A new category on our list of contents at left called Looking Glass will be a place for us to post quick project news, forecasts, and any random speculation we may indulge in from time to time. In this edition, after the jump, we take a sneak peek and link you to three project renderings just posted to the web by their developers.
Manhattan's landmark Church of the Transfiguration, also known as "the little church around the corner" recently made a deal to sell an unprotected slice of its property on East 29th Street just off Fifth Avenue. The Clarett Group plans to build an astonishingly tall and thin tower of condominiums on the tiny parcel. How much closer to God will the penthouse floor be? 50 stories closer. The height is apparently "by right" and requires no special variance from the city. We've been told by someone who knows that the project will have just 3 apartments per floor. We finally found a rendering last week. Scroll down for a look at the design by Fox & Fowle Architects. That tiny structure way down at the bottom is the landmarked church (!).
Meanwhile, another Clarett Group project is already going up on 57th Street with a design by Ismael Levya Architects. This one, located at 207 East 57th (where a movie theater once stood) is all glass. The crystalline curtain wall could be one of the better ones we've seen on a residential project. Just 68 units will populate 36 floors.
Finally, we close this edition of Looking Glass with an early peek at Metropolitan 
Housing Partner's follow-up to their now sold-out 505 Greenwich condominium. This one, just a block away, has a similar look by Handel Architects, though in place of greenish glass it seems more blue-sky reflective. It will be 64 units on 11 stories located at 255 Hudson Street in western SoHo. The area, also called Hudson Square by some, is threatening to become the new TriBeCa. 255 Hudson is just north of Canal, and opposite a park-like entrance to the Holland Tunnel. The rendering at right is a bit small, but there seems to be some sort of decorative metal screen at street level that could be interesting. We'll have to wait for a closer look.
Update: We just walked by this site and big billboards with the above image have now gone up on Hudson Street promising 1 and 2 bedroom units. The exclusive sales agent will be Corcoran.
