Real estate in brief

NYC’s first new non-smoking residential building to open next month

The city’s first new non-smoking residential development will open at 1510 Lexington Avenue between 97th and 98th streets next month. The all-rental 298-unit, 18-story tower, which was designed by SLCE Architects and developed by Kenbar Management, will be managed by Rose Associates. Neal Sigety, a partner at Kenbar, said that an increased focus on health-conscious living in New York City motivated the construction. “In our years of experience as developers and owners of New York City apartment buildings, we’ve seen a growing demand for a healthier lifestyle at home as well as in the workplace,” Sigety said. “We’re responding to a trend we see all around us.”

New site takes aim at Columbus Village development

Westsiders for Public Participation has launched a new Web site to allow residents to voice concerns over the Columbus Village development on the Upper West Side. This so-called “pilot project” will let residents detail their experiences with “delivery trucks, traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, and other adverse impacts of the new ‘Columbus Village’ development.”

Beekman Tower to celebrate topping out ceremony
As pigs fly, so does a 10-ton bucket of concrete, marking the successful completion of a Gehry-Ratner project. Lower Manhattan’s 76-story, 1.1 million-square-foot Beekman Tower will celebrate its topping out ceremony on Spruce Street between Nassau and Gold streets Thursday. The project, designed by starchitect Frank Gehry and developed by Forest City Ratner Companies CEO Bruce Ratner, is reportedly the $700 million success story between the two industry celebs, whose plan to work together on the controversial Atlantic Yards development earlier this year fell through. When it opens, the Beekman Tower will include a K-8th grade public school and a 175-car parking garage. TRD