The Mercedes House, a 29-story rental building at 555 West 53rd Street, is opening 222 of its 900-plus units for rent beginning this Sunday. Two Trees Management developed the building, the Brooklyn-focused firm’s first Manhattan property in 30 years, and enlisted Enrique Norten to design the zig-zagged glass tower. The Midtown building’s amenities include a health club, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, two outdoor decks, an indoor basketball court, golf simulator and a screening room. The Mercedes House was named after the 300,000-square-foot Mercedes-Benz showroom, and the car manufacturer’s American headquarters, located in the ground floor. TRD Comments

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Two Trees Management has signed a deal with the city’s School Construction Authority to build a 300-seat middle school within its planned Dock Street residential tower, moving ahead a project that’s drawn criticism from the likes of actress Helen Hunt, historian David McCullough and director Ken Burns. According to the Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees, which is run by father-and-son development team David and Jed Walentas, has agreed to pony up the construction costs for the middle school. The facility will be on the Dock Street side of their future 17-story building and is slated for completion in time for the 2014 school year. 1 Comment

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The Clocktower triplex at 1 Main Street in Dumbo

After a nine-month hiatus from the market, David Walentas’ Clocktower building triplex in Dumbo is coming back online with a slashed asking price and a new set of brokers. According to the Post, Walentas has tapped the Kleier klan, of “Selling New York” fame, to market the 7,000-square-foot pad for $23.5 million. Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern, one-third of the Gumley Haft Kleier trio that also includes her mother, Michele Kleier, and sister, Samantha Kleier Forbes, confirmed to the The Real Deal that her family is putting the listing on the market later today and plans to hold a launch party next month to spread the word. The 1 Main Street condominium, which originally hit the market for $25 million in 2009, is still potentially Brooklyn’s priciest ever by a landslide, even after the price chop. [more]

Fifteen of the 125 retail spaces in Dumbo are vacant, according to a report by the Creative Real Estate Group cited in the Brooklyn Eagle. Nine of the vacant retail spaces were at least 3,000 square feet, and the total amount of free space is 48,250 square feet. Two Trees Management has three vacant retail spaces totaling 12,200 square feet. Dumbo, dubbed “Silicon Beach” for its concentration of tech companies, has little trouble attracting retailers to smaller spaces. Accordingly Two Trees’ most coveted retail space is just 700 square feet at 20 Jay St. In March, Two Trees rented out an 857-square-foot space in Dumbo free of charge to Edible Schoolyard NYC, a non-profit healthy living and eating organization. [Brooklyn Eagle] Comments

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110 Livingston Street

Brooklyn developer Two Trees Management settled its suit for $150,000 after a couple in contract for a $795,000 two-bedroom condominium unit in 110 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn found their living room was 109 square feet smaller than the 734 square feet advertised. The New York Times reported that Rishi and Heather Bhandari asked for a discount at closing, but Two Trees insisted that the couple heed the contract, meaning the couple had to purchase the condo or back out and recoup their deposit. The two parties were in dispute until March 23 when Two Trees agreed to return the deposit with interest ($81,077) and to pay the couple an additional $150,000. In return, the couple agreed not to rent or buy from Two Trees for four years. [more]

55 Washington Street (credit: PropertyShark) and David Walentas, president of Two Trees ManagementEdible Schoolyard NYC is opening its first satellite office in Dumbo at 55 Washington Street, where landlord Two Trees Management has offered the 857-square-foot space rent-free for one-year. Edible Schoolyard NYC is a new non-profit organization that partners with public schools to build gardens and kitchen classrooms to teach students the connection between food and health. “Edible Schoolyard NY is a fantastic new cultural and educational addition to the borough for children, and we at Two Trees are so happy to be able to support this initiative,” said Natalie Ungari, associate director of leasing for Two Trees, who represented the landlord. TRD [more]

Developer Two Trees Management is now accepting applications for 21 affordable housing units in its new rental conversion at 25 Washington Street in Dumbo. The 105-unit building will consider the first 8,000 applications it receives, before leaving the selection process up to a lottery. A two-bedroom unit in the building is expected to run between $641 and $819 a month. [Brownstoner] and [DumboNYC]

David Walentas and his Bridgehampton estate

Two Trees Farm, the 115-acre Bridgehampton estate that belongs to Dumbo developer David Walentas, is now on the market for $55 million, a 42 percent price cut off its original asking price of $95 million. The estate, currently the home of the annual Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge, is being eyed by two “finance hotshots from the city,” according to the Post. A smaller, 73-acre portion of the estate is also available for $20 million, which includes Walentas’ renovated 17th-century farmhouse, a caretaker’s home, pool, tennis court and equestrian facility. The Corcoran Group’s Tim Davis has the listing. [Post]
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Caroline Pardo of Two Trees Management

Barneys Co-op — set to open at 194 Atlantic Avenue in Downtown
Brooklyn Sept. 1 — is the first of several new big-box retailers
coming to the neighborhood, and a prime indicator of the borough’s
shifting demographics and [more]

While David Walentas, owner of Two Trees Management and de facto baron of Dumbo, may spend his fair share of time in Brooklyn, the property owner has made his mark out east, as well. Walentas’ Bridgehampton farm is home to the annual Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge — and, with an asking price of $95 million, is among the priciest Hamptons listings around. The 115-acre property, which has languished on the market for 21 months, was on display for the New York Observer, which provided a peek inside the lavish property. The farm, which includes a lap pool and equine facilities , includes some of Walentas’ more outlandish decor ideas, including a moose head he’s named “Moosilini.” [NYO]

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