$65M Third Ave. luxury apartment tower complete.

Construction has been completed on the Aurora, the 32-story mixed-use luxury apartment building at 554 Third Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets, it was announced by Townhouse Management Company, the project's developer, and their partner, Pine Equity.

Costing $65 million to build, the Aurora is the first ground-up corporate housing development for Marriott/ExecuStay, who is to commence renting the 126 furnished studio and one-bedroom units on 25 floors in the building for 30-day minimum stays. Each comes fully furnished with washer, dryer, dishwasher and other amenities.

In addition, five loft-style floor-through apartments that top off the tower are now being offered to the public at $4 million each. The luxurious condos, which are being marketed by Douglas Elliman, feature huge window expanses, 11-foot ceilings, panoramic, two-river views of the city, marble and granite bathrooms, stainless steel kitchen appliances, 500 square feet of terraces, year-round climate control and laundry facilities. The building also includes a 24-hour doorman, gym, business center and storage areas, and a roof-top deck for condo residents.

Townhouse Management Co. is headed by President Mitchel Maidman, a real estate lawyer who joined the family business, now chaired by his father, Richard Maidman, also a lawyer.

According to Mitchel Maidman, there is a large demand for corporate housing as well as for large, full-floor upscale apartments in New York. "There's very limited product, yet a very big market for apartments in the super-luxury category," said Maidman. "After all, how many condos in New York face all four directions and boast panoramic views of both rivers and the Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Verrazano Bridges? On a clear day, you can see the shimmer of the Atlantic Ocean!"

"Marriott has tremendous presence in the New York metropolitan area with 12 hotels, including seven in Manhattan alone," added Joe Lavin, executive vice president and managing director of Marriott/ ExecuStay. "The addition of the apartments at the Aurora brings a new dimension to Marriott's Manhattan portfolio for our customers needing lodging for 30 days or more. The objective is to provide our customers with all the creature comforts of home, and that often means an apartment in a residential community."

Constructing the Aurora was not without its challenges, however, both structurally and financially.

According to Aurora's team of developers, architects and structural engineers, the challenging design logistics of the project required a novel structural approach; in this case, a new lightweight, slender concrete exterior wall panel, which until now had only been employed in low-rise buildings.

Additionally, because of the narrow lot width and close neighboring brownstones, the team also decided to use an eight-foot cantilevered floor arrangement on the north and west sides of the building, which allowed for more square footage without increasing the height of the building beyond 30 stories.

"Using a cantilever design enabled us to move the exterior walls away from the columns, as well as include such features as glass corner windows and bay windows," said Thorn O'Hara of H. Thomas O'Hara Architects.

"We could also increase the floor space without increasing the height of the building, which was not only more efficient but more cost-effective."

In addition to the Aurora, Townhouse Management also acquired with Pine Equity the Chelsea, a 204-unit, 18-story apartment building located at 160 West 24th Street which it is leasing to Marriott/ExecuStay. Other Townhouse Management construction projects include the gut renovation of two apartment buildings at 35-27 East 63rd Street into one 20,000-square-foot mansion being marketed for $23 million.