Designing residential facilities in a luxury Manhattan building during the height of the pandemic was no easy task. Wealthier New Yorkers were leaving the city in droves, and those who remained were often working from home and needing space to spread out.
Global Holdings Management bought Instrata Nomad at 10 East 29th Street for $380 million in February 2020, just before the pandemic upended the Manhattan rental market. The following month, as the new coronavirus swept the city, Global Holdings designer and architect Fogarty Finger was quick to adjust designs and building schedules to the new reality.
Originally built in 1999, the 50-story, 392-unit building — with one bedroom now starting at more than $5,000 a month — needs more than a few renovations. So Global Holdings began slowly updating the apartments as tenants vacated, renovating the basement, first floor and deck. Work began in late 2020 and ended in May. Along with rebranding to Anagram Nomad, the renovation included moving the fitness center from the first floor to the basement, a double-height space that once housed a large boiler. The new fitness center includes a climbing wall, yoga studio, Pilates studio, cardio equipment and weights.
The vacant ground floor space has been converted into a library, co-working space, children’s playroom and café. Maria Figueira, Vice President of Design and Development at Global Holdings, said the design team developed a color blocking scheme for each room — blue for the co-working space, yellow for the gym, red for the library, and green for the cafe. However, much of the library and café is outfitted in light woods, which are meant to be soothing, with seating provided by the color palette.
“Yellow is supposed to be more energetic and remind you that you are there for exercise,” Figueira said. “The library is a sophisticated red and chestnut color palette. The very wide corridor has become a co-working space, with a conference room and two phone rooms. It’s a soothing blue, telling you that this is a focus space facing downwards.”
Updates also include new art in the hallway from art consultancy Uprise, which has placed a large abstract painting of flowers in front of the entrance. The rooftop of the existing property has also been renovated with new seating, hammocks and grills, as well as an adjoining indoor party room.
“The main objective of the entire project was to physically and mentally elevate the existing tenant experience,” said Ashley O’Neill, the architect at Fogarty Finger who worked on the project. “We removed the tanker from the bottom of the parking ramp, and found this amazing space in the basement. On the ground floor, we wanted to create more of a sense of access, like your apartment starting at the actual door of the building. The everyday experience was done using a more sophisticated and neutral color palette.”
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at [email protected].
