Residential Development Projects Churn Ahead

Two projects in Stamford, Conn., offer luxury living at Manhattan prices, while other new residential buildings go up in New Rochelle and Manhattan's Chelsea district.

Top-Rung Condos for Stamford

Work is under way on two new high-end housing projects in Stamford, Conn. - a new condominium tower and an office-to-residential redevelopment.

The 18-story Highgrove - the condominium tower being built by Ceebraid-Signal, a New York-based real estate developer - will offer 91 units in 2,123-sq.-ft. two-bedroom layouts, priced at $1.38 million, and 3,095-sq.-ft. four-bedroom layouts selling for $3.5 million. Robert A.M. Stern, a New York-based architect, designed the new building, which is "inspired by the historic estate of the Prince of Wales," according to the developer.

The building will feature 24-hour valet parking, a health club, a pool and spa, a screening room, and a wine cellar for personal collections. New York's Turner Construction is managing construction, which broke ground in January.

Ceebraid-Signal previously developed Stamford's Chesterfield, a 360-unit condominium community completed in 2001.

Meanwhile, sitework started in February on the Metropolitan, a 66,000-sq.-ft. conversion of an office building into 40 condominiums and the addition of 12 town houses adjacent to the main building. While two of the units will be sold below market rates through the city's affordable housing program, the rest will range in price from $450,000 to $1.5 million.

The $27 million building will also feature a wine storage facility and a club room. Construction will entail resurfacing the façade in gray tones, installation of new panoramic windows, and completion of a new porte-cochere entry. The loft apartments are scheduled for occupancy this winter, while the town houses are slated for completion early next year.

The project is being developed by a partnership between Hannah Real Estate Investors and Paxton and Ray Kinol, all of Stamford, and Summer Partners of Pound Ridge, N.Y.

RBS to Build New Office

The Royal Bank of Scotland plans to move its U.S. corporate headquarters to a new 500,000-sq.-ft. facility in Stamford.

Working closely with Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development, the bank's plan would consolidate offices with its RBS Greenwich Capital affiliate in a new $400 million headquarters expected to bring 1,150 jobs to the state.

The new building will be located at the junction of Washington Boulevard and Interstate 95, with construction expected to start early this year. Part of an expected $1 million to $2 million rise in business tax revenues for the city will be earmarked for open space preservation and waterfront redevelopment, according to the office of Mayor Dan Malloy.

The economic development department has pledged to authorize up to $100 million in Urban Reinvestment Tax Credits to support the project, pending review by the state legislature. The credits are made available to projects that are expected to bring economic benefits to distressed urban areas.

Another proposal would provide a sales tax exemption on construction materials, pending approval from the Connecticut Development Authority.

Chelsea House Topped Out

Construction topped out in January on Chelsea House, the newest high-end addition to the trendy Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan.

The new building, located at 130 W. 19th St., will offer 64 units priced from $1.3 million to $4.7 million in one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts, five duplex penthouses with private patios, and four penthouse units featuring fireplaces and terraces. Common areas include a fitness center, screening room, and a landscaped roof deck with an elevated grass lawn, fireplace, and cabanas.

GKV Architects designed the 14-story building for the Clarett Group, a residential developer, and Bovis Lend Lease is the project's construction manager. All three firms are based in New York. Clarett refused to disclose the project's cost.

GKV recently designed two other residential buildings in Manhattan for Clarett Group - the 22-story 2770 Broadway on the Upper West Side and the 150,000-sq.-ft. Luminaria in nearby Gramercy.

New High Rise for New Rochelle

Construction crews broke ground this winter on a new 39-story rental tower in New Rochelle, N.Y., which will be the tallest building in Westchester County upon its completion, according to the developer, AvalonBay Communities of Alexandria, Va., which is active in the New York residential market.

The $180 million Avalon on the Sound II will stand opposite the developer's first New Rochelle project. It completed Avalon on the Sound, a 412-unit building with apartments renting out for $1,517 to $3,268, in 2001.

The design for the new building by New York's SLCE Architects integrates 588 rental units ranging from studios to three bedrooms, a ground-level fitness center and swimming pool, a five-story parking garage, 7,500 sq. ft. of retail space, an outdoor barbecue area, and a rooftop resident lounge with unobstructed views of Long Island Sound, Manhattan, and parts of Westchester. Construction is expected to take two years.

SLCE has designed similar projects for AvalonBay in the past, including a 110-unit condominium community called the Avalon in Bronxville, N.Y., completed in 1999, and Avalon Cove, a 500-unit condominium tower in Jersey City, N.J., completed in 1998.

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