All images and drawings of Cast Iron House via Serhant
Knightsbridge Properties, the New York-based developer with a posh London name has released a crowning penthouse of their much-lauded condominium, 67 Franklin Street. Officially knighted Cast Iron House, the endeavor is the team’s third foray in Tribeca, coming on the heels of 54 Warren Street
and Obsidian House
further south.
With an eye towards the upper echelons of Manhattan's condo market, Knightsbridge recruited Shigeru Ban, one of the world's most skillful architects and 2014 winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture. As his third major work in New York City, Ban sculpts 14 magnificent residences that wow with their cathedral ceilings, vaulted windows, and masterful level of craftmanship to convey a feeling of lightness and fluidity.
Knightsbridge picked up the property in 2002 and shortly after gave its rusting cast-iron fronts an impeccable top-to-bottom buffing. The building was built in 1881 during the peak of an industrial boom, back when James Bogardus’ catalog-order façades were very much in vogue. The Neo-Grecian-styled building gained city landmark status in 1983 and remains one of the largest and most ornate cast-iron structures in the city. Now well into its latest chapter as a sumptuous apartment house, just three of its 14 homes remain. This includes its foremost corner penthouse, a four-bedroom aerie custom-designed by Mr. Ban. Take a tour of the spread below.
With an eye towards the upper echelons of Manhattan's condo market, Knightsbridge recruited Shigeru Ban, one of the world's most skillful architects and 2014 winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture. As his third major work in New York City, Ban sculpts 14 magnificent residences that wow with their cathedral ceilings, vaulted windows, and masterful level of craftmanship to convey a feeling of lightness and fluidity.
Knightsbridge picked up the property in 2002 and shortly after gave its rusting cast-iron fronts an impeccable top-to-bottom buffing. The building was built in 1881 during the peak of an industrial boom, back when James Bogardus’ catalog-order façades were very much in vogue. The Neo-Grecian-styled building gained city landmark status in 1983 and remains one of the largest and most ornate cast-iron structures in the city. Now well into its latest chapter as a sumptuous apartment house, just three of its 14 homes remain. This includes its foremost corner penthouse, a four-bedroom aerie custom-designed by Mr. Ban. Take a tour of the spread below.
In this article:
↓ Located at 67 Franklin Street at the southwest corner of Broadway, Cast Iron House is one of Tribeca's most attractive 19th-century cast-iron buildings. The original six-story stack of opulence was designed in 1881 by James White as a textile factory building.
↓ Knightsbridge Properties, founded by Jourdan E. Krauss in 1997, is behind the building's latest chapter. Mr. Krauss acquired the landmarked building in 2002. After tenants’ leases expired in 2008, he, with the preservation firm of Jan Hird Pokorny Associates in tow, labored three years renovating and restoring the ornate facade.
↓ In June 2012, Pritzker Prize Laureate Shigeru Ban flew in from Tokyo to present his vision to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. The famed Japanese architect envisioned a pair of penthouses that would float atop the structure and whose articulation would be drawn from the horizontal entablatures of the Neo-Grecian-styled building.
↓ The interior of the original building was restructured to add an additional floor. Ban's two-floor addition would bring the building to nine stories, accomodating 14 residential units plus street-level retail.
↓ The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved Ban’s plan with only a few minor modifications. Commissioners gushed with praise describing Ban's intervention as “breathtaking” and “magical” according to a story by Pete Davies of Curbed New York.
↓ A Vierendeel truss, invented by Belgian engineer Jules Arthur Vierendeel is the structural basis of the pair of four-bedroom duplex penthouses. Each of their living levels features Ban's signature movable walls of glass that open onto expansive terraces.
↓ A similar concept of utilizing moveable walls to create an ultimate indoor-outdoor living experience can be found at Ban's Metal Shutter Houses in West Chelsea.
↓ The corner penthouse, #PHEAST, is surrounded by a 1,510-square-foot wraparound terrace overlooking Broadway.
↓ The 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath aerie is accessed by a key-locked elevator. The home has multi-zone heating and cooling, radiant heated floors, and a laundry room with a utility sink and Miele washer and vented dryer.
↓ The facade of the new 23-foot-tall topper is a steel framework painted white and punched with rows of windows rising from floor to ceiling.
↓ The uninterrupted expanse of the interior and surrounding terraces is further accentuated by 20-foot tall ceilings and serene limestone floors.
↓ The tranquil open kitchen boasts an eat-in waterfall island, custom white matter lacquer cabinets, Bianco Oro countertops, and a suite of fully-integrated Gaggenau appliances.
↓ A secluded study and a bedroom with easy access to a second full bathroom complete the lower level.
↓ Upstairs, a trio of large bedrooms can be found. The majestic, 32-foot long primary bedroom suite features exposures to the east and north, and has an enormous en-suite bath and walk-in-closet.
↓ The primary bath has a Corian double vanity, radiant heated marble floors, a walk-in shower, and a freestanding Kaldewei soaking tub.
↓ The 16-foot-deep second and third bedrooms share access to a small terrace and a bathroom with double sinks and a deep soaking tub.
↓ Eleven of Cast Iron House's 14 homes have already been snapped up. Its two listings on the market include the aforementioned penthouse and a massive four-bedroom on the seventh floor asking a cool and casual $8.75 million.
Cast Iron House, #7A
↓ The bespoke amenity spaces include a garden courtyard with 40-foot-tall bamboo trees.
↓ A state-of-the-art fitness center shared by only you and 13 other units.
↓ An exercise and yoga room.
↓ Below grade is a sculptural hydrotherapy spa with sauna and steam room.
↓ And all of Tribeca lies outside the extensively white and lacquered attended lobby.
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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