The building, developed by The Glick Organization, is located on the east side of
First Avenue between 36th and 37th streets on a site. Previously occupied by a
Texaco gas station and a warehouse, the site took three years to acquire and rezone and also included the purchase of
air rights from the nearby Bide-A-Wee animal shelter. Negotiations with the
New York City Planning Commission and
Manhattan Community Board 6 during the planning process resulted in a shifting of the building's orientation so that its street level landscaped plaza would face
St. Vartan Park. The developer also agreed to contribute $427,000 to subsidize rents for
Bellevue Hospital workers that wish to live in the
Kips Bay neighborhood and $900,000 to rehabilitate St. Vartan Park. Groundbreaking took place in 1983. The 35-story structure contains 487 residential units with ground-level retail along the First Avenue frontage. Its residential tower is a triangular-ended rectangle oriented diagonally to face the northeast and southwest, maximizing the building's unobstructed views of the
East River and the
Manhattan skyline across St. Vartan Park and the entrance to the
Queens–Midtown Tunnel. Several sets of bay windows run along the length of the building, which has a façade consisting of horizontal ribbons of glass and brick. Manhattan Place includes a rooftop health club with a pool, gym, indoor jogging track, and lounge. The building's lobby includes a waterfall and has tall windows overlooking the public plaza with views of the
Empire State Building. While Manhattan Place was being built, three full-size replicas of apartments were provided in a sales office set up at 664 First Avenue, one block north of the construction site in the former
Kips Bay Brewing Company building. Sales of condominium units began in January 1984 and all of the apartments sold out before the end of the year. The Glick Organization's marketing program for Manhattan Place won five National Marketing Awards at the
National Association of Home Builders convention in January 1985. When asked about the naming of the building as "Manhattan Place", Jeffrey Glick of The Glick Organization said "I wanted 'Manhattan' because Manhattan is the best place to live." He explained that he usually discusses the selection of a building's name with his media and advertising consultants; a building's name can be an important marketing tool. Manhattan Place was Kondylis' first success story and his first project in New York City for which he received credit as the design architect. The building caught the attention of
Donald Trump, who partnered with Kondylis on the design of other buildings in Manhattan including the
Trump World Tower,
Trump International Hotel and Tower, and several buildings in
Riverside South. Glick partnered again with Kondylis on the design of the Horizon, a 44-story condominium that opened on the block north of Manhattan Place in 1988. The landscaped plaza was designed by
Thomas Balsley Associates, the same firm that designed other nearby public spaces including the renovations to St. Vartan Park, the plaza for
The Corinthian, and the
East River Esplanade Park from 36th to 38th streets. == In popular culture ==