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There is just no way to deny it. Those are going to be some idiotically sweet condos in that there tower.
And yeah, Ian Schrager really is going to get to do the conversion of what was the world's tallest building from 1909 to 1913.
Tower Trivia: Designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons and completed in 1909 the Tower, along with it's 11-story base which was completed in 1893, stands 700 feet tall at the foot of Madison Avenue. It's architects took inspiration from the Campanile in Venice and produced a New York classic. The minute hands on each off it's 4 16.5" foot diameter clocks weighs half a ton!
Sigh. We loved this building when we were little.
Photograph of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower under construction dated 6/16/08 from wikipedia.
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let me guess:
ceilings sort of low because of new hvac,
double insulated cheap replacements windows.
too much white shit, cliched modernism inside of cheaply restored shell.
dork in a suit on blow in the lobby, some pendant lamps, a pile of gym equipment in the basement with mood lighting.selling for 2-3000 a sq. ft.
a bromine pool that smells suspiciously like chlorine.
25 psycho brokers on blow competing for the attention of newly rich refi couples on blow who are cashing in on a mc mansion somewhere. a handfull if lucky.
will everyone be surprised when these apts dont sell? i say strip it down to the bones, sell them as lofts only to A.I.R. approved tenants (artists -on blow- in residency)for 500 a square foot. the investors in turn reserve themselves a place in heaven. or at least in ny history. thats worth more than all the blow in the world!
Someone sounds a bit bitter about not being able to afford Manhattan prices. Maybe he can take his little artistic skill to Williamsburg or Dumbo. Oh wait he's priced out of that area too. Maybe he should get a real job.
actually ive owned a loft downtown since 97,
and studio/office downtown and a house in montauk.
im a totally spoiled artist actually.
i just hate cheap shit thats too expensive.
investors put in too little and take out too much in my opinion, i know from experience. I am an architect and interior designer of half a dozen new buildings in manhattan in this latest boom.
(i also am tired sterotyping dorks who critique replies instead of writing about the initial blog.)
errrrrr.
The tower doesn't have all that much floor space, I wonder how many apartments per floor?
Love the streetcars in the picture. Look at how pedestrians are using most of the street.
The modern day picture would involve lots of automobiles parked or stuck in traffic with pedestrians herded into small areas to cross the street.
Yeah, that is a really amazing photo. If only those people could have had the shake shack.
I go through the park or down the street, in the same direction as the photo, most days of the week. Amazing how low-rise the Flatiron District used to be.
NY Life Building:
Beatiful; I look up at it every night as it's lit up in vibrant colors.
Better an overpriced loft-converstion than a total teardown.
art sucks, blow rules!
Ooops, meant to say Met Life. NY Life is nice too, not as nice as Met Life.
I am the building code and zoning consultant for the SLG (the owner) and am coordinating all the city filings for the conversion. It's actually a very cool project and the building is begging to be residential with a 5K s.f. floor plate. Anybody want to guess what they're are expecting to fetch per s.f.? I'll be glad to field any other questions too.