Lift-off at Post-Office Architects' 30 Warren Condos in Tribeca

By Ondel Hylton | From Future New York Wednesday, January 10, 2018

30 Warren Street (Post-Office Architects)

Two prime corners in southern Tribeca are getting upscaled with three new developments at 30 Warren Street, 108 Chambers Street and 61 Warren Street. Recently, 30 Warren Street rocketed out of the ground and is already a quarter of the way up to its 12-floor acme. Its site stretches the full northern blockfront of Church Street between Chambers and Warren. The ground up building will offer 23 one- to three-bedroom condos with a fitness center, children's playroom, and attended lobby on the side.

Cape Advisors are the project’s developers and paid $35 million for the pre-existing 5-story building at 149-151 Church Street. The classic albeit nondescript loft building had 12 roomy apartments and 8 small businesses that included Indian restaurant Taste of Tandoor. Cape filed construction permits a few months after the purchase and tapped the Paris-bred up-and-comers of Post-Office Architects (POA) to design the building with Midtown-based HTO Architect serving as the architect of record.

The project was anticipated to open in the summer of 2017, but for reasons unknown, the project stalled at the foundation level. Sales initially launched in early 2016 and were mysteriously taken off the market several months later. At the time, asking prices of one-bedrooms started at $2.125 million, two-beds from $3.5 million and three-beds from $4.35 million. The listed condos came in at an average of $2,400 a foot — eclipsing the neighborhood’s closing average by $600. Since then, Tribeca's closing prices have peaked at $2,500 a foot and have recently fallen back to $2,000 a foot.

Median closing price of condos in Tribeca (CityRealty)

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Headed by the French architects of David Fagart and Francois Leininger, with Swiss interior designer Line Fontana, POA’s complex massing is said to have been generated through a unique interpretation of the zoning rules. From the narrow, block-long site, the building will stagger upwards creating many outdoor opportunities. The northern, Chambers Street-facing frontage will dramatically setback after the first floor giving the second-floor a sizeable planted terrace. POA says this elevation will be mostly glazed, and a series of trees planted on the terraces are to preserve privacy and form a vertical landscape where residents can step outside and take in views.

Francois Leininger commented that “this project is the opposite of aquarium architecture and of a certain generic vision of daily life,” adding that “the balconies we placed on the façade function like promontories, or perches, where one can take the pulse of the urban environment and then the step back inside. The terraces protect from the sun, noise, and from buildings opposite.”

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The expanse facing Church Street will have oversized picture windows and concrete walls less than an inch thick — likely to provide more interior space. “It’s both very strong and protective, but like a veil, almost,” said Mr. Leininger. The façade incorporates large modules of “Ductal,” a highly resistant fiber-reinforced concrete that according to Leininger “expresses a mineral quality as well as a certain ambivalence: the subtlety of a thickness,” adding that “this material lends itself to being molded and textured” and “creates nuance, which we think is important in today’s world.”

The 23 homes, which will include three penthouses, will range in size from approximately 1,000 to over 2,500 square feet. Layouts will be open with living spaces positioned at the open north and south ends. Leininger says, "We focused on framing the amazing views and arranged a sequence of large picture windows to capture the grand moments of the city."

Cape Advisors / Corcoran

"30 Warren offers buyers both an intimate living experience and a prime location in the heart of Tribeca, with close proximity to dining, shopping, nightlife, public transportation and excellent public and private schools," says Craig Wood of Cape Advisors in a profile on the project by Aspire Metro Magazine. "We are seeing prime Tribeca expand and slowly shift to the center with the transformation of Church Street and downtown Manhattan. 30 Warren is actively leading the way in this trend with a full block front of beautiful architecture."