A 40-story, mid-block condominium tower with 110 apartments is planned by Espanade Capital LLC, of which David Scharf is a principal for 785 Eighth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.
The very slim, glass-clad tower will have balconies facing the avenue, according to a rendering on the website of Ismael Leyva Architects P.C.
According to the website, the design "responds to the challenge of an oddly shaped site which results in a 40-story building with a still, rigorous geometry, defying the difficulties of the site: irregular shape and very small footprint."
"The angular nature of the site is exacerbated in the triangular shapes of the penthouses. The volumetric composition is complemented by the addition of cascading balconies with glass railings. The abstract sculptural quality of the whole resonates with the nearby very dynamic theater district," it continued.
The ground floor will have commercial space that extends to an outdoor garden in the rear and the residential entry will have a skylight and a waterfall. A fitness center, lounge space and bicycle storage with be in the cellar.
Apartments on the second and seventh floors have outdoor terraces and apartments on the eighth through the 40th floor have balconies.
The roof will have outdoor terraces with hot tubs. The building will have residential entrances on Eighth Avenue and 46th Street, but the rendering indicates that a low-rise building will remain on the southwest corner at 46th Street.
As rendered, the design would be one of the most dramatic "sliver" buildings in the city and a poster, "krulltime," on wirednewyork.com likened the design to a "dead" design by Jean Nouvel for a very tall, slim, dramatic and impressive tower along the High Line in Chelsea. Another poster, "Fabrizio," liked the balcony edge to "the chain-saw aesthetic."
Calls by CityRealty.com to Mr. Scharf and Mr. Leyva were not returned today so it is unclear if the building is "as-of-right" and what is the size of the units and the exact shape of the building.
Records on file with the city indicate that the project has an air rights easement from Letterbeg Restaurant Inc., and that the project's site begins 32 feet 4 inches south of 48th Street and extends 23 feet 7 inches south along Eighth Avenue where it extends 100 feet deep into the block and "THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue 44 feet six inches; THENCE Westerly parallel with 48th Street, 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Northerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 100 feet 5 inches to the southerly side of West 48th Street, THENCE Easterly along the Southerly side of West 48th Street 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 8 feet 4 inches; THENCE Southeasterly along a line forming an interior angle of 256 degrees, 30 minutes, 15 seconds with the previous course, 102 feet 10 1/8 inches to the westerly side of 8th Avenue to the point or place of BEGINNING."
City documents indicated that Esplanade Condominiums LLC has arranging financing with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Inc.
Recently, planning for two other residential condominium towers on either side of Eighth Avenue at 46th Street has advanced, suggesting that the dramatic transformation of this once tawdry area of West Midtown is accelerating.
The very slim, glass-clad tower will have balconies facing the avenue, according to a rendering on the website of Ismael Leyva Architects P.C.
According to the website, the design "responds to the challenge of an oddly shaped site which results in a 40-story building with a still, rigorous geometry, defying the difficulties of the site: irregular shape and very small footprint."
"The angular nature of the site is exacerbated in the triangular shapes of the penthouses. The volumetric composition is complemented by the addition of cascading balconies with glass railings. The abstract sculptural quality of the whole resonates with the nearby very dynamic theater district," it continued.
The ground floor will have commercial space that extends to an outdoor garden in the rear and the residential entry will have a skylight and a waterfall. A fitness center, lounge space and bicycle storage with be in the cellar.
Apartments on the second and seventh floors have outdoor terraces and apartments on the eighth through the 40th floor have balconies.
The roof will have outdoor terraces with hot tubs. The building will have residential entrances on Eighth Avenue and 46th Street, but the rendering indicates that a low-rise building will remain on the southwest corner at 46th Street.
As rendered, the design would be one of the most dramatic "sliver" buildings in the city and a poster, "krulltime," on wirednewyork.com likened the design to a "dead" design by Jean Nouvel for a very tall, slim, dramatic and impressive tower along the High Line in Chelsea. Another poster, "Fabrizio," liked the balcony edge to "the chain-saw aesthetic."
Calls by CityRealty.com to Mr. Scharf and Mr. Leyva were not returned today so it is unclear if the building is "as-of-right" and what is the size of the units and the exact shape of the building.
Records on file with the city indicate that the project has an air rights easement from Letterbeg Restaurant Inc., and that the project's site begins 32 feet 4 inches south of 48th Street and extends 23 feet 7 inches south along Eighth Avenue where it extends 100 feet deep into the block and "THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue 44 feet six inches; THENCE Westerly parallel with 48th Street, 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Northerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 100 feet 5 inches to the southerly side of West 48th Street, THENCE Easterly along the Southerly side of West 48th Street 16 feet 8 inches; THENCE Southerly parallel with 8th Avenue, 8 feet 4 inches; THENCE Southeasterly along a line forming an interior angle of 256 degrees, 30 minutes, 15 seconds with the previous course, 102 feet 10 1/8 inches to the westerly side of 8th Avenue to the point or place of BEGINNING."
City documents indicated that Esplanade Condominiums LLC has arranging financing with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Inc.
Recently, planning for two other residential condominium towers on either side of Eighth Avenue at 46th Street has advanced, suggesting that the dramatic transformation of this once tawdry area of West Midtown is accelerating.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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