11 Hubert, stalled for years, has sold
Thanks to C. for flagging this story from The Real Deal: 11 Hubert, the (empty) three-story former freight terminal that has had plans for a mega-townhouse in the works since 2016, has sold. City records say the price was $17 million; it last sold for $20 million in 2018 and before that, $15 million in 2014. It has changed hands 10 times since 1977.
According to The Real Deal, “The buyer was RIL USA, the U.S. arm of Reliance Industries Limited, a Mumbai-based conglomerate whose chairman is billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the 18th-richest person in the world.” The seller was tech billionaire Robert J. Pera, who has been collecting trophy homes here and across the country. Pera also owned the NBA team the Memphis Grizzlies.
The second plan
Plans for a townhouse were first envisioned by Tribecan and architect Bill Bialosky and his business partner, Maya Lin, in 2016. Back then, the townhouse would have been the largest in the city: five bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a dog room, landscaped courtyard and a 5000-fitness center in the basement.
Pera then retained the Seattle architect Eric Cobb to rework the plans to include a first floor facade and a metal screen designed for privacy.
Both plans were approved by the city, though the second one went through an initial rejection for being “Darth Vader-like.”
The original plan
At the time, CB1 Landmarks committee member Bruce Ehrmann said, “The lower levels looked like the ramparts of a medieval fort.” It was ultimately approved by the Landmarks Commission in 2020, after the architect made modifications to the glass panels on Hubert, the shutters and the cornice to make it more in keeping with the landmark district. The cornices were changed from grey to black, and the shutters now have vertical details instead of horizontal ones.