A new Lower Manhattan luxury rental building designed to reflect the semi-industrial feel of the old South Street Seaport, will be completed next month after years of delays, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The building, at 254 Front Street, at Dover Street, near the South Street Seaport, was purchased in 2004 by developer Barry Akrongold and was planned to be condominiums. However, the project’s lender, the Bank of Smithtown, never funded the construction, and Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate bought the project, though no date is listed in the Journal article or on Streeteasy.com. The controversial developer then turned the building into rentals.
The new building is eight stories tall and contains 40 apartments and retail space on the ground floor. One-bedroom units that measure 540 square feet will be listed for $3,000 per month. A penthouse that has five bedrooms, a terrace and two balconies will go for $20,000 each month, the Journal said.
Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the building is set atop pilings sunk into landfill, the Journal wrote, which rests 150 feet above solid rock. The Journal also mentioned that the area is prone to flooding.
Shaoul said he sees more families coming to the area with a new private school, the Blue School, opening two blocks away at 241 Water Street. [WSJ]