Rose Associates, the New York-based full-service real estate firm, announced today that residents are returning to Le Rivage at 21 West Street in Lower Manhattan. The building lies in Zone A and had been evacuated prior to Hurricane Sandy. While the building and its surrounding neighborhood were severely impacted by the storm, Rose was able to remedy the situation to facilitate re-occupancy.
On November 11, Rose began welcoming residents back to Le Rivage. Residents were greeted with gift baskets, and Rose has engaged Le Rivage’s commercial tenant West Bank Gourmet to offer complimentary continental breakfast and afternoon cookies for one full week. Rose is also providing free onsite laundry service to residents upon their return for one full week.
“It’s very satisfying to welcome displaced residents back to their homes and to provide them with a level of normalcy during what is still a period of recovery in Lower Manhattan,” said Amy Rose, co-president of Rose Associates. “The staff of Le Rivage joined forces with a variety of Rose employees to expedite re-occupancy, and the building’s tenants were highly cooperative and patient throughout the process.”
Le Rivage, an art deco high-rise that is owned and managed by Rose, was placed under evacuation order on October 28. When Sandy struck, this area of Lower Manhattan was greatly impacted by storm surge. Le Rivage’s lobby amenities and mechanical systems were flooded. There was an oil breach in a nearby building, and ConEdison’s underground power system was highly compromised. Rose began clean-up efforts immediately, removing all water and oil and restoring normal operation to Le Rivage’s lobby.
In an effort to get residents back into their homes as soon as possible, Rose procured a generator with ample capacity to power the 31-story, 293-unit tower. That generator was in place and operational on Friday, November 9, and a full back-up generator has also been positioned on site. Rose was able to schedule all necessary inspections to secure the Department of Buildings certification required to allow re-occupancy. On the evening of Saturday, November 10, Le Rivage was cleared for re-occupancy.
“Not long after the storm, we informed tenants of Le Rivage that they’d receive a 34-day rent credit to cover the entire month of November and the days of evacuation in October,” said Rose. “We are pleased tenants have returned early, and we are maintaining the full rent credit in recognition of the disruption caused by the storm.”
Le Rivage is more than 90 percent leased. Rose is extending short-term leases for vacant units at Le Rivage to residents of nearby buildings who are indefinitely displaced due to the recent hurricane. The leases offer simplified cancellation policies.
###
