161 Water Street Explained

161 Water Street
Building Type:Office
Location City:New York City
Location Country:United States
Architect:Fox & Fowle

161 Water Street (also referred to as the Water Street Associates Building and formerly referred to as 175 Water Street) is an office building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City.[1] [2]

History

Three commercial buildings, constructed in the 1800s, previously occupied the site.[3] In 1982, during the course of an archaeological excavation conducted as 161 Water Street was built, a ship dating to the 1700s was discovered.[4] Portions of the ship and other artifacts were sent to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News.[3]

161 Water Street was completed in 1983.[5] The building was designed by Fox & Fowle.[6] Before completion, the entire building was leased to National Westminster Bank.[7] In 1995, AIG purchased the building from National Westminster Bank.[8] The building became AIG's headquarters in 1996, and in 2021 the firm vacated the building for a new headquarters at 1271 Avenue of the Americas.[9]

Metro Loft entered into contract to purchase the building from AIG in 2019.[10] An entity linked to Ken Dart purchased the building from Vanbarton Group in 2022.[11] Vanbarton sold the building after zoning changes that might have permitted the conversion of the building from an office property to housing did not occur.[12]

The owners of the building received a tax break of $41.3 million over a 20 year period in January 2024.[13] This tax break was granted through New York City's "M-CORE" program, which provides tax breaks to owners of office buildings with high vacancy rates, freeing funds for renovations.[14] At the time the tax break was granted, 95% of the building's leasable space was empty.[15]

Tenants

Tenants of the building include fashion brand Bode and Ghia, a beverage company.[1]

Notes and References

  1. News: Florsheim . Lane . Big Banks Deserted Wall Street. Then the Cool Kids Moved In. . 4 August 2024 . The Wall Street Journal . 4 August 2024 . August 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240804155712/https://www.wsj.com/style/wsa-building-financial-district-palm-heights-khalil-5e5adf6b . live .
  2. News: Quinlan . Adriane . A Fidi Office Building With a Wait List . 4 August 2024 . Curbed . 17 April 2024 . en.
  3. Book: Riess . Warren Curtis . Studying the Princess Carolina: Anatomy of the Ship That Held Up Wall Street . 14 December 2023 . Texas A&M University Press . 978-1-64843-111-1 . en . August 5, 2024 . August 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240805191753/https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QhXqEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=%22Princess+Carolina%22+ship+new+york+city&ots=mVkW6FcqoZ&sig=emyx2eSM5K7bsmxzPpIeV4ua6bA#v=onepage&q=%22Princess%20Carolina%22%20ship%20new%20york%20city&f=false . live .
  4. News: SHIP IS UNEARTHED AT WATER STREET . 5 August 2024 . The New York Times . 26 February 1982.
  5. News: Baird-Remba . Rebecca . Downtown 1980s Office Tower Gets a Fresh Look . 4 August 2024 . Commercial Observer . 28 September 2020 . August 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240804162811/https://commercialobserver.com/2020/09/downtown-1980s-office-tower-gets-a-fresh-look/ . live .
  6. News: Hu . Ray . It Follows . 2 February 2024 . 8 August 2024 . New York Review of Architecture . en.
  7. News: Oser . Alan S. . DEVELOPMENT RETURNS TO WALL STREET AREA . 8 August 2024 . The New York Times . 8 August 1982.
  8. News: Holusha . John . Insurer Plans 1,800 New Jobs in Manhattan . 5 August 2024 . The New York Times . 12 November 1996.
  9. News: Cunningham . Cathy . Former AIG HQ at 175 Water Street Sells for $252M . 4 August 2024 . Commercial Observer . 13 October 2022 . July 14, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240714172204/https://commercialobserver.com/2022/10/former-aig-hq-at-175-water-street-sells-for-252m/ . live .
  10. News: Bockmann . Rich . FiDi office-to-resi guru Nathan Berman’s next big project is AIG’s HQ . 4 August 2024 . The Real Deal . 16 August 2019 . en . August 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240804160402/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2019/08/16/fidi-office-to-resi-guru-nathan-bermans-next-big-project-is-aigs-headquarters/ . live .
  11. News: Bockmann . Rich . Reclusive billionaire buying former AIG headquarters . 4 August 2024 . The Real Deal . 19 September 2022 . en . August 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240804160338/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2022/09/19/reclusive-billionaire-buying-former-aig-headquarters/ . live .
  12. News: Badger . Emily . American Cities Have a Conversion Problem, and It’s Not Just Offices . 5 August 2024 . The New York Times . 1 July 2023 . August 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240806174515/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/upshot/american-cities-office-conversion.html?searchResultPosition=1 . live .
  13. News: Baird-Remba . Rebecca . NYC Grants $100M Tax Breaks to Struggling Manhattan Office Buildings . 6 August 2024 . Commercial Observer . 23 January 2024 . August 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240806174523/https://commercialobserver.com/2024/01/nyc-grants-100m-in-tax-breaks-m-core-175-water-street-850-third-avenue-struggling-office-buildings/ . live .
  14. News: Moses . Paul . Adams to Grant $100 Million in Tax Breaks for Two Office Building Upgrades . 6 August 2024 . THE CITY - NYC News . 23 January 2024.
  15. News: Westenhaver . David . The Daily Dirt: City throws $100M lifeline to sinking office towers . 8 August 2024 . The Real Deal . 27 January 2024 . en.

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