All stories about "Kent Swig"

More UWS Nondos: Swig Cashes Out On Fancy Toppings

Those Upper West Side condo plans sure are dropping like flies, aren't they? OK, maybe not, but following Extell's abandonment of condo conversion plans at the 86-unit rental building at 10 West 65th Street comes word of another UWS building sale involving a local real estate heavyweight run by a kooky character. Kent Swig had planned on dropping a pair of condo additions on top of 201 West 92nd Street and 200 West 93rd Street (right), adjoining rental properties that Swig Equities had picked up for a combined $54 million. That was before the controversy, and before Swig decided to put the whole thing on the market. Now, The Real Deal reports that the 134-unit rental complex has finally sold, for $61 million (previous asking prices were $90 million and then $72 million). The buyer, 92nd Street Equities, reportedly plans to continue operating the buildings as rental properties, though there are those 125,000 square feet of very tempting air rights...
· Swig sells UWS rental buildings [TRD]
· Take a Swig of the UWS [Curbed]

CurbedWire: Hot Harlem Mess, As the Sheffield Turns

HARLEM—Every now and then, we like to see some photos of real estate anti-porn, just to cleanse the palate. Which leads us to the above. Writes a tipster, "Speculators in Harlem continue to hold onto burnt out brownstones in the hope that the prices for these shells will continue to move skyward (buying a shell for $1.3 only to spend three times that renovating it!?!?). Here's an example at 240 West 123rd Street. The roof is gone, rainwater seeps into the adjacent buildings, and the front yard is a rat infested dump (literally). The facade has now come crashing down (for the second time) causing the police to decorate with yellow caution tape. Worse: The owner RENTS across the street and is indifferent." There are a few DOB complaints registered over the past couple days complaining about the crumbling structure. [CurbedWire Inbox]

HELL'S KITCHEN—The battle between developer Kent Swig and the rent-stabilized tenants, market-rate tenants, condo buyers and marching bands at his Sheffield 57 building is so out of control that we have no idea what this means or if it's true: "A 7A Proceeding was filed against the owners of the Sheffield57 condo building by the Rent Stabilized Tennants Association. At the first court date on May 29th Swig's atty's got a postponment. As a result of the filing, the judge placed a lien against the building. The next trial date is scheduled for June 19th. Stay tuned." Ah yes, the famed 7A. They have good brunch, right? [CurbedWire Inbox]

Nobu Hotel, Like its Patrons, Will be Tall & Skinny

Now that the confusion regarding the location of the Nobu Hotel has been cleared up, Braden Keil has the reveal on what the Financial District's Robert De Niro-backed luxury hotel/condo will look like—and surprise, it's another huge all-glass tower for our little island. According to developer Kent Swig there will be 77 "super-luxury" condos on floors 41 through 62, and 128 hotel rooms and 13,000-square-feet of retail space below. The Nobu restaurant will be on the third floor of the six-story transparent base. Moed de Armas & Shannon designed the curvy exterior of 45 Broad Street, and the ubiquitous Rockwell Group will be handling the guts. So! The Nobu Hotel, the W Hotel & Residences, the Four Seasons—can the FiDi really handle all of these hotel hybrids?
· Just Say Nobu [NYP]
· CurbedWire Special: De Niro's FiDi Hotel NOT at 50 Broad [Curbed]
· De Niro Jumps on FiDi Bandwagon: Nobu Hotel Coming! [Curbed]

CurbedWire Special: De Niro's FiDi Hotel NOT at 50 Broad

FINANCIAL DISTRICT—We were wondering how Robert De Niro's Nobu Hotel would fit 140 hotel rooms and condo units into the smallish horseshoe of 50 Broad Street, and now we know: the Nobu Hotel will not be at 50 Broad Street, as reported. Here's the story:

There is work being done at 50 Broad St., which may have confused the matter, but the work is being led by the long-term ownership, 50 Broad Street Inc., as part of a multi-million dollar restoration project to improve the buildings systems and restore its stone façade, among other improvements. Cushman & Wakefield is the leasing and managing agent for the property and is overseeing the project.

So where is this darn thing going? It turns out that the correct site is 45 Broad Street, which used to be the building at right but is being turned into a 47-story mixed-use building (that'd be your Nobu Hotel) by developer Kent Swig's Swig Equities. [CurbedWire Inbox]

As the Sheffield Turns: Buyer's Remorse? Nah, Just Rage

Few buildings inspire as much rage as the Sheffield 57—developer Kent Swig's conversion of a 50-story Hell's Kitchen rental building to luxury condo opulence. The conversion itself was extremely controversial, and the battle took an ugly turn when a very hungry marching band showed up to cause a ruckus. Now, one disgruntled Sheffield 57 buyer believes he has some answers, and he'd like to tell you all about it:

I am a little surprised by the lack of real concern from the prospective purchasers of the condo units. Anytime i have asked sales office at sheffield any questions, i have not gotten satisfactory answers.

Here are but a few...

Actually, it's more like a lot more questions. >>

As the Sheffield Turns: Marching Band Just Wanted a Nosh

In this week's Observer, developer Kent Swig sits down and reflects on one of the most legendary moments in Curbed history: when he sent in a marching band to drown out a protest at his controversial conversion of the Sheffield on West 57th Street. His explanation is priceless, so without further ado:

What about the marching band?
The marching band was there at our invitation. And the invitation was we were going to be doing a big feast or something for kids and it was coinciding with the time that some of the elected officials decided that they would have a demonstration about asbestos. So, I did not cancel it because I was very irritated at the fact that the elected officials incorrectly—and, in my opinion, knowingly incorrectly—were out there demonstrating that we had asbestos in the building.

There you have it, folks. The marching band was always going to be there that day, because Kent Swig was having a big feast for kids, or something.
· Kent Swig is Everywhere [NYO]
· As the Sheffield Turns: We Think We Love Kent Swig [Curbed]
· As the Sheffield Turns: Swig Sends In the Band! [Curbed]

Take a Swig of the UWS

Developer Kent Swig's condo conversion experience at the Sheffield on 57th Street has been nothing short of a nightmare, which may be why he now appears to be a motivated seller on another controversial property in his portfolio. Swig bought adjoining properties on the Upper West Side—201 West 92nd Street and 200 West 93rd Street—for $54 million, and he planned on using the buildings' air rights to tack on some condofied additions on top. Pissed tenants and local politicians managed to get him to back off for a while by getting the DOB involved. Then the Daily Intel reported in April that Massey Knakel had the listing for the buildings, at $90 million. That flip would have been a good way for Swig to back out with his head held high, but now the buildings have popped up with Eastern Consolidated for a far reduced $72 million. Interestingly, according to the listing, the rooftop extensions have been approved, and a building permit is expected by the end of the month. At least if it sells, Swig won't have to be the guy who calls in the marching band.
· Listing: 201 West 92nd Street [Eastern Conslidated]
· On the Upper West Side, a Rare Win for Tenants [Daily Intel]

As the Sheffield Turns: We Think We Love Kent Swig

Ladies and gentlement, the Sheffield57 protest ... with marching band.
· As the Sheffield Turns: Swig Sends In the Band! [Curbed]
· As the Sheffield Turns: Stabies Throw Some Jabs [Curbed]

As the Sheffield Turns: Swig Sends In the Band!

There are at least seven circles of crazy in New York City real estate, and the situation at Sheffield57—Kent Swig's condo-conversion project on West 57th—seems intent on plumming each of them. A Curbed reader sends along the latest report from the front lines:

Any idea what the fuck was going on at the Sheffield 57 on Sunday afternoon?

Residents (like me) of the neighboring Parc Vendome Apartments were awakened at 10:30am on Sunday to the sounds of a 20(?) piece marching band just outside our private garden—in the public space between the PV and the Sheffield. Apparently 6 or so residents of the Sheffield obtained a permit to quietly demonstrate against the Sheffield's condo conversion. But Sheffield owner Kent Swig got wind of it ahead of time and hired a huge marching band to drown them out. The band played for over 4 hours on on otherwise peaceful Sunday morning and afternoon, destroying the day for the whole neighborhood.

We'd be disinclined to believe this could have happened were it not for a Metro blurb today confirming same. Anyone else catch the theatrics? Further reports from the scene requested, nay, demanded.
· During Swig Protest, The Marching Band Played On [Metro]
· As the Sheffield Turns: Stabies Throw Some Jabs [Curbed]

As the Sheffield Turns: Stabies Throw Some Jabs

As developer Kent Swig appeals the court decision that would allow 23 market-rate tenants to continue living in his Sheffield57 condo conversion project, the Observer's Matthew Schuerman catches up with both sides of this ongoing saga. The 80 or so rent-stabilized tenants, who are allowed to stay no matter what, are charging that the renovation of the 48-story building is not being conducting properly, including a little cameo from that old nemesis, asbestos. While they enlist politicians to their cause, Schuerman takes a stroll through the building:

On a recent tour of the building, The Observer saw that tiles in many hallways had been removed and coated with some sort of material and that the stucco-like ceilings had been sanded down. Wallpaper had also been removed; one of the elevators was off-limits; and the sweet smell of mold hung in the air.

Yum. Said Swig of the renovations: "Frankly, the residents have hit the lottery—they are going to end up with one of the finest buildings in New York City, and the rent-stabilized tenants are going to be able to stay in the building with regulated rents.” Yeah, so you take your asbestos and you effin' like it!
· The Sheffield Conversion, Always With the Hold-Ups [NYO]
· Sheffield Conversion Sparking 'Civil War'? [Curbed]
· Sheffield57 [Official Site]