sources said ... A building tenant convinced the guards they had the wrong guy and cops arrested the suspect, Michael Estrada, 38, of Queens, nearby. He allegedly looted a woman's apartment of more than $3,000 in jewelry before trying to get into the super's flat." Flat? Really? The foreigners really have taken over the condo market. [NYP; previously]
Then: $2,250,000 Now: $2,195,000 You Save!: $55,000!
Crisis: You're listing a condo that has just had a run-in with the chopper, but you've just had a bunch of fliers printed up for the big mailing campaign. Solution: Print the new price on a bunch of stickers to cover up the evidence, and mail away! And as a bonus, when curious homebuyers peel away the sticker they'll see that they are getting a bargain! The apartment in this case of sticker chop is in Tower 270, at the northwest corner of City Hall Park. The flier was received by a Curbed Photo Pool contributor, who notes, "Seems the market is moving so fast that they didn't even have time to print up new fliers!" Hey, at least it's eco-friendly.
· Listing: 270 Broadway [Stribling]
· "Grand Tribeca Living" [Curbed Photo Pool/darrellsilver]
In the early '90s, before Tribeca had an established historic district, architect Vincenzo Polsinelli won accolades for restoring the cast iron façade at 172 Duane Street while adding modern touches. Now, however, he is not winning many fans with his plan to add a four-story concrete and steel addition behind several three-story sheets of glass. While not totally opposed to the proposal, which would create an 8,000-square-foot single-family megamansion, the Landmarks Preservation Commission did send Polsinelli back to the drawing board, suggesting that a scaled-down version may work. According to the Dowtown Express, the 15-foot void between the glass and new structure would be taken up with a winter garden. The commission "voiced concerns that the proposed addition’s modern façade would overpower the two-story building’s historic frontage below," but opponents were more direct, calling the plan to demolish the bulk of the building while saving the frontage "façadism." Well, it ain't Pearl Street, that's for sure.
· Landmarks to Tribeca architect: Addition needs some subtraction [Downtown Express]
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