New Design Calls for Five-Star SoHo Hotel

A new tower proposed by the Trump Organization and its partners would create a ritzy condo-hotel addition to SoHo, but the plan still faces hurdles. Also, Stamford will add a new village-style development.

SoHo Tower Faces Opposition

The 42-story Trump SoHo Hotel Condominiums New York at 246 Spring St. would be the tallest structure in SoHo under a design unveiled in June.

But the 386,000-sq.-ft. Manhattan project first has to overcome the complaints of local residents about its size and use - as well as a determination that the New York City Department of Buildings issued in May finding that the designs were not in compliance with building codes and zoning regulations, said Jennifer Givner, an agency spokeswoman. As of late summer, the developers had not submitted a revised application, she added.

Still, the project being developed by three New York firms - the Trump Organization, the Sapir Organization, and Bayrock Group - is scheduled to break ground next month and be complete in 2009, according to a spokeswoman for the development team.

Opponents of the project, spearheaded by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, have been urging the city to decline any permits for the tower on the grounds that it will essentially be a residential project in an area zoned for light industrial use, despite the developer's effort to market them as hotel condominiums.

The developer team has argued instead that the building will have a commercial use because, as in other hotels, residents will not be allowed stays of longer than 29 days. The team has also removed stoves from the kitchenette designs.

In July, following a well-attended public hearing, the zoning committee of Community Board 2 also recommended against the plan.

New York-based Handel Architects is designing the high-end building, which will feature a silver-glass curtain wall, and the Rockwell Group of New York is designing the interiors. The developer refused to disclose the name of the construction management firm on the project.

The 413 residences, ranging from 422-sq.-ft. studios to 851-sq.-ft. one-bedroom units, will include polished copper woven mesh ceilings and two-story hammered copper entry doors, among other features.

In addition to the residences, the tower will include a ground level bar, members' lounge, restaurant, screening room, business center, library, and 220-seat event space. Other features include a pool deck, 6,500-sq.-ft. spa and fitness center, garden conservatory, and rooftop bar and garden.

The design and project were unveiled in splashy fashion by Donald Trump, who heads his namesake firm, on "The Apprentice" reality television program, which features participants competing to work for his company. The Apprentice winner would manage construction on the SoHo project.

Splashy Fitness Center for Armonk

An $8 million project aims to transform a 44,000-sq.-ft. former warehouse in Armonk, N.Y., into a new high-end fitness facility.

The project, known as "the Gym," will contain a translucent wall that changes colors as well as fountains, stones, and bamboo in the interior design. The goal is to provide a unique twist to the typically bland offerings in work-out facilities.

The new facility will also have a free weights area, training rooms, sauna, juice bar, massage room, children's area, and spaces for individual workouts. >>

DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., is the architect and Nelson Construction of Paramus, N.J., is building the project, which began earlier this year and is expected to open in February.

New Condos Planned for Stamford

A 112-unit high-end condominium is set to rise on the site of a former Chrysler auto dealership and service facility in Stamford, Conn.

The project is moving ahead after a unanimous vote to approve it by the city's Zoning Board in late June. Developed by Hannah Real Estate Investors and Paxton and Ray Kinol of Stillwater Investment Management, both of which are based in Stamford, the 162,340-sq.-ft. East Side Commons will sit on 1.9 acres at East Main and Lafayette streets.

The design by the Lessard Group of Vienna, Va., will feature a masonry façade of brick and cast stone, with the East Main Street face divided into four elements to "create a very human scale and village-like atmosphere." The top floors of the 100-ft.-tall condominium building will feature lofts overlooking the living room. In addition, some units will have private balconies.

Construction on the $40 million project was expected to start this year, but no construction manager had been named as of late summer.

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