Always something new on our favorite development block — the noisy one between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, and West 54th and 55th streets, where three big projects are clamorously under way.
The mysterious hotel soon to rise at 237 W. 54th St. is going to be a Hilton, it turns out — although which Hilton brand is unknown.
Joseph Moinian, who claims he’s merely a “minority, noncontrolling member” of a joint venture with Starwood Capital that owns the land and is buying air rights, said through a rep, “Nothing has been formally signed” on the 34-story project, for which foundation work is ongoing.
Our source, however, seemed solid — a new fence sign that states, “The name of this project is: Hilton Hotel.”
The block is also home to two rapidly rising, much bigger projects: Boston Properties’ 1 million-square-foot 250 W. 55th St. office tower and Granite Broadway’s 68-story twin hotels at 1717 Broadway, Courtyard by Marriott and Residence by Marriott.
“It’s an extraordinary amount of construction on one block at the same time,” Community Board 5 district manager Wally Rubin gently put it.
Boston so far has signed only Morrison Foerster for just under 200,000 square feet. A possible lease with another law firm, Mayer Brown, fell by the wayside, we’re told, when partners decided to wait another year before deciding.
In a recent conference call with investors, Boston President Douglas Linde said lower floors at 250 W. 55th were priced in the mid-$80s a square foot, compared with the $90-plus landlords want for older East Side buildings.
Caught in the middle are tenants of 243 W. 54th St., a tiny three-story apartment building owned by Moinian that’s sandwiched between Boston’s tower and the secretive Hilton.
They’ve complained to the Dept. of Buildings about the hotel project — alleging damage to their homes, inspectors who ignored violations and work done without permits. The department says the job conforms with code, no complaints were overlooked and violations were corrected.
It’s hard to sort out, but one thing is clear: 243 W. 54th St. is no place for an afternoon nap.
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Ambitious private-equity firm Savanna, snatching up properties around Manhattan, has taken the plunge at Madison Square Park. The firm headed by Christopher Schlank and Nicholas Bienstock just bought a 150,000-square-foot commercial condominium at 15 E. 26th St., a 1912-vintage, 20-story building where the top 12 floors are condo apartments.
Savanna paid previous owners what sources said was about $57 million for the lower eight floors, including the ground floor that’s home to thriving Italian restaurant SD26.
Some 21,500 square feet of vacant space on the third and eighth floors will be marketed by a Jones Lang LaSalle team. JLL’s Mitchell Konsker said the address is ideal for technology, media, entertainment and fashion tenants.
Savanna plans to spend $9 million more on capital improvements. The building faces Madison Square Park, which is at the center of sweeping change — including the Clock Tower, which Marriott International is turning into a hotel, and 1107 Broadway, the former Toy Building being converted into residences by the Witkoff Group.
The East 26th Street block between Madison and Fifth avenues has also come out of a slumber. The new Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) will open this year at 11 E. 26th, next door to Savanna’s new toy. Savanna in the past year also acquired 21 Penn Plaza, 1375 Broadway and 80 Broad St.
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Tenants in the creative field often have unusual requirements. Contemporary Conservation Ltd. — a facility for the preservation and conservation of modern and contemporary art — needed a really big elevator, one which could even accommodate a giant Jeff Koons “Rabbit” sculpture.
The studio found what it needed at Kaufman Organization’s 460 W. 34th St. — a location its brokers, Louis Puopolo and Alex Furst of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Puopolo Group, found after scouring addresses from Chambers Street to 42nd Street. “We had to find the elevator before we looked at the building,” Puopolo chuckled.
The studio is taking 7,200 square feet, three times larger than its old space in the Chelsea Art Museum on West 22nd Street. Terms weren’t released, but the asking rent was $28 a square foot.
Indicative of soaring prices in the Chelsea/High Line district, Puopolo said comparable space nearer to Contemporary Conservation’s old location was in the high $40s-low $50s.
Contemporary Conservation’s New York studio specializes in preserving works made from industrial materials more common in American than in European art, such as plastic and rubber.