From left: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and architect Frank Gehry

Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants 10 Frank Gehry buildings in New York City in the next two years, the mayor told a crowd outside the Signature Theater, the latest Gehry building to open in his purview, at its opening today.

As the New York Observer reported, the mayor is prepping his New York legacy with Gehry’s help. “You should know that Frank and I had a conversation backstage,” Bloomberg said and looked at Gehry adding, “and we both committed to each other that we would get 10 more Frank Gehry projects going here — in the next 700 days. If my math is any good, Frank, that is one every 70 days, so we should meet some time later today to get going.” [more]

Signs outside the Signature Theater, at 480 West 42nd Street

After years of negotiations and millions in financing from everyone from Barry Diller to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Signature Theatre will open next Tuesday, at 480 West 42nd Street, the New York Times reported.

The 70,000-square-foot complex was designed by Frank Gehry and has taken many years to come to fruition, including years of confusion when the institution planned to be in a proposed performing arts center near Ground Zero, and later when funding was scarce after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holding Company. [more]

A proposal for the performing arts center at 1 World Trade Center by student Pooya Bakhsheshi, who said he emphasized dance’s “celebration of life” by wrapping his building in a perforated metal skin, protecting it “like a pearl in a shell”

Twenty-seven architecture students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and at the University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning created designs for the Frank Gehry-commissioned Ground Zero performing arts center as part of their fall semester studio courses, the New York Times reported. They only had to worry about the design. While Gehry, who told the Times he didn’t know the students were working on the renderings, already presented his design, the students weren’t aware of that. Their main constraint, which Gehry himself contended with, was to situate the center on roughly 30,000 square feet near the One World Trade Center office tower and to accommodate the dance needs of tenant Joyce Theater. Gehry said the project, which is projected to cost as much as $300 million, is “on hold.” [more]

From the November issue: Three autumns ago, the collapse of Lehman Brothers knocked the wind out of New York’s real estate industry. Home sales flattened. Prices plunged. And, as layoffs mounted, office buildings emptied out. While there have been some spurts of activity, the industry has not gotten back to the highs of the boom. In fact, as the unemployment rate still hovers at an uncomfortably high level, and Wall Street (a once-reliable real estate engine) reports losses, it seems that a complete recovery might be years away.

All the same, there are signs of comebacks — whether they are from developers who once defaulted on mega-loans and seemed like pariahs, or stock prices that have bounced back from the doldrums at some public real estate companies. There are also geographic stretches of the city that had been pocked with empty retail spaces and empty condo buildings, but are now filling up with stores and residents. There are even some bankers who had been caught up in the subprime mess who are now back on the lending scene in a big way. [more]

Architect Frank Gehry has been forced to look for projects in China and India as development continues to stagnate in America. Bloomberg News reported that Gehry’s in competition to land a museum project in a Chinese metropolis and a spiritual building in India.

“There’s an art explosion in China,” Gehry said, “it’s really great — very exciting.”

But the 82-year-old admits he’d still prefer to work on U.S. projects in California and New York. [more]

From left: Architect Frank Gehry, MiMA at 555 West 42nd Street and a rendering of the new Signature Theater

Before architect Frank Gehry regained favor among New Yorkers with projects like 8 Spruce Street, one of the few projects he landed was the renovation of a new space for the 20-year-old Signature Theater Company, according to Media Bistro.

The new theater, located within the Signature Center at 555 West 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th avenues, is slated to open in February 2012. [more]

From left: Frank Gehry, 8 Spruce Street and a cartoon Gehry admiring a crumpled paper on “The Simpsons”

Architect Frank Gehry appeared on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS this past Sunday (video unavailable) and spoke about his design process. When Zakaria suggested that a crumpled piece of paper provided the motivation for the folds typical of Gehry buildings, and especially his design of Disney Hall in L.A., Gehry said it was a myth perpetuated by a cameo in “The Simpsons.” “That was just a fun — fun thing, but it has — it has haunted me,” Gehry said. “People do — who’ve seen ‘The Simpsons’ — believe it.” (For our Spanish speaking readers, a dubbed clip of the episode in question can be seen here.) [more]

Community members and city officials remain committed to building a 1,000-seat performing arts venue anchored by the Joyce Theater at the World Trade Center, the Wall Street Journal reported, especially in the lead up to the opening of the Sept. 11 memorial. A new board is currently being formed to oversee its creation.
“Between now and the 10th anniversary, the focus will be on getting the memorial open and preparing for the anniversary, but as we get to this fall, everyone’s going to say, ‘What is the next step?’ and ‘How do you fully round out the site?’” said state Sen. Daniel Squadron. With construction still six years away, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has allocated $155 million for the Frank Gehry-designed project, which is estimated to cost $400 million to $500 million. [more]

Clockwise from left: a rendering of the new signature facility, MiMA development, the Signature Theater logo and Related’s Stephen Ross

Midtown-based Signature Theater Company has closed on its purchase of a commercial unit at 450 West 42nd Street for $6.666 million, according to public records filed with the city yesterday. The purchase, which closed July 20, marks another step toward the completion of its new $60 million home within MiMA, the Related Companies’ high-rise mixed-use development, which is also home to the Yotel Hotel. The facility is due to open in February 2011.

A publicist for Signature confirmed the purchase, saying that the new space will allow the company to expand its programming “exponentially.” The Frank Gehry-designed 70,000-square-foot center will feature three theatres, including a 199-seat proscenium theatre, a 199-seat flexible courtyard theatre and a 299-seat end stage theatre, as well as a rehearsal studio, café, bookstore, and offices all on one level. [more]

style="border: 1px solid black;">
From left: David LaRue of Forest City Enterprises, 8 Spruce Street and DKLB BKLN

Forest City Enterprises and National Real Estate Advisors announced agreements to restructure the financing at 8 Spruce Street, the Frank Gehry-designed 76-story rental tower in Lower Manhattan and at DKLB BKLN the luxury tower in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, saving the companies hundreds of millions of dollars in debt payments.
The development is key for Forest City, the parent firm of Forest City Ratner, as this $876 million rental tower, formerly known as the Beekman, was under pressure to bring in enough renters to become profitable in a market that is just getting its sea legs.

“By extending the bank credit facilities, it allows for additional time for economic conditions and rents to further improve before refinancing is necessary,” said David LaRue, CEO of Forest City Enterprises, in a statement. [more]