LOADING UP THE U-HALL
Pricey apts. on the rise around park at downtown gov’t center
An old city park is becoming a new hotbed for development.
As the real estate market in lower Manhattan heats up, hundreds of pricey new apartment projects are set to debut by 2016. The new developments will form a ring around City Hall Park, the often-overlooked green space running from Chambers to Barclay Sts.
Real estate pros have their eyes on the middle of lower Manhattan. “This area is becoming so relevant,” said Tara King-Brown, a broker at the Corcoran Group and a resident of the area. “As the neighborhood turns from a massive construction site into a real place where people live, the park will establish itself as a residential anchor — and not just a place where office workers go to eat their lunch.”
City parks have long been a major draw for real estate developers, who crave views of green space and plenty of light and air. For years, developers have trampled one another for opportunities to build around Central Park, Gramercy Park and, more recently, Madison Square Park.
Now attention turns to City Hall Park, which has already had a small taste of new development in the form of Frank Gehry’s rippling steel tower at 8 Spruce St. and a glitzy new rental tower called the Lara at 113 Nassau St.
But now, hundreds of new for-sale units, including 34 multimillion-dollar homes at the Woolworth Building and 68 at the stunning Beekman Residences at 5 Beekman St., are about to test the market for luxury homes in the heart of Manhattan’s civic center. Historically, this is where you’re more likely to run into an arraigned criminal, a politician, or both, than a billionaire oil mogul.
“City Hall Park is the center of the new downtown,” said broker John Gomes of Douglas Elliman.
Prices are also slated to go through the roof as the hot market for luxury homes in the Financial District and Tribeca spills over into the civic center, which is the last lego block to be developed south of Canal St. Developers are expecting condo buyers to pay up to $110 million for a trophy penthouse in a neighborhood where the median sale price for a newly built condo was just $4.5 million this year.
On the flip side, some experts are skeptical whether City Hall Park really holds the same cachet — or can help drive sales of highdollar apartment prices like its counterparts uptown.
“Are you kidding me?” said broker Ryan Serhant of Nest Seekers International. “There’s an insane amount of traffic there, to and from Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s just funky. There’s no way this is the next Madison Square Park.”
Another potential problem: City Hall Park just isn’t big enough for the same neighborhood amenities that made Madison Square Park a destination. There’s certainly no space for a Shake Shack. But developers are hoping for food carts and maybe even a playground for kids.
In recent years, the odds have certainly been stacked against the 9-acre park. But the history is rich and real. Dutch colonists grazed their livestock there. The green space even predates City Hall itself, the cornerstone for which wasn’t laid until 1803.
The park fell into disrepair by the late 1990s, then was given a major $35 million facelift in 1999 under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The city installed a perimeter fence, reinstalled a historic central fountain and
introduced beautiful bronze gas cande-labras to light the park at night.
But the victory lap was cut short when en 9/11 shut down lower Manhattan. A large chunk of the park remained closed for years after the terrorist attacks, mak-ing it virtually inaccessible to residents of the neighborhood. During that time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited security concerns surrounding City Hall.
But Skip Blumberg, head of advocacy group Friends of City Hall Park, says the park is on the rise. There’s been a reopening of the northern segment in 2007 and the subsequent rebuilding of the World Trade Center site just a few blocks south. Madison Square Park also had a renovation in 2000, right before it become a major destination for residen--tial developers. That’s happening around City Hall Park now, too.
For his part, Blumberg is campaign-for more permanent seating areas in n the park and for the opening of a lawn on the park’s northeast plaza, near the Tweed Courthouse.
“The World Trade Center was the first st piece of the puzzle,” said Sharif El-Gamal, who is building a new condo tower at 45 Park Place, just west of the park. “It gave residential developers the confidence to start proceeding with their own contributions to the neighborhood.”
Read on for a closer look at some of the new projects slated to debut around the park:
1Woolworth Building
The top 30 floors of the landmark Woolwoth Building are being transformed into 34 luxury apartments, including a five-level penthouse fit for a Russian oligarch. Prices range from $3.88 million for a 1,290-square-foot one-bedroom to an Earth-shattering $110 million for the 9,403-square-foot seven-level penthouse.
245 Park Place
Right next to the once-contested site of the proposed Ground Zero mosque, Sharif El-Gamal’s Soho Properties is planning a 665-foot glass tower with close to 50 apartments. The building, which has been designed by architect Ismael Levya, will be adjacent to an Islamic museum designed by Jean Nouvel. Prices haven’t been released.
35 Beekman St.
Sales are underway at the Beekman Residences. Units there are priced between $1.4 million for a one-bedroom apartment and $3.7 million for a threebedroom pad. The building, which is being redeveloped with an adjacent glass tower, was first constructed in 1881 as one of the first high-rise buildings in New York. The site’s renowned for its extraordinary nine-story atrium.
419 Park Place
A new, futuristic-looking 21-story condo at Park Place between Broadway and Church Sts. will have a total of 24 apartments, nearly half of which will occupy full floors. Amenities will include a gym, several residential lounges and a shared terrace. Prices have not yet been released.
512- 14 Warren St.
Developer DDG Partners is planning a boutique 12-story condo with 13 units, all less than a block from the park.
6346 Broadway
Developers Don Peebles and the Elad Group are transforming a landmarked building, formerly home to the Manhattan Criminal Court, into a luxury condo. The building will include between 110 and 140 apartments and a hotel. Pricing hasn’t been released.