Latest news with #ArtModerne
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Project at home near Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to restore part of 1935 designs
A landmarked home near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club is set to receive an update that will in part restore a portion of the two-story property to its original blueprints. The home at 1047 S. Ocean Blvd. was completed in 1935 and designed in the Art Moderne style by noted architect John Volk. It is in Palm Beach, Florida's Estate Section, just north of Trump's club and inside the U.S. Secret Service security zone between Southern Boulevard and South County Road that goes into effect when the president is home. The Town Council at its June 11 Development Review Committee meeting voted unanimously to grant the necessary approvals that will allow the project to move forward. Charles "Rusty" and Ashley Holzer purchased the nearly 8,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home in 2019 for $12 million through their 1047 South Ocean Boulevard Trust, according to Palm Beach County records. The home was landmarked by Palm Beach in 2013. The lot is about a half-acre and has 100 feet of beachfront. In case you missed it: Trump's Mar-a-Lago security zone is racking up home sales. How much was the latest deal? Rusty Holzer is the son of longtime Palm Beach resident and businesswoman Jane Holzer, who was known as "Baby Jane," one of Andy Warhol's muses. She is building a new home on her property just to the north at 980 S. Ocean Blvd., on the northeast corner with Via Del Lago. With the June 11 vote, Charles and Ashley Holzer now can move forward with removing two small balconies from the back of the house to rebuild the original Volk-designed second-floor curvilinear balcony, said attorney Maura Ziska, the agent for the Holzers. The two smaller balconies were built sometime since 2007, according to the memo from town staff to the council. Photos of the house soon after it was built show the original curved design of the balcony, which had a metal railing. Plans also include adding two second-floor additions onto single-story portions of the north and south side of the house facing the Atlantic Ocean. A staircase on the outside of the south wall of the house will be reversed so the entrance is from the east instead of the west, plans show. The additions, staircase and balcony replacement were designed by Dailey Janssen Architects of West Palm Beach. The work at 1047 S. Ocean Blvd. was first approved as two separate projects in 2020 and 2021, but those approvals expired, requiring the Holzers to return to the council, town staff told the council in a memo. The council approved three variances to reduce the north side-yard setback, reduce the south side-yard setback and increase the lot coverage. The home already exceeds those setbacks and the lot coverage, because it was built before the current code went into effect, said James Murphy, assistant director of the town's Planning, Zoning and Building Department. Once completed, the changes will not be visible from South Ocean Boulevard, he said. Council members lauded the Holzers' decision to replace the pair of smaller balconies with Volk's original design. "The back of the home really lost its architectural integrity, and the bulk of this request is really bringing back an element that you can see in this historical photography that it originally had, so I'm in," Council Member Ted Cooney said, referring to a photo shown to the council by Ziska. Volk designed the house for James Moffett Jr. and his wife Adeline. Moffett was a vice president of Standard Oil of New Jersey and then the first Federal Housing Administrator, serving from 1934 to 1935. According to the 2013 landmark designation report, Volk was inspired by the National Housing Act and the "Modeltown and Modernization Magic" exhibition at the 1935 Exposition in San Diego. The Moffetts named the house White Caps.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Long-endangered Atlanta building getting new lease on life
A historic building that has been vacant for decades Downtown is about to get a new lease on life. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens celebrated the start of the 143 Alabama revitalization project on Thursday. He was joined by Joel Reed, Southeast Market President, Gorman & Company, and Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO, Invest Atlanta. The building, constructed in 1947, once housed the Atlanta Constitution and Georgia Power. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Phase 1 of the project will restore the historic structure and make the first floor ready for commercial use. It also includes converting the upper floors into 50 affordable housing units available at 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. Phase 1 plans includes 5,575 square feet of commercial space. Plans for Phase 2 include new 151-unit affordable housing building on the surrounding property. Once complete, the site is expected to add more than 190 affordable housing units to Downtown Atlanta. The 143 Alabama renovation plan is part of a larger effort set to transform 2 Peachtree, 104 Trinity, 184 Forsyth and other sites in Downtown. TRENDING STORIES: Former Spalding football coach sentenced for strangling his girlfriend Man accused of depositing check meant for GA county commissioners into personal account 'That's problematic:' Woman accused of taking money from homeowners instead of cutting down trees 143 Alabama, considered an Art Moderne structure, has withstood nearly 50 years of neglect, as well as demolition proposals, the The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation said. The historic building advocacy group said 143 Alabama was known as 'The Heart of Atlanta' because of its proximity to downtown Atlanta's historic railroad junction. Atlanta Constitution occupied the building from 1947 until the paper consolidated with the Atlanta Journal in 1955, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation said. Georgia Power moved into the building in 1955 and moved out in 1972. The building has been unoccupied and neglected since then. The building was added to the 2003 List of Endangered Buildings. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Landmark Los Angeles federal courthouse slated for quick sale by agency
The federal government is offering real estate investors an unusual opportunity - the chance to buy a historic courthouse and office building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The landmark U.S. Courthouse built in the 1930s on Spring Street near City Hall has been slated for "accelerated disposition" by the General Services Administration as part of a plan to sell off obsolete and underutilized federal properties. "The GSA is focused on rightsizing the federal real estate portfolio to reduce the burden on the American taxpayer," the federal agency that manages government buildings says on its website. The Trump administration has launched a major push to shrink the size of the federal government. In 2016, a replacement U.S. courthouse opened nearby on First Street. It houses federal courts and federal law-enforcement departments such as the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. Occupants of the older Spring Street building include the National Labor Relations Board, Small Business Administration and the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of California, the GSA said. The former federal courtrooms are occupied by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. The building comes to market in a down period for commercial property sales downtown. Many office towers lost tenants earlier in the pandemic and have yet to recover. Buildings that have changed hands in the last year have sold for far below the cost to build new structures - the Gas Company Tower office skyscraper was sold to Los Angeles County for $200 million, far below its appraised value of $632 million in 2020. The GSA didn't list a price for the courthouse, but commercial property broker Mike Condon Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield estimated that it could sell for about $60 million. It's unlikely that institutional buyers would be interested, he said. "Downtown L.A. is not the most favored market for large-scale investments" in properties that need to be redeveloped. The "thin buyer pool" potentially includes wealthy individuals or family offices willing to wait years for demand for space to return to the market before starting renovations, which could include converting it to apartments, Condon said. "I think whoever buys it is going to make gobs and gobs of money," he said. "It's just a question of when." The sale of federal buildings does not necessarily mean federal tenants will need to be relocated, the GSA said. They may lease their space back from the buyer. The U.S. Courthouse at 312 N. Spring St. was the third federal building constructed in Los Angeles to serve its rapidly growing population in the early 20th century. The 14-story building also housed downtown's main post office and other federal agencies. It's unclear how much of its 750,000 square feet are unoccupied. A GSA representative did not return a request for comment. The building was designed in Art Moderne style by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, a Los Angeles architect best known for designing National Park lodges including the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. The courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Notable cases tried there include Mendez vs. Westminster, which was a precursor to Brown vs. Board of Education, as well as a breach-of-contract suit filed by actress Bette Davis against Warner Bros. The courthouse is "a key supporting structure in the complex of buildings that constitute our civic center" surrounding the more flamboyant City Hall, said Dan Rosenfeld, a private-sector real estate executive who also has worked in the public sector managing state, county and city properties, particularly in the L.A. Civic Center. Rosenfeld said he is "not only shocked but extremely dismayed" that the government is rushing to sell it. "This administration is moving so quickly and thoughtlessly," he said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Landmark Los Angeles federal courthouse slated for quick sale by agency
The federal government is offering real estate investors an unusual opportunity — the chance to buy a historic courthouse and office building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The landmark U.S. Courthouse built in the 1930s on Spring Street near City Hall has been slated for 'accelerated disposition' by the General Services Administration as part of a plan to sell off obsolete and underutilized federal properties. 'The GSA is focused on rightsizing the federal real estate portfolio to reduce the burden on the American taxpayer,' the federal agency that manages government buildings says on its website. The Trump administration has launched a major push to shrink the size of the federal government. In 2016, a replacement U.S. courthouse opened nearby on First Street. It houses federal courts and federal law-enforcement departments such as the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. Occupants of the older Spring Street building include the National Labor Relations Board, Small Business Administration and the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of California, the GSA said. The former federal courtrooms are occupied by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. The building comes to market in a down period for commercial property sales downtown. Many office towers lost tenants earlier in the pandemic and have yet to recover. Buildings that have changed hands in the last year have sold for far below the cost to build new structures — the Gas Company Tower office skyscraper was sold to Los Angeles County for $200 million, far below its appraised value of $632 million in 2020. The GSA didn't list a price for the courthouse, but commercial property broker Mike Condon Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield estimated that it could sell for about $60 million. It's unlikely that institutional buyers would be interested, he said. 'Downtown L.A. is not the most favored market for large-scale investments' in properties that need to be redeveloped. The 'thin buyer pool' potentially includes wealthy individuals or family offices willing to wait years for demand for space to return to the market before starting renovations, which could include converting it to apartments, Condon said. 'I think whoever buys it is going to make gobs and gobs of money,' he said. 'It's just a question of when.' The sale of federal buildings does not necessarily mean federal tenants will need to be relocated, the GSA said. They may lease their space back from the buyer. The U.S. Courthouse at 312 N. Spring St. was the third federal building constructed in Los Angeles to serve its rapidly growing population in the early 20th century. The 14-story building also housed downtown's main post office and other federal agencies. It's unclear how much of its 750,000 square feet are unoccupied. A GSA representative did not return a request for comment. The building was designed in Art Moderne style by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, a Los Angeles architect best known for designing National Park lodges including the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. The courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Notable cases tried there include Mendez vs. Westminster, which was a precursor to Brown vs. Board of Education, as well as a breach-of-contract suit filed by actress Bette Davis against Warner Bros. The courthouse is 'a key supporting structure in the complex of buildings that constitute our civic center' surrounding the more flamboyant City Hall, said Dan Rosenfeld, a private-sector real estate executive who also has worked in the public sector managing state, county and city properties, particularly in the L.A. Civic Center. Rosenfeld said he is 'not only shocked but extremely dismayed' that the government is rushing to sell it. 'This administration is moving so quickly and thoughtlessly,' he said.
