July, 2014 | 6sqft

Smart adaptive reuse or an alarmingly bad design? A Bed-Stuy church conversion sees the historic structure all boxed up. [Brownstoner] Is the city’s booming real estate market a reflection of the city’s strong economy or a bubble driven by speculative investment? Greg David investigates. [Crain’s] A new hotel designed by Peter Poon will replace a […]

Real Estate Trends

July 16, 2014

Citigroup’s Former Chairman Sanford Weill Sells His Maid’s Quarters for $5.34M

It's great being Sandy Weill, and apparently it's also pretty good being his hired help. According to city records, the former Citigroup chairman just sold off his servants quarters, a lovely little sixth floor pad at celeb favorite, 15 Central Park West. The sale of 6H rang in at an impressive $5.337M — more than five times what Weill paid for it back in 2007. But Weill is no stranger to making big bucks on his real estate deals. Back in 2011 he sold his apartment in the same luxury tower for a record-breaking $88M to Katerina Rybolovleva, the young daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev.
More details here

Real Estate Trends

July 16, 2014

Quirky QLOCKTWO Clock Tells Time with the Written Word

By Patty Lee

Forget numbers, this quirky clock is using a far more innovative method to tell time. Instead of numerals, the QLOCKTWO employs common phrases — such as "It's half-past twelve" — to keep you up to speed with the hour.
Details on the unique timepiece here

July 16, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: Summer Retreats for Architects; Is Hurricane Sandy to Blame for New Jersey Boardwalk Fire?

“Brooklyn Girls” Video a Guaranteed Hit: Brooklyn Mag has singer-songwriter Catey Shaw’s newly released video that is like a Brooklyn version of Katy Perry’s “California Girls”, and it’s pretty catchy. Summer Retreats for Architects: Architizer spotlights the top 10 summer retreats for architects, and once you’ve gotten excited about that, check out their article on […]

Uncategorized

July 16, 2014

Winamp Creator Picks Up an Ultra Cozy Tompkins Place Pad in Cobble Hill

Justin Frankel, developer of the popular early 2000s music-ripping program Winamp, just purchased a cozy Cobble Hill duplex for $2.35 million, according to city records. The Tompkins Place pad has three bedrooms and 1.5 baths and is located on what some consider to be the best block in Cobble Hill, with plenty of shopping and dining right around the corner.
Let's take a look inside

July 16, 2014

Live Out Your Childhood Fantasies in This East Village Home with a Metal Slide by Turett Architects

It's not uncommon for NYC apartment buyers to snatch up two adjacent units and combine them into one space, but it is a bit unusual to request that your architect connect the spaces with a slide. And that's exactly what Turett Collaborative Architects (TCA) was tasked with in this East Village duplex penthouse. The previous homeowner, professional poker player Phil Galfond, bought two identical one-bedroom units, one on top of the other. They were transformed into a 2,400-square-foot, two-bedroom duplex with a new Italian-made Rintal stair. Clearly calling the bluff of this traditional mode of getting from one floor to another, Galfond worked with TCA to also install a stainless steel helical slide that descends through the double-height atrium.
More about the modern, playground-like feature right this way

July 16, 2014

Mayor Bill De Blasio Proposes to Transform Downtown Brooklyn

Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to make a proposal on Wednesday that will launch an initiative to transform Downtown Brooklyn into a community that will rival some of its brownstone counterparts. The area has undoubtedly grown significantly over the last decade with new restaurants and cultural institutions that have attracted an influx of residents. However locals feel that the area still feels a bit disconnected. De Blasio’s plan aims to create a greater sense of community in the neighborhood.
Find out more about the proposal here

Real Estate Trends

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July 16, 2014

See the Winners of the “QueensWay Connection: Elevating the Public Realm” Design Competition

Earlier this year, AIA New York's ENYA (Emerging New York Architects) Committee held its biennial design ideas competition, focusing on the elevated viaduct portion of the QueensWay, a community-led project that seeks to transform a blighted, 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railway in Central Queens into a linear park and cultural greenway. The winners of Queensway Connection: Elevating the Public Realm were announced in February, and are now going public tomorrow, July 17th, with an exhibition at AIANY's Center for Architecture. There were 120 entries from 28 countries for Queensway Connection, from which four winning entries and an Honorable Mention were selected. The jury included architecture, landscape architecture, public space, and transportation infrastructure professionals who reviewed the designs based on how well they created an effective and welcoming transition between the street and greenway. Other factors included community involvement, preservation of the existing infrastructure, and use of ecologically sustainable elements.
Your sneak peek before tomorrow's event

July 16, 2014

You Won’t Find Oscar Madison in this Immaculate $8.5M Riverside Drive Beauty

By Stephanie Hoina

Maybe we are dating ourselves but we’re betting on the fact that The Odd Couple is one of those rare shows pretty much everyone has heard of, even if you were born well after the 1970’s TV series. Best known for the hilarious dynamic between unlikely roommates “neat freak” Felix Unger and slovenly but amiable Oscar Madison, the show’s setting was Mr. Madison’s Riverside Drive apartment, about ten blocks south of this immaculate 4BR/4BA home in the Peter Stuyvesant located at 258 Riverside Drive. Take one look at this residence’s ten beautifully appointed rooms and you’ll know Oscar Madison would probably have never have been comfortable living here, but he’d be in the minority on that score. What’s not to love?
Whether you're a Felix or an Oscar, see more of this gorgeous home

Distinctive Homes

July 15, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Downtown Brooklyn is a Shining Example of Good Development; One of Greenwich’s Oldest Homes Could be Razed

Vornado Realty Trust and Crown Acquisitions have just paid $700M for 24,700 square feet of retail space plus air rights at the St. Regis Hotel and a neighboring townhouse. Insiders suspect they’re looking to get in on booming retail sales which could lead to higher future rents. [TRD] Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group, together with […]

Real Estate Trends

July 15, 2014

Bates Masi + Architects Gives an Incredible Modern Update to a House They Built 35 Years Ago

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

When the new owners of this beautiful woodland home on Long Island decided they needed some extra space, they contacted the same architects that built the property 35 years before: Bates Masi + Architects. The New York-based creatives worked to update and expand the Re-cover House, preserving its original spaces, simplicity and rustic soul. Clad in beautifully aged silver cypress wood, the house's entire renovation re-uses materials from the original design.
See the impeccably designed interior here

July 15, 2014

DIY Smashing: Dragos Motica Wants You to Break Their Slash Lamp

That's right— this lamp comes in one piece but is expected to be broken upon purchase. This probably seems a little backwards for most of us, but the designer Dragos Motica wants to give customers the choice, and have them question what is broken and what is new while at it.
Learn more about this out-of-the-ordinary light fixture

July 15, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: An Intimate Look at Dinner in NYC; Rafiq Azam Lecture

An Intimate Look at Dinner in NYC: There are so many daily activities we take for granted. FastCo spotlights photographer Miho Aikawa’s project examining the differences between diners in New York and Tokyo. A Day in the Life of a NYC Taxi Driver: Citylab profiles data junkie Chris Whong’s visualization of NYC cab driver’s day […]

Uncategorized

July 15, 2014

This $5.25M Young Huh-Designed Town Home Will Make You Forget You’re in the City

What if you could enjoy all the conveniences of living in the most fabulous city on Earth while still getting to come home to a peaceful hideaway? That’s what this Young Huh-designed, five-story Astor Terrace townhouse offers. Unit #TH-NE11 is a completely renovated 3BR/3.5BA townhouse with floor-to-ceiling windows and a private, tree-lined patio. Each bedroom not only has its own en suite bath, they each have their own private floor.
Sound like something you're interested in? There's more here

Distinctive Homes

July 15, 2014

From Luggage to Luxury Hotel: Grzywinski + Pons-Designed Mixed-Use Building Rising at 119 Orchard Street

The times they are a-changin. At least on Orchard Street, which used to be littered with affordable clothing and luggage stores and home to the famous Saturday street vendors peddling their wares. Today, upscale boutiques and trendy restaurants have moved in, along with rising rents, and 119 Orchard Street is the latest convert. For over 40 years, Fine & Klein Handbags operated out of the storefront, but closed their doors in 2007. Shortly thereafter in 2008, SAS Property Management bought the property for $4.22 million, filed plans for a new 40-room hotel, and tore down the building in November 2010. Three years later, the plans were amended for a 10-story mixed use space, containing 16 hotel rooms and four residential units. Interestingly, the building height was the same in both renditions. Construction has already commenced, and we've just spotted a few new renderings on architect Grzywinski + Pons' website.
Take a look at the construction photos as well as building renderings

July 15, 2014

Nautica Founder Gets $27 Million for His Impressive Flatiron Townhouse

$27 million is nothing to sneeze at, even if you are David Chu, the founder of international clothing company Nautica. Chu purchased the townhouse at 25 East 22nd Street in 2004 for $9.3 million. He then embarked on a gut renovation, replacing the limestone façade, adding fifth and sixth floors and an elevator, and creating a swanky mixed-use building that housed his corporate headquarters and a one-bedroom pied-à-terre. The home went on the market in May 2013 for $29.99 million, and has now sold to buyer Hannah Charitable LLC for $26.8 million.
Have a look at the interior of this elegant townhouse

Jeffrey Gates and Richard Moran Acquire the Rest of Laurie Tisch’s Brentmore Penthouse for $22.5M

Jeffrey Gates, of Gates Capital Management, and his partner Richard Michael Moran have just acquired the rest of Laurie Tisch's penthouse at the Brentmore, according to city records. Three years ago the pair traded up from apartment 6W to 9N, when Laurie Tisch sold off her pad in pieces. Retired investor Michael Stubbs and his wife Veronica, who lived in the neighboring apartment 10/11N purchased Tisch’s remaining unit 10W. Now it appears that Gates and Moran may have added the Stubbs’s newly renovated apartment combo to their estate for $22.5 million.
Take a look inside the newly acquired property here

July 15, 2014

551W21: Norman Foster’s Champagne-Colored Tower Rising Along Manhattan’s New Gold Coast (New Photos)

By Ondel Hylton

Many architects like to recycle their plans, reusing signature design elements from project to project. However, British architect Lord Norman Foster, with his firm Foster+Partners, enjoys keeping it fresh with designs that are unmistakably modern, yet profoundly contextual to their location. The firm's latest New York development is a 44-unit residential tower named 551W21 that rises in the once industrial—now art-gallery—hub of West Chelsea. The 551W21 team over at Foster+Partners recently sent us some new photos of the building under construction, which has surpassed its 19th-floor mark and will be topped off at the end of this month. And if you're still not convinced that buyers are willing to pay a premium for starchitectured spaces, we're told that the building is already over 50% sold.
See more photos and views after the break

July 15, 2014

Real Estate Wire: New York City’s Tallest Skyscrapers; The Scary Outdoor Spaces of Craigslist Apartments

New York City’s tallest skyscrapers [TRD] Rentals on North 10th Street in Williamsburg hit the market, starting at $2,385 a month [Brownstoner] A residential tower might rise on a controversial Park Place site [Curbed] Tour the former Sisters of Mercy Convent in Clinton Hill [Brownstoner] The horrifying outdoor spaces of Craigslist apartments [Curbed] Medgar Evers […]

Real Estate Trends

July 14, 2014

Checking in on the Progress at One World Trade Center in Photos

As many of you architecture buffs know, One WTC now rises a symbolic 1,776 feet, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third tallest in the entire world. Designed by renowned architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, it also has a LEED Gold certification and is the most environmentally sustainable project of its size. After a temporary real estate slump, the 104-story, glass and steel building is now 56% leased, with big-time tenants like Conde Naste, Morgan Stanley, Legends Hospitality, and BMB Group. Eight years after construction began, One World Trade is at an exciting juncture with its tenants expected to move in by the end of the year, already beginning to build out their office spaces. The original crew of 10,000 has been reduced to 600, and we're checking in on what these remaining workers are up to.
Check out some amazing photos of the progress at One WTC

July 14, 2014

Danish Studio FEM’s Koruku Tea Set Enhances One of Life’s Simplest Pleasures

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Enjoying a good cup of tea is one of life's most simple pleasures, but the whole experience gets even more exquisite if we prepare it with something as beautiful as FEM's Koruku tea set. The design beautifully blends the Japanese tea culture with Scandinavian design traditions, made from a combination of milky white porcelain and renewable cork.
Tea for two?

July 14, 2014

Your Daily Link Fix: Shake Shack’s Well-Crafted Furniture; Amazing Modern Kitchen Cabinets