December, 2014 | 6sqft

We're big fans of the work of Steven Harris Architects here at 6sqft, so it came as no surprise that this West Village townhouse that features the firm's lovely designs sold for $15 million. According to city records released today, the seller of the home located at 156 West 13th Street is Candida Smith, curator and daughter of the late celebrated artist and sculptor David Smith. The Greek Revival townhouse was built in 1846 for the estate of Peter Remsen, a member of a prominent Knickerbocker family. Steven Harris updated the home to include modern conveniences like an elevator and an industrial-sized kitchen, while retaining its historic charm and grandeur.
Take a look around here

Image by Lauren Manning

December 25, 2014

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE 6SQFT TEAM!

By 6sqft

The 6sqft team wishes you a joyous holiday with plenty of food, fun, family and friends!

Events & Things To Do

December 24, 2014

A 1960s Upstate Log Cabin Transformed into a One-Room Family Home

Takaaki Kawabata (Taka), a senior associate at architecture firm Janson Goldstein, and his wife, designer Christina Kawabata, wanted to move their family from Williamsburg, where their rent had quadrupled, to a rural home still within commuting distance to the city. After first seeing a 1960s log cabin in Garrison, New York, Taka wasn't impressed. But, having grown up in a one-room farmhouse in Japan, when he looked over the plans he knew this was his family's new home. The couple bought the cabin for $335,000, embarked on a year-long $50,000 remodel, and transformed the outdated structure into an 1,100-square-foot family home with a completely open-plan layout and an excess-free living model.
Take a look at the result here

Architecture And Design

Manhattan Bed and Breakfasts Are Forced to Close in the Wake of the Airbnb Battle

Image of a B&B Mike Miley via photopin cc

December 24, 2014

Manhattan Bed and Breakfasts Are Forced to Close in the Wake of the Airbnb Battle

We've already taken a close look at how controversial room-sharing startup Airbnb is accused of depleting the already-scarce affordable housing stock in the city, but a new type of fallout is also underway. Thanks to legislation enforced in 2011 that sought to eliminate short-term rentals and illegal hotels in residential or SRO buildings, many legal bed and breakfast owners are being forced to shut their doors.
Read about the issue here

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

Image by Avagara via Panoramio

December 24, 2014

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

Amongst Williamsburg's ever-growing, rapidly-rising new developments remains a neighborhood icon that has managed to stick around in the face of change. However, it looks like time has finally caught up to this tiny 1950s treasure, as Brownstoner reports that permits were filed today to replace the classic metal structure with a six-story, 10-unit apartment building. The replacement may not surprise too many given the transformation of the area, as well as the restaurants taking up space—from a diner in '52 to a beloved burger joint from '97 to 2010 to today providing a somewhat less fitting location for upscale La Esquina's satellite Mexican restaurant/cafe—but without a doubt it's still one that we're sad to see happen.
More details here

December 24, 2014

Skating Through Time: A Look Back at NYC’s Ice Rinks

One of the most festive holiday activities doesn't end at New Year's, but rather lasts through the winter. Ice skating in NYC is a hot activity, with lines easily wrapping around the block at the Bryant Park Winter Village and Rockefeller Center's ice rink. But this isn't a new trend. Ice skating has long been a popular social pastime for New Yorkers, whether on a frozen pond in Central Park or at the Biltmore Ice Garden at the Biltmore Hotel. Plenty of historic photographs exist, documenting the transformation of the New York ice skater; so we've put together a timeline of this winter activity.
All the photos ahead

Distinctive Homes

Ethan Hawke's former Chelsea townhouse lists for $5.98M

This $3.5M Westchester estate is a private refuge surrounded by village life

A fashion designer's cozy converted 1920s barn in upstate NY asks $2.9M

Theater director David Saint lists his East Village penthouse with huge terrace for $5M

This $795K Hudson Valley farmhouse has clean, classic curb appeal–and a guest house in the back

Yorkville duplex has five balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a philanthropic tie for $6.5M

$1.8M restored Marcel Breuer house on the Hudson has kept its mid-century modern spirit intact

This $1.4M Astoria home is all about flexible, fabulous, and fun townhouse living

For $8.85M, a condo with Central Park and Manhattan skyline views from every room

A millwork-wrapped co-op in FiDi's iconic Morse Building asks $2.25M

VIEW ALL

December 24, 2014

Classic Loft in Chelsea’s Kheel Tower Features Bright Light and Flexible Floor Plan

A new fully-renovated Chelsea loft recently popped up on the market asking $839,000. This one-bedroom condo in the much sought-after Kheel Tower Condominium is bound to attract apartment hunters looking to enjoy classic loft living.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

December 23, 2014

Get Your Chef On in Restaurateur Keith McNally’s Greenwich Village Townhouse for $25K/Month

Restaurateur Keith McNally is offering up his Greenwich Village townhouse again, fully furnished, for $25,000 per month. The four-story, 3,600-square-foot space is brimming with charm and features four bedrooms and a separate studio. Best of all, it’s the place to bring your foodie friends to dine in the house that celebrated restaurants like Balthazar, Odeon, Café Luxembourg, Schiller’s, and Minetta Tavern built.
Take a closer look, here

Distinctive Homes

December 23, 2014

WE Design’s Brownstone Renovation Melds the Old with Mid-Century Modern Touches

We've featured the work of WE Design before, but here's another one of their Brooklyn beauties that's captured our attention. In a gut renovation of a historic brownstone, the architects brought a 19th century home right into the 21st by juxtaposing the old and the new and making way for spaces that are all about modern living.
Have a look inside this stunning home

NYC Saw a Spike in Chain Stores in 2014 with Queens Experiencing the Fastest Growth

Image via Flickr

December 23, 2014

NYC Saw a Spike in Chain Stores in 2014 with Queens Experiencing the Fastest Growth

Does it feel like there's either a Starbucks, Chase Bank, or Duane Reade on every corner? Well, that's actually quite a realistic feeling. According to the Center for an Urban Future's seventh annual State of the Chains report, national retailers in New York City experienced a 2.8 percent increase in 2014, the largest jump in four years and the sixth straight year to see a net increase. Queens is experiencing the fastest growth in new stores, and coffee king Dunkin Donuts maintains its top spot for the seventh year running with a total of 536 locations, 21 more than last year.
More on the findings here

Real Estate Trends

December 23, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Community Boards Not Happy with One Vanderbilt; Condos on the Rise in Long Island City

Manhattan Community Boards 5 and 6 want to redesign SL Green’s 67-story One Vanderbilt tower. [NYP] Fresh Direct breaks ground for its South Bronx headquarters, but locals protest that it will further damage the area’s air quality. [NYT] An opinion on why the proposed megatower on the pier would ruin the South Street Seaport. [NY Mag] Long Island […]

Real Estate Trends

December 23, 2014

170 Amsterdam Avenue: NYC’s First Concrete Diagrid Nears Completion

By Ondel Hylton

Final touches are being added to the Upper West Side's exoskeletal rental building at 170 Amsterdam Avenue. The 20-story mid-rise between 67th and 68th Streets will be the first residential building in the city to feature a concrete "diagrid" structural system. Developed by Chicago-based Equity Residential, the tower will house 239 luxury rental units and is slated to begin leasing early next year. Rental pricing may be similar to the Aire next door, where available units range from $3,375 for a 25th floor studio to $15,000 for a three-bedroom penthouse. According to the New York Post, Equity signed a 99-year lease for the site from the American Properties Group for $76.5 million back in 2011.
More details here

Tiffany Stained Glass Window Found in a Salvage Yard Reveals a Piece of Upstate History

Images from Find Everything Historic

December 23, 2014

Tiffany Stained Glass Window Found in a Salvage Yard Reveals a Piece of Upstate History

By Alyssa Alimurung

Imagine waking up one morning and getting pulled into a whirlwind of adventure, art, history, and preservation. That’s exactly what happened to Doris Cultraro of DC Studios in upstate New York when she was called in to clean and restore a 60-square-foot stained glass panel with over 6,000 pieces in 2007. “Although the original studio […]

Architecture And Design

Check Out the NYC Holiday Window Displays with Google Maps

One of the holiday windows at Saks, via Google Maps

December 23, 2014

Check Out the NYC Holiday Window Displays with Google Maps

By Ondel Hylton and Adam Rothstein

We're starting to think Google wants us to never leave our apartments again. Not only can we tour the elite Gramercy Park without a key and explore NYC in 3D, but now we can even check out the department store holiday window displays with Google Maps, welcome news for those of us who want to get in the holiday spirit without battling the crowds. The Observer reports that the feature is available in London and New York, the latter showcasing those windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's. It's part of Google Maps' new Business View feature, which makes it possible to virtually go inside businesses and provides special offerings like a 360-degree tour of the Colbert Report set.
Take a look at this year's holiday windows

December 22, 2014

So You Think You Know Everything About One57?

Well, you might want to think twice. Even though the city's most expensive condo building is also perhaps the most written-about (even the Times has run out of ways to describe it), there are still plenty of little-known facts about the 1,005-foot-tall tower. One57 is considered the crown jewel of what's been dubbed "Billionaire's Row," and can also be credited with launching the ultra-luxury building boom. Developed by Extell's Gary Barnett and designed by Pritzker-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc, the sleek tower is currently the second tallest structure in the city. And that's just the beginning.
Bone up on your One57 factoids here

Architecture And Design

The NYC Subway Still Runs on 1930s Technology, Pen and Paper

Most of our commutes are rife with subway delays, over-crowding and shutdowns, and while you can credit some of those to the sick passengers (and a handful of dizzy dieters), a lot of the blame falls on the fact that our subway still runs on an antiquated system built in the 1930s. Transit authorities are only now beginning to replace the eight-decade-old system, which still uses—wait for it—pencil and paper to track train progress. The update is a long overdue one, yes, but don't expect your commute to get any more comfortable in the near future. With 700 miles of track to cover, the time estimated to make the switch won't be much of a boon for us six million riders now boarding daily.
READ MORE

December 22, 2014

Renovated English Country-Style Home in Affluent Riverdale Area Asks $2.7M

New York City is known for its diversity, yet it never ceases to amaze us that a suburban-esque neighborhood like Riverdale is a mere 20 minutes away from Lincoln Center or the Met. The affluent Bronx district is coveted for its tree-lined streets and abundance of parks. And in this neighborhood, a renovated seven-bedroom, English Country-style home on a corner lot at 5000 Goodridge Avenue offers the suburban life in proximity to the city, all for $2.7 million.
Take a look inside here

Distinctive Homes

December 22, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Those in Favor of One WTC’s Design; World’s Tallest Modular Tower Back on Track

Critics may hate One World Trade Center, but the public loves it. [NYP] The world’s tallest modular tower, the B2, is back on track as Forest City rehires its 150 workers to finish construction. [NY1] The historic Renaissance Theater and Casino in Harlem is slated for demolition, but preservationists are set on stopping the wrecking ball and the […]

Real Estate Trends

December 22, 2014

Kristina Kjær’s Wooden Desk is a Sweet Modern Design That Also Saves Space

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

When you live in a dense city like New York, you know that every inch that you can get your hands on is a sacred one. While sacrifice usually comes into play when taking up space in an urban environment, thankfully there are smart designs out there that don't require us to give up the simple things in life–like a desk. Perfect for your computer–or for your unruly piles–this compact desk designed by Kristina Kjær is practical, comfortable, and pretty easy on the eyes.
Learn more about this small-scale wooden desk

December 22, 2014

Daily Link Fix: Hip Hop Museum Coming to Harlem and Midtown; Manhattan Would Need 48 Bridges if Everyone Drove

The Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum, the city’s first institution focused on the music genre, is headed for Midtown and Harlem in 2017. [Daily News] Track Santa, visit the North Pole, and find the best neighborhood light displays with these holiday-themed apps. [NY1] An historic automat façade was revealed on 104th Street and Broadway. [West […]

Uncategorized

December 22, 2014

Quintessential Soho Loft in the West Broadway Arches Asks $2M

There’s a new loft available in one of Soho’s most prized co-ops. 140 Thompson Street, otherwise known as the West Broadway Arches, is a beautiful early 20th century brick building with large arched windows, right on the cusp of Soho and Greenwich Village. In addition to its great location, this flexible one-bedroom unit has every detail a prospective buyer could want in a quintessential loft, all for $1.95 million.
More photos after the jump

Distinctive Homes

Halstead Brings High-Definition Digital Walk-Throughs to the Market

Tour real estate listings at home with Halstead’s 3D Walkthru

December 22, 2014

Halstead Brings High-Definition Digital Walk-Throughs to the Market