Meet 'Larry and Bob,' the Dynamic Duo Behind 30 Park Place

A lot of luxury developers make over-the-top mini-movies to promote their new, expensive buildings, but the team behind 30 Park Place created what could be misconstrued as a preview for a new sitcom called "Larry and Bob" (if it weren't for the narrator's husky voice). The show follows two septuagenarians, who also happen to be an extremely wealthy and influential developer, Larry Silverstein, and a world-renowned architect, Robert A.M. Stern, as they design a new addition to Downtown's skyline—a skyline that they've ogled and loved since they were just "two boys from Brooklyn." But really, the video is just another piece of the marketing package for the limestone-clad creation, which will be the tallest residential building in lower Manhattan, at least "until some other developer comes along," as Silverstein points out in the video.

The video is shown at the start of a tour through the 30 Park Place sales gallery, which features a built out kitchen and lobby, as well as models of the condo windows, fireplaces, and samples of the finishes. The 926-foot tower will feature condos on floors 40 to 82, with a Four Seasons hotel occupying the lower levels. There will be 11 penthouses, including two duplexes on the 78 and 79 floors. All of the penthouses have private outdoor space, and sales reps said two have sold, though they wouldn't say which two, only that it wasn't the pinnacle. The average price per square foot for sold units as been around $3,400, and while there have already been several price hikes, Silverstein said, "I suspect there will be more."

The 38th floor will hold amenities including a gym, a conservancy, play room, a catering kitchen, and a dining room. On the third floor of the building, there will be a 75-foot swimming pool that's shared with the hotel, as well as a spa. The sales gallery features 3D models of the amenity floors, giving visitors a sense of the building's layout. A lot of the amenities were re-thought and reconfigured during the five-year pause caused by the economic downturn. For instance, the spa now has a residents-only section, when it did not before, and they increased the size of the pool. Silverstein pointed out that most indoor pools in residential developments are 40 or 50 feet long, but 30 Park Place's is 75 feet.

There's also a 3D model of the whole building, which highlights the setbacks and terraces. The model also shows the "parklet" that they are creating at the street level.

"It's the kind of skyscraper I always dreamed of as a kid growing up," said Stern during a recent tour. "To be building next to the Woolworth building—a little higher so we get a better view of it—is incredible." Stern said that the building "looks distinctly residential" to set it apart from the office buildings that surround it. "A lot of buildings [in New York] don't have a personality," said Stern. "You wouldn't want to go on a second date with them. But you might have a romance with our building."
· 30 Park Place [official]
· All 30 Park Place coverage [Curbed]