Simon Baron Development and Quadrum Global hired a “kosher consultant” to ensure that their Upper West Side co-op was designed to accommodate the needs of observant Jews.
Given the building’s location just east of West End Avenue in a neighborhood with many Jewish families, the developers thought about how to appeal to the buyer pool, the New York Times reported.
The partners hired popular kosher cookbook author Susie Fishbein as a kosher consultant, who recommended several features for the 39-unit project at 269 West 87th Street known as the Chamberlain.
There’s an elevator, for instance that can run on Sabbath mode Friday night and Saturday. It will stop on every floor so observant Jews do not have to push a button, which would violate a prohibition against creating sparks and fires, according to the Times.
Bedroom windows come with timer so there’s no need to flick a switch, and units come with laundry closets big enough for two washers and dryers to accommodate larger families.
Andrew Till, Simon Baron’s chief operating officer, said a lot of what the developers did is behind the walls, and said the added expense was nominal.
“It’s not a big effort for us to put a wire in a wall when there is no Sheetrock,” he said, adding it would be “a big effort for a buyer to have to rip out a wall to put in a skinny little wire to get power to the windows.”
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against buyers and renters, and the Chamberlain is open to all buyers, according to the Times.
Simon Baron and Quadrum are targeting a $189 million sellout for the project, according to the state Attorney General’s office. That’s down from $205 million the developers were eyeing when the AG’s office approved their offering plan in the summer of 2016. [NYT] – Rich Bockmann