Beatrice name a memorial to rental developer’s “elegant” grandma

JD Carlisle has released more details about Beatrice, the rental apartments occupying the floors above the Eventi hotel.

Rents for the studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments (plus several
three-bedroom penthouses on the 53rd floor) will range from $2,700 to
more than $20,000 per month, the company said. The leasing office opens
July 26, for occupancy in early Fall 2010.

Let’s get to the important stuff: the name supposedly has nothing to do
with now-defunct West Village bar and nightclub the Beatrice Inn. (When
The Real Deal first broke the news about the project’s name,
many readers assumed the name was a reference to the hotspot,
especially since there’s an “inn” downstairs.) But JD Carlisle
President Evan Stein said the project was named for his maternal
grandmother.

“We built what we believe to be a very elegant
building,” he said.  “My grandmother was the most elegant lady you
could ever meet.”

Stein said the company never considered the parallel to the nightclub, and has been surprised by that reaction.

“To be honest, we never even thought that would be the correlation,” he said.

That’s
despite the fact that Stein said he himself had been to the Beatrice
Inn “plenty of times, and plenty of times I couldn’t get in.”

Still, he chuckled, “it gets people talking, so that’s okay.”

Beatrice has its own entrance and lobby at 105 West 29th Street, while
the entrance of Kimpton’s Eventi hotel is around the corner on Sixth
Avenue.

The Perkins Eastman-designed glass tower
has 6,300 square feet of amenity space for residents, including a
3,700-square-foot “Cloud Lounge”– with billiards, fireplace, large
entertaining kitchen, and WiFi access — and a 2,600-square-foot
terrace.

Additional amenities at Beatrice include a fitness
center on the 25th floor with a yoga studio, a concierge, an on-site
parking garage and a concierge that will offer dry cleaning, maid and
floral services.

Originally intended to be a condo, Beatrice has washers and dryers in
each apartment, Caledonia granite countertops and backsplash and
porcelain-tile floors. Bathrooms have stone grey porcelain tile floors,
Kohler deep-soaking tubs and Lacava, Grohe and Kohler fixtures. Some
residences have separate glass-enclosed showers.

Studios in the building start at around 450 square feet, Stein said. 

As for its location, the Herald Square area is “truly up and
coming,” he said, adding that the project will help the neighborhood.
“This is sort of just an extension of Chelsea.”

(This story appeared in its original version on the website at 4:15 p.m. on July 15, 2010.)