Also in the works is 11 North Moore St. (above) by the same developer, VE Equities. That 11-story, 70,000-square-foot building will only have 22 units. The residences at both of these buildings will be big.
MAKE A WASH: VE Equities made a big splash with 471 Washington, now sold out. (
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Shopping for a condo in TriBeCa can leave even the well-heeled buyer tearing at their hair.
Apartments are big. And old. And expensive. (Co-ops and condos in SoHo and TriBeCa fetch an average $1,384 per square foot, according to real-estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, whereas the overall downtown average is $1,083.)
But the worst thing is that they’re scarce.
That’s the reason the phrase “new construction” sounds so sweet in a TriBeCa buyer’s ear. And this week NYP Home just got a peek at the renderings for VE Equities’ new condo, 290 West St., in the northern part of the neighborhood. This building, in addition to VE’s new 11 North Moore St., in the southern part, will be marketed by Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes of Prudential Douglas Elliman.
“We’re keeping it along the same feel of other projects in the neighborhood,” says developer Zach Vella, co-founder of VE. “But we’re taking it a step further. We’ve seen the market react to larger apartments with more luxurious finishes, and we’re designing buildings around that response.”
The response Vella is talking about probably has something to do with the last two condo buildings VE put up nearby: 1 North Moore St., the seven-unit building that sold out this year at an average of more than $1,900 per square foot, and 471 Washington St., the 12-unit building that also sold out and managed to get more than $17 million for a 7,200-square-foot penthouse combo (which works out to north of $2,300 per square foot).
“The demand for apartments has been large, large, large!” Eklund says, and it seems that Vella has taken this to heart.
Indeed, the new apartments VE is planning are big and luxurious; both buildings are 11 stories, but the 40,000-square-foot 290 West will only have 13 units and the 70,000-square-foot 11 North Moore will only have 22 units.
Prices have not been set yet, but it’s safe to assume that these properties will trade at even higher prices than VE’s previous properties. (Neither has an announced opening date, but one can expect them to be finished in about 18 months to two years.)
Part of the mission statement for both buildings was not just to put up two opulent apartment buildings, but also to fit in with the nearby landmarks.
“For 290 West, we wanted to create something that relates to the industrial landscape of TriBeCa,” says Morris Adjmi of the architectural firm Adjmi & Andreoli, which is designing both buildings. “But we wanted something that also takes in the West Side light.” (Adjmi is also designing 71 Laight St. — a 35-unit TriBeCa building that Taconic Investment Partners is developing — through his separate firm, Morris Adjmi Architects.)
The address, which is now simply a vacant lot on the corner of Canal Street, facing the West Side Highway, will take advantage of the light with an exterior that’s mostly glass with a black-steel frame. And 11 North Moore will also be glassy, framed with stone. Both buildings will feature gyms, libraries, playrooms, storage and bike rooms.
“The 11 North Moore penthouse is one of the most exciting properties to come to market in TriBeCa,” Vella says. “It’s going to be 7,500 square feet, with 20-foot ceilings, a private pool, soaring 360-degree views.”
Both buildings “are going to be a step ahead of everything we’ve seen planned,” Vella says.