Carter's Review

The 35-story building at 20 Pine Street, which is also known as 2 Chase Manhattan Plaza, was converted in 2009 to 409 residential condominiums by Leviev Boymelgreen, which had acquired the property from the Resnick and Reuben families in 2004.

In conjunction with the launch of marketing for the conversion, the building was renamed "20 Pine The Collection" and it published an impressive, 114-page very glossy, large-size magazine proclaiming its virtues and including ads for Ferrari, Frette and Fendi, among other luxury goods such as Brioni and Bulgari.

Gruzen Samton LLP was the architectural firm for the conversion and Armani/Casa did the interior design.

Bottom Line

In the heart of the Financial District overlooking Chase Manhattan Plaza, this conversion of the former headquarters of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company has great views, many amenities and good public transportation.

Description

The building has a large, double-height lobby.

There are 17 sphinx gargoyles on the building’s set backs

There is central air-conditioning.

Amenities

A lounge, a fitness center, a pool table room and storage bins are located in subcellar 2 and a lap pool and steam room in subcellar 3.

A roof deck with a pool and spectacular views of the downtown skyline is located on the 25th floor of the building.

Other amenities include a 33-foot-high lobby and an adjacent Library Lounge, a spa with a Turkish Hamman with a large reflecting pool with an overhead rain shower.

The building also has a golf simulator.

Apartments on the 25th through the 35th floors are known as the Concierge Residences and are served by a dedicated elevator and private Concierge Lounge that serves a daily gourmet breakfast and is operated by Quintessentially, a concierge service based in London.

Apartments

Apartments have 10-foot beamed ceilings and many have terraces.

The kitchens have Sub-Zero refrigerators, Gaggenau ranges and sinks and Fisher & Paykel dishwashers. Baths have recessed square rainshowers.

Floors 6 through 18 have 19 apartments.

There are many different layouts.

Apartment 13 on the 6^th through the 18^th floors is a two-bedroom unit with a long entry foyer that leads to a 23-foot-long living room at the northwest corner of the building with an open kitchen.

Apartment 2807 at the eastern end of the building is a two-bedroom unit with a 22-foot-long living room with an open kitchen.

Apartment 3001 is a three-bedroom unit with a large entry foyer leading to a 20-foot-long great room with an open kitchen and a 65-foot-long terrace.

Penthouse 41 has a 37-foot-long bedroom and a 28-foot-long living room with an open kitchen.

Penthouse 50 is a two-bedroom unit with a 44-foot-long living/dining area with an open kitchen and a 53-foot-long terrace.

History

The building was designed, with Egyptian motifs, by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White as the headquarters of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, a predecessor firm of J.P Morgan Chase. Graham, Anderson, Probst & White was the successor firm to Daniel Burnham's firm whose famous and very influential buildings include the Rookery, Monadnock, Reliance, Wrigley and Merchandise Mart buildings in Chicago and the Flatiron Building in Manhattan.

Location

The tower has one of the finest sites in Manhattan at the epicenter of the financial district.

Its north and east façades front on Chase Manhattan Plaza with its large Dubuffet Sculpture and sunken fountain by Isamu Noguchi. It is surrounded by many of the finest buildings in the area including One Chase Manhattan Plaza, 40 Wall Street, 140 Broadway, the Federal Reserve Bank building and 14 Wall Street.

Leviev Boymelgreen, the development organization that commissioned Philippe Starck to decorate its conversion of the former office building at 15 Broad Street across from the New York Stock Exchange, commissioned Armani/Casa to decorate its conversion of 20 Pine Street.

Robert Triefus, executive vice president of communications for Giorgio Armani S.P.A., said that "this is the first time Armani/Casa has collaborated in this way with a property developer in New York," adding that "the concept of 20 Pine fits in with our philosophy for Armani/Casa, which is based on the creation of luxurious and sophisticated living environments for the home." "Our greatest challenge was to reconcile the architectural monumentality of the original building's scale with the desire for a warm and inviting intimacy in the interior residential spaces," he said.