Archinect - News

Developer behind SHoP-designed The Brooklyn Tower is facing foreclosure on $240 million loan

2024-04-04T12:20:00-04:00

Michael Stern, the developer of SHoP’s new The Brooklyn Tower (also known by its address at 9 Dekalb Avenue), is facing foreclosure over a failure to pay a $240 million loan that was extended by Silverstein Properties in 2019 to complete the 93-story project, according to reports from The Real Deal.

As TDR pointed out, Stern is also responsible for 111 West 57th Street, which has had issues with cost overruns and other legal setbacks.

Stern, a veteran of the city’s high-stakes recent luxury market, is known for making huge bets on his projects. Speaking for a 2020 Financial Times profile, FXCollaborative’s Daniel Kaplan said of his approach, “He’s commissioned some very good architecture. The thing that’s really interesting about him is that all the things people say you can’t do — or you can’t do for the money — he says, ‘Forget it!’”

The tower, which stands as Brookly...

CetraRuddy to design landmark office-to-residential conversion at 55 Broad Street in Manhattan

2023-08-07T11:24:00-04:00

A bellwether overhaul of the aging Emery Roth & Sons-designed 55 Broad Street office tower in Lower Manhattan will be undertaken by CetraRuddy in what is billed as one of the New York market’s largest office-to-residential conversion projects in recent memory.

The project for developers Silverstein Properties and Metro Loft Management will commence early next month and culminate in a reimagined 410,000-square-foot structure replete with 571 new apartment units, a private club, 45-foot-long rooftop pool feature, and other amenities.

Rendering courtesy Silverstein Properties

The firm’s founding partner and CEO John Cetra explained of their forthcoming design: “We took advantage of 55 Broad’s unique form with setbacks which enabled us to design a variety of apartment sizes and types ranging from efficient units to loft-like layouts with generous terraces. In converting the building from commercial to residential use, we recaptured floor area that was then used to add additional square ...

Downtown LA's U.S. Bank Tower completes two-year overhaul (bye-bye, Skyslide)

2023-04-06T17:57:00-04:00

Silverstein Properties has just completed its overhaul of the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners-designed U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles.

The two-year, $60 million project issued major upgrades across 35,000 square feet of the building while installing a new entrance lobby and amenities-laden 54th-floor Vista feature. Jeffrey Beers International and A+I were in charge of leading the redesign, which also removed the 69th-floor Skyslide attraction that was first installed in 2018.

“The U.S. Bank Tower is a landmark in Downtown Los Angeles,” Silverstein Properties Chairman Larry A. Silverstein said in a statement. “We have reimagined the building with spaces and amenities that reflect the new way of working. We want to ensure it remains a beacon of the business district and also contributes more broadly to a thriving downtown — one of the best places in LA to work, live, and visit.”

Related on Archinect: LA's iconic US Bank Tower sold to NYC developer

The company purchased the tower in...

New renderings leak of Foster + Partners' upgraded redesign for 2 World Trade Center

2022-02-16T19:12:00-05:00

A revised version of one of the world’s most high-profile architectural projects by Foster + Partners is now being circulated online as new renderings have surfaced that depict the firm’s upgraded Two World Trade Center design.

The London-based firm was added back onto the development team in January 2020 after developers Silverstein Properties officially nixed a concept from Bjarke Ingels Group that had been on the docket since replacing Foster's original design in 2015. Since then, Silverstein has been in pursuit of the anchor tenants necessary to provide the confidence to commit to the entirely-private development.

Rendering by Visualhouse

The final piece of the renewed 16-acre World Trade Center site will now stand some 1,350 feet above the Oculus and 9/11 Memorial site and quartet of other office towers designed David Childs, Richard Rogers, Fumihiko Maki, and Kohn Pedersen Fox, respectively. The foundation of the building has already been completed, givi...

LA's iconic US Bank Tower sold to NYC developer

2020-09-22T14:49:00-04:00

Silverstein Properties closed on its $430 million deal to buy US Bank Tower, an iconic Downtown Los Angeles property whose purchase price was far below initial expectations. [...] In a statement, chairman Larry Silverstein said: “I believe in the future of Downtown Los Angeles.”

The 73-story US Bank Tower, designed by Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until the recently completed Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles and later the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco took over that title.

The 36-foot-long glass 'SkySlide' was added on the outside of the tower's 70th and 69th floors in 2016.

First look at 3 World Trade Center’s huge outdoor terrace

2018-04-10T22:51:00-04:00

New renderings have been unveiled for an 11,000-square-foot outdoor terrace at 3 World Trade Center, expected to open when the skyscraper does so in June. Designed by Ken Smith Workshop, the space will be fully landscaped and feature a lush garden.

Slated to open this June, 3 WTC, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, rises 80 stories, measuring 1,079 feet tall. The tower’s three-story lobby will give visitors a perfect view of the 9/11 Memorial outside.

REVEALED: World Trade Center Performing Arts Center will be a translucent marble cube

2016-09-08T17:39:00-04:00

After stalling for years, the $243 million World Trade Center Performing Arts Center started to make headway in recent months, and now Silverstein Properties have revealed the official renderings. With the help of billionaire businessman Ronald O. Perelman's $75 million gift, the 90,000-square-foot marble cube designed by REX will both stand out as an impressive piece of cultural architecture and co-exists with the other structures on the WTC complex.

Rupert Murdoch suddenly pulls out of 2 World Trade Center deal

2016-01-18T17:48:00-05:00

Rupert Murdoch has dropped his plans to relocate 21st Century Fox and News Corp. to 2 World Trade Center. In a statement issued Friday afternoon, World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein declared himself “disappointed” by the news. [...] In June, the two media companies signed a letter of intent with Silverstein to occupy 1.5 million square feet for 30 years at a 2 World Trade Center designed by architect Bjarke Ingels.

2 WTC previously in the Archinect news:

Is 4 World Trade Center Better Than the Big One? Inside the Other Tower About to Top Out

2012-06-12T13:49:00-04:00

That a 977-foot tower has gone unnoticed is partly the point. Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, 4 World Trade Center has a quiet splendor hidden within its still skin. Like the original Twin Tower, 1 World Trade Center still imposes itself on the skyline. By contrast, 4 World Trade Center becomes a part of it.

Video inside the new 4 WTC, which is two floors from completion.