From left: Darcy Stacom, William Shanahan and 325 Hudson Street
CBRE Group has landed another assignment to sell a major office building. According to the New York Post, Young Woo & Associates and San Francisco-based Bristol Group have selected CBRE’s executive vice chairmen, Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan, to market the 10-story, 240,000-square-foot property at 325 Hudson Street in Hudson Square. [more]
As 70 Pine Street heads to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for recognition of its historic past, the future of the 66-story Art Deco skyscraper is up in the air. According to the Post, a plan to convert the former American International Group building’s upper portion into high-end condominiums while keeping the lower portion of the building as offices has been scrapped by the new owners of the tower, who purchased it, along with the adjacent 72 Wall Street, for $150 million from American International Group in 2009. Those owners are a group led by Korea’s Kumho Investment Bank — not, as previously reported, New York developer Young Woo, of Youngwoo & Associates, who was previously believed to have bought the properties with some equity from KIB. In fact, KIB now says its group owns 100 percent of 70 Pine Street and that Woo is “just part of the [group of] advisers” created to manage the building. 1 Comment
The 66-story Art Deco tower at 70 Pine Street, the former American International Group tower where developer Youngwoo & Associates is planning a partial condominium conversion, is going up for landmarking. According to the Post, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing next month on the skyscraper, which was built by Clinton & Russel, Holton & George in 1932 and is currently the tallest building in Lower Manhattan. Peers of 70 Pine, like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Donald Trump’s 40 Wall Street, all enjoy protection as landmarks, meaning any changes to their structures must be first approved by the LPC. [more]
From the February issue: Young S. Woo is the founder and principal partner of real estate development firm Youngwoo & Associates. He started the company in 1979 after earning a degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute. His firm recently completed the sellout of the Sky Garage condominium at 200 Eleventh Avenue, a building that includes an elevator for cars. In a sit down interview with The Real Deal, Woo talks about getting his start driving taxis in New York City and how he met his wife while delivering rice. Also, he opens up about his emigration out of North Korea, and how he first navigated the city. Click here for more. [more]
From the January issue: While the pipeline for condos has slowed to a near-stop, there are a
few daring developers out there picking up land and buildings in this
tough market. But those who are making purchases and starting up projects now are
doing so with revised cost projections — faced with the reality that
expenses must be contained in a weak sales market. The Related Companies, for example, restarted construction in the
fall on a long-delayed skyscraper at 440 West 42nd Street, which
includes a Frank Gehry-designed theater, a hotel and 800 apartments –
a mix of market-rate rentals, affordable units and condos. The deal was made possible with the help of $25 million from the
city for the theater and a citywide agreement between developers and
more than 40 labor unions to trim construction costs up to 20 percent.
The project had been on hold for months amid the downturn and limited
financing.
The developer of 70 Pine Street in the Financial District predicts it will be able to sell residential condominium units in the tower of the American International Group building for $2,000 per square foot following a rehabilitation of the 63-story structure. Developer Youngwoo & Associates bought the Art Deco office tower and neighboring 72 Wall Street for $150 million, or about $105 per square foot in August, with financial partner South Korea’s Kumho Investment Bank. Young Woo, principal of Youngwoo & Associates, said the key to getting $2,000 per square foot was to market the building as a premium product, comparing it to a Louis Vuitton bag or an iPod. “If we can create that perfect trend lifestyle for this building, for our targeted audience, we are not afraid to achieve $2,000 a square foot,” Woo said. He added that units in his West Village condo, the Sky Garage at 200 11th Avenue at 24th Street, a building that includes an elevator for cars, sold for more than $4,000 per square foot. [more]
The New York Observer profiles Young Woo, whose Youngwoo and Associates
purchased AIG’s 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street earlier this month
for $140 million. Colleagues said that if any developer can succeed in
this market, Woo can. He started his first business, a sweater factory,
in Buenos Aires at age 16. He studied architecture at the Pratt
Institute and ended up bringing that background into real estate, and
has developed such buildings as the Chelsea Arts Tower on West 25th
Street and the condominium at 200 Eleventh Avenue. Woo is currently
competing against several other developers for Pier 57. [more]
