180 East 88th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 180 East 88th Street by Carter Horsley

DDG, which designed and developed the very handsome, mid-rise apartment building at 41 Bond Street, is developing with Global Holdings the mid-block site at 1558 Third Avenue between 87^th and 88^th Streets with a 31-story condominium residence tower that will be 521 feet high.

The tower will have a stone façade and a canopied entrance on the avenue.  It is also known as 180 East 88^th Street, where it has mid-block frontage.

The design is highlighted by some tall, large arches on the ground floor, in the middle of the building’s shaft and at the top. The setback mechanical space on the roof is angled.

The building, which will have 48 apartments, has rusticated quoins and piers.

A January 15, 2016 article in The New York Times by C. J. Hughes quoted Joseph A. McMillan Jr., the ceo of DDG, as stating that "this was not about building the tallest building we could possibly build," adding that zoning could have allowed a larger tower, possilby up to 100 feet more.

The tower will have a façade of Kolumba bricks that are longer and thinner than standard bricks and have a bluish-gray hue.

Mr. McMillan said that the building's arches, which are repeated in the lobby, are Wishbone-shapes and inspired by Antoni Gaudi.

The DDG website shows a picture of five other designs it had created for the site, all of them very attractive and interesting.

DDG bought the site, which is across the avenue from a Whole Foods Store that opened in February, 2015, from Muss Development in 2013 for $70 million.

Description

A rendering of the side-street entrance showed a landscaped, curved walkway beneath a sinuous bronze canopy with sculpted bronze supports leading to an arched entrance.

It also showed what appeared to be a large balcony on the sixth floor whose base was trimmed with bronze.

Apartments

One rendering indicated that a kitchen with several windows would have a "bee-hive" range hood.

Another rendering indicated that an apartment foyer would be curved with a chandelier.

A rendering of a long bathroom indicated a large arched mirror and a free-standing tub flanked by tall stone columns.