A newly completed redevelopment at 50 Hudson Street is putting masonry front and center in Tribeca, thanks to a glass brick facade that developer Eric Schlagman says has not been done before in New York City.
The six-story mixed-use property includes commercial condos for boutique offices and a luxury residential penthouse. Its most talked about feature is the light-catching glass brick exterior designed by the late Thierry Despont, a longtime Tribeca resident known for work that included helping restore the Statue of Liberty.
The corner building by Duane Park was originally built in 1925 as a paper-making factory and office for the John F. Sarle Company. It later housed a forensic engineering firm for about 50 years, and it was included in the Tribeca West Historic District in 1991.
Schlagman and partner Miriam Rothstein bought the site in 2006 with plans to restore it and add additional floors. Schlagman said the building was in rough shape when they acquired it, even though it was structurally sound. Their first renovation wrapped in 2008, restoring the original three-story building and adding a luxury penthouse level, plus a new elevator, windows, and roof.
After that, Schlagman pursued permission from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to expand the building to six stories, which the zoning allowed. He said the commission did not want a matching addition, and instead pushed for something complementary that would keep the original building clearly readable. Despont, working with structural engineer Anthony Gennaro and Jacobson Shinoda Architects, designed the three-floor addition and the glass brick facade. Schlagman said the glass brick matched the physical dimensions of the original bricks, tying the new work to the old without copying it.
Construction and final touches were completed this past summer. The expanded building totals 26,500 square feet and stands 59 feet tall. In April 2025, Schlagman sold almost all of the property to biotech founder George Yancopoulos for $32.2 million. Current tenants include jewelry store Frank Darling and the Lotus Method fitness program.
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