There could be more trouble brewing for the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA tower at 53 West 53rd Street. Word has gotten out that the West 54-55th Street Block Association has filed an official petition to the New York State Supreme Court, citing environmental violations and the improper transfer of development rights, according to Curbed. Although it’s not yet clear when the court might make a decision on the petition, the document could put a temporary wrench in the works for the development.

Jenene Danenberg, Luxury Attache co-founder, and 100 11th Avenue, where closings began last week

In a residential market where most new developers are trying to cut costs, Jenene Danenberg is convinced she can still make them spring for an upgrade. And she has — most recently at 100 11th Avenue and 141 Fifth Avenue, both of which started move-ins last week. Cape Advisors brought in Luxury Attache during the development of its 72-unit Jean Nouvel project at 100 11th Avenue near 19th Street. David Comfort, a senior executive with Cape Advisors, said that the service was helpful in moving sales. “At the time we [began sales in February 2007], West Chelsea was not a [very] residential area, some of the niceties were not particularly known,” Comfort said. Luxury Attache helped educate buyers on attractions in West Chelsea, Comfort said, and even helped arrange travel plans for prospective residents. Luxury Attache, a four-year-old full-concierge service that developers and condo boards have on board to assist residents with everything from party planning to nabbing theater tickets, currently has a full-time station or at least dedicated services in place at 16 other Manhattan buildings. Those include Soho Mews, the Greenwich Club Residences, the Prudential Center, and Andre Balazs’ William Beaver House. Other clients include the National Hockey League, with whom they recently signed, and financial bigwigs like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. [more]

Jean Nouvel and the 100 11th Avenue tower

Allan Schwartzman, a contemporary art curator and consultant, has become one of the first high-profile buyers to publicly close on an apartment at Jean Nouvel’s new West Chelsea development at 100 11th Avenue, the Observer reported. His new pad cost $3.78 million, according to a city deed filed Dec. 12. Nouvel’s building, which Schwartzman called “one of the most interesting buildings erected in New York in decades,” has 24-hour concierge service, an indoor/outdoor lap pool and 72 homes, all of which have floor-to-window ceilings and touch-sensitive bathroom fixtures. Joining Schwartzman at the glassy new tower will likely be Laurence Tosi, chief financial officer at Blackstone and Mario Testino, the fashion photographer, both of whom have put down deposits on apartments. [NYO]

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Jean Nouvel’s glass condominium at 100 11th Avenue at the corner of 19th Street has begun seeing closings, according to a building spokesperson. The news may come as a surprise to The Real Deal’s architecture reviewer James Gardner, who gave the newly completed project a negative review in this month’s print issue of the magazine. The high-profile condo development was financed by a $110 million loan from Fremont Investment back in early 2007.

After yesterday’s announcement that the City Council had approved the construction of the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMa tower at 53 West 53rd Street, the opposition has pledged to continue its fight to stop the building from making its Midtown debut. “Nobody is against fine architecture,” Justin Peyser, a nearby resident and member of the Coalition for Responsible Midtown Development, told the New York Post. “The problem is where it’s being built.” The coalition, which is staunchly against the tower, will likely wage a legal challenge against the building, according to Peyser. Council member Dan Garodnick, whose district begins just north of the proposed tower site, said that the main gripe among his constituents is that the tower is too tall for the neighborhood.

The New York City Council voted to approve the Jean Nouvel-designed skyscraper today, set to build next to the Museum of Modern Art at 53 West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. The vote comes on the heels of massive discord over the proposed tower, which opponents feel is planned to be too tall for the neighborhood. It’s not yet clear whether development group Hines will restrict the height of the structure to 1,050 feet, as had been reported, or whether the tower will extend to 1,250 feet as the Hines group had hoped.

Development group Hines is deliberately trying to delay its Jean Nouvel-designed MoMa-adjacent tower, while placing blame on the city, according to New York Post columnist Steve Cuozzo. After City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden told the group that its proposed tower on West 53rd between Fifth and Sixth avenues would be restricted to 1,050 feet, not the 1,250 feet that Hines had hoped, the developer made a stink, he said. According to Hines, Cuozzo said, the shorter structure won’t be financially sustainable. But the developer’s woes extend beyond 200 feet, Cuozzo says — according to him, the group doesn’t yet have the necessary financing to complete the project.

From the October issue: If imitation is flattery, as the saying goes, Soho, the downtown
Manhattan neighborhood that gets its name from its location “South of
Houston Street,” has admirers far and wide. Indeed, many once-derelict industrial sections of U.S. cities, where
warehouses have given way to loft-style apartments, now boast similarly
styled names melded from the landmark points that make up their
location, whether San Francisco’s SoMa (“South of Market Street”) or
Denver’s LoDo (“Lower Downtown”). But buyers, particularly out of towners, haven’t forgotten the
original, which has fared better than other upscale parts of Manhattan
during the real estate downturn. [more]

Jean Nouvel and renderings of 53 West 53rd Street

Developers of a Jean Nouvel-designed skyscraper adjacent to the Museum
of Modern Art have applied to build a tower seven stories taller than
the proposal they originally unveiled two years ago. The willowy design for the tower at 53 West 53rd Street the developer announced in the fall of 2007
was 75 stories tall, but the one included in a recent filing with the Department of City Planning and described on the developer’s Web
site is 82 stories high. The building has been controversial, with Community Board 5 criticizing
its height and bulk in a resolution in March 2008, calling it an
“eccentric, asymmetrical tower.” The mixed-use project from Houston-based international developer Hines
Interests will have 100 hotel rooms and 120 condominium units on the
upper floors, and also include a 60,000-square-foot expansion of MoMa’s
galleries on the second to the fifth floors, the Hines Web site says.
The number of hotel and condo rooms has not changed since 2007, but the
amount of space for the museum has grown from 50,000 in 2007 to 60,000, according to
the latest description on the Web site. A museum spokesperson put the figure at 70,000 square feet. Hines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. [more]