The American Thread Building, 260 West Broadway: Review and Ratings

Review of 260 West Broadway by Carter Horsley

One of the first conversions of a large commercial building in TriBeCa to luxury loft apartments, the American Thread Building at 260 West Broadway is a very handsome structure with a curved frontage overlooking a small park.

It was erected in 1894-6 by the New York Wool Warehouse Company as the Wool Exchange Building.  It housed the American Thread Company from 1901 to 1964.  In 1979, it housed an exhibition space in which 20-year-old Keith Haring painted a mural that was rediscovered in 2007 by contractors converted the space to a triplex. 

The building, which was designed in Renaissance Revival-style by William B. Tubby, was converted to a condominium by Rose Associates in 1980.

The 11-story, beige-brick building, which is one block south of Canal Street, contains 52 condominium apartments and has imposing city vistas from its upper floors.

Bottom Line

Although it is missing its modest cornice, this 11-story Renarissance Revival-style former commercial building was converted to 52 large condominium apartments in 1980.  It overlooks a nice small park in TriBeCa.

Description

It has an imposing staircase entrance with two-story high columns and an attractive cast-iron gate.

It has arched windows on its first floor and the first two floors have broad limestone banding.

It is missing its cornice.

Amenities

It has a full-time doorman, a roof garden, a roof top gym, a bicycle room, basement storage, a garden, and a health club but no garage and no sidewalk landscaping.

It has no garage and a staircase entrance.

Apartments

 A triplex maisonette has a 12-foot-long vestibule that leads to a 17-foot-long foyer that opens onto a 31-foot-long game room and a 24-foot-long home gym on the lower level and on the middle level there is a 15-foot-long foyer with a curved wall on which a mural by Keith Haring exists.  The foyer leads to a 42-fooot-long grand salon with a double-height ceiling adjacent to a 15-foot-long dining room next to a 15-foot-long kitchen.  The apartment’s upper level has a 46-foot-long belvedere overlooking the grand salon and two bedrooms.

Apartment 41 is a two-bedroom unit that has an entry foyer that leads to a 16-foot-long dining from next to a 13-foot-long enclosed kitchen and a 23-foot-long living room.

Apartment 5C has a 26-foot-long living room that opens onto a 17-foot-long dining area next to a 14-foot-long sitting area , a 10-foot-long home office and a 13-foot-long, pass-through kitchen.  The apartment has two bedrooms.

Apartment 7AB has a foyer that opens onto a very large curved living room with an open kitchen and four bedrooms.

Penthouse 11C is a duplex unit with foyer leading to a semi-circular, 22-foot-wide den with a wood-burning fireplace, a 21-foot-long media room and two bedrooms on the lower level and a bedroom, a foyer leading to a 37-foot-long living room with a fireplace adjacent to a 17-foot-long open kitchen and a 17-foot-long dining room on the upper level that also has a master bedroom suite.

History

Over the years, its residents have included models Gisele Bundchen and Naomi Campbell and actress Isabella Rossellini.

 There is good public transportation in the area, which has many boutiques and restaurants.

Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt bought the park in 1866 to remove the trees and erect a depot for his Hudson River Railroad.  St. John’s Chapel was demolished for the widening of Varick Street in 1918 but St. John’s Lane still serves as a reminder of the church.