June, 2014 | 6sqft

For the week of May 19, 2014, 81 condos sold for an average price of $3.1 million, while 123 coops sold for an average of $1.3 million. The Walker Tower, One57, and the newly opened Marquand stole the top three spots for most expensive sales that week. NYC's soon-to-be-tallest residential tower at 432 Park Avenue surpassed its 1,000-ft mark this week and is now taller than any rooftop north of the Empire State Building. The Vinoly-designed building will top out at 1,397 feet – taller even than One World Trade Center. Beauty or beast? We take a closer look at the Herzog & de Meuron-designed 40 Bond — form, function, sales prices and all. For market trends, top residential sales, and the latest starchitecture news, we turn to CityRealty‘s Weekly Market Snapshot for the scoop.
get the report here

Architecture And Design

June 18, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: Modern Marble Accents for Your Home; Herzog & de Meuron Designing Chrystie Street Hotel

Brick Single-Family on Clinton Hill Progressing Quickly: The Brownstoner has an update on the construction at 218 Greene Avenue, and it’s moving pretty quickly. Modern Marble Accents for Your Home: The Observer schools us on the new way to incorporate marble while showcasing ten of their marble picks. iMakr 3D Printing Company Moves to the […]

Uncategorized

June 18, 2014

City Approves $3 Million Streetscaping Plan for Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District

The city has officially approved a $3 million streetscaping plan as part of the overall plan to create a cultural district on the border of downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene, according to Crain’s New York. The plan, which will transform public spaces along several streets including Fulton Street, Ashland Place, Lafayette Avenue, will include ripping up the existing sidewalks and replacing them with dark stone slabs embedded with a sprinkling of lights. There will also be new seating and landscaping along a number of blocks north of Atlantic Avenue where patrons of popular institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music and BRIC arts and media gather. The idea is to turn that area into a cultural epicenter in Brooklyn, much like Lincoln Center in Manhattan, but comprised of several independent entities.
Find out more about Brooklyn's new cultural epicenter here

Real Estate Trends

June 18, 2014

Caveat to DeBlasio’s Grand Central Terminal Area Rezoning Would Require Special Permit for New Hotels

The impetus behind the rezoning plan allowing taller towers in the blocks surrounding Grand Central Terminal - specifically the five blocks of Vanderbilt Avenue from East 42nd Street to East 47th Street - is to keep New York competitive with office development in other major cities like London and Shanghai. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hotel-workers union, which had a key role in the demise of a similar proposal under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has flexed its muscles once again, seeking a concession that would require any new hotels to receive a special permit from the City Planning Commission and the City Council.
More details on the rezoning here

Real Estate Trends

June 18, 2014

Jared Kushner and LIVWRK Make Plans to Buy a Gowanus Property, Possibly for Luxury Condos

Jared Kushner and LIVWRK could soon be making their way to Gowanus. According to The Real Deal, the pair are in contract to buy a 133,000-square-foot development site at 175-225 3rd Street, located right across the new 3rd and 3rd Whole Foods market and just around the corner from Lightstone Group’s 700-unit rental project at 363 Bond Street. Currently, the land has 600 feet of frontage and allows for commercial development of up to 300,000-square-feet, but sources say that one-million square feet of residential could be constructed if rezoned.
More details here

New Developments

June 18, 2014

Printhouse Lofts are Ready to Make Their Mark on the Williamsburg Real Estate Scene

By Dana Schulz

If you follow Williamsburg real estate news, you likely read about a lot of glassy waterfront towers and swanky hotels. It's refreshing, therefore, to hear about the Printhouse Lofts, a new residential development housed in a 104-year-old manufacturing building that seamlessly blends historic character with modern design. Located at 139 North 10th Street, the site originally housed a printmaking company and was later a toy factory. After failed conversion attempts by two different developers, Greystone bought the property last year for $15.8 million and undertook an adaptive reuse project that resulted in 36 fabulous apartments.
Take a tour through one of these stunners

June 17, 2014

This Upstate Beauty Designed by Victoria Meyers Blends Right in with Mother Nature

Upstate New York has no shortage of interesting homes — just take a look at this enchanting stone beauty — and we've found another picturesque stunner located to our north. Tucked away in picturesque Garrison, NY is a modernist home that blends right in with its natural surroundings, thanks to the work of Victoria Meyers and hanrahanMeyers Architects.
See more pictures straight ahead

Architecture And Design

June 17, 2014

PENSA’s DIWire Machine Lets You Bend Wires Into Sculptural Decor for the Home

In a day and age when printers give us the ability to create 3D models, we're surprised that it's taken so long for a machine like the DIWire to hit the market. Developed by the creative tinkerers of PENSA, this sleek gadget's seemingly simple job — to bend wires with a click of a button — is an absolute game-changer for DIY enthusiasts.
See how the DIWire works

Distinctive Homes

Amy Schumer sells Brooklyn Heights townhouse at $1.25M loss

This $2.7M Chelsea duplex condo feels like a modern house with a private back garden

For $8M, a proper Park Avenue penthouse with an artistic pedigree

NFL luminary Chris Simms' Greenwich farmhouse asks $8M

Asking $1.3M, this historic Newburgh home has designer interiors and dramatic Hudson River views

Live in a former Park Slope bank for $5.5M

For $6.75M, everything you'd want in a Park Slope brownstone

From cozy to bold, this $10M Soho condo embodies post-loft luxury

This $7M Gilded-Age mansion on the Upper West Side has a private garage and a theatrical history

This $3.7M Greenwich Village co-op puts the 'classic' in classic seven

VIEW ALL

June 17, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: Million Dollar Condos Come to Bed Stuy; Working Out in the Streets

Everybody Loves Brooklyn… Except Brooklyn: The Observer talks about the fact that the name Brooklyn may be a top name everywhere else, but Brooklynites are so over it. Million Dollar Condos Come to Bed Stuy: Before you know it, we common folk won’t be able to afford Brooklyn. The Brownstoner has some details and beautiful […]

Uncategorized

June 17, 2014

$8M Full Floor Greene Street Loft Leaves Us Speechless

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and we’re inclined to agree. While we love using words to tell you all about some of the most amazing residences on the market, we’re not sure words can quite do this Soho beauty justice. Located in a landmarked building at 60 Greene Street, with its cobbled stones and quaint charm, this nearly 4,000-square-foot full floor condominium loft not only took our words away, it took our breath away too!
See why this loft took our words - and our breath - away

Distinctive Homes

June 17, 2014

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn: $3.18M Historic Brooklyn Heights Town Home Has a Garden

Someone just purchased a nice little income property in Brooklyn Heights, according to city records. This 4-family town home, located at 36 Schermerhorn Street, is an original 1840s brownstone in one of Brooklyn’s premier locations. It offers 3,000 square feet of living space and a garden for the lower duplex. Yes, a tree grows in Brooklyn. However, the best part of this unit, listed by Corcoran’s Vicki Negron, is that it already has tenants. Granted their lease expires in August, but minor details.
Take a Look inside this incredible BK heights building here

June 17, 2014

A Garden So Private No One Has The Key? Now We’ve Heard It All

Forget the legendary and uber-privileged access to the oasis known as Gramercy Park. The newest wave of private gardens are apparently so exclusive even residents can’t enjoy a stroll through the lush greenery. Take the 2,400-square-foot courtyard currently being designed at The Sterling Mason, a new Tribeca loft building where an apartment can set you back up to $24 million. In a city where even the tiniest bit of green space is viewed as the ultimate amenity, turning what would have been a barren airshaft into a verdant outdoor sanctuary seems like a terrific idea. Tapping Deborah Nevins, one of the world’s most sought-after landscape designers to do it, an even better one. Keeping residents from enjoying more than a visual inspection of the rich white blossoms, lush green leaves, ivy walls and sculptural stream? Eh, we’re not so sure about that.
What's up with this off limits trend?

Architecture And Design

June 17, 2014

Helen Hunt Finally Sells Upper West Side Pied-a-Terre for $2.58 Million

It looks like Helen Hunt has finally sold her Upper West Side apartment to the tune of $2.58 million. This new development comes after having the apartment on the market for nearly 9 months. That’s essentially like having a baby. Hunt purchased the apartment at 320 West 86th Street for $2.43 million in 2006, according to the Daily News, and was using the 3/BR as a pied-a-terre. Her main residence is in California. After acquiring the co-op, Hunt completely renovated the pad, creating a six-room layout with restored herringbone floors, hideaway office spaces and decorative fireplaces.
Take a look inside the star's pad here

June 17, 2014

Time Warner V.P. Unloads Upper West Side Condo for $4.3 Million

By Dana Schulz

A strikingly elegant co-op apartment at 375 West End Avenue has for $4.3 million, according to city records. The seller, Paul T. Cappuccio, Vice President and General Counsel at Time Warner, Inc., bought the 5BR/3.5BA unit in July 2011 for $3.5 million, netting him an almost $1 million profit. The handsome, 2,400-square-foot space is a mix of traditional design and convenient, modern touches. Stunning, detailed moldings and shiny herringbone hardwood floors work alongside barely-there recessed lighting and a contemporary, marble bathroom. Ten-foot ceilings and large windows framed by panel molding are decorative elements that harken back to the building's prewar construction, while custom walk-in closets and a laundry room with full-size washer/dryer are 21st-century touches.
Take a look at the rest of this swoon-worthy pad

Growth Spurt: Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower at 333 Schermerhorn Will Soar Even Higher Than Expected

L to R: Williamsburg Savings Bank (One Hanson), The Brooklyner, 388 Bridge Street, Avalon Willoughby West, The Hub

June 17, 2014

Growth Spurt: Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower at 333 Schermerhorn Will Soar Even Higher Than Expected

By Ondel Hylton

Construction filings from the Department of Buildings have revealed that Douglas Steiner's mixed use tower at 333 Schermerhorn Street, dubbed the Hub, will soar 30 feet higher than previously reported; making it the top contender for Brooklyn's tallest building at 607-feet. For more than 80 years, the title of Brooklyn's tallest belonged to the 512-foot Williamsburg Savings Bank tower at 1 Hanson Place. With its beloved 4-sided clock tower and its majestic banking hall, the tower has stood in relative isolation since its construction in 1929. Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards centerpiece building nicknamed "Miss Brooklyn," was the first to challenge the tower's dominance and was slated to soar more than 100-feet above the bank building's dome. The proposal incited uproar from Brooklynites, leading to its eventual downsizing in 2006 to 511-feet, just one foot shorter than the neighboring bank building.
More about The Hub and Brooklyn's tallest this way

June 16, 2014

Fashion Meets Utility Inside Lela Rose’s Tribeca Loft Designed by WORKac (Catwalk Included)

New York is a true walking city, but can you imagine installing a sidewalk inside your apartment? That's essentially what the architects at Work Architecture Company (WORKac) did for this minimalist White Street loft. At the very heart of the living and dining rooms sits a row of Japanese-style tables that can be extended or retracted to act as a dance floor, catwalk or stage. That's just one of the many stunning features conceived by WORKac and the home's owner, fashion designer Lela Rose.
Take a peek inside right this way

June 16, 2014

Long Island City Makes Way for Three New $875M Residential Towers with 1,600 Units

Long Island City gets glassier by the day, and now Tishman Speyer is teaming up with Toronto’s H&R REIT to build a three-tower, 1.2 million-square-foot “landmark luxury residential rental development” with 1,600 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail space. The dynamic duo paid a total of $55.6 million for the piece of land acquired from […]

Real Estate Trends

Prodigy Network Announces Winning Designs for 17John “Cotel” – NYC’s First Crowdsourced Hotel

By Annie Doge

Remember that competition held in February to crowdsource the design of a hotel to be located in downtown Manhattan? Looks like the results are in and Prodigy Network just announced the winners of the competition for the 17John ‘Cotel’ (collaborative + hotel = cotel). The winning designs cover both the public interior spaces and the private rooms of 17John, and as the competition brief outlined, all the rooms are specifically tailored to the modern business traveler. Rooms range from long-term living spaces to more standard short-stay hotel rooms. The hotel will also be equipped with flexible spaces for work and meetings, and digital services that "provide comfort, community, and connectivity for its guests".
see the winning designs here

June 16, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: Bjork Heads to Brooklyn; A Kid-Friendly 3D Printer

A Kid-Friendly 3D Printer?: Engadget showcases a printer that is easy enough for a kid to use… or let’s be honest, it’s easy enough for us to use. Is Jamaica, Queens Back in the Rezone?: Jamaica, Queens has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the city. The Wall Street Journal wonders if the recently revived […]

Uncategorized

June 16, 2014

Fortis Property Group Will Build Condos and Medical Clinic on Site of LICH

Perhaps the third time will be the charm — after multiple bids, the State University of New York may have found a buyer for its cash-strapped Long Island College Hospital. In the latest attempt to move redevelopment plans forward, Fortis Property Group has jumped in with a new deal: It'll pay $240 million to transform the Cobble Hill facility into market-rate condos and a clinic.
Details on the deal straight ahead

New Developments

June 16, 2014

Windsor Terrace Home Gets Scooped Up by Unexpected Buyer for $2.2 Million

If you’re an older couple looking for a quiet place to tend your garden on Saturdays, you’ll love this quaint, recently purchased Windsor Terrace townhouse with a retro charm. This 2,090-square-foot town home is like your grandma’s house… made with love. The retro charmer has subway-tiled walls and original claw foot tubs to add to its vintage appeal. And it all starts when you walk through those nine-foot entry doors. A decorative archway greets you, ushering you into the sun-filled parlor with its 11-foot tin ceilings and original heart of pine floors. There’s also a working fireplace so you can read Chaucer while your cat Norman rubs up against your leg.
Take a closer look at this retro home here

June 16, 2014

Beautiful Clinton Hill Brownstone with an M.C. Escher-like Staircase Sells for $2M

Can you make sense of this staircase? We're not sure what's going on here, but the rest of this Clinton Hill townhouse is a sight to be seen. Closed today by the Corcoran Group for $2 million and some change, the 4-story, 2-family brownstone was recently gutted and renovated to boast a modern design with cutting edge appliances and sleek finishes. If you love wood detailing, high ceilings, or just want to snoop around a historic home that has a pretty incredible backyard, hit the jump.
Take a tour of 441 Classon Avenue

June 16, 2014

Unusual Bathroom Design May Have You Going Hmmm But the Rest of This $1.6M Soho Loft Will Have You Going Mmmm

Thirteen windows wrapping around three sides of this 1,100 square foot loft means bright and airy in a big way – even the bedroom closet and bathroom are filled with sunlight! Overlooking two of the building’s three charming courtyards this gorgeous unit at 140 Sullivan Street has a wonderfully open floor plan with extra high ceilings exposing all of the original wood and steel beams, wide plank cherry floors throughout, and built-ins galore. And while a NYC curator created this open concept to merge the aesthetics of uptown chic with the artistic and architectural details of downtown, this home presents its next owner with a virtual clean slate as there is plenty of space to carve out additional bedrooms, an office, even formalize the dining and living areas.
Right this way for hmmm and mmmm

Distinctive Homes

June 16, 2014

Frick Museum Expansion Renderings Unveiled