No cutting corners when it comes to New York City living

By: John Banks

Starting last week, rental units are officially on the market at the most distinctive and environmentally conscious new addresses in town.

Like Tishman Speyer’s Spiral, the Durst Organization’s VIA 57 West is also designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, the same architect responsible for 2 World Trade Center and the Brooklyn Bridge Park viewing platform.

Like those buildings, VIA 57 West also sports a unique architectural design — in this case, the 861,000 s/f building, with a 22,000 s/f courtyard in the center and floor-to-ceiling windows. More importantly than the appearance of the building, however, is its dedication to sustainability.

VIA 57 West boasts an approach to its residences that prioritizes water, earth, air, and energy efficiency. Specifically, the building will recycle 60,000 gallons of water per day (and clean its water using an on-site filtering system), was built using responsibly forested wood, and features Energy-Star appliance packages, FSC-certified wood Italian cabinetry, and solar EcoVeil roller shades in its residences.

VIA 57 West was not only designed with sustainability in mind, but also the ability to accommodate all the needs of a wide variety of residents.

Of the building’s 709 units — 142 of which are affordable, ranging from $565 for a studio to $1,067 for a three-bedroom – there are 178 different floor plans, many of which sport terraces and balconies.

The building’s architecture also creates a dynamic which allows each unit to flow from indoor to outdoor living with ease. Each unit is also equipped with thermal comfort controls, ventilated fresh air, and Horizon oak wood flooring.

In terms of amenities, the buck doesn’t stop at the courtyard. The VIA Garden design shares the exact same proportions as Olmsted’s Central Park, and features 80 newly planted trees and lawns, 47 species of native plant material, four barbecue grills, and outdoor seating.

The building also sports East and West Resident Lounges, a reading room, outdoor lounges with river views, a party room, chef’s kitchen, a movie screening room, game room, poker room, and golf simulator. Through Via Fit, residents will also have access to a gym, fitness lounge, swimming pool, sun decks, indoor half-basketball court, and exercise studios.

Due to its unique architecture, VIA 57 West manages to fit this incredible package all within 861,000 s/f. The building’s pyramid-like structure also allows it to maximize the amount of natural light that enters the residences, further cutting down on energy cost.

This theme of connecting residents to nature is further exemplified by the niched location of the courtyard inside of the pyramid itself, which serves as a makeshift “in-house park” that allows residents to escape big-city life by simply stepping out of their front doors. VIA 57 West is open now and is expected to be fully completed in the next few months, at which point it will undoubtedly become the most sought-after rentable spaces among a variety of prospective tenants due to its versatility.

I congratulate both The Durst Organization and Bjarke Ingel Group for creating a building which combines affordability, tenant comfort and energy efficiency, to give New Yorkers yet another reason to call Manhattan the best city to live, work, and raise a family.

In other REBNY news: REBNY’s Residential Brokerage Division is pleased to announce the results of its 2015 Annual Elections. We congratulate all the newly elected members of the Residential Board of Directors and Residential Ethics Committee. New members of the Residential Board of Directors include Asher Alcobi of Peter Ashe Real Estate and David Schlamm of City Connections Realty Inc. Jeffrey Weisbord of Jeffrey Weisbord Real Estate and Hall Willkie of Brown Harris Stevens have been re-elected as members of the Residential Board of Directors.

Joining the Residential Ethics Committee as a new member is Ellie Johnson of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Additionally, Jeffrey Rothstein, of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, has been re-elected as a member of the Residential Ethics Committee.

REBNY’s next Residential Rental Clinic seminar is on March 18th from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Mendik Education Center. Presented by Daniel Marrello of Town Fifth Avenue LLC and Gary Kiyan of Perfect RE Solutions Inc., join fellow REBNY members in this exciting seminar that will teach you more about how to expand and improve your residential real estate business. For more information, contact Yesenia Dhanraj at YDhanraj@rebny.com.

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) will host a Members’ Luncheon on March 22, 2016 from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Hilton New York. The event will include a panel discussion titled, “New York City Market Forecast – Where Are We Now? and Where Are We Going?” The panel will be moderated by Ron LoRusso of Cushman & Wakefield and feature panelists: Helen Hwang of Meridian Investment Sales, LLC, Hal Stein of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Chase Welles of SCG Retail, and Sacha Zarba of CBRE, Inc. REBNY will also announce the winner of its 2015 Most Promising

Commercial Salesperson of the Year Award at this event. To register, visit www.rebny.com

Source: Real Estate Weekly