The Plan: Tribeca’s 50 Hudson Debuts First-of-Its-Kind Glass Brick Facade

The newly completed redevelopment project at Tribeca’s 50 Hudson Street is a bright, new light in New York City’s real estate scene — literally.

The six-story mixed-use property — made up of commercial condos for boutique offices and a luxury residential penthouse — features a glass brick facade designed by the late Thierry Despont, a long-time Tribeca resident and designer most famous for helping restore the Statue of Liberty. It’s a feature that’s never been done before in the city and one that sets 50 Hudson apart, according to developer Eric Schlagman.

“Light passes through it with such ease,” Schlagman said. “Even though 60 Hudson Street is so large on the north side of us, it lights up. The sun lights up our facade, and it’s just really very beautiful.”

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’s historic district.

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.

“When we first bought it, the building was wrecked,” Schlagman said. “Structurally, it was sound, but that’s 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.”

Schlagman and Rothstein completed their first renovation of 50 Hudson in 2008, restoring the original three-story property’s 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.

Then Schlagman decided to go bigger. He pursued approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to enlarge the property to six stories, as the site’s zoning allowed for a building twice the size of the original. But he needed a unique idea to win the LPC over.

“The commissioners did not want to see a matching design. They wanted to see something that was complementary, that was bold and exciting,” Schlagman said. “They 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.”

That’s when Schlagman recruited Despont, who, alongside structural engineer Anthony Gennaro and Jacobson Shinoda Architects, designed 50 Hudson’s three-floor addition and its striking glass brick facade.

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’s retail space. The same glass brick in that bar became 50 Hudson’s signature element.

“Oh, it was disgustingly beautiful,” Schlagman said of Despont’s reaction when he first saw the glass brick, which matched in physical dimensions the original building’s bricks. (Both Despont and Gennaro died in 2023.)

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.

In April 2025, Schlagman sold almost all of the building to biotech firm founder George Yancopoulos for $32.2 million. Current tenants of the Tribeca property include jewelry store Frank Darling and physical fitness program the Lotus Method.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.