By Matt Chaban 5/16 12:30pm

The Neverending Story

Spire showdown. (dbox/SOM, Durst Organization)

Get to the Point: If Anyone Can Save 1 WTC’s Symbolic Spire, It Is the Dursts—They Snuck Onto the Skyline Before

The fate of the World Trade Center, having been debated and arbitrated by every constituency in town, now rests with a panel of architects and engineers in Chicago. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is the international arbiter of skyscrapers the world over. All skyscrapers are not created equal, and it is up to the Council to decide exactly how tall they all are.

The problem at 1 World Trade Center, as has been raging across front pages all week, is that the Durst Organization, the august real estate family and minority partner in the city’s newly christened tallest structure, has convinced the Port Authority to forgo a radome, a white fiberglass sheath that was to have encased the 408-foot mast atop the 1,368-foot tower. The mast takes the tower from the symbolic height of the original towers to the perhaps too symbolic height of 1,776 feet, first envisioned by Daniel Libeskind a decade ago.

The problem is that the council does not recognize antennae, flagpoles, signage or other superfluous structures as contributing to the height of the building. That is why the Willis Tower, 1,451 feet, ranks eighth tallest in the world, even though two broadcasting arrays bring its total height to 1,729 feet, the second tallest in the world behind the Burj Khalifa.

This seems absolutely backwards—why encourage “spires,” useless poles with a glimmer of design intent, while forgoing actual, functional structures like antenna and signage. Whatever happened to form follows function? Read More

By Matt Chaban 3/12 6:30pm

Under Development

IMG_8464_removed_sign_sm-600x400

SCOPE-ing Out West 57th Street: Art Fair Takes Over Durst Pyramid Site for the Weekend

Next month, one of the most anticipated groundbreakings in the city is set to take place at the corner of 57th Street and the Hudson River. There, the Durst Organization will sink its shovels in preparation for Bjarke Ingel’s unusual apartment pyramid. Before that fanfare begins,  another triangular structure has quietly risen on the lot, only the latest project to occupy the not-quite dormant site. The giant white tent is this year’s home for nomadic SCOPE art fair.

“I was hoping if we built it, they would come, and so far, they have come,” Alexis Hubshman said. “This is easily our best year yet.”

It does not hurt that the tent is just a block north of Pier 94, where the Armory Show has camped out for the past few decades. “I would be lying if I said that the convenience of it wasn’t important,” Mr. Hubshman said. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/29 2:50pm

Machers

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney Campaigns In Michigan

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 Daniel Geiger 1/24 11:08am

Postings

1391 REBNY 116th Annual Banquet, 1.19.12

Walking the REBNY Ballroom: Hungry Brokers, Angry Lapidus

Speeches were casually ignored, drinks were spilled and bonds were formed at last Thursday’s 116th annual Real Estate Board of New York Gala, which this year drew an estimated 2,000 brokers, owners, advertising buyers and real estate reporters to the New York Hilton for an evening of conviviality, honorifics and hushed deal making. Among the fray was Commercial Observer staff writer Daniel Geiger, who during the course of the evening saw his stenopad tossed by an irate real estate broker and who unabashedly accosted Studley’s Woody Heller in the hotel’s bathroom, all for the sake of the story. Below, a timeline of gala comings and goings, from the innocuous gossip down to the downright obnoxious.  Read More

By Elise Knutsen 10/24/11 10:50am

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Robert Durst (Photo from Free Republic)

Robert Durst Spooks His New Harlem Neighbors

Word has gotten around that Robert Durst purchased a townhouse in Harlem, and, as happens to almost everybody, really, the neighbors are not pleased, the Post reports. The confessed murderer, former cross-dresser and son of one of New York’s most powerful real estate developers, will not be welcome with open arms if he does in fact decide to move into the property he recently purchased at 218 Lennox Avenue. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 6/21/11 1:20pm

the sit-down

It’s been more than a year since Jody Durst took over the reins as the Durst Organization’s president, and, as one can imagine, business has become only more frenetic since then. With the announcement of Condé Nast’s deal to move from 4 Times Square to 1 World Trade Center and an aggressive search underway to fill retail space at 4 Times Square, Mr. Durst, 55, has been every bit as busy as before the downturn. Mr. Durst talked about the company’s dearth of big deals and what’s on the horizon for the firm.

Jody Durst on Condé Nast’s Next Cafeteria, Filling 4 Times Square

The Observer: There was a lengthy gap between when the unofficial deal with Condé Nast leaked to the press more than a year ago and when the deal actually became official earlier this month. What transpired between then and now?

Mr. Durst: There were significant issues that needed to be worked out, and significant negotiations that took place. Condé certainly wasn’t going to tell us two years ago, before a deal had been structured, that they were going to come down. Obviously, they needed to ensure that it was under business terms that they could agree with, and that it was in the best interest of their company and employees to go down there.

They did a tremendous amount of due diligence between then and now, and there were, as I said, significant deal terms and issues that needed to be addressed. Read More