EYE ON FIDI - THE RETURN OF THE FIVE AND DIME
By: Donald E. Sharpe, Lic. Real Estate Salesperson reporting on all things Financial District, Battery Park City and Seaport
As the old saying goes, “Everything that’s old is new again” and this has never been more evident than with the continuing rebirth of the historic Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Completed in 1913 and designed by architect Cass Gilbert, it was actually the worlds tallest building at the time and remained so until 1930 when it was surpassed by 40 Wall Street. And can you believe that even now it remains as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York?!
What retailer Frank Woolworth originally conceived of as a 20 story building ultimately became a 60 story structure, built in a neo-gothic style. It’s common nickname at the time was “The Cathedral of Commerce” due to the it’s resemblance of European Gothic cathedrals. In the years since, the majority of the time the building was continuously owned by the Woolworth Company and it’s successors until it was ultimately sold in 1998 for what now seems an unbelievably low $155 million.
Subsequently a majority of the building continues to be owned by the Witkoff Group; however the top 30 floors were recently sold off separately to Alchemy Properties and are currently in the process of a conversion to residential condominiums, amid much fanfare. The penthouse unit is touted as being anywhere between 5 and 9 stories (!!) and is potentially being listed for a record-breaking $110,000,000 by itself. The plan is to have a total of 34 units, designed by Thierry Despont, and in a general price range of upwards of $3000 per square foot.
Regardless of the speculative nature of the pricing, one thing is for sure: the Woolworth Building is again the focus of worldwide attention and whatever happens can only prove to further boost values in an already rapidly booming area of Manhattan: The Financial District.
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To learn more about exciting opportunities to own a home in this rapidly evolving area, contact me directly at DSharpe@Halstead.com
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Thoughts from EYE on FiDi are those of Donald E. Sharpe and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Halstead Property, LLC