Condominiums to Open in NYC Woolworth Building

By Jessica Fiur, News Editor

New York—Want to live in a historic landmark? Alchemy Properties Inc. has recently acquired a condominium interest in the top 30 floors of the Landmark Woolworth Building in Lower Manhattan. The company plans to create 40 residential units.

The Woolworth building was originally built in 1913 and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966. With its neo-Gothic spire, it is thought to be one of the most recognizable buildings in the world.

The floors of the Woolworth Building that will be converted to condominiums start 350 feet above ground (penthouse units will start 750 feet above the ground) and will offer views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. Ceiling heights will range from 11 to 14 feet. Residents will also have a separate lobby with private elevators that will take them to their units.

We know that everyone is going to have a great view, just because we’ve got views on four sides,” Kenneth S. Horn, president, Alchemy Properties, tells MHN. “In terms of amenities, we’re going to be redoing the pool, and we’ll be having a gym and several high-end amenities as well. On some of the lower floors—which are not that low because we start at 29—we may have three units per floor, but that will be the most we’ll have. The object here is to make very grand units that totally take advantage of the light that’s coming in.”

Alchemy acquired the interest in the Woolworth building for $68 from The Witkoff Group and Cammeby’s International. Both groups will continue to own the 28 lower levels of the building, which will still be used for commercial tenants.

So what will be the biggest draw to residents?

“I think it’s going to be several things,” Horn says. “Obviously, it’s an iconic building—you can’t duplicate it. That’s number one. Number two is that every unit is going to have amazing views. The third thing is we’re right in the hub of Lower Manhattan that’s just exploding. We’re in the southern part of Tribeca. We’ve got the World Trade Centers going up. We’ve got Conde Nast down there, we’ve got a million square feet going up there. On our corner of Church Street the Four Seasons Hotel is going to be going up right down the street from us. There’s a lot going on, and we feel that we’re going to be anchoring a lot of the resurrection of that area.”

The residential units are expected to be completed by 2015.