75 Kenmare Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 75 Kenmare Street by Carter Horsley

This 7-story building at 75 Kenmare Street, on the northwest corner of Mulberry Street in NoLita, will contain 35 residential condominium apartments and two commercial units over a total of 8,100 square feet of commercial space when completed in 2018.

It is being developed by DHA Capital, which is headed by Dan Hollander and Josh Schuster, AMS Acquisitions and First Atlantic Capital. DHA’s other projects include the 37-unit, 50 Clinton Street; the 8-unit, 12 East 13^th Street; and the 280-unit, 535 West 43^rd Street.

Andre Kikoski, who designed the café at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue, is the architect and Kravitz Design, headed by musician Lenny Kravitz, is handling the interiors. According to an April 6, 2016 article by Zoe Rosenberg at NYCurbed, Mr. Kravitz said that his “vision for 75 Kenmare centers on a layered environment, drawing inspiration from the eccentric Downtown vibe while integrating elegant materials, such as unique natural stones, bonded metal and aged oak.”

The building’s website notes that his company’s projects include “luxury suites of hotels in Las Vegas and Miami, the limited edition ‘Correspondent’ camera for the renowned Leica brand, ceramic tiles for Lea Ceramiche, sunglasses and watches for Brazilian brand Chilli Beans, [and] the Trousdale collection of architectural products for Rocky Mountain hardware.”

Future Green Studio is the landscape architect.

The building is on a site of a three-story garage that was demolished. The article noted that DHA Capital had “drummed up some kind of enthusiasm over the development after letting Kanye West throw a fashion week party for his zine in the garage’s empty shell” in February, 2016.

The building is close to Rice to Riches, Pinkberry and Balthazar on Spring Street.

Bottom Line

With its fluted cast-concrete façade with champagne-colored two- and three-story window surrounds and automated sliding parking, this Nolita building reeks luxury.

Description

According to a June 2, 2016 article at 6sqft.com by Ondel Hylton, Mr. Kiloski has “designed a sumptuous masonry skin” reinterpreting the neighborhood’s hand laid bricks in “cast-formed concrete, imaging a richly textured and finely scaled surface with thoughtfully contemplated aggregate, color and a surface patina.”

“Vertical panels cast a series of narrow channels in three unique widths to define the architecture of the street wall. Each unique width is in a specific vertical plane that is set consistently with respect to the other two, and the pattern of channels is staggered randomly to create a stunning contemporary play of dimension, shade and shadow.” 

The building’s fenestration is quite elegant with deeply inset windows in two-story-high, champagne-colored thin panels. Wide and narrow window panels alternate across the width of the building, which also has a broad metal entrance marquee, flanked by low landscaping.

The boxy building, whose top floor is setback, has “automated sliding platforms” for parking.

The lobby has a Portuguese slate reception desk, a smoked-glass wall and custom-cut quartzite, granite, travertine and marble floors. The elevator landing has Taj Mahal quartzite and honed vein-cut Titanium Travertine with bronze doors, oak paneling, and midnight-blue carpeting.

The building’s website states, with a hint of pomp and circumstance, that “Unexpected contextual details tangle unabashedly with raw, tactile elements and impeccably polished amenities.” The fluted cast-concrete of the exterior does recall the elegant base of 740 Park Avenue, which is not referenced by the website.

The building is in the Chinatown-Little Italy National Historic District that mandates that more than 50 percent of the new structure’s exterior be made of masonry.

Amenities

The building’s cellar and sub-cellar levels will have 150 parking spaces and the building also has a fitness center, a rooftop terrace and bicycle storage.

Apartments

Apartment D on floors 5 and 6 is a three-bedroom unit with 1,796 square feet with an entry foyer that leads to a 25-foot-wide living/dining room with an open kitchen with an island.

Apartment D on floors 3 and 4 is a two-bedroom unit with 1,167 square feet with 26-foot-long living/dining room and an open kitchen with an island.

Apartment J on floors 3 and 4 is a two-bedroom unit with 994 square feet and a 30-foot-wide living/dining room with an open kitchen.

Apartment B on floors 2 through 4 is a one-bedroom unit with 705 square feet with a pass-through kitchen and a 25-foot-long living/dining room.