NEW YORK | 180 East 88th Street | 521 FT | 31 FLOORS

New York Completed
1

Permits Filed: 1558 Third Avenue

BY: STEPHEN SMITH ON AUGUST 1ST 2014 AT 12:34 PM


1558 Third Avenue, image from Google Maps

In the past, DDG Partners’ projects have all been on or below 14th Street, but the integrated design-and-development firm has finally moved uptown: today their architects filed permits for a tower at 1558 Third Avenue, on the Upper East Side.

The 469-foot, 31-story tower will sit at the corner of East 88th Street, on a site that they picked up from Muss Development for nearly $70 million.

The permit indicates 182,995 square feet of residential space (though, confusingly, just 151,458 square feet of total construction area) divided among just 44 apartments. Even using the lower square footage, this works out to apartments that are nearly 3,500 square feet in size on average – far larger than the average new American single-family home. Units this large combined with the extreme ceiling heights (each story will be more than 15 feet, including mechanical space) and DDG’s past projects all but guarantee that it will be condos.

The project will be by far the most attractive on this stretch of Third Avenue, once dubbed Birnbaum Canyon for all of the Philip Birnbaum-designed middle-class towers that went up after World War II. That building boom was sparked by the demolition of the old IRT Third Avenue elevated line, and perhaps aided by the fact that the Yorkville section of the Upper East Side was one of the last desirable corners of New York City with generous zoning under the 1961 code. (That loose zoning is still in effect, though rent stabilization and controls have made redeveloping the avenues’ remaining tenements difficult.)

The current boom is also likely being sped along by rapid transit, but by addition rather than subtraction. By 2016, the first phase of the Second Avenue subway, on the Upper East Side, should open. It will have a stop at 86th Street, and will provide a one-seat ride across 59th Street to the West Side and then down Broadway, as an extension of the Q (at least for the foreseeable future, before the third and fourth phases downtown are completed). The DDG site, however, is actually closer to the current express stop on Lexington Avenue than it will be to the Second Avenue one.

HTO Architect is the architect of record, but DDG has done design in-house in the past. There will be no parking included.

2 Likes
2

Very surprising about the height! wow. I noticed last week this Thai Restaurant that I sometimes eat in was closed and now I know why? :smiley:

The architect for this project has designed 425 Fifth and the Touraine! I’m hoping for a Touraine type of design but I think we could get something along the lines of 425 Fifth here for this location which would not be too bad. We shall see.

1 Like
3

Lots Cleared For 1558 Third Avenue, Permits Not

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

750×437 105 KB

1 Like
4

First Look: 1558 Third Avenue, aka 180 East 88th Street, DDG’s 31-Story Upper East Side Tower

640×700 158 KB

Back in August, YIMBY reported on the first permits for a new building coming to 1558 Third Avenue, on the corner of East 88th Street. DDG was behind the filings, and the firm designs the bulk of their projects in-house as well. And now, we have the first renderings for the 31-story tower, though plans are not yet final.

The DOB filings reveal a total construction area measuring 151,458 square feet, and split between the 44 apartments listed on filings, that yields an average unit size surpassing 3,000 square feet. The palatially-sized homes will have ceiling heights to match, and even though the tower will only have 31 floors, it will stand 469 feet to its roof.

640×666 124 KB

HTO Architects is listed on the permit as the architect of record, but as mentioned, DDG does most of their design work in-house. Like their recent projects at 41 Bond Street and 345 West 14th Street (aka 345Meatpacking), that should yield a contextually-minded building that improves upon the neighborhood architectural lexicon.

In the case of 1558 Third Avenue — or 180 East 88th Street — the building will feature a distinguished stone facade. Massive arched windows will crown the structure, also lining the ground floor and one of the mid-levels, after the initial setbacks.

On the very top, the facade will continue past the arched windows, and the rooftop mechanicals will also be covered in a stone parapet. At the base, the building’s envelope will match the existing street-wall, with a set of staggered setbacks yielding to the intermediary level with arched windows.

Nearby projects include 1711 First Avenue (on the corner of East 89th Street, designed by SHoP and under development by Anbau Enterprises), as well as 1768 Second Avenue (on the corner of East 92nd Street, where Curtis + Ginsberg are designing and Extell is developing).

As the Second Avenue subway comes closer to completion, the Upper East Side should continue to boom. Luckily the product coming to market will cater to a relatively diverse range of incomes, ranging from the uber-rich for the (likely) astronomically-priced 1558 Third Avenue, down to the “ordinarily wealthy” for buildings like Related’s 203 East 92nd Street.

Further uptown, new rentals at developments like East River Plaza and HAP’s 2211 Third Avenue will cater both to upper-middle class residents, as well as lower-income residents lucky enough to secure lottery-allocated “affordable” apartments included alongside the luxury rentals.

If any situation merits the repeal of New York State’s hard cap on residential density, one could make an excellent case for the eastern edge of the Upper East Side, which will soon become much more accessible with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway. As 1558 Third Avenue makes obvious, development pressure is already pushing price-points in the neighborhood’s new projects higher; allowing even larger buildings would help plug the gap between supply and increasingly pent-up demand.

As for 180 East 88th Street, no completion date has been announced, and per DDG, the building is “currently in its early stages.”

2 Likes
5

Today

1 Like
6

Great update, VG!

7

Was checking the ddg site, and it looks like they updated it with a new rendering.

530×1200 174 KB

Credit: DDG | Investment and Real Estate Development

I keep forgetting about this development. Is it still in the demo stage or is it well under construction?

3 Likes
8

From the Times today.

Says this will rise up to 521ft.

427×609 50.9 KB

Taller Condos on the Upper East Side

Ignoring the trend toward glassy exteriors, DDG has opted for a facade of Kolumba bricks, which are longer and thinner than the standard ones, and in this case, have a bluish-gray hue. The condo will require 593,987 of them, the developers said.


180 East 88th Street will include interior wishbone-shaped arches inspired by Antoni Gaudí.

4 Likes
9

Renderings!

http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/120415_01_Penthouse_Detail_A_FINAL-2.jpg
.
http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/120315_05_Penthouse_Terrace_FINAL.jpg
.
http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/120315_03_Canopy_Entry_FINAL.jpg
.
http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/120415_10_Lobby_FINAL-2.jpg
.
http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/102715_08_LivingRoom_FINAL.jpg
.
http://180e88.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/102715_06_Kitchen_Alt_FINAL.jpg
.

1436×2048 367 KB

12 Likes
10

Love the exotic and risky design.

1 Like
11

This will be a major improvement for both the streetscape and the skyline. Win/win!

3 Likes
12

Beautiful tower.

1 Like
13

That looks fantastic! It’s design makes it appear that it’s been there since the beginning, it fits in so well but is still an iconic design.

I’m loving the arch ways as well the the chevron shaped brickwork enhancing the vertical aspect of the tower, the golden crown is the icing on the cake of which the design cues can be seen throughout the building.

The interior reflects the exterior design as well, most predominantly in the patterned flooring and arch ways in certain rooms as well as the golden oven extractor.

This tower is very well designed both inside and out.

I wonder if they will have the greenery growing on the walls and through the stone exterior floors? I love it, it adds a sense of character and gives the building a more matured and grounded appearance.

3 Likes
14

Well this has got to be one of my favorite towers going up right now. It is so unique both inside and out.

3 Likes
15

6 Likes
16

Today:

3 Likes
17

https://instagram.com/p/BEWQ6QpHu5P/
@ddgpartners

5 Likes
18

Today

2 Likes
19

Moved to u/c. :slight_smile:
Nice, another 500+ foot tower. Hard to keep track.

Yet with the nice design, it will be noticeable. Kinda a hidden gem IMO.

1 Like
20

NIMBYs on the Upper East Side and Clinton Hill have been bike lanes obstructionists of late, but the popularity of bike commuting in the city has only continued to grow, Crain’s reports, with a 67 percent increase of commuters biking to work between 2010 and 2014.

Speaking of Upper East Side NIMBYs—neighborhood residents are in a tizzy because of developer DDG’s sly ploy to skirt zoning regulations by creating two different taxable zoning lots out of a parcel, allowing it to push its tower back from the street and avoid the attendant street-side requirements, The New York Times reports. “The fast-rising 521-foot tower, known as 180 East 88th Street and approved by the city’s Buildings Department, now faces a challenge from residents and elected officials arguing that the developers, who donated at least $19,900 to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign and causes, used a novel tactic to circumvent zoning regulations and build taller than would ordinarily be allowed.”

Read entire article in link

600×704 232 KB

Via NYT

3 Likes