Elliman’s Steinberg unveils Arman condo building in Soho: PHOTOS

Top brokers were out in force today at the launch of the Arman, an eight-unit, eight-story condominium at 482 Greenwich Street currently under construction; the building is being marketed by Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier of Prudential Douglas Elliman, The Real Deal noted earlier today. (Click here or on photo above for slide show.)

Brokers from Elliman, Sotheby’s International Realty, Brown Harris Stevens and Town Residential were in attendance at the launch, which was held at private membership hotspot the Norwood Club, at 241 West 14th Street. Magnum Real Estate Group’s Ben Shaoul and Marc Ravner, the developers of the project, are both members of the exclusive rich and famous hangout, they said.

Steinberg presented the property (Herve remained mum), which does not yet have an offering plan, to the folks in attendance, saying the lower two floors of the building (which has one unit per floor) had already been accounted for; Ravner later confirmed that the Arman family, the relatives of the late artist for which the building is named, had claimed the floors and were intending to live in the building, which will feature a major three-story site-specific sculpture by Arman on its south façade.

As for the property’s surrounding neighborhood, and its proximity to the traditionally less-than-desirable Canal Street, Steinberg challenged attendees to look at comparable sales at 471 Washington Street across the street, which sold out in a record pace last year; the units, which included one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, sold for an average of approximately $1,859 per square foot. The Arman units are priced from $3.9 million to $6 million, Magnum said.

“The Canal Street of yesterday is not the Canal Street of today,” Steinberg declared.

After the presentation, Melanie Lazenby, who was the second-ranked individual Elliman broker by commissions at the firm’s awards last week, said she was there to support Steinberg’s project, while David Salvatore of Town Residential said he’d been friends with Steinberg for many years.

“I’ve known Leonard for 25 years,” he said, revealing that the two had lived nearby back when they both used to work in fashion. Steinberg assisted designer Victor Costa, he said, while Salvatore worked for his mother’s design firm.

Steinberg later joked that he was “in kindergarten” 25 years ago, so the connection was impossible.