The Woolworth conversion: Hogwarts on the outside, Downtown on the inside?

Alchemy has updated the floor plans to emphasize entertainment and views

Clockwise from left: the floorplans of a 1, 2, 2 plus library, 3 and 4 bedroom units at the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway(click to enlarge)
Clockwise from left: the floorplans of a 1, 2, 2 plus library, 3 and 4 bedroom units at the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway(click to enlarge)

It’s official: The floor plans of the luxury condominium units topping the iconic Woolworth Building have received a serious makeover, as developer Alchemy Properties tries to appeal to a greater range of buyers.

Interior architect Thierry Despont has kept most of the finishes but reoriented the spaces at units 32-39 and 41B to bring a “Downtown” sensibility to the project, Curbed reported.

Stan Ponte, a broker with Sotheby’s International Realty [TRDataCustom] and the co-director of sales, told Curbed that the re-design was intended to “maximize the use of space with an emphasis on entertaining, the views, and flexibility.”

Perhaps it was the lagging sales that made Alchemy reconsider its plans for the tower’s 33 residences.

The Real Deal first revealed floor plans in 2014, and insiders privately opined that the finishes were too specific to broadly appeal to a market that’s only grown choosier with the glut of supply.

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“We’re making it a little more contemporary rather than 1920s,” Alchemy CEO Ken Horn told TRD in April. “People had said that perhaps the finishes were too personal or too masculine.”

Alchemy brought in Ponte and colleague Joshua Judge in April to ramp up sales after its internal sales director JP Forbes left the company.

Though the apartments will first be marketed to select buyers, Ponte indicated to Curbed that condo units would soon be publicly listed.

Alchemy, which bought the top 30 floors of the building in 2012 for $68 million, has not yet revealed whether the offering plan and pricing will also get an update. It’s also unclear if the nine-floor “Pinnacle” penthouse unit, rumored to be priced at $110 million, has been modified.

Alchemy received a $220 million loan for the conversion from Overseas Limited Bank in June.

Construction is expected to wrap up in 2017. [Curbed] Gabrielle Paluch

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