The Lucida - 151 East 85th Street - Condo (UES) - by Cook + Fox

[londonlawyer]

Someone posted something about stores being closed in a series of old buildings on Lex and 86th. The stores are, in fact, closing, and according to one sign, a high rise will replace the structures. I also recall reading a while ago that either Extell or J.D. Carlisle bought the property.

This development sucks because, like The Drake, McHale's, etc., these old buildings are nice and have all of their ornamentation. They do need to be cleaned, but they don't need to be demolished. Once again, a lot of sh.it surrounds these nice old buildings, and yet, the sh.it stands while great old buildings are demolished. One would think that with the destruction of Penn Station, among other buildings, that NY would preserve better.

[macreator]

I believe the tower isn't going up on 86th and Lex but instead on 86th and Third Avenue.

...or is that a different development?

Both sites have been clearing out retail so maybe both.

I'll try to snag some pictures of the two sites tomorrow when I'm going to be in that neighborhood.

[londonlawyer]

Hi, Macreator.

Were you the one who posted that? I recall someone posted about Third Ave. Are the stores that you refer to on the east corner of 86th and 3rd?

These stores are all on Lex and they go across 86th St.

[NoyokA]

I posted about the development at 86th and Third. There is no question that something will rise at 86th and Third, the site is being cleared up to the Cinema midblock. The buildings being replaced are nothing special as most were abandoned above the first floor. I think its too early to say if something is being planned for 86th and Lexington Avenue. Let's keep the discussion going here:

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/sh...t=4883&page=50

[NoyokA]

Im re-opening this thread and moving it to New York Real Estate.

NYTIMES:

Gentrification Arrives at a Crossroads in Yorkville

By TERRY PRISTIN

The intersection of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street is arguably the crossroads of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a transportation hub within easy walking distance of some of the costliest real estate in the city. Yet for decades it has resisted gentrification.

On the southeast corner, next to an express subway station that is the 11th busiest in the system, are the remnants of a diner that closed several years ago. On the block between 85th and 86th Streets are a handful of dilapidated tenement buildings dating to the 1920's or earlier whose tenants have included snack-food retailers, a tax preparer, a fortune teller and a tanning salon.

Once the main thoroughfare of Yorkville and a destination for sauerbraten and strudel, 86th Street today is lined with street vendors, shops selling inexpensive apparel and a sprinkling of moderately-priced chain stores.

Shopping corridors tend to develop in response to increased residential density — retail follows rooftops, as brokers like to say. But as so often happens in New York, the lag on 86th Street has had as much to do with intrafamily squabbles as with market forces.

Construction is expected to begin this year, however, on two projects — one on Lexington Avenue and one on Third Avenue — that real estate specialists say are likely to begin a major transformation of the shopping district on 86th Street.

On Lexington Avenue, the Extell Development Company plans to demolish the tenements to develop a glassy L-shaped building that will fill the block between 85th and 86th Streets and extend east along the south side of 86th Street, occupying about a third of the block. The project will contain about 150 condominiums (some with as many as five bedrooms) and 20 rental apartments.

A separate entrance on 86th Street will lead to about 100,000 square feet of shops, including two basement levels. Gary Barnett, the president of Extell, said he was negotiating leases for large spaces with a major bookseller and a clothing retailer. Extell's retail broker, Gary Trock, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis, said the project would stimulate further development on 86th Street. "It will mature this neighborhood tremendously," he said. Extell is seeking an annual rent of $400 a square foot for the ground-floor space, a big jump for a street where rents were customarily less than $200 a square foot, Mr. Trock said.

Despite rising rents, brokers say the street is not likely to compete with Madison Avenue for luxury retailers but will continue to cater to a broad range of customers. "Prior to Harlem's renaissance, people from northern Manhattan shopped on 86th Street because it was convenient," said Benjamin Fox, an executive vice president at Newmark Knight Frank. "To some extent, this is still the case."

The Lexington Avenue site is owned by the heirs of Sol Goldman, who built a large fortune over more than half a century by accumulating hundreds of small buildings in anticipation of future development. After Mr. Goldman's death in 1987, his children and their mother fought over his estate in a legal battle that was not resolved until 1994. Mrs. Goldman died in 2002.

By 2004, Jane Goldman, one of the daughters, had acquired the last building needed to assemble the site. Famous in real estate circles for their reluctance to trade their buildings, the Goldmans decided to lease the site to a developer rather than sell it.

In an interview in his modest Midtown Manhattan offices, Mr. Barnett said his deal with the Goldmans was unusually complex. "The negotiations were somewhat innovative and extended," Mr. Barnett said. He is also developing another Goldman property, the Stanhope Hotel on Fifth Avenue at 81st Street, which is being converted into condominiums. Ms. Goldman did not return telephone calls.

Under the agreement for the Lexington Avenue site, the ground lease applies only to the retail space and the rental apartments, Mr. Barnett said. The condominium buyers will own title to their space with the power to sell it or transfer it to their heirs. Extell acquired some of this space last year when it bought a five-floor walk-up on 85th Street, just east of Lexington, with unused development rights.

Along Third Avenue and 86th Street, the Related Companies and its partners have emptied out a group of tenement buildings and plan to replace them with a condominium development that will include about 25,000 feet of retail space. The new tenants are likely to be chain clothing stores, said Robert K. Futterman, a real estate broker who is representing Philip Pilevsky, the owner of the retail space. The buildings on Third Avenue once belonged to Henry Sturman, a real estate investor who died in 1973 at age 51. In the 1980's, his three sons were forced into bankruptcy after they borrowed millions of dollars in an unsuccessful takeover of a contact lens company. For years, their sister, Donna Sturman Butler, fought to prevent the family's property from being sold. Ms. Butler and her partners managed to hang on to the Third Avenue property even after a highly publicized bankruptcy auction. In 1998, Mr. Pilevsky and a real estate investment trust he owned at the time gained a controlling interest in the buildings.

Mr. Pilevsky, who is also an owner of the Bryant Park Hotel, declined to be interviewed.

Jeff T. Blau, the president of Related, said his company had been working on the Third Avenue project since 2002, when it bought an adjacent building on the corner of 85th Street that houses a Gap store and an Equinox gym. (That building will remain.) He blamed the rent-control laws for the long delay. "The tenants in occupancy took a long time to clear out," Mr. Blau said.

The Related project is being designed by a celebrity architect — the company has not announced the name but Mark Perlbinder, who has contributed a building on East 86th Street that used to house the Flaming Embers restaurant to the project, said it was Robert A. M. Stern. But it is not going to alter the East Side skyline. Nor will the Extell building, which was designed by Richard Cook of Cook & Fox. Neither building can go higher than 210 feet, or 20 stories.

"Truth be known," said Mr. Barnett of Extell, "it's not so easy to get magnificent architecture with 210 feet."

Mr. Barnett hopes to begin demolition of the Lexington Avenue site in a few months. But people are still living in one of the buildings along 86th Street and are protected by the city's rent laws; they must be paid to leave or be relocated to other apartments.

Along the avenue, several tenants have contested Extell's right to make them move. The holdouts include a busy doughnut shop that has occupied the corner of 86th Street for 27 years, a pet store that managed to fend off competition from a nearby Petco, and a Kosher deli that serves a nearby Orthodox synagogue and schools.

Their lawyer, Alan J. Goldberg, has made technical arguments but he said there were also moral issues at stake. "This is indicative of what's happening in New York City," he said. "They are ruining the texture and flavor of an entire neighborhood."

But Mr. Barnett said the community would be relieved to see the unsightly tenement buildings knocked down. "I don't think there's any controversy," he said. "Everybody would love to see that block cleaned up. It's only good for the neighborhood."


Rendering for the mixed use development at 86th St. and Lexington Avenue.

[londonlawyer]

Originally Posted by Stern

Im re-opening this thread and moving it to New York Real Estate.

NYTIMES:

Gentrification Arrives at a Crossroads in Yorkville

By TERRY PRISTIN

The intersection of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street is arguably the crossroads of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a transportation hub within easy walking distance of some of the costliest real estate in the city. Yet for decades it has resisted gentrification....But Mr. Barnett said the community would be relieved to see the unsightly tenement buildings knocked down. "I don't think there's any controversy," he said. "Everybody would love to see that block cleaned up. It's only good for the neighborhood."


Rendering for the mixed use development at 86th St. and Lexington Avenue.

Given that Barnett is comitted to eliminating crap, I hope that he tears down the sh.it on the west side of Lex between 84th and 85th. Those buildings, not these, deserve to be razed. These could have and should have been rehabilitated. Anyway, it would be some consolation if Barnett develops the sh.it across the street from this project (and then tears down the north side of 86th, which has the Petco and Papaya King).

[TLOZ Link5]

Noooooo...I like those buildings. Well, the Lexington Avenue side is a little rundown, but on the 86th Street side they're quite nice.

That Comfort Diner next to the subway entrance has been closed for years.

[pianoman11686]

Originally Posted by Stern

Gary Barnett, the president of Extell, said he was negotiating leases for large spaces with a major bookseller and a clothing retailer.

Well, I'm pretty sure it won't be a Barnes & Noble. I know of two already within two blocks of each other, one being right across this intersection, the other one further east on 86th.

It's great to see this area transforming. It may not be Madison, but regardless, 86th has to have one of the highest pedestrian traffic rates in the city. It deserves to have quality developments. I'd like to see renderings for the 3rd avenue project as well. My only complaint would be about the loss of the donut shop. I used to frequent it during my high school days, and it had some of the best original glazed donuts I've ever tasted.

[macreator]

Originally Posted by pianoman11686

Well, I'm pretty sure it won't be a Barnes & Noble. I know of two already within two blocks of each other, one being right across this intersection, the other one further east on 86th.

The other possibility is that Barnes and Nobles is considering relocating from its location on 87th and Lex to have more space.

While the neighborhood has another Barnes and Nobles on 86th Street between 3rd and 2nd Avenues -- a mere few blocks away -- I've found that both stores are always very busy. The area could probably support a larger Barnes and Nobles store on 86th and Lex as the 87th street one is rather small for the traffic it gets.

[pianoman11686]

More on the project from http://cityrealty.com:

East 86th Street activity 01-FEB-06

Extell Development is planning to erect a 20-story building with about 150 residential condominium apartments, 20 rental apartments and 100,000-square-feet of retail space on the eastern Lexington Avenue blockfront between 85th and 86th Streets.

It has commissioned Cook + Fox Architects to design the development, which will have several setbacks and an asymmetrical design that includes some indented balconies, and a projecting pier near the middle of each major façade.

It will replace several undistinguished low-rise buildings that have housed a variety of small retail operations including a pet store, a candy shop, a Radio Shack and a deli as well as a large coffee shop that has been closed for a couple of years.

The intersection of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street is one of the busiest on the Upper East Side because it is an express subway stop and a major cross-town street. The cross-town street has been a major retail hub between Lexington Avenue and Second Avenue for the past few decades as redevelopment ended the strip’s long run as the center of German-American dance-halls and nightlife. For a few years, Gimbel’s operating a large branch of its department store on the northwest corner of the intersection, but it subsequently was replaced by a large residential development whose retail spaces are now leased to Best Buy, Barnes & Nobles, Staples and Starbucks.

The Extell development site is owned mostly by the heirs of Sol Goldman, and they have leased the ground to Extell for the retail space and the rental apartments. Extell also negotiated with the Goldman heirs for the Stanhope Hotel site on the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 81st Street, which it is developing into condominium apartments.

According to an article today by Terry Pristin in The New York Times Gary Barnett, the head of Extell, “hopes to begin demolition of the Lexington Avenue site in a few months,” adding that “people are still living in one of the buildings along 86th Street and are protected by the city’s rent laws; they must be paid to leave or be relocated to other apartments.”

The same article reported that The Related Companies are planning to building a condominium apartment development a block to the east of the Extell site on the east side of Third Avenue between at 86th Street and it quoted Mark Perlbinder, “who has contributed a building East 86th Street that used to house the Flaming Embers restaurant to the project,” as stating that the architect for the Related project is Robert A. M. Stern.

[londonlawyer]

Originally Posted by TLOZ Link5

Noooooo...I like those buildings. Well, the Lexington Avenue side is a little rundown, but on the 86th Street side they're quite nice...

I agree with you. The ones on Lex are nice too. They have all of their original ornamentation and simply needed to be renovated. The ones on the west side of Lex between 84th and 85th are crap and should have been torn down. These buildings, by contrast, should have been preserved.

Barnett, Macklowe and Abby Rosen belong together at a circle jerk. They're tearing down great, old NY buildings.

[NoyokA]

Originally Posted by macreator

The other possibility is that Barnes and Nobles is considering relocating from its location on 87th and Lex to have more space.

While the neighborhood has another Barnes and Nobles on 86th Street between 3rd and 2nd Avenues -- a mere few blocks away -- I've found that both stores are always very busy. The area could probably support a larger Barnes and Nobles store on 86th and Lex as the 87th street one is rather small for the traffic it gets.

I bet it'll be a Borders, they're brancing and expanding in NYC and I'd love to have one at this location. I've always wished Barnes and Noble would carry DVD's in addition to books.

[londonlawyer]

I agree that it will be a Borders. Also, a big Borders would be lethal to the Barnes and Noble on 86th, as that particular store is anemic.

I heard that a Whole Foods would occupy the retail in the new tower on 3rd and 86th.

[NoyokA]

Originally Posted by londonlawyer

I agree that it will be a Borders. Also, a big Borders would be lethal to the Barnes and Noble on 86th, as that particular store is anemic.

I heard that a Whole Foods would occupy the retail in the new tower on 3rd and 86th.

Good I've never understood why there were two Borders on 86th Street, especially since the one between second and third is superior.

I would like to see a Crown Fried Chicken take its place. jk.

If Im not mistaken isnt there a Whole Foods at 2nd Avenue and 86th?

[jeffpark]

Originally Posted by londonlawyer

I agree that it will be a Borders. Also, a big Borders would be lethal to the Barnes and Noble on 86th, as that particular store is anemic.

I heard that a Whole Foods would occupy the retail in the new tower on 3rd and 86th.

don't be so sure, i think it might a Barnes and Noble even though they have 2 locations (a small by by Lexington and another one by 86th street) those ones are very old, just look on fifth and 46th they just opened a new B&N even thou they had one by 48th street and fifth,
by the way Gary Barnett's broker, Gary Trock of cbre, did the large lease on Broadway in downtown with borders