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By Matt Chaban 5/29/12 11:11am

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One Hudson Yards

Gary Barnett Goes Head-to-Head with Steve Ross at Hudson Yards

In our recent profile of Gary Barnett, The Observer included a litany of things done by Extell that Mr. Barnett considers to be “the best.” It is easily his favorite phrase, so a number of these superlatives were left on the editing room floor—the piece would have been twice as long, otherwise.

One of those “bests” was 500 West 34th Street, previously known as the World Product Centre. “It’s the best site in all of Hudson Yards,” Mr. Barnett told us at the time. “It’s overlooking everything, and it’s right on top of the new subway.”

That is almost exactly what he told the Post‘s Steve Cuozzo in revealing that the project is back on. So singular is the project Extell is now calling it One Hudson Yards. As you can imagine, the developer across the street actually developing the 26-acre megadevelopment of the same name was none too pleased with the announcement. Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/10/12 5:14pm

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The site, from 58th Street. (Skyscraper Page)

Gary Barnett on How He Chooses His Designers and the 1,250-Foot Starchitect Tower Planned for Broadway and 57th

When Gary Barnett builds, he wants everything to be “the best,” as the Extell exec made clear in our recent profile. Bigger is not always better, but it certainly does not hurt, especially in Manhattan. That is part of the appeal of Mr. Barnett’s One57—not only will the views be dead-center on Central Park, a fact Mr. Barnett keenly brags about, but there are also the bragging rights of having the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. At 1,005 feet, it beats Frank Gehry’s 8 Spruce Street by more than 100 feet.

But this is New York, and the record will never hold for long, as competitors like the MoMA tower and 432 Park start to rise. But Mr. Barnett has an ace up his sleeve just down the block, a large development site on Broadway running between 57th and 58th streets. The lot, site of the former B.F. Goodrich Building is nearly twice as large as One57′s, and more importantly the tower could be many hundred feet taller, as well, as Mr. Barnett continues to assemble air rights and properties, one of his favorite parts of the business.

For this stratospheric project he also turned to several top-shelf designers, none of whom Extell has ever worked with before. Read More

By Matt Chaban 4/26/12 11:38am

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Would you live here? (Bing Maps)

Silverstein Beats Vornado to the Port Authority Punch Again, Proposes New Bus Terminal on West 39th Street

Correction: A reader points out that this is simply a bus garage, not a bus station, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal would remain in operation. The Observer regrets the error.

The Port Authority has been desperate to replace its eponymous bus terminal near Times Square for at least a decade now. Vornado Realty was supposed to build a new office tower atop the terminal, which it would rebuild in the process, but after years of planning, that proposal collapsed.

Now, it turns out Larry Silverstein has quietly floated a plan to build a new terminal on West 39th Street, according to Crain’s, near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, atop which Mr. Silversterin would build a new residential building. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11:52am

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Ms. Dunham, on location in Brooklyn. (HBO)

Lena Dunham Goes Ghost Hunting at Steiner Studios and Gretchen Mol Just Loves Being Close to Home

At the ribbon cutting for Steiner Studios earlier this month, The Observer caught up with Voice of the City Lena Dunham, who had just moved production for the second season of her feverish hit Girls to the studio in Brooklyn. Gretchen Mol of Boardwalk Empire was up on stage, looking radiant beside the mayor and Doug Steiner, but Ms. Dunham hid in the back of the sound stage.

It was actually her first day at the studios, she said, but her experience helps underscore why the city needs more and bigger studios if it is going to continue to grow its film and television industry. (Also, there wasn’t room in our profile of Doug Steiner for Ms. Dunham, but we figure giving her her own post should drive some good Google hits to Observer.com, what with the ultra-buzz humming around Girls at the moment.)

“I’m very excited to be here,” Ms. Dunham told The Observer of her arrival at Steiner Studios. “I love the Navy Yards, it’s such a cool, historic place.” Somehow we could not help but think of that scene from Tiny Furniture where she has sex with the chef inside a giant pipe somewhere in nearby Dumbo. Read More

By Matt Chaban 4/18/12 8:40am

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Studio city. (Courtesy Steiner Studios)

Hollywood Along the Hudson: Can Doug Steiner Turn the City’s Largest Film Studios Into an Urban Real Estate Empire?

“People said we were crazy to build in Brooklyn, no one would ever come to Brooklyn,” Doug Steiner said from the rooftop terrace of his biggest development in the borough. The Jersey-born builder was wearing his usual polo shirt and jeans, comfortable in the unseasonably warm weather in late February, the sun glinting off his clean-shaven head. “In those days, there were wild dogs running in the streets,” Mr. Steiner added for effect.

“But look at these views,” he continued, pointing out across Wallabout Bay and the span of the East River beyond. “You’ve got the gritty industrial underbelly of the city in the foreground, the financial capital of the world in the background.” One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building bookended the panorama.

It was 1999 when Doug Steiner brought the family development business to Brooklyn. As he and so many other fortune seekers have since proved, the decision was anything but crazy. But it was not condos or artists lofts that Mr. Steiner was selling. He was in pictures.

Two weeks ago, with the mayor standing just in front of him at the podium, Mr. Steiner opened five new sound stages at his eponymous Steiner Studios inside the sprawling Brooklyn Navy Yards, bringing the total to 15. That is halfway to the ultimate goal of 32 and, at 50 acres, the largest American film production facilities outside of Hollywood—behind Warner Brothers and Paramount, and rivaling the Walt Disney and CBS backlots. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/29/12 2:50pm

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The original debt clock, across from Bryant Park after it was reactivated in 2002. (Getty)

Romney Robs Debt Clock from Democratic Dursts

One of New York’s biggest developers is making an unexpected contribution to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns. No, it is not Steve Ross, head of the Related Companies and an active bundler for the Republican front runner. Nor is it Donald Trump, who once ran against Mr. Romney but now endorses him.

The secret supporter of sorts is the Durst Organization, a long-time supporter of Democratic politicians no less. The contribution is a simple clock. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/16/12 11:30am

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Never give up, never surrender.

Gary Barnett Never Gives Up, Takes Rushmore Refunds to Court for Fourth Time

With all the attention focused on Gary Barnett’s swiftly rising One57, his greatest success to date may be the Rushmore. The building has attracted a parade of high-profile buyers, and he almost prevailed in his years-long lawsuit against now-governor, then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo, who wanted Mr. Barnett to refund buyers deposits over what the developer said was a typo. The case was decided against the developer last year.

Well, Mr. Barnett is back in court, fighting yet again what Crain’s calls the most expensive condo refund ever, which may help explain Extell’s determination to prevail. Read More