Overview

In the late ’80s the pioneering Red Square building became the first high-rise luxury project to break ground in the East Village, and its design made an overt effort to reflect and incorporate the eclecticism and artiness that the area was known for at the time. Nearly 30 years later and just a few avenues west, Ian Schrager’s 40 Bond Street is taking downtown luxury living to a much higher level. But the Bond Street design makes little direct effort to reflect its surroundings. Instead it makes post-modern winks at the neighborhood and its history that will, I suspect, be lost on the majority of passersby unfamiliar with the building’s press releases. The architects on the project are the Swiss-based, Pritzker prize-winning team of Herzog and de Meuron who have created an esoteric, luminous green facade that is meant to reference and update the cast iron buildings of the surrounding area (while cleverly managing to circumvent Bond Street’s European-style building restrictions). The building’s front gate, a busy, bone-white, sculptural structure, is ostensibly a nod to the downtown graffiti culture of yore. Whether either of these two allusions actually succeed is open to debate, but what is clear is that building will definitely have a bold look that will come as a welcome departure from the mundane steel-and-glass and brick-faced condos hastily springing up all over East Houston Street two blocks to the south.

Amenities

While 40 Bond Street is a striking bauble of a building, what is most remarkable and what distinguishes it from the other major luxury development projects in the area (including 48 Bond street going up just two doors away) is its sheer opulence. As Ian Schrager’s first foray into commercial real estate and the second major project of his newly-created Ian Schrager Company, his presence will be apparent. Schrager claims 40 Bond is revolutionary in combining apartment living with the luxuries of a top hotel, so clearly, the amenities are significant aspect of the building’s appeal. Of course the top hotel that will provide the concierge services is none other than the Gramercy Park Hotel, recently renovated and reopened by Schrager himself. Whether or not this will mean that the luxury experience will be lived in a way that is superior or even markedly different than at any other comparably priced property remains to be seen, but providing this sort of superlative pampering would seem to play to Schrager’s strengths. Although, it does seems to me that while his unique take on luxury may be quite enjoyable while staying at one of his hotels, having his personal touch permanently invade one’s private life could risk feeling oppressive (his use of the vaguely Orwellian term “lifestyle management” in press materials only encourages this qualm). But while permanently residing in the world of Schrager may not be for everyone, it is also the case that this is a boutique condominium that is not intended for everyone. Indeed, I understand that a significant percentage of the residents will be Europeans who will not be living there permanently.

Units and Pricing

The units begin at $2,800 a square foot, and the square footage ranges from 1,269 to 3,288. The entire building is 11 stories high with a triplex penthouse perched on top and 21 loft-style apartments filling out the middle of the building. On the ground floor are five more triplex apartments that are being marketed as townhouses. While not nearly as revolutionary as Santiago Calatrava’s proposed tower of “townhouses in the sky,” 40 Bond does bring its own modernist spin to the townhouse, which consists of five semi-autonomous units contained within the structure’s first three floors, each with its own entrance and meticulously landscaped backyard.

Interior

The 11 foot ceilings on each floor are typical of the interiors that are meant to be artist-type lofts modified for luxury living. 40 Bond definitely deserves bragging rights for its immense and fully operable windows, which are like nothing else currently being built in the city. Other touches include Miele kitchen appliances, fire places in most units, and wall-to-wall oak floors. It seems to me, though, that the interiors are ultimately somewhat of an afterthought, and I have heard rumor that Herzog and de Meuron actually subcontracted them to another firm.

Area

Bond Street terminates to the east on Lafayette Street, squarely in the heart of trendy and respectable Noho. The western end opens up on the Bowery, a street in the midst of dramatic improvements. The just-opened Bowery Hotel is just across the street from the Bond Street terminus and is the grandest embodiment to date of the shabby antique style lately pioneered by Freeman’s Alley, the exceedingly hip restaurant, which itself can be found just south of Houston Street. There is also a brand new Whole Foods on Bowery and Houston, which is nice for the neighborhood (but should prove irrelevant to Bond Street residents enjoying their personal grocery shopping service). The Noho and Bowery area is also a major hub for off- and off-off-Broadway theaters.

Up and coming though it is, the Bowery does exhibit a special knack for resisting complete transformation. The much publicized demise of CBGBs notwithstanding, the street still stubbornly retains traces of its old infamy. Directly across from the luxury Bowery Hotel, for example, stands the White House Hotel—a grimy $30 a night hostel exhibiting no immanent plans for departure. And on the other side of the coin, the harum-scarum and uninspired development up and down East Houston street has a very opportunistic air about it and may ultimately prove a detriment to the charm of the area.

Investment Potential

The building is coming close to selling out—only one of the five townhouses still remains available—and will almost certainly be fully occupied upon completion at the end of the summer (by residents who will count Ian Schrager among their numbers). I think the only thing that could wind up harming the condo’s value is its graffiti-inspired gate. While this structure has been much touted, I think people are overlooking how quickly this pure white sculpture, which is being erected practically on the sidewalk, will become filthy and, ironically, defaced with actual graffiti. Nevertheless, considering Ian Schrager’s excellent track record for success, Herzog and de Meuron’s reputation, and the fact that 40 Bond Street is a hip building aptly situated in a hip neighborhood that seems likely only to get hipper suggests that it will continue to remain valuable—if only to a select group of buyers—for some time to come. In fact, I have heard that before it has even opened, some early buyers have already sold for a profit.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm and is filed under 40 Bond Street, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.