The 36-story tower at 75 Wall Street will contain a 250-room hotel that will be managed by the Hyatt Corporation under its recently launched luxury lifestyle brand, Andaz, which means "personal style," and 350 condominium apartments.

The building was built in 1987 and occupies the Wall Street blockfront between Pearl and Water Streets and it is not far from the South Street Seaport. It was designed by Welton Becket Associates as an office building and Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron (SLCE) is the architectural firm for the conversion. The Rockwell Group is designing the interiors and public spaces for both the residences and hotel.

J.P. Morgan Chase bought the building from Barclays Bank in 2004 and a December 21, 2005 article in Real Estate Weekly in 2005 indicated it was purchased by the Hakimian Organization and Peykar Brothers Realty for $185 million. Gorjian Properties is a partner in the development.

The bank had agreements with two of the largest tenants in the 640,000-sq.ft. building - Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. - to buy out their leases, which expired last year.

In their excellent book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition" (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval White commented on the building noting that "A deep, generous entrance arch through a flamed granite base offers a promise, but the flat detailing above doesn't deliver," adding that "The park provides the obligatory waterfall, but little to promote pedestrian serenity."

Apartments will comprise the upper 24 floors and will have 10-foot-high ceilings and "a custom-built overhead storage system that maximizes the use of space. Open-plan kitchens will have glass-tile backsplaches and lacquer and glass cabinetry and baths will have white marble walls. Duplex penthouses will have fireplaces, custom-built library walls and terraces with wetbars.

Residents will have hotel services including room service, catering, housekeeping, valet laundry and parking, a concierge, Club 75, a facility on the 18th floor with a cardio-fitness center, massage treatment, media room and game room, and a rooftop solarium and lounge and indoor-outdoor fireplace.

The Rockwell Group has designed the Chambers Hotel on West 56th Street, the W New York and W Union Square hotels, and the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame at the Time Warner Center.