By Brian Hwang ’17 and Knute Kvarekvaal ’16
On Friday, November 6th, the Real Estate Association (REA) and members of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate met with executives and associates from Toll Brothers City Living and toured two major luxury residential developments in New York City: Pierhouse at Brooklyn Bridge Park and 400 Park Avenue South in Manhattan.
The day started in Brooklyn Heights at the Pierhouse sales office. The opportunities and challenges of public-private development and ground lease considerations were discussed. The Pierhouse project is a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group and is comprised of 106 condominium units and a 192-room hotel to be branded “1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge.” The sales office featured a model unit “vignette build-out” to showcase the interior finishes. Thereafter the tour attendees walked the perimeter of the Pierhouse site to see the current stage of completion and the views of the Manhattan skyline from the site first hand. The striking façade that faces the park and the East River is a combination of metal, limestone, and glass.
The tour continued in Manhattan to the newly completed condominium lobby of 400 Park Avenue South. The project is a joint venture of Toll Brothers City Living and Equity Residential and is comprised of 81 condominium units and 269 rental units. The glass tower was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc. The group toured two model units and the amenities including the sky lounge, gym, pool, screening room, and conference center.
The day with Toll Brothers City Living was a dynamic tour of two high-profile residential developments in two contrasting boroughs of New York City, each with their own unique sense of presence and function. Special thanks to Henry Waller ’05 and Geoff Bailey ’14, both of Toll Brothers.
Knute Kvarekvaal ’16 is the VP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a second-year student focusing on real estate investment. Knute will be returning to the Real Estate Investment group at Norges Bank Investment Management in New York after graduation.
Brian Hwang ’17 is the AVP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a first-year student focusing on real estate development and investment. Brian previously worked for CBRE in the Valuation & Advisory Group in Los Angeles.