NEW YORK | 118 East 59th St | 470 FT | 37 FLOORS

New York Proposed
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Permits Filed: 37-Story Tower Coming to 118 East 59th Street

BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON SEPTEMBER 25TH 2014 AT 11:50 AM

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118 and 116 East 59th Street, pre-demo, via Google Maps

Another day, and new filings for yet another tower coming to the island of Manhattan: the first permits are up for a 37-story building that will rise at 118 East 59th Street, in Midtown East, between Park and Lexington Avenues. SLCE is the architect of record, and Neo Que Yao of the Euro Group is listed as the developer; earlier this year, Curbed reported that Soo Chan, architect of 515 West 29th Street, would be helming the design.

The building will stand 470 feet tall, so ceiling heights will be generous, but the actual scope of the project will be surprisingly small. Besides 6,326 square feet of commercial space, the building will have 70,260 square feet dedicated to residential use, split between 29 units.

That translates into an average apartment size of over 2,000 square feet, but the arrangement of units will result in most residences spanning entire or multiple floors, which is very uncommon amongst new developments in New York City — and also signals that condominiums are very likely.

118 East 59th Street traded hands late last year, per The Real Deal, when the Rudd family sold the 5,025 square-foot lot to the current developer for $49 million. A neighboring lot was also acquired for $6.1 million at 116 East 59th Street, resulting in the complete assemblage, which is apparently large enough for a tower of substantial height.

It would seem that the developers are capitalizing on the site’s location, given the height. While 118 East 59th Street is slightly removed from the heart of the ultra-luxe boom, 432 Park Avenue and 520 Park Avenue are both within a few blocks, and 252 East 57th Street is also a few blocks to the southeast.

No completion date has been announced.

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An exclusive condo tower is set to rise within the quickly changing area where Midtown East‘s commercial bustle tempers down into the elegant residential blocks of the Upper East Side. Located at 118 East 59th Street near Park Avenue, the unassuming site is being developed by Hong Kong-based Euro Properties, their first foray into the Manhattan market.

The mid-block tower will soar 38 stories yet contain only 29 units–another example of the city’s new and somewhat oxymoronic building type, the boutique skyscraper, which typically contains fewer units than a standard six-story co-op building, and even fewer inhabitants. This 59th Street project will join the ranks of 432 Park Avenue (1,398 feet/104 units), 520 Park Avenue ( 781 feet/31 units), and 125 Greenwich Street (1,375 feet/128 units) as buildings with the greatest height-to-unit-count disparity.

Reference:

  1. 118 East 59th Street: Boutique Skyscraper to Rise in Hybrid Area between Midtown and the UES | 6sqft
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Revealed: SCDA Architects’ Pencil-Thin Plan For 118 East 59th Street

BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON JANUARY 5TH 2015 AT 7:00 AM


118 East 59th Street, rendering by SCDA Architects

Back in September, YIMBY reported that a new 38-story residential tower would soon rise at 118 East 59th Street, designed by Soo Chan of SCDA Architects. Now, we have the reveal for the project, courtesy of a tipster. Euro Properties is developing the site, and the bio picture of its head, Neo Que Yau, also includes a more detailed look at the project, which was hiding in plain sight.

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118 East 59th Street, renderings from SCDA Architects with Neo Que Yau, head of Euro Properties

The building will stand 470 feet tall, with floor heights averaging over 12 feet. With only 29 units sharing 70,260 square feet of space, residences will average over 2,400 square feet each. Per The Real Deal, a 4,869 square foot penthouse will soon hit the market for $30 million. YIMBY also has the first batch of interior renderings for the project, and finishes will certainly correspond to the development’s super-luxe status.

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118 East 59th Street, rendering by SCDA Architects

SCDA has several projects underway in New York City, although 118 East 59th Street is the tallest to date, by far. YIMBY revealed their design for 515 High Line back in July, which the Bauhause Group is developing, and that building will also be an exercise in glassy simplicity.

118 East 59th Street will be composed of stacked cubes, each angled in a different direction from its neighbors above or below. Open views are a given, and the expansive floor to ceiling glass makes sense for a location where views drive pricing. Even though it will stand 470 feet tall, 118 East 59th Street will be far shorter than nearby new developments like 432 Park Avenue and 520 Park Avenue.


Future view from top of 118 East 59th Street

The total cost of 118 East 59th Street was $49 million, and Euro Properties also paid $6 million for air rights and an easement from the neighboring 116 East 59th Street. While no completion date has been formally announced, demolition permits for the existing low-rise were filed in June.

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First Manhattan Condo by a Chinese Developer

By C.J. Hughes on May 8th, 2015

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A 38-story tower rising on a busy block in Midtown is being billed as the first condominium project in Manhattan developed entirely by a company from China.

Euro Properties, based in Hong Kong, recently unveiled 118 East 59th Street, a 29-unit high-rise between Park and Lexington Avenues. In recent years, Chinese companies have flocked to build in New York, but typically partnered with local firms, and in those rare cases where they have flown solo, it has been in the outside boroughs.

While 118 East 59th Street may be a pioneer, brokers say its developers still have to convince buyers that its location, wedged between office towers, can fetch the same gold-plated prices as nearby Billionaires’ Row.

“It’s a location that’s in transition,” said Tamir Shemesh, an associate broker with the Corcoran Group who is marketing a new 22-unit condo at 337 East 62nd Street. “But the towers that are coming up could change a very commercial area.”

Designed by SCDA Architects of Singapore, whose principal is Soo K. Chan, the narrow tower will have a facade that recalls the pressed-down buttons on an old-fashioned tape recorder, with sections that are beveled, at slight angles. Each of the 29 units will occupy at least a full floor, making them feel spacious despite the skinny site, said Neo Que Yau, the chief executive of Euro Properties. Most apartments will be configured with two bedrooms, he said, and about half will have views of Central Park. Units will start at about 1,400 square feet.

Finishes will include marble for kitchens and baths; there will also be bidet-style toilets, the kind that are popular overseas. But while Mr. Yau said that he welcomed foreign buyers, who have taken a shine to the neighborhood in the current boom, he would not market to them specifically. “It’s a consideration,” he said, “not the most important factor.”

…As of early this month, Euro Properties was still hammering out details about building amenities, which will include a fitness center, treatment rooms for massages and a lounge with outdoor gardens, Mr. Yau said.

He said that prices “will be consistent with ultraluxury developments in the area.” The much taller and more perk-laden 432 Park Avenue, from Macklowe Properties and the CIM Group, for example, has averaged about $8,000 a square foot for its units so far, according to data from StreetEasy.com.

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Today

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Construction and Sales Begin on SCDA’s Billionaires’ Row Tower, 118 East 59th Street

Construction and sales have commenced on a glass-encased, 500-foot-tall condominium tower at 118 East 59th Street developed by Euro Properties and designed by Soo K. Chan of SCDA Architects. Situated mid block between Park and Lexington Avenues, the tower is surrounded by the crème de la crème of New York real estate, positioned within the nexus of several high-value locales: The Plaza District, home to the GM Building, commands the city’s top office rents; nearby shopping stretches of Fifth and Madison Avenues hold the world’s most coveted retail corners; and a one-mile long, super-luxury residential corridor, nicknamed Billionaires’ Row, straddles the southern bounds of Central Park and is set to reshape the city skyline into a trophy shelf of wealth.

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Beautiful!

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very nice! This area is going bonkers, with 520 Park, THIS and Kuafu’s Subway Inn supertall tower!

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Today

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Yesterday

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Jan 9, 2015

Still digging!

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Feb 21st

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April 13th

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Nice Updates All Around Robert!!

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My pleasure, VG!

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Walked by on May 10th, and the site was more quiet than the Western Front. Perhaps they’re waiting for a construction loan.

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Uploading…

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Well you can say that alright, it even flooded haha. Those poor ladders are gonna rot.

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Today

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Looks like this stalled out :frowning:

Hopefully not for long…

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