Gehry’s 8 Spruce draws 1,000 brokers

The leasing office at the Frank Gehry-designed 8 Spruce Street opened to renters a few days ago, just about a week after more than 1,000 residential leasing brokers streamed through the 76-story tower near City Hall to get a first peek inside of the building.

Clad in an undulating stainless steel skin, 8 Spruce Street is the tallest residential tower in the city, and has drawn intense interest through its impact on the skyline and its high-profile architect.

Susi Yu, a senior vice president of development at Forest City Ratner, said in an interview with Insights from The Real Deal (see video above) that hundreds of apartment brokers — by invitation only — came over several days starting the second week in February to view the available units.

The building, being marketed by Citi Habitats Marketing Group and Nancy Packes Inc., is releasing an initial group of approximately 120 units on floors 11, 12 and 14, and 27 through 34. The starting price for studios averaging 500 square feet is $2,630 per month; the one-bedrooms start at $3,580 for upwards of 630 square feet; and two-bedrooms start at $5,945 per month, for apartments1,050 square feet and bigger, Yu said.

Those figures would amount to a price of $63 per foot for studios and $68 per foot for one- and two-bedrooms, according to calculations by The Real Deal.

And while brokers began viewing layouts in the 903-unit tower recently — and the leasing office opened last weekend — the very first tenant tour actually took place Feb. 11. It was a special preview for a couple expecting their second child, to firm up their housing plans, Yu said.

Move-ins are scheduled for next month.