Midtown Manhattan Hospitality Market Heating Up with New EVEN, SpringHill Hotels

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) recently announced it has decided on a second location for its new EVEN Hotels property in New York City, falling under an ownership group led by long-time business partners Frank Chan and Lance Steinberg. Located at 321 West 35^th St. in Midtown Manhattan, the new EVEN Hotels property will add 150 guest rooms over 25 floors to the city’s ever-growing hospitality market.

The EVEN Hotels brand was designed for business and leisure travelers who like to keep a healthy and active lifestyle. The brand was launched by IHG in February 2012 with a focus on wellness space, from offering state-of-the-art gym and workout spaces to healthier food options, as well as peaceful design elements and amenities.

“The wellness industry continues to grow, and the need for a hotel brand like this one has never been greater,” said co-owner Lance Steinberg in a statement for the press. “IHG’s innovative approach to brand creation and the strength of their portfolio made them the ideal choice for our first venture into the hotel real estate business.”

The 77,000-square-foot EVEN Hotel in Midtown Manhattan is expected to open mid-year in 2015.

In October 2012, IHG announced the first-ever EVEN Hotel at 219 East 44^th St. on the east side of Midtown Manhattan, an 87,000-square-foot new-build that is also scheduled to open in 2015. Also co-owned by the Chan-Steinberg partnership, the 23-story facility will have 230 guest rooms, flexible meeting space, and dining areas that will serve healthy food and beverages.

According to IHG, as many as 100 new EVEN Hotels are expected to be signed in the U.S. within the next five years.

In addition to these developments, SpringHill Suites by Marriott recently celebrated its 300^th milestone with the opening of a new hotel at 25 West 37^th St. near Herald Square. The 18-story, 173-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott/Manhattan Fifth Avenue is owned by Robert Finvarb Companies and Hidrock Partners, who also served as the project’s developer.

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Correction: both of the New York City EVEN Hotels are slated for 2015 openings.

 Rendering of the EVEN Hotel via evenhotels.com

 Rendering of  SpringHill Suites by Marriott courtesy of the Robert Finvarb Companies

Yahoo’s New Home in Manhattan

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Hot on the heels of its $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr—the fast-growing social blogging platform, Yahoo! has announced that the company’s New York City-based offices will now move into one central location in Manhattan. According to the media giant’s first post on Tumblr, around 500 employees in three buildings in the Big Apple will be reunited on four full floors in the historic Times Square in the old New York Times building.

Located at 229 West 43^rd Street and designed in stages between 1913 and 1932, the 18-story structure was the headquarters of the New York Times newspaper for more than 90 years.

In 2004, the building was sold by its owner, The New York Times Company—which has been controlled by the Sulzeberger family since 1896, to Tishman Speyer Properties for $175 million. Three years later, Tishman sold the historic building for $525 million to Africa Israel Investments, an Israel-based international holding and investment company.

According to the newspaper itself, Yahoo! is currently negotiating with city officials to place a large neon sign with the company name on top of the building, where The Times’ iconic clock used to be. Yahoo!’s relocation—and possible expansion—is expected to consolidate the presence of tech-giants in Manhattan, as Facebook has already leased space in the area and Microsoft is in the process of moving in.

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Image via Yahoo! on Tumblr

Luxury Assisted Living Facility Opens in White Plains

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A new luxury assisted living complex called The Bristal at White Plains celebrated its official grand opening last week during a ribbon-cutting ceremony that attracted over 200 Worcester County dignitaries, businesspersons and residents.

Developed by a joint venture between the Engel Burman Group and Caiola Partners, The Bristal is located at 305 North St. on the site of the former St. Agnes Hospital, which was shuttered in 2004. The abandoned hospital building was then acquired for $6 million from North Street Communities by Engel Burman, a Garden City-based company that owns and operates several Bristal assisted living communities on Long Island.

“The transformation of this former hospital building into a new state-of-the-art assisted living community is a remarkable achievement,” said Steven Krieger of The Engel Burman Group, who was quoted in a statement for the press. “The Bristal at White Plains is bringing high-quality senior care to Westchester while creating new jobs for the area economy.”

The Bristal at White Plains started receiving residents over the age of 65 in November 2012 and is now nearly 40 percent occupied. Designed by architect David Mammina, the $30 million assisted living facility has all the amenities that resemble a luxury hotel—daily housekeeping and laundry services, a 40-seat cinema, arts and crafts studio, library, spa, private dining room, business center and heated outdoor pool.

The four-story Bristal building can accommodate 148 residents in 136 rental apartments with rents ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 per month, including 32 units dedicated for residents who require memory care.

The North Street facility is Engel Burman’s first completed assisted living facility in Westchester County. A second Bristal community is currently under construction on a 6.5-acre office-park parcel in Armonk. The 105,000-square-foot facility will add 140 rental units with up to 170 beds to Engel Burman‘s portfolio of assisted living properties. The Armonk project is expected to open next year.

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Photo of The Bristal at White Plains via caring.com

Brooklyn’s Gateway Elton Street Moves to Phase II

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Two years after work began on Gateway Elton Street—a three-phase, public-private green housing development in the Spring Creek neighborhood of Brooklyn—representatives of the NYC Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD), along with those from the Hudson Companies, Related Companies and CAMBA Housing Ventures, gathered at the site to celebrate the groundbreaking of the project’s next phase.

The $68 million Phase I at 1149-1166 Elton St. was designed by Danois Architects as a LEED Silver-certifiable residential complex that incorporates a 214,000-watt solar photovoltaic renewable energy system. Gateway Elton Street 1 is a four-building complex totaling 197 low-income energy-efficient rental units that also includes 9,000 square feet of ground level commercial space. As previously reported by Multi-Housing News, 40 apartments at Gateway Elton Street 1 are designated for individuals transitioning from institutional facilities operated by the state Office of Mental Health to independent living.

Gateway Elton Street 2 is being developed under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), a multi-billion dollar initiative that aims to finance 165,000 affordable housing units for half a million New Yorkers by the end of fiscal year 2014.

Located at 516 and 524 Vandalia Ave. and 526 Schroeders Ave. on a formerly city-owned property, the $43.6 million Phase II was designed by MHG Architects and will comprise 175 low-income rental units and 24,000 square feet of retail space in three buildings. As with Phase I, 30 units will be set aside for mentally challenged individuals transitioning to independent living.

According to a recent press release by HPD, Gateway Elton Street 2 will be a LEED Platinum-certifiable development built to meet the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) energy efficiency standards. The development was designed to reduce energy and water waste thanks to a 300,000-watt system of rooftop solar panels and tight building envelope with well-insulated walls, which will translate in lower bills for the tenants and a significantly reduced carbon print. It is estimated that Gateway Elton Street 2 will generate more than 750 construction jobs during the development process and 40 new permanent jobs once the housing complex is complete in 2014.

Construction at the final phase of the project will begin in 2014 and will result in 302 apartments and 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. When fully complete, the development project will carry over one million watts of solar photovoltaic panels that will generate enough electricity for nearly 700 rental units and around 70,000 square feet of commercial space, including a supermarket, childcare center, shops and restaurants.

Please click here for an in-depth report on Brooklyn’s rental market.

Rendering courtesy of Hudson Companies, Inc.

Graffiti Landmark 5Pointz to Be Replaced by Residential Towers

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Long Island City’s 5Pointz, a 90-year-old factory building that has been serving as an outdoor exhibit space for graffiti artists around the world, is slated for demolition as the property’s owners seek a special permit for a zoning variance that would allow them to replace the building with two apartment towers and a luxury shopping center.

Originally known as the Phun Phactory, the venue was established in 1993 under a program called Graffiti Terminators, which encouraged artists to showcase their work in a more formal place. The site is located on Davis Street and Jackson Avenue next to the Court Square subway and currently houses studios that are used as art spaces for which more than 200 artists pay below market-rate rents. Over the years, the site has become a veritable graffiti mecca that is visited by thousands of artists and tourists each year, NY Daily News reports.

In March 2011, the Wolkoff family—who has owned the building for more than four decades—unveiled plans to demolish the property by the end of 2013 and replace it with a new development. According to DNAInfo.com, the proposed residential towers would stand 47 and 41 stories tall and would include around 1,000 market-rate apartments. That is almost twice the number of units that is currently allowed for the site by the Community Board 2 Land Use Committee.

The developer’s plan also calls for a parking garage with 250 spaces, a swimming pool, street level commercial space for retail and artistic use, and a 20,000-square-foot public park at the rear of the development.

Though it is a private property, the former manufacturing plant has been an unofficial landmark of Queens for many years. The prospect of losing this networking hub to a Manhattan-like complex has caused quite a stir among graffiti artists and art lovers who recently gathered outside the building to express their disappointment at the proposed development.

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Image of the 5Pointz complex via 5ptz.com

Rendering of the proposed redevelopment via the 5Pointz Plan

Morris Court to Bring 201 Affordable Units to the South Bronx

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A full city block bound by 142nd Street, 143rd Street and Morris Avenue in the South Bronx is being transformed into a mixed-income residential complex as a joint venture by lead developers Azimuth Development Group, Best Development Group and the Upper Manhattan Development Corp., as well as general contractor Joy Construction Corp.

Morris Court is one of the first projects to come to fruition as a result of the Lower Concourse Rezoning program, which was completed by the Department of City Planning in 2009 in an effort to facilitate the development of affordable housing and encourage commercial projects in the area.

When completed in June 2014, Morris Court will feature two mid-rise buildings totaling 201 housing units for families and individuals with an annual income between $38,000 and $83,000. Nearly 25 percent of the apartment units at Morris Court will be set aside for formerly homeless families.

According to a statement for the press, the $69.7 million development will remain affordable through a mix of tax-exempt bonds for construction financing and subsidy loans from the New York City Housing Development Corp.—which has provided $34.7 million—and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. A standby letter of credit issued by JP Morgan Chase and the purchase of Low Income Housing Tax Credits through Raymond James Tax Credit Funds also allowed the Morris Court development to keep a level of affordability.

The project was designed by Aufgang + Subotovsky Architecture and Planning and includes 185 parking spaces and 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail space marketed by KZA Realty. National retailer Dollar Tree has already signed an early lease of 10,000 square feet of space at the site. The project’s proximity to Lincoln Hospital is expected to attract more tenants such as Brightside Academy, a regional day care center that has also pre-leased space in the building.

For more market data from New York City, please click here.

Rendering of Morris COurt Buildings A and B courtesy of Azimuth Development Group

New Rental Buildings Headed For Williamsburg, Murray Hill

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Rabsky Group, a Brooklyn-based developer, is working on a mixed-use building in Williamsburg located at 146 South 4^th St., Buzz Buzz Home reports. Designed by Nataliya Donskoy of ND Architecture LLC, also of Brooklyn, the new brick, glass and steel building is set for completion in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Though it might not be the prettiest building in the area (at least according to Curbed), the 11-story structure will add some much needed rental units to Brooklyn’s housing inventory. At 106,000 square feet of space, 146 South 4^th Street will have 113 apartments with interiors by Durukan Design promising a modern, rustic look. According to the project construction manager, Lo Magno Construction Inc., amenities include on-site attendant parking, a residents’ lounge, a gym, bike storage space and a fully furnished rooftop terrace.

Another rental building is slated for construction on the corner of 39th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan’s Murray Hill section. Luxury Rentals Manhattan writes that the 18-story project is a joint venture between SK Development, CB Developers and Ironstate Development and will include studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments totaling 91 luxury rental units above retail spaces on the first floor. The development team has retained Rawlings Architects to create a simple design with a layered façade that would fit in with the community’s architectural theme.

Marketed as 200 East 39^th Street and expected to open in fall 2014, the new building will rise 213 feet and will sit on two adjacent lots occupied by the old Frontier Diner and a brownstone building.

For more market data from New York City, please click here.

Rendering of 146 South 4^th Street via Lo Magno Construction

Rendering of 200 East 39^th Street via SK Development

Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side Opens at 150 Delancey Street

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The growing InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) empire recently added a new facility to its New York City list of hotels with the opening of Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side at 150 Delancey St. Designed by architect Gene Kaufman, who has a long history with hotel projects in New York, the 58,000-square-foot full-service facility was developed by the McSam Hotel Group, one of the largest hotel developers in the city.

The eight-story hotel features 132 guest rooms—82 single bed rooms, 50 double bed rooms and 6 rooms for the physically challenged—in line with the Holiday Inn family’s $1 billion global brand re-launch that aims to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio of over 1,200 properties.

Apart from the standard Holiday Inn signature guestroom and bathroom accommodations, all hotel rooms are equipped with business-focused amenities such as ergonomic workstations, data ports and complimentary USA Today newspapers. The hotel’s ground floor is anchored by a Retro Bar & Grill, where guests can enjoy American-influenced cuisine throughout the week at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“The Holiday Inn brand has always represented quality and comfort, and our new hotel is a perfect fit for the Lower East Side neighborhood,” said Tim Chhatwal, the hotel’s general manager, as quoted in a press statement.

According to Bowery Boogie, the Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side site was purchased for $15.75 million in mid-2009 by hotel guru Sam Chang, the developer behind the McSam Hotel Group. The project kicked off several weeks later with the demolition of the low-rise buildings at the corner of Delancey and Suffolk streets.

For more market data from New York City, click here.

Image courtesy of InteContinental Hotels Group

World’s Largest Data Center Opens in Manhattan

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Sabey Data Center Properties, a Seattle-based multi-tenant data center owner that also specializes in computer infrastructure, has powered up the first phase of the largest and tallest data center in the world. The 32-story high-rise is located at 375 Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan in the formerly foreclosed Verizon Building, most of which Sabey acquired for $120 million in 2011.

Contrary to a general trend that calls for data centers to be moved outside urban clusters where power and real estate are much cheaper, Sabey’s Intergate.Manhattan is a unique business model that will serve primarily Financial District customers and businesses looking for high processing speed.

Currently providing over 100,000 square feet of data center space and 5.4 Megawatts from ConEd, the facility will ultimately accommodate 40 Megawatts of critical data center capacity on 1 million square feet, of which 600,000 square feet will serve as data center-specific floor space.

The building’s first tenant is the New York Genome Center, a computer and storage platform working for 12 leading medical institutions. Verizon still owns and occupies three floors in the building, according to Real Estate Weekly. David Falk, Michael Morris and Bryan Loewen of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank will represent Intergate.Manhattan as leasing agents for the building’s 17 floors that are immediately available.

Designed by Rose, Beaton & Rose for the former New York Telephone Company, the monolithic building was completed in 1975.

Image credits to Mark Lennihan/AP

Luxury Tower Under Construction Hits Market with One-third of Units Already Sold

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

An announcement made by the development team behind a much-anticipated residential tower in Midtown Manhattan shows once again that the luxury market in New York City is anything but boring these days. Los Angeles-based private-equity firm CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, a local development company, have officially launched the sales campaign for 432 Park Avenue—a $1.2 billion condo tower located on Park Avenue between 56th and 57th Street.

So far so good, but what’s really surprising is the fact that the tower is set for completion in 2015, and one-third of the residences were sold before they officially hit the market.

Designed by Rafael Viñoly and SLCE Architects, the 96-story structure kicked off in 2012. When completed in mid-2015, it will become the tallest building in New York City and the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. The tower is being constructed using architectural concrete, steel and glass to rise 1,396 feet above Manhattan.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, 432 Park Avenue will include 126 high-end apartments with a combined asking price of $2.7 billion–which breaks down to $6,742 per square foot, one of the highest asking prices for this area.

Apart from the super-pricey, ultra-luxury units, the tower will also include 30,000 square feet of amenities such as a private restaurant, outdoor garden for dining and events, spa and fitness center with steam and massage rooms, swimming pool, 24-hour doorman, valet parking services, and several other recreational spaces for residents.

According to The Journal, high-end real estate developers in New York City typically start marketing units long before the developments reach completion. Furthermore, the demand for pricey apartments is fueled by the lack of housing inventory in the city and, to a certain extent, by U.S. and overseas investors who look for prime locations.

Rendering of 432 Park Avenue courtesy of CIM Group & Macklowe Properties via Business Wire