All stories about "Two Trees"

At one time, 110 Livingston Street—Two Trees Management's condo conversion (plus glassy addition) to the old Board of Education building designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1926—was the hottest project in Downtown Brooklyn, and perhaps all of Brooklyn. The 300-unit building was a bona fide phenomenon, becoming the most commented upon topic in Curbed history and launching DoBro into a new stratosphere of high expectations. But buried in a Times story yesterday about Brooklyn developers turning Manhattan-style luxury condos into Manhattan-style luxury rentals, a stunning reveal: Two Trees ended up renting out 40 units at 110 Livingston. By our advanced calculations, that's over 10% of the building! Now, we knew that some apartments went rental, and when those embarrassing subway ads went up, we knew it was probably more than the initially announced crop of six. But ... 40? What happened to the pre-release interest list of over 1,800 names? Why, when the building "sold out," did a Two Trees rep tell the Brooklyn Eagle, "It's done. It's completely sold out. We sold 300 units in 11 months." Two Trees is making solid bank off the rentals, sure, but we hate it when young phenoms don't live up to their potential. Wake us when the Real World hits the 'hood.
· 110 Livingston Getting Some Culture via Gowanus [Curbed]
· CurbedWire: 110 Livingston Gets Graphed [Curbed]
· All 110 Livingston coverage [Curbed]

  Comments

Jed Walentas, 33, sat down with the Observer's Dana Rubinstein to discuss his growing role at father David's real estate empire, Dumbo megadeveloper Two Trees. It's a revealing interview, and we're happy to see that Jed has dropped the sweater thing (right) in favor of a more haggard hipster look. We also find out that he calls his dad David (not, you know, Dad) and he's not afraid to drop the F-bomb. Also, his office is very messy. Oh, and then there's the stuff about work:

On taking over the reins at Two Trees: "I think I certainly run the business here, in terms of running all the people. … On the one hand, [partner and college buddy] Amish and I can talk David into almost anything if we feel strongly enough about it. And on the other hand, there’s nobody here with better real estate judgment than he has. And I'm certainly not doing anything that he doesn't want us to be doing."

On David's obsession with details: "He can spend three hours with Laura, an architect here, looking at carpet samples. I'm like, 'David, don't you have anything better to do with your fucking time? Like, are you serious?'"

  Comments

Two Trees' Clinton Park proposal would bring a hot dose of Enrique Norten starchitecture to a desolate corner of Hell's Kitchen, so of course the local community board wants nothing to do with it. But the Walentas boys keep on keepin' on, which is fine by us if they keep releasing more awesome renderings of Norten's massive mixed-use zig-zag. Reminder: 900 rental apartments above, a car dealership, NYPD facility and retail galore below. The location is between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and 53rd and 54th Streets, near DeWitt-Clinton Park on a former Verizon parking lot. Here are all the deets. This latest rendering, featuring a lot more detail than previous versions and providing a nice look down at the terraces, comes by way of The Real Estate, who tease a Walentas interview on Wednesday. It looks like the Kings of Dumbo are digging in for a fight in Hell's Kitchen.
· The Redefined Rental Starts Here: New Rendering of Walentases' Clinton Park [TRE]
· Two Trees Digging Straight into Hell [Curbed]
· Two Trees' Clinton Park in Awesome, S-Shaped Detail [Curbed]

  Comments

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

We can't quite call these photos of the huge plot of land between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and 53rd and 54th Streets a Construction Watch, because Two Trees' Clinton Park proposal for the site is still not approved. The Walentas gang still needs Community Board 4 to rezone the former parking lot for residential use, but that decision has yet to come. Still, it's full steam ahead on the excavation, located near DeWitt Clinton Park in fabulous Hell's Kitchen. The plans call for a zig-zagging Enrique Norten design featuring 900 apartments, a big retail base and more. So much more.
· Two Trees' Clinton Park in Awesome, S-Shaped Detail [Curbed]
· Two Trees Rides into Hell on Bolt of Lightning [Curbed]
· Walentas Gang Raising Hell With TEN Arquitectos [Curbed]

  Comments

[All renderings courtesy TEN Arquitectos]

Can't get enough of Two Trees' Clinton Park, the massive mixed-use development proposed for a Hell's Kitchen wasteland? Yeah, neither can we, so here—straight from the brain of architect Enrique Norten—are a couple more looks at the zig-zagging Hell's Kitchen design. To refresh your memory: 900 apartments, retail, health club, auto dealerships and an NYPD facility on a 100,000-square-foot former Verizon parking lot between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues near Clinton-DeWitt Park. Controversy: the land isn't currently zoned residential, and the local Community Board ain't really feeling it. But enough about all that for now. Let's just enjoy this crazy thing! Above, looking east across Eleventh Avenue.

Back in October, Dumbo overlords Two Trees filed scoping plans for the former Verizon parking lot the company had scooped up in Hell's Kitchen for a cool $130 million. Bounded by Tenth and Eleventh Avenues and 53rd and 54th Streets, we knew the so-called Clinton Park project would be big: a 100,000-square-foot parcel with 900 apartments and new facilities for the NYPD's horsie unit. What we didn't know was how WHOA! architect Enrique Norten's design would be. CityRealty has the first look, and—once again—WHOA! The S-shaped plan also includes auto dealerships, a health club, retail and 225 parking spaces. To make sense of the wonky elevation, we leave it to CityRealty...

And now, the latest from Racked, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.

1) FiDi: There's a retail side of today's 99 Church news. Larry Silverstein let slip that some big retail names are "sniffing around FiDi," among them Barney's.

2) Cobble Hill: Anyone holding their breath for the Trader Joe's at Court and Atlantic to open any time soon, might want to inhale and exhale a bit. Here's why they might otherwise turn blue.

3) Cobble Hill: A bit further west on Atlantic Avenue, it will be a bit longer before the hip and indie goods can be gotten at the new Urban Outfitters.

4) Central Village: If you are among the legions of haters of the pop-up Toys "R" Us in the old Tower Records, Racked has good news.

Last week's CurbedWire report of a subway ad campaign for rentals in the allegedly sold-out 110 Livingston—Two Trees Management's pride of Downtown Brooklyn—omitted one crucial point. A special Curbed tipster sends in the above photos and clues us in:

So, LAST weekend I was in the Borough Hall station in Brooklyn and I saw this ad for 110 Livingston. Adding to the ignominy of the poor residents of that building, the Two Trees marketing department has put ads up around the area that were clearly not very well copy-edited. Note the non-nonsensical hilarity that results when one omits the word "to" in the first line of the ad.

Yesterday's eviscerating takedown of a new Robert Scarano building in (where else?) Williamsburg seems to have revved up the engines of those who wish to question the progress of the building boom. So, what better activity on a Friday than to give them their soapbox?

1) 110 Livingston: Two Trees' sold-out conversion of the old Board of Education office building in Downtown Brooklyn made some headlines when a buyer sued the developers for misrepresenting square-footage, and now another Livingstoner has some fairly serious accusations:

We residents of 110 Livingston are going to have to go after Walentas AGAIN. First we were lied to about our square footage when we bought, then the construction workers that were here steal from us (you get a little upset). Then it just gets better when the Heating & Air system was not working forever!!! And gosh forbid you turn on your water. You never know what your going to get HOT or COLD. Speaking of water, now it seems many in the building have MOLD yes I didn't exaggerate MOLD. Probably from all the FLOODS that have occurred in the building. Not to say I'm not glad about something I can finally use my intercom every once in a while. Who knows when I will be able to use it all the time. WE PAID ENOUGH FOR OUR HOMES TO EXPECT BETTER.

Would any other 110 Livingston residents care to comment?

TRIBECA—Ah, the "urban jungle." A special Curbed correspondent checks in on 101 Warren Street and finds a crane outside ready to hoist trees to the roof. He reports that there are "no trees to be seen, but clearly the crane is for hoisting them onto the third floor, where that orange mesh is. "101 mature white pine trees" are destined to go on that 35,000-square-foot roof. They will be "rooted in about six feet of topsoil that was delivered in November, along with riverbed stone and about 300 shrubs." The upcoming Tribeca Whole Foods is part of the $450 million complex. [CurbedWire Inbox]

DUMBO—A reader writes with tantalizing rumor about David Walentas' controversial plans for a new building on Dock Street: "I live at 70 Wash. Heard a rumor this morning that Walentas has released a revised design for the Dock Street building (the one with the middle school). Can't find anything online. Any ides or pics?" Our 24-hour tip line will be accepting intel and/or photos on that one, friends. [CurbedWire Inbox]

WEST SIDE—Everyone's seen the Hudson Yards proposal renderings, now they can see the live presentations from the development teams. An email informs that "On Monday evening, December 3, representatives of the design teams for the proposals will present their schemes in a public program co-sponsored by a group of architecture and civic organizations. This is the first public program at which these proposals will be presented." The show will be from 6-8:30 at the Great Hall at Cooper Union. [CurbedWire Inbox]

And to think, it all started with this summary of a June 2006 Times story about the conversion of the old Board of Ed building on Livingston Street in downtownish Brooklyn. Who knew what sort of journey 110 Livingston would eventually take us on, especially when that original story claimed that 1,800 people were on the waiting list before the building even went on sale. But now, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, the 300-unit condo development is completely sold out. There are some follow-up questions of course, like why Two Trees says the building sold out in 11 months when it appears to us that it was more like 15 (maybe they're timing it from the first official closing?). Also, did buyers suddenly swoop in to purchase those unsold units that were being rented out by Two Trees just a couple of weeks ago? If so, then color us impressed. Congrats, 110 Livingston, it's been a good ride. We look forward to all the emails we'll be receiving from future tenants (and yes, there will be emails).
· 110 Livingston Conversion Sells Out [Brooklyn Eagle]
· BREAKING: Two Trees Renting Unsold Livingston Units [Curbed]
· 110 Livingston Residents in 'Window Rebellion' [Curbed]

Remember the building that the Walentases want to put up next to the one they're renovating for Trade Joe's at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street? It's been trimmed. A City Council subcommittee voted against allowing a 60-foot-tall building in the Cobble Hill Historic District, where the height limit is 50 feet. Preservationists saw an exception to the rule as a Trojan Horse that would have flung the doors open to all manner of end runs around historic district rules. Two Trees has maintained it needed the extra size to generate money to preserve the landmark Independence Savings Bank building where Trader Joe's is going. Two Trees now has to go back to the Department of City Planning and the Landmarks Commission with a new plan, presumably minus the offending ten feet. Jed Walentas told the Brooklyn Paper that his mother once told him not to say anything at all if he had nothing nice to say and said nothing about the decision.
· Council trims Two Trees plan [Brooklyn Paper]
· Does Walentas' Size Matter on Atlantic Avenue? [Curbed]
· Markowitz to Two Trees: Love 'Ya, But... [Curbed]

COBBLE HILL—The news earlier today about the Two Trees effort to break the allowable height in the Cobble Hill Historic District by ten feet led a special correspondent to send photos of the site next to the future Brooklyn Trader Joe's. According to the sign, the finish date on the project is October 1, 2008. If they get quick final approval, of course. [CurbedWire Inbox]

SOHO—Could there be progress on a Prince Street bike lane? A reader emails to say, "In the past week, No Standing Anytime signs have gone up on the north side of Prince St, where parking used to be allowed on weekends and after 6pm weekdays." [CurbedWire Inbox]

WILLIAMSBURG—To follow up on a Rumbling about the empty lot at N. 10th and Roebling that may or may not be the site of building that Enrique Norten would design and may or may not be the Burg project with which Michael Shvo had alluded he would be involved, a tipster emails: "I heard thru the grapevine that this project is dead and has been for months. The developer canceled the project." [CurbedWire Inbox]

GREENPOINT—And, finally, there is this email which came to our inbox: "Remember my bed-bug ridden, mushroom farm of an apartment in Greenpoint's Astral? Still don't remember? My super likes to take amateur porn photos in his spare time? Well, my roommate just called to see what the new rent will be on this 'rent-stabilized' apartment and Pistilli, the management company, plans to raise it to $1,900/mo for whomever is the next pour soul to inhabit this hell hole for which I currently pay $1,425/mo. " [CurbedWire Inbox]

In August, the Walentas' Two Trees Management sent an email out to the 110 Livingston waiting list saying that some buyers in the hot-shit Downtown Brooklyn building had backed out of their contracts, and the units were returning to the market at slight discounts. Word got out, and Two Trees then claimed it was all a marketing ploy, and the building would be sold-out in no time. Oh really? A Curbed source has passed along word that Two Trees is now looking to rent six unsold units, which include three 1BR apartments ($2,900-$3,200/month), two 2BRs ($4,300-$4,850/month) and a 3BR for $6,000. Is there any shame in simply trying to occupy a handful of remaining units with renters? When there's this much hubris involved, yes.

[Photo courtesy of McBrooklyn]

Those holes in the 110 Livingston banner? Looks like some of the new residents were "a little upset about not being able to use the windows," according to McBrooklyn, which got the shot of the now Swiss Cheese-looking ad. Oh, and in case you're interested, residents on the west-facing side of the building are sounding a little perturbed about a less easy to solve problem that is going to impact their views.
· A Window Rebellion at 110 Livingston [McBrooklyn]
· Beware West-Facing Apartment Shoppers [110 Livingston Forum]
· Curbed Wire: 110 Livingston Cabanas [Curbed]

As you might have guessed from that photo of Two Trees scion Jed Walentas rocking the tropical look at the Trader Joe's Brooklyn press conference, Two Trees owns 130 Court Street, the building that will house the grocer. It's no surprise that excitable Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is very pumped about TJ's coming to BK, but apparently the pro-development pol is not so thankful that he's going to let the Walentas do whatever they want. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Markowitz has come out against Two Trees' plan to build a six story annex on a neighboring parking lot, because the proposal is 10 feet too high for the existing zoning within the Cobble Hill Historic District. Said Markowitz (who has granted other exceptions on the site): "Should this intrusion be granted, it would set a precedent for other sites throughout the entire district to seek such an exception.” Of course, Markowitz's flip-flopping on such issues gives the Brooklyn Paper the perfect excuse to trot out a highly entertaining Marty Markowitz/Atlantic Yards op-ed that's sort of a greatest hits of complaints about the project. From off in the distance, a single "Oy vey!" is heard.
· Beep blocks a part of Joe’s [Brooklyn Paper]
· Trader Joensing: Brooklyn Brokers Already Using TJ's To Push Apartments [Racked]
· Racked Liveblog: Trader Joe's Comes to Brooklyn! [Racked]

While the New York real estate market holds steady in the face of mortgage massacre '07, could the affects of the credit crunch be starting to seep through just a wee bit? In July, the white-hot Two Trees development at 110 Livingston in downtown Brooklyn had just 8% of its units left on the market, and all was well. Yesterday, the following email was sent out to 110 Livingston wait-listers:

Thank you for your interest in 110 Livingston. In every project, for many different reasons, customers fall out of contract. Now that closings are well underway at 110, we have a few customers who have not proceeded with purchasing their homes.

The benefit to you is two-fold. Not only do you now have a home configuration available to you that may have been sold out, but the price points will be lower as well.

This is an incredible opportunity to find a good deal in the building, so please contact me if you are still interested in purchasing a home. As I stated previously, we only have a few homes which fall under this category so chances are they will not last on the market.

When a grainy photo taken inside Two Trees Management's office shows up, we pay attention. When that photo shows a model of the Dumbo neighborhood we all know and love—but with some bonus features—we break out the red numbers. Here is Dumbo: the Director's Cut, now openly on display in a Walentas lobby near you:

1) Looks like the controversial Dock Street development is a given in the Walentas' hypothetical future Dumbo. What say you, angry mob?
2) Is that Jane Walentas' painfully restored 1922 carousel? You bet it is! We already know that this sucker will wind up in Brooklyn Bridge Park one day, but it's nice to see they're giving it a prime spot.
3) Here we have the Empire Warehouses, which reportedly will wind up as a performing arts venue, sporting a nice Brooklyn Dodgers tribute.
4) Holy shit, a marina?! Well, there ain't a Dock Street for nothing, kids. For what it's worth, we're hearing that the Two Trees gang doesn't actually think a marina will happen, it's just a dream. And what a dream! Jeeves, I'll take my highball on the schooner!

As our anonymous tipster points out, "Walentas is going into master builder mode," but it's not like Dumbo's First Fam hasn't been kicking it into high gear already.
· Two Trees Prankster: Know Your Future Black Monolith [Curbed]
· New Two Trees Dumbo Building is About Kids & Steel [Curbed]

Opponents of Two Trees' planned Dock Street development—the one that's "all about the kids"—are getting very clever in their online campaign to stop the proposal in its tracks. If you recall, the development could block some of Dumbo's precious bridge views, including some from other Two Trees buildings. This fell into our inbox over the weekend:

To whom it may concern,

In order to best represent the impact the proposed Dock Street development will have on advertised Bridge views at its other developments, Two Trees is altering its promotional materials. Included you will find the *amended* view of a 70 Washington Street cabana, which have begun to sell for as high as $325k. Sadly, this advertised Bridge view will no longer contain the Bridge... and we regret not having made this information available sooner. However, now that the units are mostly sold, we intend to update our website shortly, to be as forthcoming as possible. We understand that our Dock Street project web site rendering foreshortens the
building in a manner not to emphasize this impact, so we are taking this opportunity to be explicit.

In the meantime, we have a lot of pictures to update.

Thank you,

Two Tree Management

You will recall, of course, the Dumbo office crime wave. After we ran the item about break-ins at Two Trees' 45 Main Street, the Brooklyn Paper picked up the story and reported that, indeed, there have been nine incidents in the building with no arrests. Now, a reader writes in with this similar tale: "A client of mine was burglarized in DUMBO in early July. Their offices are on Jay Street. The burglars tore through the sheetrock wall and stole all of my client's computers and cameras." Quite similar! So our tipster asked the client for an update, and here's the response:

last week they caught this guy who was identified to be the one who had robbed 12 offices and 14 cars over the past few months. funny thing is he had robbed these spots in broad daylight. the last thing i heard from the police was that there wasnt enough evidence against him to keep him so they had to let him go.

As popular as Two Trees' 110 Livingston has been—mercifully, the comments have stopped—there are still some good seats available inside the Brooklyn building. We know this because a flyer currently making the rounds advertises not only a cocktail reception for buyers in the building's courtyard, but also a refer-a-friend program. Get a buddy to snatch up one of the 25 remaining units (there are 300 in total), and you get your common charges taken care of for six months. It looks like Two Trees really wants to push this building along, perhaps for the "Sold out!" PR benefits, because 10% of the units at the much older 70 Washington are still sitting on the market without so much as a peep.
· Brooklynites Buying Brooklyn Condos! [Curbed]
· 110 Livingston's Summer Blockbuster [Curbed]
· 110 Livingston [Official Site]

Office buildings aren't usually our beat, but when a reader report arrives alleging a crime spree at one of Dumbo's tonier office spots, we're inclined to give the issue a fair hearing. Reports our aggrieved tipster,

For awhile now office spaces at 45 Main Street building (owned by Walentas and managed by Two Trees) have been continuously getting broken into through the walls for a total of NINE times. A suspect duo team used the claw end of a hammer to break through the cheap and thin walls of the office spaces to steal expensive and portable electronics including laptops. Despite repeated requests and pleas from tenants, Two Trees has maintained that 'all tenants assume all responsibility for the security of their office space.' Unless a tenant becomes a victim in common areas of the building, Two Trees claims no responsibility. This, despite the increased police surveillance, has not stopped the thieves, as the 9th robbery (4 of them on the 10th floor alone) hit a photographer's office for the SECOND time after Two Trees had patched up the wall on a few weeks before.

[Rendering courtesy Beyer Blinder Belle]

Was it just last night that we were waxing rhapsodic about our love for all things David Walentas over cocktails? In fact, it was. Comes this morning to the Curbed inbox the above rendering for a new Dumbo mixed-use development from Two Trees Management, which is of course Walentas' development company. It's set on the St. Ann's Warehouse/Nova Clutch building site bounded by Water, Dock and Front Street, a stone's throw from the Brooklyn Bridge, and includes 400 apartments. Parsing the press release, however, the headline—"TWO TREES ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MIXED-USE PROJECT IN DUMBO"—offers a hint of what part of the development Two Trees hopes will win over neighbors. (Public School: the new must-have luxury amenity!) As to what impact this move will have on the Bridgehampton polo scene, only time will tell.
· Two Trees Plans Mixed-Use Building Next to Bridge [Brownstoner]

Via the 110 Livingston blog—yes, the 110 Livingston blog—we found the latest addition to the website for the beloved Brooklyn development (comments still going!). Head on over and click on Testimonials, and you will be treated to a truly bizarre mini-movie featuring "buyers" who are really really pumped about someday living at 110 Livingston, and Two Trees Management in general. There are about a dozen amazing lines in the video ("When someone asks you where you're from, you say 'I'm from Brooklyn.' There's something to that."), but there is only one true star: The Linda Richman-like lady with the daughter(?) straight out of 1986 (above). We want to meet/marry her, if only to hear her say, "It's majestic. It's gorgeous." over and over and over again. This is a must-watch.
· 110 Livingston [Official Site]
· 110 Livingston—the Movie [110livinston.net]
· First Look Inside 110 Livingston [Curbed]

What we have here is a glimpe inside an unfinished unit in Two Trees Development's 110 Livingston, the most-discussed development of all time. This comes via a Craigslist rental ad, forwarded by our suddenly favorite Curbed tipster. From the ad:

This apartment is on the 7th floor and is facing South onto Schermerhorn Street. Large livingroom with separation for dining and entertainment. Large bedroom with walk-in closet and additional closet storage-space. Oversized soundproof windows guarantee great light all day. Spectacular kitchen with Sub-zero refrigerator and viking cooktop. A Bosch washer and dryer is installed in your apartment. Custom porcelain fixtures in the bathroom including large Jacuzzi and separate glass enclosed shower. Individual heating and air conditioning unit in each apartment. Gym is located in building and there is a spectacular roofdeck for you to enjoy all year. Should be available for late April move-in.