New 110,000-SF office building to rise soon at 610 Broadway.

Construction will soon begin on a 110,000-SF office building that will add a dramatic architectural contrast to the flourishing office and retail community surrounding the intersection of Broadway at Houston Street.

To be known as 610 Broadway, the striking 7-story glass and steel building will occupy the entire northerly blockfront of Houston Street, between Broadway and Crosby Street, in the heart of the resurgent Soho/Noho business district.

It will rise directly across the street from the landmark Cable Building that houses Crate & Barrel's newly opened 40,000-SF store, a block from Apple Computer's flagship store on Prince Street, and in close proximity to the recently announced 125,000-SF Bloomingdale's Department Store that is expected to open next Fall at 504 Broadway, south of Prince Street.

According to its developer, Manhattan-based Macklowe Properties, plans for the project have already been approved by the Buildings Department and construction is scheduled to start in March, with completion scheduled for the Spring of 2004, approximately 12 months later.

The site presently houses a car wash, an Amoco gas station, billboard signage and a three-level underground parking garage.

610 Broadway will be the first modern glass building developed in SoHo, a flourishing retail, commercial and residential district comprised largely of historic cast iron structures. It is being designed by the New York office of STUDIOS Architecture, an international firm headquartered in San Francisco, which is creating a dramatic street presence for 610 Broadway by maximizing the use of an insulated clear glass curtain wall, cross joist supported steel beams throughout the structure, and an 80 foot high interior atrium on Broadway.

The building will have a ground floor of approximately 12,000 SF with a ceiling height of 19 feet. Upper floors will range in size from 13,750 to 10,000 SF and will be served by two glass elevators in a glass elevator shaft visible from Houston Street. Interior loading docks are being incorporated into the building on Crosby Street, which has less traffic than Broadway or Houston Street.

610 Broadway will have approximately 80 feet of prime retail frontage along Broadway and 160 feet along Houston Street.

The construction of 610 Broadway follows on the heels of the completion of the world headquarters building for Scholastic, Inc. at 557 Broadway, designed by Aldo Rossi Studio Di Architectura. In addition, a number of prominent space users, including Borders, Nike, Microsoft, and various movie companies, have recently entered the market seeking to locate in and around the Soho/Noho office/retail district, which currently has a total space inventory of approximately 3.8 million SF and a vacancy rate of 7.8%

Counter to the general market trend, during the first 10 months of this year, Noho/Soho was the only NYC sub market to post a positive net absorption, according to the Insignia/ESG Research Services Group.

Surrounding 610 Broadway is one of the city's fastest growing shopping districts, headed by such prominent retailers as Pottery Barn, Moss, Banana Republic, Bath & Body Works, Chanel, Coach, Diesel, Emporio Armani, French Connection, J Crew, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, Nine West, Polo Sport, Prada, Swatch, Tower Records, and many others.