Event: Preview of Flank's new condo project, 224 Mulberry, at Balaboosta, conveniently located at 214 Mulberry.
In the house: The Flank team, lots of brokers, PR peeps, and some less polished, designy-looking types
Dress code: Early fall chic. Lots of blazers, dark colors, and a few sweaters-tied-around-the-shoulders
Menu: Cocktails by the Balaboosta bartenders as well extremely delicious bites from the kitchen, including grilled octopus skewers on a carrot puree, fancy bruschetta with quail-something on top, and beef short rib empanadas that were too yummy to photograph
A new luxury building with sprawling condos that will have "unapologetically high" price tags certainly does not conjure thoughts of immigrant families settling on New York's storied Mulberry Street, but such was the inspiration for Flank's newest development. After a preview in the Times, the 7-unit 224 Mulberry was officially introduced to the neighborhood at an event last night that took over the tiny dining room of Balaboosta, which sits directly beside the under-construction condos. The architecture and development team at Flank created the building "from the outside in," drawing inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood. Firm co-founder Jon Kully said they "designed it as if we were in a landmark district."
[Scenes from the preview event]
The lower half of the building's facade is brick with cast stone details around the windows, while the upper half is the opposite, a stone facade with brick ornamentation. Inside, the homes are huge?and Flank never considered making them not huge?with ceiling heights of a minimum of 14-feet. Unlike at the Abingdon where Flank had to work within the confines of an existing structure, they had greater flexibility in shaping 224 Mulberry.
Homes start on the second floor, with the lower levels of two duplexes. The smallest unit, a 1,949-square-foot 2BR with a 254-square-foot terrace, shares the fourth floor with a similarly-sized home, and the 5th and 6th floors are occupied by two 3BR duplexes. The largest is a 4BR duplex on the top two levels measuring 5,646-square-feet that will be listed for about $30 million. The least expensive home will be around $6.25 million, with prices averaging $3,500/square foot.
[The building's marketing materials, all designed by Partners and Spade, include a 115-page book]
Many of the interior design decisions are completely custom for the building. Flank worked with Smallbone to create a new kitchen with dark cabinetry and upper cabinet doors that feature glass panels embedded with wire mesh. Countertops are statuary marble, the mini-brick backsplash is by Bardiglio, and the appliances are by Gaggenau.
The master bathrooms feature mosaic floors made in Turkey, and white marble covers the walls. All homes have trimless recessed lighting and white oak floors with a pattern of varying widths. The windows, a favorite feature of project manager Brian Walsdorf, are large single-hung mahogany windows with a weight-and-chain operation. "It's just fun to be able to put things like that in," said Walsdorf. Most homes have wood-burning fireplaces?the biggest residence has two?and every unit has private outdoor space and indoor parking. Since it's a small building, the team is taking a more intimate approach to sales, meeting with interested buyers, but a formal launch will happen in the coming weeks.
· 224 Mulberry coverage [Curbed]
· Flank [official]
· 224 Mulberry [official]
· All Flank coverage [Curbed]
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