Here’s a view of Union Square from 1985. The angle is from the southeast looking toward the northwest from the corner of 4th Ave. and 14th. Note that in the good ol’ days, the statue of George Washington was located in the intersection. It was later moved to the southern end of the park.
Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe announced the selection of the City Farm Café as the new operator of a seasonal café in Union Square Park, managed by O-V Hospitality Group, LLC (“O-V”), a New York-based restaurant management firm.
From May through October, anticipated to begin in 2012, this seasonal café will provide park users with a casual and affordable food service in the newly restored historic Pavilion in Union Square Park, part of a long tradition of unique and diverse food services in City parks. In keeping with Union Square Park’s history as the birthplace of the City’s first Greenmarket and with the Parks Department’s initiative to provide varied and healthy food options in City parks, City Farm Café’s menu will feature seasonal produce and other food products from the Union Square Greenmarket.
In the off-season, the Pavilion will be used for a range of educational and recreational activities open to the public from November through April. The Parks Department plans to sponsor childrens’ programs, fitness programs, and films, and the Greenmarket plans to organize public education programs to encourage healthy eating habits.
“City Farm Café submitted an inventive proposal for a seasonal café that will take full advantage of the locally grown and produced fresh food sold at the Union Square Greenmarket,” said Commissioner Benepe.
As the new multimillion-dollar condos at 15 Union Square West continue to develop, it’s fun to look at this great 19th-century photo of what the Tiffany Building looked like in its prime. Note that some of the people on the street have been added later by an artist.
A Greenwich Village parking garage at 12 E. 13th St. between University Place and Fifth Avenue will be transformed into eight large condominiums, in another sign of the city’s booming ultra-luxury market.
The building, which sold for $32 million in 2012, will feature eight apartments—a mix of full-floor units and duplexes—with expected asking prices range from $7.5 million to $28.5 million for the top triplex, according to the project’s developers. Occupancy is expected by the end of 2014.
The project is a joint development by DHA Capital LLC and Continental Properties.
The developers plan to add four more floors to the eight-story building, which was built in 1930. A portion of the rear will be demolished and replaced with the new stories, and it will also receive a new façade with elongated bricks to make the windows wider.
The 10th, 11th and 12th floors will make up one triplex, while all of the ninth and part of the eighth floor will make up a duplex with an asking price of $18 million. The building will be topped by a glass structure being added as part of the 6,000-square-foot triplex penthouse.
The building will feature a 24-hour concierge, an automated parking system, a small gym, individual storage space and street-level retail.
The building is currently undergoing demolition, and reconstruction work will begin in a month or two.
Steven Fisch of Continental Properties, a family business started by his father in 1957, said this was their first joint venture with DHA Capital LLC, and the two groups looked at other properties before deciding on this one.
“One major factor was the size of the block, the location obviously, and the ability to do something very special, to create almost a work of art with full-floor condos,” said Mr. Fisch. “It’s very hard to find a 67-foot-wide building.”
Mr. Fisch said the two groups decided to create an ultra-high-end luxury building rather than smaller, more affordable apartments because there has been very strong demand for this type of housing over the past five years, and a shortage of supply.
He said they also wanted to distinguish themselves from large buildings featuring 150 and 200 apartments.
“It is in a location, and a time in New York City, when this can happen,” said Mr. Fisch.
Richard Cantor, a principal at Cantor-Pecorella, is marketing the condos. Mr. Cantor said none had been sold yet, but the ultra high-end luxury residential market is very strong.
“There’s been a huge uptick in prices in the high end, it’s a very strong market,” said Mr. Cantor.
He said the building doesn’t have a “pretentious” name, and is just known by its address to keep it simple.
The last tenant at the 45,000-square-foot parking garage was Hertz Rental Car, which vacated once its lease expired.
In case you haven’t seen the renderings for 15 Union Square West, here they are. And here’s one $4,100,000 listing. The interesting thing about this development is that it retains the original cast-iron window frames from the 19th-century while wrapping the whole thing in 21st-century glass. Take a close look when you walk by. And here’s the history of the building. And a recent New York Times peek inside the model apartment.
Because the rent is too damn high. As usual.
Union Square themed clothing is available from the Union Square Partnership.
