Kips Bay Towers
Encyclopedia
Kips Bay Towers is a large two-building condominium
complex in the Kips Bay
neighborhood of Manhattan
with a total of 1,118 units. The complex was designed by architects I.M. Pei and S. J. Kessler, with the involvement of James Ingo Freed
, in the brutalist style
and completed in 1965. The project was developed by Webb & Knapp.
The complex occupies an area of three city blocks, or approximately 7.5 acres (3 ha), bounded by First
and Second avenue
s and East 30th and 33rd streets. The complex includes two residential high-rise buildings each with 20 floors. Additionally, there is a three-acre private garden between the two towers featuring landscaped lawns as well as recreational spaces. Kips Bay Towers is home to more than 4,000 residents.
apartments in the mid-1980s, despite controversy with holdout tenants.
The project was originally built as a slum-clearance project under Title I of the Federal housing act of 1949. In November 1981, a plan to convert Kips Bay Towers into condominiums became effective, however, the conversion was bogged down in litigation. By 1984, approximately 70% of the apartments had been purchased, 50% by existing tenants and the remaining 20% by non-residents.
Kips Bay Towers was built on the site of the first Phipps Houses
, at 321-337 East 31st Street, designed by Grosvenor Atterbury
in 1906. The Phipps family
had built three six-story tenements with 142 apartments between Second and Third avenues. Phipps allowed the 31st Street houses go in a condemnation proceeding, ultimately resulting in the construction of the Kips Bay Towers.
Architect I. M. Pei had originally wanted a large sculpture by Picasso
placed in the middle of the development's park. William Zeckendorf
, the head of the develoment company, Webb & Knapp, told Pei that he could have either the sculpture or fifty saplings, and Pei chose the trees.
In the mid-1990s, J. D. Carlisle Development Corporation constructed a retail facility along Second Avenue from 30th Street to 32nd Street connected to the Kips Bay Towers complex.
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
complex in the Kips Bay
Kips Bay
Kips Bay is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Because there are no official boundaries for New York City neighborhoods, the limits of Kip's Bay are somewhat vague, but it is often considered to be the area between East 23rd Street and East 34th Street extending from...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
with a total of 1,118 units. The complex was designed by architects I.M. Pei and S. J. Kessler, with the involvement of James Ingo Freed
James Ingo Freed
James Ingo Freed was an American architect born in Essen, Germany during the Weimar Republic.His Jewish family fled to the United States when he was 9 to escape the regime of Nazi Germany....
, in the brutalist style
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
and completed in 1965. The project was developed by Webb & Knapp.
The complex occupies an area of three city blocks, or approximately 7.5 acres (3 ha), bounded by First
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Second avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
s and East 30th and 33rd streets. The complex includes two residential high-rise buildings each with 20 floors. Additionally, there is a three-acre private garden between the two towers featuring landscaped lawns as well as recreational spaces. Kips Bay Towers is home to more than 4,000 residents.
History
The project, originally known as Kips Bay Plaza, was conceived as a a middle-income rental project, but was converted to condominiumCondominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
apartments in the mid-1980s, despite controversy with holdout tenants.
The project was originally built as a slum-clearance project under Title I of the Federal housing act of 1949. In November 1981, a plan to convert Kips Bay Towers into condominiums became effective, however, the conversion was bogged down in litigation. By 1984, approximately 70% of the apartments had been purchased, 50% by existing tenants and the remaining 20% by non-residents.
Kips Bay Towers was built on the site of the first Phipps Houses
Phipps family
The Henry Phipps family of the United States was founded by Henry Phipps, Jr., the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, Henry Phipps was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
, at 321-337 East 31st Street, designed by Grosvenor Atterbury
Grosvenor Atterbury
Grosvenor Atterbury was an American architect, urban planner and writer. He studied at Yale University and then travelled in Europe. He studied architecture at Columbia University and worked in the offices of McKim, Mead & White. Much of Atterbury’s early work consisted of weekend houses for...
in 1906. The Phipps family
Phipps family
The Henry Phipps family of the United States was founded by Henry Phipps, Jr., the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, Henry Phipps was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
had built three six-story tenements with 142 apartments between Second and Third avenues. Phipps allowed the 31st Street houses go in a condemnation proceeding, ultimately resulting in the construction of the Kips Bay Towers.
Architect I. M. Pei had originally wanted a large sculpture by Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
placed in the middle of the development's park. William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf, Sr. was a prominent American real estate developer. Through his development company Webb and Knapp – for which he began working in 1938 and which he purchased in 1949 – he developed a significant portion of the New York City urban landscape.-Career:Zeckendorf's...
, the head of the develoment company, Webb & Knapp, told Pei that he could have either the sculpture or fifty saplings, and Pei chose the trees.
In the mid-1990s, J. D. Carlisle Development Corporation constructed a retail facility along Second Avenue from 30th Street to 32nd Street connected to the Kips Bay Towers complex.
External links
- Kips Bay Towers (website)