\u201cLight passes through it with such ease,\u201d Schlagman said. \u201cEven though 60 Hudson Street is so large on the north side of us, it lights up. The sun lights up our facade, and it\u2019s just really very beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"Who's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PlanBox-50Hudson.jpg\" "\\"The")
\n\t\t\tCommercial Observer\t\t<\/p>\n
Originally three stories tall, 50 Hudson was built in 1925 on the corner of Duane Park as a paper-making factory and office for the John F. Sarle Company. It was later occupied by a forensic engineering firm for about 50 years, and, in 1991, the Tribeca West Historic District deemed the property part of the neighborhood\u2019s historic district.<\/p>\n
In 2006, Schlagman and partner Miriam Rothstein purchased the site with the goal of restoring it and adding additional floors. The two-decade project was difficult, to say the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we first bought it, the building was wrecked,\u201d Schlagman said. \u201cStructurally, it was sound, but that\u2019s it. Every surface was filthy and needed to be either removed or replaced. The elevator was sitting in 6 feet of water. I mean, it just really needed to be redone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlagman and Rothstein completed their first renovation of 50 Hudson in 2008, restoring the original three-story property\u2019s exterior and interior, and adding a luxury penthouse floor with an outdoor terrace, as well as a new elevator, new windows and a new roof.<\/p>\n
Then Schlagman decided to go bigger. He pursued approval from the city\u2019s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to enlarge the property to six stories, as the site\u2019s zoning allowed for a building twice the size of the original. But he needed a unique idea to win the LPC over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commissioners did not want to see a matching design. They wanted to see something that was complementary, that was bold and exciting,\u201d Schlagman said. \u201cThey wanted to differentiate it so that the original building would stand prominently and clearly as what it was, and the addition would be a secondary component to the building that was befitting it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Schlagman recruited Despont, who, alongside structural engineer Anthony Gennaro and Jacobson Shinoda Architects<\/a>, designed 50 Hudson\u2019s three-floor addition and its striking glass brick facade.<\/p>\n Schlagman got the idea for the glass brick exterior from Bar Cyrk, a former cocktail bar and restaurant he opened in 2014 in 50 Hudson\u2019s retail space. The same glass brick in that bar became 50 Hudson\u2019s signature element.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it was disgustingly beautiful,\u201d Schlagman said of Despont\u2019s reaction when he first saw the glass brick, which matched in physical dimensions the original building\u2019s bricks. (Both Despont and Gennaro died in 2023.)<\/p>\n Construction and final touches were completed on 50 Hudson this past summer, with the building expanded to cover 26,500 square feet and stand 59 feet tall.<\/p>\n