July 1, 2016
NoMad Real Estate Roundup: 3 East 28th Street, Piet Boon of Huys, Boutique Hotels
Here is the latest news from the always active NoMad real estate scene:
3 East 28th Street
As NoMad continues to gain prominence as a center for innovative technology, design, and creative companies, the owners of older buildings are faced with the challenge of updating properties to meet these new needs, while maintaining the distinguishing historic features that make their buildings unique.
“I think people want to be in these old buildings, but they want to have all the modern services,” architect Morris Adjmi, who specializes in retooling great older buildings, recently told Commercial Observer regarding the ongoing renovation his company is designing at 3 East 28th Street in NoMad.
The renovation of the 61,325-square-foot building is scheduled to be completed in September and features a 3,650-square-foot retail space on the ground floor with 15-foot ceilings. Winter Properties, the owner of the building, hopes to find a single major tenant to take up the entire first floor, such as a fitness studio or restaurant. Ariel Schuster, who is working to market the retail section of the building, told the Commercial Observer, “The NoMad market has become a very important submarket.”
In addition to the retail space, the renovated building will feature eleven floors of office space with 5,575 square feet of space on each floor. In executing this major renovation, Winter Properties hopes to attract a new round of media, advertising and technology tenants, the type of companies that are increasingly drawn to the NoMad District.
Huys Condominium
Piet Boon, the Dutch designer of NoMad’s Huys condominium, was recently interviewed by Interior Design on his design process and inspiration. Boon began as a construction contractor, but he saw potential for himself to switch roles in the industry and founded his design studio in 1982. He won the award for best restaurant design at the 2015 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards, and his major New York constructions are a hit. The Huys condominium sold all units very quickly last year.
Piet Boon spoke to Interior Design about his priorities in integrating green space and natural light in his designs: “We did this at Huys, a 58-unit renovation of a historic building by Dutch developers Kroonenberg Groep, located in Manhattan’s burgeoning NoMad neighborhood. For the roof’s design, Kroonenberg Groep collaborated with Studio Piet Boon and my good friend Piet Oudolf, who also did the High Line’s landscape architecture. The roof, with 2,929 square feet of space, afforded us a great opportunity to create something special for the residents to meet and interact in. The inspiration for the design of the Huys roof came from looking at the way the High Line integrates plants into the furniture and experience of the space.”
Ace Hotel and the Boutique Hotel Trend
The Real Deal offered an interesting report in June on the movement toward independent boutique style hotels in New York City, and noted NoMad’s Ace Hotel as an example of how hotels are looking to emphasize smaller rooms and a hip, lively environment to lure in younger guests and those who want to spend a bit less per night.
We have also seen this movement toward smaller room size and hipper environments in other hotels in NoMad. The Moxy hotel brand, which plans to launch a hotel in NoMad in 2018 on 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, offers affordable rates by focusing on well designed smaller rooms with high tech amenities and vibrant lobby spaces. At 32 West 29th Street, The Paul’s rooms range from the “Bunk Mod” for the cost conscious to the more elaborate “Terrace Double,” all with bright colors and original artworks by local artists.