Andre Balazs
Morning Memo: Barack's Bad Habit; Andre Balazs and Renee Zellweger Possibly a Couple; Inside Greenhouse
Barack Obama admitted to Men's Health that he occasionally bums a cigarette on the campaign trail, saying, "I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack." [People]
Diddy did not appreciate McCain's much-noted "that one" remark at Tuesday night's debate, and he's posted a video to tell you about it. [Radar]
Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted "snapping photos of the topless Brazilian dancer at the Box," which seems a little creepy. [P6]
Hotelier Andre Balazs was seen having dinner with Renee Zellweger at Swifty's. [R&M]
Hugh Hefner confirmed his breakup with Holly Madison, but filming for The Girls Next Door continues. read more »
Look Out Below! Interview Throws Party in André Balazs's Still-Unfinished Standard Hotel
As far as Fashion Week parties go, Thursday night's Interview magazine relaunch party at the yet-to-be finished Standard Hotel in the meatpacking district will be hard to top. The Standard is still a construction zone—exposed wire, plywood laid down for walkways, DJs in hard hats—and the effect was very much early '90s East Berlin, except for all the New York darlings wandering around, thrilled at the prospect of a new party venue.
Arden Wohl was there. Donna Karan was there. Gossip Girl’s Taylor Momsen made an appearance, as did model Jessica Stam, author Tama Janowitz, real estate developer Janna Bullock, socialite Stella Schnabel, and actresses Mary-Kate Olsen and Lauren Hutton. read more »
Fashionably Late
Hotelier Jason Pomeranc has been eagerly looking forward to opening his posh new lodge, the 143-room Thompson Lower East Side at 190 Allen Street. “I think it’s going to be a moment in time that will be remembered as kind of when the Lower East Side came of age,” said Mr. Pomeranc, 37, co-owner of Thompson Hotels. “I mean, it’s been a process, with gentrification and change and growth over the last several years. Usually, that process culminates with a luxury project—like what I believe the Thompson Lower East Side will be—where it integrates the vibe and the flow of the neighborhood but introduces a new audience as well. read more »
Will New 'Beaver Butler' and Pillow Fights Sell Balazs' Condos?
When times get tough, what does a perfectly-coifed developer--once called the King of America--do to sell the dozens of remaining apartments at his new condo? Lure buyers with videos of pillow-fighting chicks.
André Balazs today introduced a new amenity at his Beaver House condo in the Financial District building, and it’s called The Beaver Butler. For about $1,000 per year, buyers can watch footage from their “in-residence cameras” on their computers--to “check up on what’s happening while you’re away.”
According to the faux camera footage on the condo's Web site, you’ll apparently see shirtless men with power tools drinking beer in the kitchen, a girl dusting down a yellow convertible, or, in the bedroom, two blondes and a brunette dressed in pink smacking each other with pillows. read more »
Thank You For Soaking
God willing, at this very moment someone is scrambling eggs on a stove in an apartment overlooking the East River while at the same time gazing up at someone’s buttocks, pressed against a see-through Plexiglas bathtub, sunken, by design, into the floor above.
In the early 1980s, the late Paul Rudolph, noted architect and onetime dean of the Yale School of Architecture, incorporated such a tub into his dream apartment on the top three floors of 23 Beekman Place. The tub was still in working condition a few years ago, when hotelier and noted bathing enthusiast André Balazs had his birthday party there. “Of all the incredible bathtubs I’ve heard of in this city, that one takes it,” Mr. Balazs said. read more »
Surprise! Socialite Sarofim Turns to Film
Socialite Allison Sarofim is also getting involved in movie production.
Ms. Sarofim, who grew up in Houston, moved to New York seven years ago. Her father is the famous Egyptian-born financier, Fayez Sarofim, a.k.a. read more »
On the QT, Andre Balazs Checks Out of Midtown Hotel
Hunkier-than-thou hotelier Andre Balazs has closed on the sale of Hotel QT for a handsome $82 million.
The deal appeared in public records today, though Crain's New York apparently broke the news, with nary a splash, last week. read more »
Would You Like to Sniff Balazs' Bouquet! Hotelier Might Join Hip (Hic!) Clique of Celebrity Vintners
Crushed grapes in Chelsea! The hugely hyped, High Line-straddling Standard hotel, slated to open in fall 2008, might be getting its own house hooch.
Its handsome proprietor, André Balazs, is close to launching his own signature wine label, according to sources in the hospitality industry. read more »
In Tribeca Snowstorm, Parker Posey Makes Us Melt
Last night, Parker Posey said she had a cold.
“Can you tell?” the actress asked in an earnest tone. No, we assured her. And it was true. Considering the flight of otherwise red-faced, smooshy-coiffed guests who had just braved a blizzard to attend the New York Academy of Art’s Tribeca Ball, Ms. Posey, in her breezy Cynthia Rowley dress, appeared the ravishing exception.
Still, Ms. Posey was in clouds. read more »
Pirelli Be Damned! Andre Balazs' Hired Hotties Fill New Calendar
Are you totally hot and jobless? Don’t fret—just call André Balazs! The hip hotelier’s chain of Standard sleeperies employs some super sexy staffers. And they want the world to know.
Well, at least they want The Daily Transom—and whoever else received a copy of the 2008 Standard calendar Balazs Properties sent us today—to know. read more »
Will Andre Balazs' Standard, Gregory Peck's Cooper Square Ever Open?
Lodging blog Hotel Chatter today has compiled a preview of the "most buzzworthy" hotel openings for 2008 and discusses each one's chances for actually opening on time.
Among them: The Cooper Square Hotel near Astor Place, slated to open this coming spring. Given neighborhood concerns and "rumored falling out between developers/hoteliers Gregory Peck and Matthew Moss," the oddsmakers expect delays until August.
At AIDS Bash, André Balazs Descants on Art Basel
Last night, we met up with André Balazs—the hotel magnate behind a cartel of boutique sleeperies, which includes the Mercer in SoHo, L.A.’s Chateau Marmont and the Standards. Looking dapper in a form-fitting gray suit that had a subtle sheen, Mr. Balazs, 50, had just flown back to New York after a weekend at Art Basel Miami and was among the guests at the 12th annual holiday dinner benefiting ACRIA, an AIDS research and education initiative.
We asked Mr. Balazs about this year’s fair. “Every year it’s more and more of a circus and a phenomenon,” he told The Daily Transom while standing in Donna Karan’s Urban Zen boutique on Greenwich Street in the West Village. The store, filled with calming music and some sort of overpowering exotic incense, had been turned into a makeshift entrance, leading guests towards a larger dining space next door. “Everyone in the [art] business tells me they’ve never done better, and yet, at the same time, the whole thing is taking on an air that goes way beyond the art world or anything that has to do with art,” he said. After saying hello to a chic-looking, pink-cheeked couple walking by, Mr. Balazs, who received a joint masters degree in journalism and business from Columbia, added, “I’ve never seen such an influx of people interested in branding and using some marketing opportunity to push culture.”
Despite the recent buzz suggesting that the American-European art bubble can’t continue to inflate at its current rate without bursting, he remains somewhat confident. “I think it can sustain itself for a while,” he said.
Continue reading after the jump. read more »
I Drink, Therefore Miami: The Art Basel Bash Breakdown
On the evening of Tuesday, Dec. read more »
New York’s City Shapers
One of Robert K. Futterman’s favorite photographs shows his kids standing in front of what is now the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.
Hanging in the empty window behind them is, of course, a sign sporting Papa Futterman’s own blue “RKF” logo, inspired by his “real-estate hero,” Edward S. Gordon, and his longtime client, the GAP. read more »
Sold! Beaver House Condos Go for $5 M.— A Financial District Record, Says Beaver Lover Balazs
Mr. Balazs has sold the 47th floor’s A and B apartments for $5 million. The buyer, according to another source, is a wealthy Scandinavian financier. read more »
William Beaver's André Balazs: 'We Like Beavers'
In tomorrow's Observer, the Manhattan Transfers column will break news about a massive sale at William Beaver House, the bronze-colored new Financial District condo tower developed by Uma Thurman's ex-flame André Balazs.
In an interview, we asked Mr. Balazs about his building's entendre-heavy name (and his martini-sipping beaver logo). "First off, not many people get--focus on that. It’s utter descriptiveness," he said, meaning that the building is located at William and Beaver streets. "We like beavers, they’re very industrious creatures. And, frankly, they’re such an important part of New York. You know the Astor family, the wealthiest family at the time this building was built, their family crest has a beaver on it. Most of the wealth from New York was based on trapping trade!"
And here's this from the handsome hotelier: "Beavers are a very venerable, important animal to New York; I say that with a straight face."
Balazs Explains Hotel Refinancing
David Foxley, on our sister blog The Daily Transom, talks to Andre Balazs about the recent news of his refinancing of four hotels, including the QT in Times Square. Turns out it's not that big a deal. Sayeth Mr. Balazs: "We do it all the time."
Andre Balazs Explains Hotel Moves: 'We Do It All the Time'
Hip hotelier André Balazs is baffled by the way Crain’s broke the news yesterday of his company’s move to refinance four hotels—Times Square’s Hotel QT and the Standards in Los Angeles, Hollywood and Miami. (“Hotelier selling assets in refinancing move,” the Crain’s headline now reads; it has apparently been softened since Monday.) We called Mr. Balazs today at his office in Manhattan to hear his thoughts on the recent business move and yesterday’s media maelstrom. read more »
And He’s Building a Stairway to High Line
Novac Noury, inventor of the spurting keyboard, wants his property next to AndrééBalazs’ Standard hotel to be a High Line escape route. read more »
The Afternoon Wrap: Thursday
- Some wonderful T-shirt company has provided a "perfect gift for your favorite real-estate pro!" Obviously, that gift is a bubble-mocking shirt, and that bubble-mocking shirt apparently helps "fight media sensationalism." What's more, the proceeds go to charity. [Matrix]
- The Third Annual Curbed Awards have dubbed the Urban Glass House as the "New Development Most Likely to Get You Laid," and have bestowed the "The Michael Shvo Gross Overexposure Award" to Andre Balazs. Plus, of course, "The Real Estate Development of the Year Chalice" goes to 15 CPW. [Curbed]
- Out in Brooklyn, the informal award for Neighborhood Most Likely To Become More Hip Than It Already Is, Thus Prompting Everyone Else To Say It Is 'Already Over' goes jointly to Prospect Heights and Carroll Gardens. [Brownstoner]
- Hudson Baby Bourbon, about $40 for a little bottle, is "the first legal pot-distilled whiskey to be made in New York since the start of Prohibition." More importantly, it is evidence #2871 that upstate New York is increasing exponentially in hipness. [Luxist]
- Resident Magazine sure likes Ryan Seacrest, but apparently Rez also likes venturing into local dive bars. And yet its article says dives are just "a fad"--at least according to a source who sits beneath "a painting of Jesus Christ" while watching "grainy, silent era porn." [Resident] - Max Abelson
David Geffen Conspiracy Theory
Music mogul David Geffen was listed as one of the trustees buying the place, according to public records, but Saturday Night Live producer Marci (daugher of Calvin) Klein is the one moving in, according to a source. Got it? read more »
A few days ago, Dealbreaker attempted to unravel this mystery. The plot somehow involves Ashlee Simpson, plastic surgery, and the possible sale of the Los Angeles Times.
- Michael CalderoneWhere's the Party At?
If that doesn't sound expensive enough, tomorrow you can try Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room for Fifteen Central Park West's "Billion Dollar Bash." (That's right: the chic future co-op has already made $1.1 billion for the Zeckendorfs.) The un-bashful bash will be hosted by Robert A.M. Stern, while hotshot Francesco Cafiso will serenade everyone with some real estate saxophone. read more »
Stay tuned for updates...
- Max AbelsonPool Days
"Condo Market Takes a Dip,"New York, May 22, 2006 Issue.
Brokers and developers say at least a dozen buildings with swimming pools as one of their major attractions--that is, apart from the apartments themselves--are catching buyers' eyes as never before. To wit: Arris Lofts in Long Island City; the Element condo at 555 West 59th Street; 115-119 Norfolk Street; 10 West End Avenue; 15 Broad Street; Andre Balazs's 40 Mercer (with pools inside the most exclusive units); and, at 165 Charles Street, a Richard Meier-designed, 55-foot infinity-edge pool.
"Everybody Into the Pool," New York Times, May 14, 2006.
More than a dozen residential buildings under construction or created within the last year will have, or already have, swimming pools, including One York Street, 200 Chambers Street, 15 Central Park West, the Atelier, 20 Pine Street, Element and Ariel West. Last Tuesday, the completion of the lap pool at 165 Charles Street in the West Village was celebrated with a poolside chat with the architect, Richard Meier.
Now that the "condo pools" trend have been taken care of, publicists need to send out the "hot Hamptons rentals" pitches immediately.
- Michael Calderone
