Gutting high-end spaces: Inside the world of luxury renovations

When Rupert Murdoch dropped nearly $60 million for a Madison Square Park triplex, the penthouse wasn’t all that visually impressive. At the time, news reports described the space as “raw,” a barebones apartment topping the newly constructed One Madison.

“It was pretty much a white box when we moved in,” said Jose Ramirez, head of the architecture firm that is completing an extensive renovation of the penthouse. He wouldn’t discuss the project any further, but noted, “At the level that we’re working at, people like to see something new or at least brought up to date.”

Now, with its transformation nearing completion, the apartment is listed for $72 million. The renovation was one of nine that have taken place at the building over the last three years, according to data compiled by The Real Deal of permit applications filed with the Department of Buildings for renovations at high-end apartments. Nearly 100 apartments made the list for luxury renovations — drawn from buildings where at least three apartments have been sold for $10 million or more between January 2013 and December 2015.

Renovation architecture is a different beast than that of building design: A lot of times, securing a client is a product of word of mouth rather than name recognition. Of the permit applications filed, there was virtually no repetition of firms, meaning no architect jumps out as the city’s most prolific high-end apartment renovator. The data, instead, highlights that the firms specialize in very particular kinds of work, often depending on the age of the buildings.

The data shows renovations at some of the city’s newest luxury towers, like Related Companies’ One Madison, Extell Development’s One57 and 150 Charles Street, and some of its most iconic — Including The Plaza Hotel and the San Remo. These renovations show a dual demand for upgrades in aging buildings and customized design in condos or apartments delivered as, essentially, blank canvases.

In the latter, apartments often feature a minimal, cookie-cutter design that allows owners to more accurately fit the space to its intended function.

“I think what’s happening more and more, and even in something as nice as 150 Charles, they’re kind of delivering a generic envelope for people to move into,” saidDanielle Albert, who co-owns the firm CODA Design + Build, which is renovating an apartment in the Witkoff Group’s 150 Charles Street in the West Village. “The people who buy the apartments decide to renovate according to their needs.”

But older buildings can also offer a certain freedom of design, said William Berg, whose firm Berg & Forster Architects, renovated a space at the San Remo. Berg said the partitions that define rooms in older buildings are sometimes nonstructural, which means they can be removed or altered to create larger, more desirable spaces.

Architect John Murray said his firm, John B. Murray Architect, works primarily in pre-war buildings, combining units either vertically or horizontally. Last year the firm started combining two apartments on the 20th and 21st floors in the Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South.

“It allowed us to combine the apartments in a way that made it look like it had always been that way,” Murray said. “It’s really nice when you sort of don’t know how that’s happened. It looks like it was meant to be.”

Working with older buildings also comes with a number of challenges. If a building is landmarked, then certain design specifications have to be met in order to adhere to historical integrity. And sometimes floor plans for these buildings aren’t exactly accurate and leave out crucial details, such as an office space located behind a wall. This Was The Case With 7 Penn Plaza, which had a staircase and office hidden behind a wall at the front of the building, said Karen Asprea, of Whitehall Interiors, a firm that did not make TRD’s list but that has done several residential renovations. The discovery at 7 Penn forced the firm to scrap its plans for the building but allowed the designers to create a 20-foot ceiling at the entrance of the building.

“When you’re dealing with an existing space, or an existing structure, you don’t always know what’s behind the wall, behind the door and below the floor,” she said. “There’s little surprises throughout the process of the project, and it’s nice because it forces you to challenge yourself as a designer. It helps you really appreciate the construction process because you’re forced to be so intimate with it.”