The Darkness at Richard Meier's Brooklyn Tower
When Richard Meier, the architect famous for his glass and steel towers such as those on Perry Street in Greenwich Village, announced plans in 2005 for one of his signature buildings at Grand Army Plaza, the idea met with plenty of resistance from residents of Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope, as well as…
When Richard Meier, the architect famous for his glass and steel towers such as those on Perry Street in Greenwich Village, announced plans in 2005 for one of his signature buildings at Grand Army Plaza, the idea met with plenty of resistance from residents of Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope, as well as Brooklynites throughout the borough. Thus, some people might have read with relish the New York Times article profiling the building, now open ten months but on the market for much longer. Through interviews with neighbors and residents, the article leaves final judgment somewhat up to the reader: its vacancy rate proves the Richard Meier experiment in Brooklyn a failure, or a building planned in the boom years that is now struggling to fill spaces (the developers report sales of 50 percent of the units, while Streeteasy has recorded only 25), just like many other new developments, independent of architect or developer. Some residents of the sparsely occupied glass box expressed worry about the dropping values of their new purchases, while one retired couple showed more longevity of thought: “We’re living here for the rest of our lives. We know there are ups and downs in the market. It’s not a time to panic.”
Glass Half Empty: Richard Meier’s Brooklyn Tower [NY Times]
On Prospect Park: Is Anybody Home? [Brownstoner]
Photo via Curbed
The building does seem to appeal to the older buyers. We would not hear the end of this if the building were in Brooklyn Heights. But it does spotlight an important trend that as folks get older they don’t want the hassle of brownstone living and cash in to live in a swanky condo. That’s going to be a big part of the future even though many on this blog are quite ageist in their attitudes. Probably reflecting their own insecurity and naivete.
the maintenance on it is super expensive – especially when it’s a new condo with abatement of some sort
“I think some folks here think whoever has the most money when you die wins.
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I love this comment.
“I thought money bought good taste?”
Tybur, the saying is “money can’t buy taste”. But as you say, you can buy someone else’s taste.
The building is an egotistical eyesore, and certainly not in character with the neighborhood. No wonder it is half empty.
The couple that said, “We’re living here for the rest of our lives”, are 64 and 66 years old.
Another couple(aged 80 and 84) said, “their next condo will be coffin.”
Geriatric homesteaders…. That’s what team bull is relying on now.
“We’re living here for the rest of our lives. We know there are ups and downs in the market. It’s not a time to panic.”
I’d have this attitude too if I were a retiree like these guys. But I’m not and I need my home — a substantial investment — to make money for me at some point along the way. This article says asking prices are down about 30%. So even if prices rose 10% annually starting in year 2, I’d be flat 5 years out and losing ground to inflation. Ouch. This is the problem for us non-retirees not in our forever homes.
I like this building, but I’d only want a unit on a high floor facing Manhattan or the park.
I don’t care if you are loaded and/or plan to live there for 30 years; taking a quick hit of 30% on your investment is never fun. While some in the building might not be fretting, I’m sure that more than a few spend a few moments every now and then beating themselves up.
Its probably going to take a drop to $750 sq ft to move these puppies. Looks like the first round of sales were well over $1000 and the current listings are in the $900’s.
Some of the layouts are silly, like a 3 Bedroom, 3 Bath where they make 10X10 bedrooms so that everyone in the freakin’ family can have a soaking tub. Quick way to make a 1700 sq/ft apartment feel like 1200.
While this is not the case for all… there are a couple units that are filled with folks with BAD taste in home decor. And you can see it all! 🙂
I though money bought good taste? Or at least a decorator.
and I don’t care if people can see me in any form of dress or undress.