375 Pearl Street - Verizon Bldg (downtown) - Proposed Renovation - by Cook + Fox

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09262007/business/downtown_tower_deal.htm

DOWNTOWN TOWER DEAL
VERIZON SELLS CHEAP TO TACONIC

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09262007/photos/biz042.jpg

375 PEARL ST.
Will get window wall.

By LOIS WEISS
September 26, 2007

Verizon is selling the majority of its building at 375 Pearl St. to Taconic Partners for the dirt-cheap price of $172.05 million.

Taconic and investment partner Square Mile Capital are buying a condominium interest in 930,000 feet of the 1.098 million foot structure, Taconic executives said.

"We saw it as a Taconic-style play: finding great bones at a good value and we put our foot to the metal to take it," said Taconic Partner Paul Pariser.

The group is scooping up the 32-story tower, next to Murry Bergtraum High School and rising over the city's downtown Civic Center, for $185 a foot at a time when land and even air rights in Manhattan have soared, in some cases, to over $500 a foot.

Taconic has hired Cook + Fox, architects of the the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park for design work and will spend up to $100 million to add as many as six elevator cabs, install new HVAC, new electricity, bathrooms and completely strip and reskin the limestone structure. The new design will also include 360-degree window walls.

Taconic will own the ground retail area along with floors 2-7 and 11-32. Verizon will retain floors 8-10 and cellar space for its "mission critical" switching facilities.

Bill Shanahan, Rob Stillman and Bob Alexander of CB Richard Ellis pitched the former New York Telephone property to a select group of developers on behalf of Verizon.

The deal is expected to close in December.

[212]

Hm!
First please remove the obnoxious Verizon sign.

[RandySavage]

Great news... that building is one the City's ugliest and most skyline-blighting (from Brooklyn).

[JacobNYC]

Oh you can't be serious. This is an early christmas present for ALL new yorkers.

[lofter1]

Good news for NYers --

But WHAT will these new owners actually do with their space in this thing?

It's in a terrible location -- blocks from any subway -- and even when the 2nd Avenue Line eventually gets down that way the nearest stations will still be way far off.

[londonlawyer]

Awesome!

[Derek2k3]

Isn't this only like 2 blocks down from the Chambers Street-Brooklyn Bridge stop at the Municipal Building. It takes like 5 min. to walk there. The area is pretty dead but the tenants will have great views in every direction.

[lofter1]

Those are some long blocks (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=375+pearl+street,+new+york,+ny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.875284,58.535156&ie=UTF8&ll=40.710947,-74.002318&spn=0.007205,0.014291&z=16&om=1) -- and cold & nasty ones come wintertime :(

[ablarc]

^ More evidence that the Second Avenue Subway is being built in an unsatisfactory alignment.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Those are some long blocks (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=375+pearl+street,+new+york,+ny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.875284,58.535156&ie=UTF8&ll=40.710947,-74.002318&spn=0.007205,0.014291&z=16&om=1) -- and cold & nasty ones come wintertime :(It's closer to the subway than 10th Ave in the 50s. The SAS Chatham Sq station will be about 1000 ft away.

I don't see the big deal with the subway. Verizon workers commute there every day.

[Tectonic]

I don't think the subway would be a big deal either. The re cladding should be interesting with Cook + Fox as the architect.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The building has high ceilings, 16 - 17 ft.

[krulltime]

Hurray for New York! This is a Verizon buliding I would never missed.

[TREPYE]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09262007/business/downtown_tower_deal.htm

DOWNTOWN TOWER DEAL
VERIZON SELLS CHEAP TO TACONIC

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09262007/photos/biz042.jpg
.

Oh, Please go all the way with this eyesore POS monstrocity --that exemplifies how bad NYC treats it waterfront-- and decontruct it.

[Archit_K]

Not bad, consider it a facelift for One Brooklyn Bridge Plaza... I don't understand why Verizon is selling majority of it's bldg. 4 little or nothing. Does this mean the Verizon logo will be removed?

[212]

Is Verizon looking to unload any more properties? If Verizon would also sell its building in Hell's Kitchen for re-cladding, it'd deserve a Pritzker Prize for single-handedly fixing the Downtown and Midtown skylines. (Keep the Soho one ... it's kind of interesting.)

[BigMac]

dtiddy on Flickr
October 14, 2007

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/1570664869_46506f18f0_b.jpg

[NYguy]

^ Even more horrid close up.

Here's an aerial shot from newyorkharborbeaches.org

http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/image/beach13img02.jpg

[NYguy]

Still waiting on renderings for this...
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Taconic+shines+up+Pearl+for+tenants.-a0170235983

Taconic shines up Pearl for tenants.

Real Estate Weekly
Oct 17, 2007
Daniel Geiger


When Taconic Investment Partners purchased 375 Pearl Street from Verizon for a reported $172 million, the deal--as much of a homerun value as it seemed--stoked the curiosity of some brokers who wondered what kind of tenants the building would draw.

"It's north of the Brooklyn Bridge," one broker who does deals downtown told REW in the kind of statement that leasing experts familiar with that area take as self explanatory. The Brooklyn Bridge is considered a border to Lower Manhattan's core office district and anything north of it is thought of as off the beaten track.

It's as much of a psychological barrier as anything else because Pearl Street runs uninterrupted underneath the bridge, meaning the areas north and south aren't actually cut off from one another.

Taconic expects interest from the types of tenants who have come to other parts of downtown seeking value but have been stymied by the district's shortage of available large blocks of office space and the recent uptick in rents for its class A space.

375 Pearl Street, which was a long time home for Verizon offices and a switching station, will be renovated to the point where Taconic says it will essentially be commensurate to ground-up office construction.

In fact, Ari Shalam, Taconic's senior vice president and director of acquisitions, said that the building's overhaul would be similar in scope to the one being conducted by the Blackstone Group on 1095 Avenue of the Americas, Verizon's former headquarters in midtown, which is undergoing a complete makeover.

Like 1095 Avenue of the Americas, among the most dramatic upgrades that 375 Pearl Street will receive is a new glass skin that will eliminate the thin vertical strips of windows and clunky facade that now sheathe the 32-story building and choke off its soaring views.

Shalam said the building could draw tenants in creative industries such as media and publishing that have flocked to downtown neighborhoods in order to escape midtown's soaring rents.

Verizon plans to retain some of its space at 375 Pearl Street in the form of a condo interest on the entire building's 3rd floor so that it can continue to operate a switching station.

[MidtownGuy]

This is a reclad I definitely look forward too. Just not green this time, OK?

[NYatKNIGHT]

Not black either.

[lofter1]

and no patches of yellow :(

[Ebola]

I know it has been said many times before, I guess, but this is by far the shittiest tower in all of NYC. When ever we look at the WTC from Brooklyn, we'll see this POS. The remake best be good; if the building even looks slightly decent when the remake's complete, NYC's DT skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge angle will be improved ten-fold.

[Optimus Prime]

It would be pretty cool if they used the WTC's glass, I think. Not that I want the whole city to be clad in the same glass, but doing it on this building might have a nice bookend effect. With Cook&Fox I would expect to see something in the black-grey-white range, though. Which is better than green!

[Jake]

What can we realistically hope for? It's not like they have much to work with. :p

[kz1000ps]

^ True. My guess is that whatever sheaths the elevator core will hardly be any better than what it's covered in already.

As for glass color, I could go for 7 WTC's. This building is an ugly, heavy mass, and glass like 7's would make it visually lose tons of weight and keep the eyes from dwelling on it for too long.

[MidtownGuy]

yeah, that elevator core is hideous, what were they thinking by facing it right in the view of every person entering Manhattan from the bridge?

[ablarc]

What can we realistically hope for? It's not like they have much to work with. :p
Where you been, Jake?

Welcome back.

[ZippyTheChimp]

If Verizon would also sell its building in Hell's Kitchen for re-claddingNot a Verizon building; owned by AT&T. The two properties Verizon sold were primarily office buildings, not equipment buildings like at 10th Ave.

(Keep the Soho one ... it's kind of interesting.)Soho?

[lofter1]

You know ^ near Federal Plaza -- in that vast area South of Houston (which nowadays seems to encompass anything downtown)

[ZippyTheChimp]

Oh, that one.

Also an AT&T equipment building.

[Jim856796]

The current look of this building is a 1960s modern style even though it was built in 1976. I don't even know what the building will look like after its facelift.

[lizbeth li]

The subway walk is windy and uphill, so it's not pleasant even if it's short, this at least in cold weather. A bigger problem of making the building upscale is the Alfred E. Smith housing project across Pearl and the school on the side, with plenty of kids hanging, and the very dead and dark area under the bridge. Not to mention the bridge itself, which will be in many people's living rooms. Having lived on the other side in Southbrdige Towers, I am incredibly aware not only of bridge traffic but on-ramp accelerating traffic, including 18-wheelers. Southbridge itself seems stuck in some endless condo battle, so this area won't get upscaled soon. There is another factor in all this, not merely the "psychology of the bridge." The people on the East Side here are very different than the further downtown yups or the West Side ones. You have all the court buildings here, you have the prisons, many municipal services (and employment), and whatnot, so Fulton St. and the Seaport are very heavily Hispanic and black, the shops very downscale, etc. Buidling luxury apartments here in a scarce market is a no-brainer, but if things turn then this can be a bad idea. Of course, in terms of the architecture, ANYTHING is better than this building. Are they going to blow through the walls for more windows? I always thought the place just cement for equipment and was even surprised it was an office building. Jesus. This is my first post and I find reading this site great.

[BrooklynRider]

I think that the Manhattan Bridge is much noisier than the Brooklyn Bridge with the addditional train traffic. Three new high-end towers were recently completed in closer proximity to the Manhattan Bridge (on the Brooklyn side) than Verizon is to the Brooklyn Bridge. The retail on the Brooklyn side is pretty scarce as well.

[lizbeth li]

I think that the Manhattan Bridge is much noisier than the Brooklyn Bridge with the addditional train traffic. Three new high-end towers were recently completed in closer proximity to the Manhattan Bridge (on the Brooklyn side) than Verizon is to the Brooklyn Bridge. The retail on the Brooklyn side is pretty scarce as well.

I can't picture the area you're talking about and each area is different. Some upscale places get panache by being near factories and the like, this loft working-class pretense of the rich. Maybe the area you are referring to has this feel (like Dumbo). The area around the Verizon building has kind of no working-class feel and if it did, that went out with the fish. It is really a no man's land without real identity, and in this sense the noise and bother of the bridge (not the beauty, not if you are right next to it) might not seem so cool. I'm just guessing and I did say if the market was hot anything could sell.

[BrooklynRider]

Yes, the area I was referring to is DUMBO. Sorry, I didn't state it outright in my previous post.

[zinka]

Mentioned in today's Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/realestate/commercial/02makeover.html

[BrooklynLove]

re verizon skin makeover - YES YES YES!! finally, a re-skinning that i think we can all embrace. this news makes my day. :):):):D:D:D

[kliq6]

Yes this building badly needs a new skin. The new owner probally will try and get Verizon out once complete as well, or atleast partial in hopes of attracting a more wide range base of tenants

[macreator]

a re-skinning that i think we can all embrace

I hope so. That's what I thought about the Sixth Avenue Verizon Building. I couldn't have imagined last year that a developer would be able to actually make the new building design look just as bad as the old building design.

I hope we see a skin here that is interesting and not just a glass box. Some masonry would be nice.

[BrooklynLove]

the bar is set REAL low for this makeover - the developer is working from a current skin that is about as bad as it gets. this building looks like a tunnel ventilation shaft right now for goodness sake. ick.

[Derek2k3]

^funny but true.

[smackfu]

What's this mean from the first post? "The new design will also include 360-degree window walls." Cladding the whole thing in glass?

[Alonzo-ny]

Not glass, window walls.

[BrooklynLove]

^so basically floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall windows then? ala top floors of oro building in downtown brooklyn?

[Ed007Toronto]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/open-a-new-window-a-tower-with-a-view/index.html?hp

[BrooklynLove]

great link. thanks. this is sounding very promising.

[lizbeth li]

I thought from the above discussions the building was going residential and condo, but the article is about it's becoming an office building, which might have more promise.

[NoyokA]

Though the 32-story telephone company tower is not truly windowless, it might as well be. There are three-foot-wide slits running up and down the structure, some with glass in them. But, like the windows of the World Trade Center, these do little more than offer a tantalizingly small slice of what could have been an extraordinary panorama.

Perhaps the NYTIMES Tower will one day have a similar fate...

[ZippyTheChimp]

but the article is about it's becoming an office building, which might have more promise.


Telco equipment buildings have large floor to floor heights - about 16 ft.

Easier to convert to modern office space.

[NoyokA]

I do like the sound of this...


He said he had instructed the designers to be “as creative as you wish.”

Hopefully we get something more like this...

http://static.flickr.com/35/117177822_3324c261c2_o.jpg

Before...

http://www.aviewoncities.com/img/paris/kvefr0312b.jpg

Than the same-old recladding, like this...

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/54954031.VerisonBuilding.JPG

[macreator]

Let's hope this developer puts his money where his mouth is and follows through with a really creative design. Let's avoid a simple glass box at all costs. Throw in some curves, cross bracing, something! :)

[jesse sideman]

in the article linked above - near the end it says that the new owner is looking to sell the sign space currently occupied by the hideous verizon logo to some other company. if this is done i won't care how beautiful the architecture of the new building is. it's all about how that sign destroys the skyline from this side. it's as though verizon just up and signed new york. no other corporation's logo would make it any better. it's not times square. please. no new sign. is there some way we can petition and stop this from happening?

[BrooklynLove]

pool money from interested people, buy the ad space, and put up nada.

[Fahzee]

....sell the sign space currently occupied by the hideous verizon logo to some other company. if this is done i won't care how beautiful the architecture of the new building is....

You honestly think that a sign will negate beautiful architecture?

sheesh.

[stache]

I think a sign can ruin a building too -

[NoyokA]

It can also make the building ie. Met Life.

[stache]

I thought the old Pan Am sign was very glamorous.

[scumonkey]

I thought the old Pan Am sign was very glamorous.

Word! :)

[lizbeth li]

I'd like to see huge art murals on brutalistic buildings. We had a visiting gigantic donkey in a boat several stories high and many feet wide at Brown on the SciFi building (a slab of hideous poured concrete about 15 stories high), and it became an absolute favorite of the campus and enhanced the otherwise dreadful building. But the art has to be good if it's so big.

[BrooklynLove]

rendering supposed to be out this month, right?

[BrooklynLove]

please don't let this one die. anyone hear any updates? renderings? give me something please ...

[BrooklynLove]

i took it upon myself to do a little poking around on this - found 2 encouraging pieces of info:

1) financing in place
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS217409+03-Jan-2008+BW20080103

2) filing for shed permit of use during "facade restoration" (rejected as of 4/2/08)
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&passjobnumber=110122563&passdocnumber=01

[londonlawyer]

I do like the sound of this...



Hopefully we get something more like this...

http://static.flickr.com/35/117177822_3324c261c2_o.jpg

Before...

http://www.aviewoncities.com/img/paris/kvefr0312b.jpg

Than the same-old recladding, like this...

http://i.pbase.com/o4/55/435155/1/54954031.VerisonBuilding.JPG

I truly doubt it. Europeans care about aesthetics. Americans do not, as is evidenced by certain people who criticise me for wanting New York to look "pretty" like London and Paris. A cheap glass facade a la MD&S what did on 1095 6th will likely be tacked on.

[BrooklynLove]

even that would be a huge step up from the current facade

[BrooklynLove]

here we go - shed permit approved -

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/WorkPermitDataServlet?allisn=0001798755&allisn2=0001491099&allbin=1001389&requestid=8

[lofter1]

Hopefully this view will be improved before too long ...

***

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
How could they miss?

[scumonkey]

How could they miss? They could get Gene Kaufman to design the new skin:eek:

[BrooklynLove]

i get to sit on my couch in my undies while watching beekman tower and this reclad go down side by side. loving it.

[lofter1]

/\ scary image :eek:

scary thought \/




They could get Gene Kaufman to design the new skin


but I hear GK might be freed up (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=224602&postcount=169) soon

[BrooklynLove]

/\ scary image :eek:

well at least i'm keeping it G rated ... for now.

[BrooklynLove]

shed starting to go up today - in a big way - massive shed to support the full building scaffold i guess - big ol hoists and the like on site.

[antinimby]

Bring it on. The faster the better!

[BrooklynLove]

this went up on taconic's website recently. description of facade work not sounding so promising anymore ...

http://www.taconicinvestments.com/portfolio/375_pearl_street.html

[londonlawyer]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132008/photos/bus0a.jpg

TACONIC'S DOWNTOWN CROWN
NEWLY REVEALED PLANS WILL TRANSFORM PEARL ST. EYESORE INTO GEM X MARKS THE. . .: 375 Pearl St. will expose X-shaped concrete braces (inset).


May 13, 2008 -- DOWNTOWN'S next new office tower won't be at Ground Zero but at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, where Taconic Investment Partners is poised to spectacularly transform one of Manhattan's least popular skyscrapers.

This page shows the first image of 375 Pearl St. after a $350 million planned redesign. Architect Richard Cook of Cook + Fox will strip off the limestone and reclad all 32 floors with a glass curtain wall that will reveal mighty, X-shaped concrete support beams from top to bottom.

In addition to its second skin, 375 Pearl will also get a double-height lobby, an outdoor plaza, all-new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and other improvements, as well as conversion of three former air-conditioning shafts to office space.

Ever since my colleague Lois Weiss first reported Taconic's $172 million purchase of 375 Pearl St. from Verizon last fall, speculation has run wild over what the new owners would do with the monolith Verizon used mainly as a switching center.

It was considered a blight since it opened in 1975, when former New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger called it "disturbing."

But redevelopment will make it one of the area's distinctive towers, visible from afar thanks to its location amid low-rise neighbors.

Splendid harbor and skyline views are one reason why Taconic co-CEO Paul Pariser and CB Richard Ellis' Bob "Mr. Big" Alexander, the leader of a CBRE leasing team, are confident the transformed tower will draw tenants.

What Taconic actually bought was a condominium - 1.15 million square feet of the building's total 1.3 million.

While Verizon is keeping floors 8-10, Taconic has all the floors above and below them, each with 42,000 square feet, generating rare contiguous blocks of 924,000 and 210,000 square feet.

The tower boasts minimum 14-foot slab-to-slab floor heights, with several floors of 23-foot heights - ensuring room for modern fiber optics.

Alexander says 375 Pearl will likely appeal to advertising, publishing and other media firms as well as be well suited for government-related uses.

Pariser needs to sign a "big gorilla company" as an anchor tenant before starting any construction on the redesign.

But unlike at most buildings of its size, 375 Pearl can get going with a relatively small commitment of 250,000-300,000 square feet.

[Ebola]

All I can say is "Oh my God!" Is that the old, crummy tower by the Brooklyn Bridge that we used to mock?

We were hoping for something OK, but we got something much better than we could dream of for this tower.
It pretty much screams out Richard Rogers.
It may go from being my most hated skyscraper to perhaps one of my top five most loved.

I'm beyond happy that they decided to erect a modern glass curtain wall that will reveal the building's strucutre and cover the entire building; I was hoping that they would do EXACTLY that. Is someone reading my mind? Well, I always hope for more visible structure, like beams and bracing, ect. What a WIN for lower Manhattan. I hope this gets done and ASAP.

[NoyokA]

Another boring reclad.

[kliq6]

Its boring but a massive improvement over what is their now. In order to market it to real tenants and not verizon switchboards, light had to be let in. It will still be hard to rent out with G zero and the other Midtown sites being more attractive both in location and financially.

[Fabrizio]

Renderings are always iffy but this is in no way just another boring reclad.

That could be said for the old ATT on 6th, but this seems more than a reclad... it is really a re-thinking.... a building completely transformed.

Exposing those "X-shaped concrete support beams from top to bottom" sounds like a great route to take. This could be very beautiful.

[BrooklynLove]

excellent. now get it done taconic.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I think it depends on how exposed (visible) the X-braces will be.

[Scraperfannyc]

To my eyes, this is going from an eyesore to something decent. This Verizon building is more of an eyesore than the one at Bryant Park, for which the reclad was probably a nothing more than a simple way of erasing the building's Verizon trademark look.

[kliq6]

This project is moving ahead, they have a Cm firm onboard.

[kz1000ps]

I like the premise a lot. It sure beats any expectations I had for it.

Here's hoping they use glass like 7 WTC's on it.

[Ebola]

I'm not fully sure about something like 7WTC's glass on this one because it has a good amount of reflection. With this tower, we want to see the detail of the bracing, so perhaps something very clear may work, but that may look too dull; doing something like lighting up the bracing from the inside would really make this project even better, but of course that sounds like it will cost extra money to do and nutjob environmentalists would be against it, but I say light em' up as bright as possible. What I think we really need is at least one building like that one in Texas which has a clear border of neon light around the edges, and I'm hoping that we'll see something like that with at least one of the WTC Towers, and with any luck all of them. Getting rid of the old facade is the best thing that could happen, and I believe that the lower Manhattan skyline will be near perfect when it happens.

[ramvid01]

I think if the reclad looks about half of what it looks in the rendering it would be a huge upgrade over what it is there now.

I really expected no more than a all glass reclad in a terrible color like always, but if the cross-vracing can be seen with great clarity at least the building will be slightly be more interesting.

[NoyokA]

I highly doubt the cross bracing will be anything more than slightly visible. Other than Perry West I'm yet to see a building with a clear fascade as depicted in the renderings; and we all know this project will not get a fascade like Perry West. It most likely will end up like Citigroup Queens which has a similar treatment. I wish they would have put some external treatment tracing the structural elements as they did with Hearst and Rogers will do with 3 WTC and SilverCup West, even a tension rod exteral cross bracing like the NYTIMES would have looked nice.

[Fabrizio]

The rendering seems to show a window treatment tracing the cross bracing.

--

[NoyokA]

I see it now. That immediately puts it far and above all the other reclad jops, it'll have somewhat of a lattice effect. That said I would've loved to see some sort of structural change, I think the AXA revamp for one in Paris would've looked great for this site. Albeit the shape and layout of this building is different but some setbacks, and some extension of somekind would have been nice. That said this is thus far the best reclad proposal and it is a vast improvement over the old. Who knows perhaps with Gehry's flamboyant Beekman Place the simple if somewhat boring design will act as a nice counterpart and create a nice skyline composition.

[antinimby]

It hints at Piano's NY Times but without the latter's slender, shapelier body.

It appears that the architect even attempted to add a bit of an architectural extension to the top.

Not bad considering what they had to work with. All in all, a positive improvement. http://wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[BrooklynLove]

i cruised by the site today for some peaks. shed that's there now is pretty much what has been there for a few weeks now. but it does like they've already started removing some of the facade in a place about halfway up on the north facing wall. yippee!!

[antinimby]

They're not going to do anything until they land a big tenant.

[BrooklynLove]

they are already doing though ...

they have financing already as well.

[antinimby]

Pariser needs to sign a "big gorilla company" as an anchor tenant before starting any construction on the redesign.

But unlike at most buildings of its size, 375 Pearl can get going with a relatively small commitment of 250,000-300,000 square feet. ;)

[TREPYE]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132008/photos/bus0a.jpg

Architect Richard Cook of Cook + Fox will strip off the limestone and reclad all 32 floors with a glass curtain wall that will reveal mighty, X-shaped concrete support beams from top to bottom.



The facade is NOT in good hands with these Cook+Fox folks. :cool:

[BrooklynLove]

AN - i'm going to go with what my eyes are telling me over what the Post is telling me. go look at the building in person - they're already taking down parts of the facade.

[Mostock3]

I believe the panels that have been taken off are for Verizon. The CM has not started anywork yet and probably will not to year end.

[antinimby]

^ Like he said.

Also BL, the work you are seeing so far is like the foundation they were laying down over at Gehry's Beekman.

You saw how the site with the finished foundation sat until the behind-the-scene financials were worked out.

It's the same thing here.

[BrooklynLove]

i'm still iffy on it - doesn't make sense that they'd get a shed permit, put up the shed and take out a huge portion of stone facade panels halfway up the building w/o any imminent plans to start full on work.

[Mostock3]

Remember that Verizon is keeping 3 floors which are located on floors 8-10, which is about where those panels are removed. They are probably going to install generators or some type of cooling equipment so not to be on the same systems as the balance of the building.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The building was always mostly administrative space, but it does have telecom equipment that can't easily be relocated. My guess is that due to technological size reduction, a point was reached where everything could be consolidated onto 3 floors.

FCC requires that telecom switches have backup power apart from mixed-use building systems. And while the rest of the building will be vacant while it's being gutted, the 3 Verizon floors will be operational.

[kliq6]

Similar to 1095 AA where verizon still was operating while recladding and renovation took place

[Peteynyc1]

There is a small blurb in the NY Post today that doesnt seem to show up online. It reads:
"Taconic Investment Partners is rethinking its plans to completely reclad the now near windowless Verizon building with a new glass curtain wall and make other expensive upgrades....Taconic expects its plans to reskin the building will move forward if it finds an anchor tenant of 200,000 to 300,000 feet."

[scumonkey]

^
:eek:

[BrooklynLove]

maybe they'll just knock it down ... :cool:

[Luca]

They don't call it a credit crunch for nothing. "Spending and hoping" is just not an option right now for many developers.

[NYC4Life]

This remake will certainly compliment the downtown skyline as a standout, along with Beekman to the west and Trump Soho further North.

[kz1000ps]

Giving Up the ‘Ugliest Skyscraper’ Title

CITY ROOM
May 23, 2008, 9:24 am
By Jake Mooney

There are people who say you have to stand next to the Verizon building at 375 Pearl Street to appreciate how ugly it is — its blank presence at street level, its disconnection from any human scale. There are others who say the offensiveness of the tower, built to house communications equipment, stems from the way it overshadows the Brooklyn Bridge when viewed from afar, acting as a drab, yet commercialized, backdrop (topped with a light-up Verizon sign ).

It is worth noting that no one seems to be defending the building, completed in 1976, from these charges.

The announcement by Taconic Investment Partners, which bought the building from Verizon in January, that the building would be “reclad,” its off-white limestone facade stripped away and replaced with glass, seems to have received an unambiguously positive reception.

This week, for Dispatches in The City section, I spoke with several preservationists in an effort to see if any thought the building — near Chinatown, a short distance from City Hall, the Municipal Building and 1 Police Plaza — is worth saving in its current state. None did.

Andrew Dolkart, a Columbia University professor, said 375 Pearl was his pick for the worst in the city.

Plenty of people considered Edward Durell Stone’s art museum at 2 Columbus Circle to be ugly. Yet that building, which turned out to have lots of vocal defenders, became the subject of a preservation furor amid an ultimately successful push to revamp it. What, I wondered, was the difference?

“They were all wrong!” Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, a preservation group, said of people who called 2 Columbus Circle unattractive. Besides, proponents of the building’s original design argue, its ugliness or prettiness is beside the point. It was, said John Jurayj, co-chairman of the preservationist Modern Architecture Working Group, a major statement from a major architect, and one that came at a pivotal time amid shifting architectural tastes.

Mr. Dolkart, who said he initially had doubts about 2 Columbus Circle’s value, said it was arguments like those that had won him over. But he had not heard similar arguments about 375 Pearl. He said, for example, that he had never heard of its designers, even though he prides himself on his knowledge of obscure architects. Mr. Bankoff, when told of the building’s vintage, said: “Ooh. Not particularly good years for architecture.”

Mr. Jurayj said the Verizon building’s shortcomings contrasts with other modernist design successes downtown. He was reluctant to criticize the design of 375 Pearl too harshly — slamming an architect’s best efforts seems wrong, he said — but he praised Chatham Towers, two concrete apartment buildings nearby on Park Row, for what he called the quality of their detailing and the humaneness of their scale. He said the towers deserve consideration for city landmark status.

“You can sort of see the difference” between Chatham Towers and 375 Pearl, Mr. Jurayj said. “But I don’t know that I particularly want to articulate the difference.”

Mr. Jurayj also noted that the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering Silver Towers, I. M. Pei’s concrete apartment complex, for historic designation, and said the commission deserves credit for “not falling prey to limited visions of what beauty is and what taste is.”

Interestingly, other communications-related buildings in the city, built for the phone company and others, are highly regarded architecturally. Two such buildings, both in the Art Deco style, were designed by the architect Ralph Thomas Walker: the Verizon Building (formerly known as the Barclay-Vesey Building) at 140 West Street, and the former Western Union Building at 60 Hudson Street.

Those buildings were built before World War II, Mr. Jurayj said, adding, “So much changed after the war, in terms of construction technology and ideas about spending and profit.”

There is, as Mr. Dolkart notes, one consequence to the renovation of 375 Pearl Street. If all goes well, he may have to find another choice for the worst-looking skyscraper in New York.

He did not name other contenders. But can you?

To get the discussion started, I’ll nominate one building I can see from The Times building on Eighth Avenue. It is the Westin Hotel between West 42nd and 43rd Streets. Paul Goldberger, writing in the New Yorker, wondered if it is the city’s ugliest, though Herbert Muschamp, in The Times, disagreed.

Readers' comments continued here: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/giving-up-the-ugliest-skyscraper-title/

[BrooklynLove]

Remember that Verizon is keeping 3 floors which are located on floors 8-10, which is about where those panels are removed. They are probably going to install generators or some type of cooling equipment so not to be on the same systems as the balance of the building.

looks like the hole has widened a bit - another column of panels worth i think

[BrooklynLove]

There is a small blurb in the NY Post today that doesnt seem to show up online. It reads:
"Taconic Investment Partners is rethinking its plans to completely reclad the now near windowless Verizon building with a new glass curtain wall and make other expensive upgrades....Taconic expects its plans to reskin the building will move forward if it finds an anchor tenant of 200,000 to 300,000 feet."

this article from today's nytimes seems pretty clear that taconic plans to move forward with the complete reskin once verizon vacates. the article doesn't make any indication that such plans are dependent on first finding a tenant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/nyregion/thecity/25disp.html?_r=1&ref=thecity&oref=slogin

"The renovation, Mr. Shalam said, will begin sometime after Verizon, which sold the building to Taconic in January but holds a lease on it, moves out, most likely after the end of the year. The work, which will open panoramic views and modernize the structure for office tenants, has always been part of the plan, Mr. Shalam said. Tenants, he explained, want to be able to see outside, and there will be more of them after the renovation than now, with switching equipment currently occupying more space than it eventually will."

[NYC4Life]

Glad this one is moving foward. This building is just dreadful. Brooklyn Bridge's postcard will look much more photogenic with the new makeover.

[MidtownGuy]

Hooray, that thing has been a scab on the view you get walking across the bridge. If they give it really nice glass I will be doubly happy.:):)

[pianoman11686]

It'd be nice if they could expand it as well. Even with a nice reclad, it'll still look squat.

[NYC4Life]

It'd be nice if they could expand it as well. Even with a nice reclad, it'll still look squat.

As long as they can get rid of that hideous Verizon sign, i'll accept anything this building's future holds.

[spyguy999]

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/7581/pearl1cj0.jpg
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/3490/pearl2kg4.jpg

[BrooklynLove]

oooooooooo glaaaaaaaaassy

[JCMAN320]

Very Nice; sexy building!! (In Borat voice).

lol I mean I know it's not amazing, but reclading whats currently there, it is a ginormous improvement.

[BrooklynLove]

ladies and gentlemen, we have lift off

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=7&passjobnumber=110185157&passdocnumber=01

[MidtownGuy]

Obviously a huge improvement in the skyline shot.

[krulltime]

Yes! Windows! Glass! Windows! Glass! Windows! :) This one has to be one of the most important developments in the city.

[BrooklynLove]

le chaim to that

[BrooklynLove]

Last Action: APPLICATION ASSIGNED TO PLAN EXAMINER 06/03/2008 (F)
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&passjobnumber=110188626&passdocnumber=01

REMOVAL OF FACADE AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH. NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS OR OCCUPANCY.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[Derek2k3]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2559786083_5a826fc5e5_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/2559786077_d1f633eb8a_o.jpg

Hopefully next up will be Javits and maybe someday Southbridge Towers and all that public housing.

[lofter1]

Gehry's Beekman tower will rise between the two Southbridge blocks (at center left, just above "PIER 17") in this shot:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2559786083_5a826fc5e5_o.jpg

[stache]

That should be interesting. :cool:

[BrooklynLove]

after bb park and the numerous additions to the lower manhattan skyline, the difference between the before and after for those 2 shots is going to be more dramatic than rookie barry bonds and 2008 steroidal barry bonds.

[NYC4Life]

Quite an angled shot with much of the skyline out of frame. The same shot with the new remake will be quite impressive..


http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9869/45475895jn2.jpg

[NoyokA]

after bb park and the numerous additions to the lower manhattan skyline, the difference between the before and after for those 2 shots is going to be more dramatic than rookie barry bonds and 2008 steroidal barry bonds.

lol.

http://kermittheblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/barry_bonds.jpg

http://images.wikio.com/images/p/39c1/barry-bonds-case-could-hinge-on-a-single-word-knowingly.jpg

[ManhattanKnight]

^Pretty much the same shot but looking in the opposite direction (backwards):

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7051/lowermanhattan799dpihvd4.jpg
Hagstrom's New York City 5 Borough Atlas. Fifth Large Scale Edition (1998)

That view had a way of popping up in strange places:

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/360/herculescarddx2.jpg

My laundry room charge card (2001).

***

[BrooklynLove]

stern - i just choked on a cracker :D:D:D:D

next up:
compare rookie -> roidal cranium growth between barry and sammy.

[Derek2k3]

That was my laundry card at Pratt too.

[BrooklynLove]

Wut up party peoples. This past week the area of removed limestone panels on the West facing side increased by about 2.5 times.

Do it. Now.

[antinimby]

Developer hopes to add windows and life to Verizon tower

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_274/tower.jpg


By James S. Woodman
August 1 - 7, 2008 (http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_274/developer.html)

Since its completion in 1975, New Yorkers have openly scoffed at the virtually windowless skyscraper at 375 Pearl St.

Neither exterior beauty nor interior comfort were much considered in planning the monolithic structure near the Brooklyn Bridge. The building’s hulking presence has been said to overpower the bridge from afar, and, even worse to many bloggers, its towering Verizon logo can appear as the bridge’s unasked-for corporate sponsor.

With the digitization of telecom, 375 Pearl St.— which has become almost an icon of 1970s dull architecture — can no longer be excused as an infrastructural necessity; computers have rendered obsolete the bulky switchboards that the building once furnished. Faced with a dwindling need for large-scale switchboard storage space, Verizon sold 375 Pearl last year for the shockingly low price of $173 million, which amounts to no more than the cost of the bare land on which the building stands.

The buyer, Taconic Investment, plans on transforming the looming symbol of impersonality into one of the most human-oriented, not to mention environmentally sound, skyscrapers in Manhattan. Taconic hopes to strip the building to its “bare bones” and convert it to office space by 2011.

Verizon is still using the building, but workers said they are aware of plans to relocate to the Verizon building on Vesey St. across from the W.T.C. The telecommunications company will keep three stories of the 375 Pearl St. building for its own operations.

The project’s architect, Cook + Fox Architects, the same firm that designed the new Bank of America Tower opposite Bryant Park, embraces what they call “biophelia,” the belief that people have an innate connection to nature. For skyscrapers, this philosophy entails providing an interior with maximum space and sunlight in order to create a more natural atmosphere. With this goal in mind, 375 Pearl St. would seem an unlikely candidate for Cook + Fox.

But Rick Cook, founder and partner of Cook + Fox Architects, believes 375 Pearl, with its 17-to-23-foot-high ceilings, is one of his most exciting projects yet, going as far as calling its completion a “moral mandate.”

“Because 375 Pearl St. was purposefully built as a telephone switchboard, it will actually be much better suited as an office building that most office buildings are,” Cook said in a phone interview. “It’s like buildings in Tribeca that were originally butter and cheese factories that now make for some of the best office space in the city because of their high ceilings.”

“When people look at 375 Pearl St. from the Brooklyn Bridge, they see a dead, lifeless building — you just don’t see anything there,” Cook added. “We want to turn it into a building that’s alive again.”

Taconic’s Doug Winshall said that renovation work will start as soon as the firm finds an anchor tenant ready to lease 200,000 square feet of space. He said he is not worried about the economy or the commercial office market because demand is still high Downtown and he expects his project to be finished long before the World Trade Center towers. Winshall hopes to attract arts, media and literary agency tenants.

With abundant natural light a top priority, Cook + Fox plans to have construction crews envelop the entire Pearl St. building with scaffolding, remove the limestone facade and replace it with “high performance, extremely clear” glass frontage.

Stripping away the limestone panels will reveal a network of crisscrossed steel trusses that the architects have utilized to create a main theme of the building’s facade, reminiscent of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

The clear glass that will clad these trusses conveys far more light than mirrored or tinted glass, which is more commonly used on glass-only buildings. This will allow views both out of and into the building. The purpose of the clear glass is not only for providing its occupants better sunlight and panoramas, but for the building’s exterior aesthetics as well.

By allowing people to see through into the cavernous floors of 375 Pearl St., the clear glass will be more than a mere front wall; it will allow visual infiltration into all sides of the building, creating a dynamic, somewhat frenzied facade.

Though it is possible to convert the building’s four 23-foot-high floors into multiple stories, Cook says that, to create a more desirable atmosphere, they will keep the tall ceilings for office space.

Mirrored or tinted facades are, however, more energy efficient because they reflect sunlight that would otherwise drive up cooling expenses. But Cook + Fox thinks it may have found a way to curb the energy inefficiency of its much-lauded clear glass. Using sensors to gauge the amount of natural light filling different parts of the building, a central computer will dim the building’s electric lights accordingly. The architects say this will reduce energy costs enough so as to compensate for the added cooling cost associated with non-mirrored or tinted glass.

In addition to these efforts to reduce sunray heat, Cook + Fox says the building has several other green features.
The fact that the skyscraper’s entire superstructure will be reused makes it an important example of recycling that New York could benefit from. Retaining the structure, Cook + Fox says, will save as much as 18,000 tons of steel and 40,000 cubic yards of concrete. All of the limestone stripped off in this process can be recycled into other construction jobs.

The building also may have a rainwater collection device installed on its roof that will supplement the building’s water supply for toilet flushing.

The key to making the city greener, says Gilbert, is in renovating existing buildings, like 375 Pearl St. This, he hopes, will set a standard for the rest of the city, especially as 375 Pearl St. is located only blocks from City Hall.

Though its proximity to the Civic Center adds to the value of 325 Pearl St., it is just north of the Brooklyn Bridge, in an area that’s largely forgotten about. While some consider it part of the Seaport, others aren’t aware of its existence or its name.

Winshall hopes the renovation will help to revitalize the enclave by creating dramatically more foot traffic between the Civic Center and 375 Pearl St. Its lobby, not more than a cramped waiting room, Cook hopes to transform into a much grander area, which will create the effect of “walking into a gallery.”

The lobby will be flanked, Cook hopes, with a ground-level plaza open to the public.

“For once the building will really engage the neighborhood,” Cook said.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/inside_dt_logo.gif

© 2008 Community Media, LLC

[BrooklynLove]

he expects his project to be finished long before the World Trade Center towers

There's something to be said for setting obtainable goals ...

[Derek2k3]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2786343102_9bdfaf667e_b.jpg
by Milton CJ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/miltoncorrea/)

[meesalikeu]

^ wow great shot.

it's kind of hilarious in that you could get some little kids and play a game of "which building stands out from the others?" with the picture. or where's waldo? heh. bring on the recladding!!!

[ItstheBeat]

So what, if anything, is going on with this development?

[londonlawyer]

I don't think that anything will happen with this for years because no one will sign on for such a huge chunk of space in a rehashed building. Nonetheless, there are nice photos of Cook Plus Fox's website.

[BrooklynLove]

Happy to see action still pushing forward here:


06/02/2008110188626 (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=7&passjobnumber=110188626&passdocnumber=01)01A2ROFJ P/E DISAPPROVED 12/12/2008 0048838 PEMERRITTCRISTI REMOVAL OF FACADE AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH. NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS OR

[londonlawyer]

That is very surprising.

Considering that no one likely will be renting this space for quite some time (unless a bargain rent is offered), I am shocked to see this proceed.

[antinimby]

^ Check the date that application was submitted. Doubt they're going forward with the recladding now.

[BrooklynLove]

The fact that they're still expending resources on getting the permit issued as of Dec 12 says something. If this project had no foreseeable chance of happening in the near future they wouldn't be spending money on getting permits.

[londonlawyer]

^ Check the date that application was submitted. Doubt they're going forward with the recladding now.

Thanks. I looked at the Dec. '08 date, but it seems to have been submitted in June of '08.

[BrooklynLove]

Dec 2008 date seems most relevant to me. Every successive date is a submission date basically until the permit grants.

[londonlawyer]

At first, I looked quickly and saw the Dec. '08 date, and, like you, that recent date struck me. However, I looked (quickly) again and saw a date of June '08. Was this submitted by the developer in June of '08, and rejected by the DOB in Dec. of '08? If so, I'm not optimistic since the economy took a very sharp downturn after June.

[BrooklynLove]

No.

01A2 FIRST06/22/2008MJU MICHELLE JUBRAN S.IDISAPPROVED
RE-EXAM12/12/2008HTO HIGINO TOPINO..MAN PDISAPPROVED
01OT FIRST06/22/2008MJU MICHELLE JUBRAN S.IDISAPPROVED
RE-EXAM12/12/2008HTO HIGINO TOPINO..MAN PDISAPPROVED

[lofter1]

For this building there are FIVE Other Related Jobs (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByLocationServlet?jobsubmdate_month=06&jobsubmdate_date=1&jobsubmdate_year=2008&stcodekey=&passdocnumber=01&allbin=1001389&allboroughname=&allstrt=&allnumbhous=&allinquirytype=BXS3PRA3&requestid=10) which have received Approvals / Permits since the facade work application was filed in June -- and many of those were OK'd in October & Nomber 2008. Clearly money continues to be spent on this project.

*

[BrooklynLove]

Yep.

[londonlawyer]

I am very surprised. Maybe the owners received some level of funding before everything collapsed in Sept. and decided to use the money they've received.

[Derek2k3]

One of the most flattering pictures I've seen of these brutes. This also shows you won't need to be on a high floor to get a good view at the Beekman tower.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2653138139_78633bfa16_b.jpg
Pace University (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paceuniversity/2653138139/)

[Mostock3]

The filings look like they are for Verizon and not the building owner. The Vesda system is used in phone company space no where else so this is just probably them doing work in regards to them consolidating to a few floors in the building after the sale. I think this project is dead for the time being until people rent again. Why would anyone want to rent in that building when their is high end office space in key areas throughout the city at the same price points?

[BrooklynLove]

I disagree. The filings for Verizon's space aren't done by the buidling owner Pearl Associates, they're done by Verizon. The filings I'm idenitfying relate to the facade overhaul and are in the name of Pearl Associates, i.e. Taconic.

[Mostock3]

I think the project has been put on hold since nothing is happening. What a shame it would have been nice to see the skyline change

[BrooklynLove]

It'll happen once the time is right. Be patient.

[BrooklynLove]

Check it out j'all. http://375pearlst.com/. the site is pure porno.

[DMAG]

Check it out j'all. http://375pearlst.com/. the site is pure porno.

Great find. Check out the virtual tour....are those diagonal columns on every floor?

[BrooklynLove]

Looks like it. They're basically stripping off the entire curtain wall. This has to be the best full tower reno I've ever seen.

[BrooklynRider]

Basing my opinion on the rendering & virtual tour, I have to admit that it looks great.:)

[JSsocal]

Are all of the floors gonna be double level like in the tour?

BTW, those interior spaces look fantastic :D

[lofter1]

NYC school fund sues Verizon over site

The Real Deal (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/nyc-school-fund-sues-verizon-over-site)
By David Jones
April 14, 2009

The New York Educational Construction Fund is suing Verizon New York for more than $53 million, alleging the $172.5 million sale of a majority stake in 375 Pearl Street in 2007 was based on fraudulent data.

The fund, which originally sold the site to Verizon in 1972, is seeking an injunction preventing the new owners -- defendants Taconic Investment Partners and investment partner Square Mile Capital -- from renovations that would allegedly violate existing zoning laws and make use of air rights to which they are not legally entitled.

"Taconic parties [Taconic, Square Mile and the two LLCs that control the building] knew that Verizon was attempting to transfer more building space and development rights than Verizon was entitled to, and the purchasing Taconic parties were therefore complicit in Verizon's fraud against the fund," the document states.

In the sale, Taconic and Square Mile acquired 29 floors in the 32-story building, and announced plans to spend up to $100 million to renovate the property for future office tenants. Verizon retained office space on the remaining floors.

The suit alleges that Verizon originally discussed developing a 1-million-square-foot building, but told the fund that the building was only 744,000 square feet and that the remaining space would be zoned as "mechanical space." The fund alleges that it accepted a lower price for Verizon, based on the claim that the building used only 744,000 square feet of space.

Verizon, under its previous name of New York Telephone, acquired the site under a 1972 agreement that allowed the telecom firm to construct a building that was no bigger than 744,000 square feet nor more than 544 feet tall. Under the agreement, New York Telephone built a headquarters building as well as a school building that later became Murray Bergtraum High School, at 411 Pearl Street.

The long-dormant educational construction fund, created by the New York state legislature in 1966, has financed school facilities for 18,000 students, and created 1.2 million square feet of office space and 4,500 units of housing.

Verizon officials said they had not yet reviewed the case sufficiently to comment on the specific allegations.

"We have not studied the suit, so at this time we cannot comment on its merits," said Alberto Canal, a spokesperson for Verizon. "I can tell you that more than 35 years ago New York Telephone Co. and the New York City Education Construction Fund came to an agreement, and we absolutely fulfilled the terms of the agreement. We will study the complaint thoroughly and take appropriate action."

Taconic is not aware of the litigation, according to a spokesperson. Attorneys for the fund were not available for comment.

© 2009 The Real Deal

[Sherpa]

Yankee Pinstripes!

[BrooklynLove]

Taconic recently updated their site to reflect the reno plans. This gives some hope that they still plan to move forward once all hurdles are clear.

http://www.taconicinvestments.com/portfolio/375_pearl_street.html

I'm really looking forward to this project.

[Derek2k3]

Can't wait.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/4198655085_061de8f8a6_o.jpg
I hope Downtown will grow into this area north and east of the building some day after the WTC and the 2nd Ave Subway. A few of those city buildings west of the site could go to hell in the meantime.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4198655083_bd410611d6_o.jpg

[lofter1]

That ^ would be great.

No new action at DOB on the already Permitted Facade Installation Application (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&passjobnumber=110185157&passdocnumber=01).

[BrooklynLove]

Dererk - where did you find that second rendering? You are a beast!

[Derek2k3]

heh, they're on the website.
http://www.375pearlst.com/

I guess I'll post them all.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4200344230_f655a2b3c9_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4200344236_9c1553cccb_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4200344252_a2c72d8870_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/4200344246_a24a629fd9_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/4199590027_e561e7498d_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4200344240_1c95f3fd07_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4200344232_f6822dcec2_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/4199590025_022ea1cf30_o.jpg
Cook + Fox

[BrooklynLove]

Sweet. Then some of these are new additions to that site. More reason to hope that this project has not been aborted.

[lofter1]

Workers there will have the BEST views in town of the good sides of Gehry's Beekman tower.

[antinimby]

That is a total ripoff of Piano's NY Times building right down to the orange-colored walls in the lobby.

Can these architects come up with something of their own instead of recycling what someone else has done already, as good as it might be?

[BrooklynLove]

Man. Have you ever seen a project you didn't moan about?

[antinimby]

What exactly did I say isn't true?

[antinimby]

Would you like me to say the usual positive chorus like this?

"Wow, this is beautiful. It will improve the area so much."

"Fantastic renderings. So cool."

"This is great. It'll be better than what is there now."


Is that better now?

[londonlawyer]

They should make this a hotel, condo and rentals and maybe throw in a public school and some retail. There will not be a demand for a block of office space downtown for quite some time -- particularly at the rates they'd need to justify the investment.

[BrooklynLove]

Would you like me to say the usual positive chorus like this?

"Wow, this is beautiful. It will improve the area so much."

"Fantastic renderings. So cool."

"This is great. It'll be better than what is there now."


Is that better now?

Heh. Fair enough.

[stewartrama]

They should make this a hotel, condo and rentals and maybe throw in a public school and some retail. There will not be a demand for a block of office space downtown for quite some time -- particularly at the rates they'd need to justify the investment.

i disagree. have you ever been to this location? it is flanked by a bridge, a highway, projects, and courts. While there may not be demand for office space, there is certainly not demand for residential properties in this location.

In an ideal world, I would just like to see this and the surrounding area torn down to rebuild, and create a livable neighborhood.

[BrooklynLove]

Uh. Been to Dumbo lately?

[lofter1]

Lol

[stewartrama]

no but this is literally one building. dumbo is a neighborhood flanked by a waterfront park, and close to bk heights, and other nice neighborhoods...north = public housing for miles, south = financial district (dead) west = the not-so-nice part of tribeca....this is different

[ZippyTheChimp]

I disagree.

DUMBO became popular while the park was still a pipedream. There's no real connection with Brooklyn Heights. It's near a Con Ed power station and projects. It's surrounded by two bridges and the BQE. The subway rumbling across the Manhattan Bridge creates a lot of noise.

The not-so-nice part of Tribeca?

The Financial District dead? Isn't that where that Gehry thing is going up?

I like DUMBO, but if I had the mindset that would describe the 375 Pearl area the way you did, DUMBO would have me running away fast.

I do think that the building itself may make it unsuitable for a residential conversion. Too massive, with limited opportunity for windows.

[stewartrama]

I disagree.

DUMBO became popular while the park was still a pipedream. There's no real connection with Brooklyn Heights. It's near a Con Ed power station and projects. It's surrounded by two bridges and the BQE. The subway rumbling across the Manhattan Bridge creates a lot of noise.

The not-so-nice part of Tribeca?

The Financial District dead? Isn't that where that Gehry thing is going up?

I like DUMBO, but if I had the mindset that would describe the 375 Pearl area the way you did, DUMBO would have me running away fast.

I do think that the building itself may make it unsuitable for a residential conversion. Too massive, with limited opportunity for windows.

i agree, dumbo is an exception, however there was so much potential there. old wharehouses were just waiting to be converted. this really is in the middle of nowhere. there is one building here, surrounded by public housing. different situation.

by the not so nice part of tribeca, i mean east of church street sorry, i should have clarified.

and the gehry building is in the middle of nowhere. really.the financial district is completely commercial, and hardly so, as most business has moved to midtown.

[BrooklynLove]

Hindsight is 20/20.

[lofter1]

Talk about hindsight ...

City Says Verizon Cheated on Lower Manhattan Tower Deal

Tribeca Trib (http://tribecatrib.com/news/2009/december/462_city-says-verizon-cheated-on-lower-manhattan-tower-deal.html)
BY Matt Dunning
JAN. 01, 2010

The monolithic and much maligned Verizon Building at 375 Pearl St. no longer stands out merely as bad architecture. It is now, allegedly, a towering example of fraudulent real estate dealings, as well.

The city is suing Verizon, and the real estate company that bought its building, Taconic Investment Partners, for $53 million.

That’s the amount the city claims it lost as a result of a deal with the telecommunications giant back in 1972, when (as the New York Telephone Co.) Verizon bought city-owned land and air rights for its 32-story switching center.

The agreement called for the phone company to give the city $17 million and to build Murry Bergtraum High School. But, the city says, New York Telephone built far more usable space—1.2 million square feet—than it said it would, thereby undervaluing the deal and shortchanging taxpayers.
But if the allegations are true, it may be the city’s school children who ultimately wound up on the losing end.

The deal was brokered by the city’s Education Construction Fund, an arm of the Department of Education, which sells city-owned land and air rights to private developers in exchange for schools in or near the new buildings.

“[The fraud] deprived the Construction Fund of revenues to which it was rightfully entitled,” said Jeffrey Glen, a Construction Fund attorney. “If the Fund had been able to collect this money, it could have either enabled the Fund to build or site more schools, or if there were costs to the taxpayers for already bonded projects, it could have reduced those costs.”

To cover up the illegal construction, Glen said, Verizon fraudulently marked space inside the tower as “mechanical” rather than “usable” space. The building’s original certificate of occupancy lists the 3rd, 4th, 31st and 32nd floors as mechanical space.

The defendants have yet to answer the suit, filed in April. Glen said both sides have agreed several times since then to postpone starting a trial.
Both Verizon and Taconic Investment Partners declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The alleged misrepresentation came to light in 2007, when Verizon finally paid off the building and promptly sold 29 of its 32 stories to Taconic for a bargain price of $172 million.

At $185 a square foot, that was more than $500 a square foot below the market rate.

The sale caught the attention of the news media, and when Taconic’s own press release listed the square footage as 275,000 more than the tower should have contained, the Construction Fund finally caught wind of the discrepancy.

The suit claims that Taconic “knew or should have known” that Verizon didn’t own some of the floor space it was selling, and that the investment firm got a discounted price on the property as a direct result of Verizon’s fraud.

Taconic’s legal problems could undermine its grand plans for a total makeover of the tower.

In 2008, Cook + Fox Architects proposed stripping the building’s blank, limestone façade in favor of a glinting glass curtainwall, revealing a steel skeleton and “re-animating this once-lifeless building,” the architects said on their Web site. With views from inside the building vastly improved in every direction, the tower would be repackaged as prime office space.

But along with the $53 million and 35 years worth of interest the city wants to recover, it also is asking for and an injunction stopping Taconic’s proposed renovation of the building.

Copyright © 2009 The Tribeca Trib

[Derek2k3]

I don't get why the city is suing Taconic. Is killing the project really the best thing for the city?

Taxpayers weren't really shortchanged $53M since the extra space would not have been built if the city knew. Fine Verizon and let it go.


Q:
If a former owner of a site finds out the developer they sold it to has overbuilt, can the previous owner sue?

[Stroika]

I don't get why the city is suing Taconic. Is killing the project really the best thing for the city?

Exactly. Why not let them turn the city's "worst building" into something more palatable and stick Verizon (and Verizon alone) with the fine for their past sleazy dealings?

[BrooklynLove]

The defendants have yet to answer the suit, filed in April. Glen said both sides have agreed several times since then to postpone starting a trial.


Suit sounds very iffy, especially concerning statute of limitations issues (1972). Seems that the only way the City could get Verizon and Taconic to talk with them was to file the suit. They're probably negotiating a payoff to the City right now, and will settle this before answering. Ignore the comment re trial - author is clueless.

[antinimby]

What you said doesn't make sense.

If the statute of limitation does apply, the suit would be baseless. In that case, Verizon and Taconic wouldn't have any reason to talk with the city either.

[lofter1]

Seems this lawsuit was in the works as early as last April ...

Headache for Taconic as fund heads to court over 375 Pearl

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Headache+for+Taconic+as+fund+heads+to+court+over+3 75+Pearl.-a0208966983)
September 23, 2009

Maybe Taconic Investment Partners didn't get such a good deal after all when it purchased 375 Pearl Street in 2007 from Verizon for what appeared to be then the bargain sum of $172 million, or around $185 per square foot.

The New York City Educational Construction Fund, the city agency that arranged in the early 1970s to have Verizon develop the 32-story tower, has slapped both the telecom giant and Taconic with a suit claiming that it is owed tens of millions of dollars because it was cheated on air rights and other zoning parameters outlined in the deal.

The complaint, which was filed in state supreme court last April, alleges that Verizon disguised 275,000 s/f in the tower as mechanical space so that it could construct a larger building without having to sweeten its offer with the Fund.

Verizon built 375 Pearl Street, a building maligned by architecture critics for its drab fortress like facade, to house its telephone-switching operations in Lower Manhattan. It arranged to sell the building two years ago to Taconic, a real estate investment firm, and largely moved out of the tower, keeping only two floors.

Although the suit traces back to a deal that was struck between the Construction Fund and Verizon in 1972, Taconic and its lenders in the deal--including the firm Square Mile Capital--are named as defendants, according to the complaint because they "knew that Verizon was attempting to transfer more building space and development rights" than it was entitled to and "were therefore complicit in Verizon's fraud against the Fund."

The Construction Fund says that it is seeking $53 million with interest from the defendants, along with additional compensation for punitive damages and reimbursement for attorneys fees.

The Construction Fund is a public benefit corporation that often accomplishes its mission of building New York City public schools by tying the education facilities into larger, mixed-use real estate projects arranged with private developers.

In 1971, according to the filing, the Fund, which owned the development parcels under 375 Pearl Street, agreed to let Verizon build a tower with "not more than 744,000 s/f of space."

The plan included the construction of a school adjacent to the tower along with other compensation, including a $4.278 million payment to the Fund and quarterly installments of $91,600.17 for the next 35 years, after which Verizon would own the building outright.

But the tower that Verizon constructed is far bigger, a fact that appears to have come to the attention of the Construction Fund when Verizon arranged to sell it to Taconic.

"Upon information and belief, the Verizon Building, as constructed, contains approximately 1,040,000 square feet of Floor Area," the suit says.

A person familiar with the case, who would only speak off the record because it is ongoing, said that whether or not Taconic knew of any zoning malfeasance in its deal with Verizon, it may, nonetheless, inherit part of the liability.

"They bought the building warts and all," the person said.

But even if Taconic isn't forced to pay some portion of restitution, it appears the suit puts its plans for 375 Pearl Street in jeopardy.

The real estate investment firm, which scored one of the biggest blockbusters of the real estate boom by selling its interest in the office tower 450 Park Avenue for nearly $1,600 per square foot, a record sum, acquired 375 Pearl Street so that it could remake the tower into a modern office property whose quality would be on par with new construction.

The development has been on hold since the sharp downturn in the office market due to the recession, but the suit could create an even more far reaching obstacle; a court injunction against proceeding with the plan.

"The Fund is entitled to a judgment from this Court declaring ... that the Taconic Parties are prohibited from altering the Verizon Building ... or otherwise changing the use or configuration of the Verizon Building," the suit says.

The source described the case as "highly complex" and that the parties had agreed to delay court proceedings until October. The person said that the plaintiff and defendants were currently in private talks, hinting that they may currently be trying to work out a settlement.

Calls to Taconic and lawyers representing Verizon were not returned by press time.

Lawyers for the Construction Fund declined to comment on the case.

COPYRIGHT 2009 Hagedorn Publication

[ZippyTheChimp]

The Discovery Rule may come into play here.

In that case, the Statute of Limitations is tolled (paused )until 2007 when, according to the article, the alleged fraud was discovered.

[BrooklynLove]

Zippy - maybe enough to state a procedurally adequate complaint but good luck proving it. Highly likely this case settles before Taconic or Verizon answers.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Good luck proving what?

I said nothing about how this would be settled, just that The Statute of Limitations is tolled.

I find it odd that a lawyer wouldn't know about the Discovery Rule.

[BrooklynLove]

Help me out here. You're concluding that I don't know fraud statute of limitations doctrine based on what?

If it was my initial statement, the point there is that this is a fraud case and not a breach of contract case due to S/L issues. the fraud case is a loser but can be plead adequately, the breach case has more legs but is gone so can't be plead. so here we are. are you satisfied now?

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
Again, what are you talking about?

My mentioning of the Discovery Rule was in response to the following, and ONLY the following, observation.


Suit sounds very iffy, especially concerning statute of limitations issues (1972).

I offered no opinion whatsoever on the merits of the suit.

[BrooklynLove]

I was responding to this.



I find it odd that a lawyer wouldn't know about the Discovery Rule.

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
Doesn't matter if it's a fraud case, breach of contract, or whatever. Statute of Limitations doesn't apply; no reason to bring it up.

That's all.

[BrooklynLove]

I just meant that I think they're bringing the more difficult fraud claim and not the breach of contract claim b/c they can't get around the S/L issue for the breach of contract claim but can for the fraud claim. Not many lawyers out there can bring a 35+ year old fraud claim with a straight face.

Agreed that the plead case is weak for many reasons other than S/L.

[Merry]

City Says Verizon Cheated on Lower Manhattan Tower Deal

By Matt Dunning

The monolithic and much maligned Verizon Building at 375 Pearl St. no longer stands out merely as bad architecture. It is now, allegedly, a towering example of fraudulent real estate dealings, as well.

The city is suing Verizon, and the real estate company that bought its building, Taconic Investment Partners, for $53 million.

That’s the amount the city claims it lost as a result of a deal with the telecommunications giant back in 1972, when (as the New York Telephone Co.) Verizon bought city-owned land and air rights for its 32-story switching center.

The agreement called for the phone company to give the city $17 million and to build Murry Bergtraum High School. But, the city says, New York Telephone built far more usable space—1.2 million square feet—than it said it would, thereby undervaluing the deal and shortchanging taxpayers.

But if the allegations are true, it may be the city’s school children who ultimately wound up on the losing end.

The deal was brokered by the city’s Education Construction Fund, an arm of the Department of Education, which sells city-owned land and air rights to private developers in exchange for schools in or near the new buildings.

“[The fraud] deprived the Construction Fund of revenues to which it was rightfully entitled,” said Jeffrey Glen, a Construction Fund attorney. “If the Fund had been able to collect this money, it could have either enabled the Fund to build or site more schools, or if there were costs to the taxpayers for already bonded projects, it could have reduced those costs.”

To cover up the illegal construction, Glen said, Verizon fraudulently marked space inside the tower as “mechanical” rather than “usable” space. The building’s original certificate of occupancy lists the 3rd, 4th, 31st and 32nd floors as mechanical space.

The defendants have yet to answer the suit, filed in April. Glen said both sides have agreed several times since then to postpone starting a trial.
Both Verizon and Taconic Investment Partners declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The alleged misrepresentation came to light in 2007, when Verizon finally paid off the building and promptly sold 29 of its 32 stories to Taconic for a bargain price of $172 million.

At $185 a square foot, that was more than $500 a square foot below the market rate.

The sale caught the attention of the news media, and when Taconic’s own press release listed the square footage as 275,000 more than the tower should have contained, the Construction Fund finally caught wind of the discrepancy.

The suit claims that Taconic “knew or should have known” that Verizon didn’t own some of the floor space it was selling, and that the investment firm got a discounted price on the property as a direct result of Verizon’s fraud.

Taconic’s legal problems could undermine its grand plans for a total makeover of the tower.

In 2008, Cook + Fox Architects proposed stripping the building’s blank, limestone façade in favor of a glinting glass curtainwall, revealing a steel skeleton and “re-animating this once-lifeless building,” the architects said on their Web site. With views from inside the building vastly improved in every direction, the tower would be repackaged as prime office space.

But along with the $53 million and 35 years worth of interest the city wants to recover, it also is asking for and an injunction stopping Taconic’s proposed renovation of the building.


http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2009/december/462_city-says-verizon-cheated-on-lower-manhattan-tower-deal.html

[BrooklynRider]

The guy at the Construction Fund gets a gold star for this one.

Very Nice Work!

[londonlawyer]

What a f..cked up city.

[BrooklynLove]

To be honest, less a City problem and more a lawyer problem.

[BrooklynLove]

Check it out j'all. http://375pearlst.com/. the site is pure porno.

Major bummer - website is down - hopefully just some temporary IT maintenance. Content at Taconic website appears to be undisturbed.

[Derek2k3]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2792/4328464895_c46d9d903c_b.jpg
Benjamin Rosamond (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9451351@N03/4328464895/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

[CitiesfromSpace]

Wow. Amazing!!!

[BrooklynLove]

This totally blows. http://www.rew-online.com/news/story.aspx?id=885

[scumonkey]

from above article:

Taconic is agreeing to voluntarily hand over the deed to the property because its redevelopment is no longer financially viable in the near term.
How sad for everyone

[londonlawyer]

This sucks.

[londonlawyer]

Maybe someone will tear this POS down. I would imagine that a thin, 900' residential tower could rise on that site.

[Merry]

Former Verizon tower downtown hits market

Lender seeks $125M for the property, 28% less than Taconic paid for the property in 2006; oddly located 32-story former phone-switching facility needs $200M rehab for office use.

By Theresa Agovino
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/oascentral.crainsnewyork.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/www.crainsny.com/@x80 (http://oascentral.crainsnewyork.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.crainsny.com/@x80?)
M&T Bank is trying to sell 375 Pearl St., an almost entirely vacant tower that Verizon once used to house telephone switching equipment, sources close to the deal said. The bank is hoping to get $125 million, but sources said it was unlikely the price would be that high.

The bank is selling the 1.1 million-square-foot building because Taconic Investment Partners, which bought the tower back in 2006 for $172.5 million, stopped paying its mortgage. Taconic had planned to convert the 32-story tower into a Class A office tower.

However, most of the potential buyers showing interest are firms that would convert it to residential use or companies that would use it for a technical or industrial purpose. The building's floors can hold up to 400 pounds per square foot, while the typical office building can support about 150 pounds a square foot. It also has 15-foot ceilings that can accommodate large equipment.

However, the views and ceiling heights would also appeal to residential users.

Any buyer planning to convert the structure into an office would have to invest at least $200 million to renovate the property, which would likely include completely recladding the tower to allow in more light. The building appears windowless—although it is not—because it is sheathed in huge limestone panels.

The combination of the extensive renovation required, a challenging leasing market and an odd location will make the building a tough sell as an office building, experts said.

“This building has a lot of fleas,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics.

Mr. Fasulo said that the building would likely have to seek asking rents of $10 per square foot less than downtown's average to lure tenants. Nonetheless, he said that some Real Estate investment trusts might be interested in buying the property because they could use their hefty balance sheets to fund the purchase and necessary renovations. On the other hand, Mr. Fasulo said that institutional investors would likely be turned off by all the work and capital required.

“I think the $125 million price is a bit aggressive,” he said, noting that $100 million seemed more reasonable.

In the building, Verizon retains three floors, which it owns as a condominium.

M&T tapped CB Richard Ellis Inc. Vice Chairs Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan to sell the building. Their spokesman didn't return calls, and an M&T spokesman referred calls to Mr. Shanahan.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101130/REAL_ESTATE/101139986

[londonlawyer]

NYU should buy this POS.

[BStyles]

Maybe they should just renovate it and put it on the market. Regardless of demand, they're obviously not going to tear it down.

Well, not unless Moinian is in charge.

[GordonGecko]

^ that makes no sense

[HoveringCheesecake]

Raze it, build something bigger and better on the site.

[STR]

Maybe they should just renovate it and put it on the market. Regardless of demand, they're obviously not going to tear it down.

Well, not unless Moinian is in charge.

Nobody (in the industry) wants to tear it down. It would be expensive to deconstruct the fortified floors.

[lofter1]

Verizon never planned to give up all their space inside. The Taconic deal included space for Verizon.

[BrooklynLove]

This building has to be one of the least loved assets on M&T's balance sheet.

[Merry]

Verizon Tower Deal Connects

Price Tops $100 Million for Former Switching Center Long Considered Eyesore

By CRAIG KARMIN and ELIOT BROWN

A venture between a New York real-estate investor and a Seattle property developer has reached a tentative deal to buy the former downtown Verizon tower, long scorned as one of the city's biggest architectural eyesores.

The current owner, M&T Bank, has agreed to sell the property at 375 Pearl St. to a partnership of YoungWoo & Associates of Manhattan and Sabey Corp. for more than $100 million, people familiar with the deal said.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AT370_VERIZO_DV_20110201184337.jpg

That price is considered cheap for a 32-story skyscraper covering with more than 700,000 square feet of space, but the property has a number of unusual drawbacks that limited the scope of buyer interest.

An official with Sabey, a company known for developing properties for telecommunication companies, declined to comment. YoungWoo officials didn't return calls for comment.
M&T Bank took control of the property from Taconic Investment Partners, which failed to make its mortgage payments last year.

The gray monolith—with three-foot-wide window slits running up the side of the building—has been derided by architectural critics ever since it opened in 1975. The tower was built as a switching control center for what was then the New York Telephone Co. It has a distinctive presence overlooking the East River and is in full view of drivers and pedestrians walking over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.

Renovations to the building are also viewed as costly, running to hundreds of millions of dollars to convert it to modern residential or office use by installing a new core, including a new electrical system and elevators.

But for a telecom company, the building offers some unique appeal, should Sabey decide to develop the property into one of its data centers. The structure's sturdy floors, high ceilings and electrical capacity are attractive to a potential tenant that needs space for large equipment.

YoungWoo & Associates has been known to buy cheaply in downtown before. In 2009, the company teamed with a Korean bank to acquire two former American International Group office towers on Pine and Wall streets for around $150 million, or about $100 a square foot.

Taconic Investment Partners bought the Pearl Street property in 2007 from Verizon for $172.5 million and planned to convert it to a modern office tower, wrapping the property in a glass facade and renovating the lobby, the firm said at the time.

M&T Bank took control of the property last year and hired brokerage CB Richard Ellis to market and sell the tower. The building is now mostly empty, though Verizon still occupies three floors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703445904576118180744171492.html?m od=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_LEADNewsCollection

[ShaMegro]

I think the best bet for a developer would be to tear this down and transfer the air rights somewhere else in the area, perhaps somewhere just south of the bridge (if that's allowed).

[BStyles]

A demolition would be more expensive than re-cladding it, so it seems. I'm thinking that that's went on in the minds of the Moinian developers when they re-cladded 1775 Broadway.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I think the best bet for a developer would be to tear this down and transfer the air rights somewhere else in the area, perhaps somewhere just south of the bridge (if that's allowed).Not allowed, but if you're going to tear it down, why not just build in the same spot? The site already owns plenty of air-rights; some were transferred from the adjacent high school. NY Telephone agreed to help finance the school construction in exchange for the air-rights.

Anyway, this building isn't going anywhere any time soon. Expensive to buy, and more expensive to demolish if its built anything like 33 Thomas St - massive concrete columns and extra-thick floor slabs.

[londonlawyer]

If they reclad this POS, they could make it into very nice rentals and include hotel rooms.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Hopefully, it gets reclad anyway, but it seems the cost of conversion would be too high. Telecom equipment buildings aren't designed to house as many people as typical office buildings.

Checked out the buyer, Sabey Corporation (http://www.sabey.com/real_estate/data_centers_main.html). Seattle based, they specialize in data centers. Seems they're looking to expand out of the northwest, where they manage 2 million square feet of space. 375 Pearl would add 50% to that, and is ideal for that business.

There are two successful data center conversions in the area, Western Union Building at 60 Hudson St, and AT&T Building at 32 6th Ave. 15 foot floor heights; floor slabs can support 400 pounds per square foot; power plants throughout the building.

[RoldanTTLB]

Stick a fork in this reclad. No way it's happening with most of the building being used as a data center:

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110607/REAL_ESTATE/110609898

[212]

Wish list

Scrap the obnoxious Verizon sign
Hire muralist

[Troyeth]

Maybe paint it sky-blue so on those beautiful summer days we can pretend it does not exist?

[MidtownGuy]

lol. How high can ivy grow?

[HoveringCheesecake]

lol. How high can ivy grow?

OK that would be awesome.

[BrooklynLove]

or a target sign.

i wouldn't want my servers in there.