Path for rising ‘Jesus’
$322M boost for luxe Village condo
APOSSIBLE second coming of the luxury uptown condo tower nicknamed the “Limestone Jesus” got a $322 million blessing to rise on the West Village waterfront.
The 570 Washington St. joint-venture development team of Zeckendorf Development, Atlas Capital Group and The Baupost Group on Friday nailed down a $322 million financing package from Blackstone, which will kick-start the $1.25 billion-plus luxury residential project.
Realty Check first reported on the Zeckendorf-Atlas development plan on Feb. 7 (Baupost had not yet joined the team.) There was some skepticism at the time that it would actually go forward, partly because although the developers had a contract to buy the land, the deal had not yet closed.
But it’s happening now — and there’s no turning back.
The Newmark duo of Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub, who are co-heads of the Newmark Debt & Equity unit, arranged the joint venture among the trio and arranged the financing package.
The lead developer is Zeckendorf, which famously built the celebrityfilled condo tower at 15 Central Park West. It was nicknamed the “Limestone Jesus” for its sacrosanct reputation as the city’s best-selling luxury residence. Current and past residents include Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Alex Rodriguez.
The new downtown project won’t necessarily resemble it and might not even be limestone. But comparisons are inevitable.
It will have two towers rising to 450 feet overlooking the Hudson River on the 1.3-acre empty lot on the West Side Highway between Houston and Clarkson streets.
However, Robert A.M. Stern, who designed 15 CPW, does not appear to be involved at 570 Washington, where architectural firm COOKFOX is working on the design.
Full occupancy
The Durst Organization’s One Five One West 42nd Street — not long ago known as 4 Times Square — took a big step toward a return to full occupancy with a new lease for Chicago Trading Company.
The firm just signed for 68,339 square feet on floors 36 and 37, which were the last two full-floor availabilities in the 52-story, 1.7 million-square-foot tower that was empty after its two original tenants, Condé Nast and Arps, moved out a few years ago.
The deal marks a big Manhattan expansion for CTC, which is leaving behind only about 10,000 square feet at 1129 Sixth Ave. The asking rent was $110 per square foot. And it’s another coup for Durst at One Five One, which opened under its old name in long-ago 1999.
Durst spent $150 million on major capital improvements to upgrade and rebrand the tower. The changes include a lobby redesign, outdoor space and a 45,000-square-foot amenities floor where an artisanal food hall was installed in the Frank Gehry-designed cafeteria.
The campaign succeeded. New tenants at One Five One include TikTok (for its US headquarters), Venable and BMO.
CTC was repped by Ben Friedland, Jason Pollen and Hanna Gerard of CBRE’s New York office, and Mark Keebler and Brad Serot of CBRE in Chicago.
Durst was repped in-house by Tom Bow, Rocco Romeo and Tanya Grimaldo.
Old friends
A chance meeting at a midtown restaurant led to a milestone move by one of the city’s most respected children’s services nonprofits.
JLL’s Matthew Astrachan was dining at Da Umberto a year ago when he was spotted by an old high school friend, who asked him to say hi to his parents as they celebrated their wedding anniversary.
The friend’s mom is Arlene Goldsmith, whom Astrachan had known when he was a child. Goldsmith mentioned she was seeking a new home for the organization she founded in 1982, New Alternatives for Children.
Astrachan and a JLL team soon arranged a leasehold condominium interest for NAC
at 825 Seventh Ave. It will have 60,000 square feet on three newly built-out floors including a setback terrace — a big leap over the 49,000 square feet of unimproved space it has at 37 W. 26th St.
NAC’s new home is in a ninestory office building beneath an apartment tower. The office portion is owned by a joint venture of Edward S. Minskoff and Vornado Realty Trust.
The asking rent was in the mid-$60s. The rent is fixed for the life of the 30-year term, Astrachan said.