THE FACTORS CREATING A WELCOMING GALLERY DISTRICT
Hyperallergic has a good breakdown on the forces pulling art galleries to the neighborhood — now logging in at about 60. It’s out of a flood zone, the space are beautiful, and there are lots of them thanks to the pandemic. And the biggest: lower rents. “Rents in Tribeca are about 20% lower than those in the Meatpacking District and Soho, and a third of the price of Madison Avenue…Savvy brokers familiar with Tribeca’s nooks and crannies have often found even better deals. One of the neighborhood’s most prolific salesmen, Redwood Property Group partner Jonathan Travis, who placed 34 galleries in Tribeca over the past decade, said rents on the side streets where art spaces have concentrated now range between $95 and $125 per square foot [compared to the average Manhattan rent of $253].”

A TALE OF ONE RENTER
Fortune has a personal finance story about a millennial New Yorker earning $200,000 who is rethinking her ‘toxic relationship’ with Manhattan because her rent here in Tribeca increased by $1400 in two years. Sonia Hendrix, the founder of Gallery PR, recently learned her one-bedroom rent would increase to $5500; it was $4100 when she moved in in June 2021. Holy crap.

THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST CONVERSION
Gothamist has a great story on 25 Water, which will be the country’s largest office-to-resi conversion when it is completed, with 1300 units. “Owners GFP Real Estate and Metro Loft plan to scoop out two courtyards from the center of the building and wrap apartments around them, said GFP head Brian Steinwurtzel. That’ll allow the building to meet light and air requirements. The owners also plan to raise the height to 32 stories [from 22] while still complying with density restrictions.”

ART AS DESIGN AS ART
I am guessing this is 30 Park Place: Vogue Living has a spread on the interiors of a duplex on the 78th and 79th floor. The palette is largely neutral, but the best part is the art: they didn’t have a collection so they brought in Barbara Cartategui to help them build it and to customize it to the apartment and the interior design.