December, 2014 | 6sqft

It's that time again when everyone starts looking back on the year as it comes to a close, but it's also the time to look ahead to the new year. We already know 2015 will bring a slew of new developments to the New York City skyline, and right on trend with that forecast, Bloomberg has reported that construction loans are up 24 percent in the city. On-the-rise neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and Harlem are being aided by the construction loan boom, especially for the renovation of multi-family buildings. The loans, often well over $1 million, are appealing for gentrifying areas because they usually require borrowers to only begin making interest payments once the renovation is complete. For example, a Clinton Hill resident secured a $800,000 construction loan to renovate a century-old multi-family brownstone and estimates that the value of the home will more than double to at least $2.2 million after the renovation.
More information here

December 4, 2014

Lowline Underground Park Creators Want to Open “Lowline Lab,” a Research Hub and Exhibition Spot

Four years ago, likely inspired by the wildly successful High Line, architects James Ramsey and Dan Barasch revealed their plan to turn the forgotten historic trolley terminal below Delancey Street on the Lower East Side into a solar-powered underground park. By 2012, the Lowline had raised over $155,000 from 3,300 donors on Kickstarter, setting a record for the largest number of supporters for an urban design project on the platform. And now, with design competitions, support from elected officials, and planning studies under their belt, the Lowline team is aiming to complete negotiations with the MTA and the city by 2017, anticipating a 2018 opening. But the latest component of the $55 million project is the development by May 2015 of the "Lowline Lab," a year-round nucleus serving as a research hub and exhibition spot, and going by the success of their previous crowdfunding campaign, the team is once again reaching out to the public to fund the initiative.
More details on the Lowline Lab ahead

Architecture And Design

December 4, 2014

Remodeled Emery Roth Townhouse Returns, Asking $15M

For some reason, this remodeled five-story townhouse at 1145 Park Avenue couldn’t command its initial $18.9 million asking price. Now it has returned with a more appealing $14.9 million tag, and it’s hoping prospective buyers will be drawn to its carefully chosen high-end details and its bright, modern design.
Take a look at more photos, here

Distinctive Homes

December 3, 2014

Hudson Yards Observation Deck Will Offer a Death-Defying Way to Experience City Views

The idea of creating a glass observation deck is nothing new, but the Hudson Yards development wants to push the limits with a seemingly perilous glass-enclosed capsule 1,000 feet up in the sky. According to the NYP, the "thrill device" is modeled after the glass module located 350 feet above Royal Caribbean cruise ship Quantum of the Seas, but amped up with a tilting glass walkway. A detailed design of what will be the tallest observation deck in the city has yet to be revealed, but when Related Hudson Yards President Jay Cross spoke about it at the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate luncheon back in November, he said, “You can choose to pay for it separately and crap your pants.”
Find out more

December 3, 2014

Roman and Williams-Designed Brooklyn Brownstone is an Eclectic Mix of Curiosities

Interior design buffs are undoubtedly familiar with J. Crew Creative Director Jenna Lyons's former home; it was featured in countless magazines and blogs, hailed for its mix of traditional pieces with mid-century modern and pops of color. But in 2012, after a bidding war that included prospective buyers being asked to write personal essays, she sold the 19th century Park Slope pad for $4 million to Vince Clarke, founder of Depeche Mode, and his wife Tracy Martin, CEO of the Morbid Anatomy Museum. And needless to say, they gave the 4,000-square-foot home quite the overhaul, infusing it with a mix of historic styles and curious touches that could serve double duty in Martin's taxidermy-filled museum. The masterminds behind the transformation were Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, the founders of design firm Roman and Williams, who created a home that looks like it was furnished in the last century. Their goal was to embrace the home’s historic details while achieving an idiosyncratic and moody approach.
Tour the curiosity-filled home here

December 3, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Why One WTC’s Transportation Hub Costs $4B; Walker Tower Combo Up for $44.5M

Why the Santiago Calatrava-designed transportation hub at One World Trade Center has gone so far over budget. [NYT] A Walker Tower combo is looking for a $44.5M sale. [WSJ] 551W21, the Norman Foster-designed luxury condo, gets its windows. [Field Condition] New York will receive $72M to put towards protecting bridges from floods. [Crain’s] A Park Slope […]

Real Estate Trends

December 3, 2014

6sqft Gift Guide: Nokero’s Solar Light Bulb with Phone Charger

Aren't we all a little sick of receiving holiday gifts that are completely useless and end up collecting dust in the junk drawer? Well, here's a gift idea that's extremely useful, but still an exciting product to unwrap, thanks to its sleek design and fun, bulbous shape. Nokero's solar lights are perfect for camping, traveling, or everyday use in a poorly-lit apartment. The Huron N222 (pictured above) can charge a cell phone while it illuminates an entire room, while the Start N182 is compact enough to fit in your pocket (hello, stocking stuffer) but strong enough to light up a small space.
More on Nokero's solar products here

Policy
Shop

Andy Warhol Museum Coming to the Controversial Essex Crossing Development on the Bowery

The Andy Warhol Museum via nooccar via photopin cc.

December 3, 2014

Andy Warhol Museum Coming to the Controversial Essex Crossing Development on the Bowery

Since 1994, the 88,000-square-foot Andy Warhol Museum has been one of Pittsburgh's main attractions, the largest museum in the country dedicated to a single artist. And though Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, he spent most of his formative years in New York City, a fact that has sparked plans for a satellite museum on the Bowery. In Miami for Art Basel, museum director Eric Shiner told The Observer last night that the Lower East Side museum would be 10,000 square feet and part of the controversial Essex Crossing development. Its anticipated opening is 2017.
More details here

Events & Things To Do

Distinctive Homes

Amy Schumer paid $6.25M for Central Park West condo

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

This $1.5M Woodstock compound was a recording studio for rock icons from Ozzy Osbourne to R.E.M.

For $2.45M, an artist's downtown Manhattan loft is a blank slate with a modern frame

Once a parking garage, this $85M Village penthouse is now in line to break neighborhood sales records

From the pool to the pergola, this $1.1M Hudson Valley home blends Colonial with contemporary

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

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

This $3M Williamsburg home is the rare condo with all of its loft charm intact

Doors of steel and glass make this $3M Soho loft feel like a box of light

VIEW ALL

December 3, 2014

QUIZ: Can You Guess When This Building Was Constructed?

By Alyssa Alimurung

Modernism, neoclassical, deconstructivism, colonial. You may know your architectural styles, but what if a glassy building was really built in the early 1900s? Would that trip you up? This fun BuzzFeed Quiz rounds up a few tricky buildings whose styles differ from those of the decade in which they were actually constructed. See if you can figure out what was built when, ahead. […]

Architecture And Design

Brooklyn Artists Plan a Dance Party Funeral for Williamsburg

Funeral invitation via CHERYL

December 3, 2014

Brooklyn Artists Plan a Dance Party Funeral for Williamsburg

We've all been talking and writing about the "death" of Williamsburg for years now, and every time a new neighborhood is compared to it (i.e. Quooklyn) we begin the debate anew. But now the Brooklyn-based artists' collective CHERYL is taking matters into their own hands, hosting a dance party funeral in memoriam of the hip 'hood that once was. As the Daily News states, they're "dancing on Williamsburg's grave." The cause of death? "The cancer of mass gentrification and the proliferation of the luxury condo."
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

December 3, 2014

How the Cost of One World Trade Center Compares to the World’s Most Expensive Skyscrapers

Don’t share this with Michael Kimmelman. The New York Times architecture critic who this past Sunday blasted the design of One World Trade for its excess will only find more fuel for his fire with this infographic visualizing the world’s most expensive buildings. The recently opened One WTC is not only the world’s priciest construction, but it outdoes its runners-up, Las Vegas’s Palazzo […]

Real Estate Trends

December 3, 2014

$2 Million Tribeca Loft Floats Like a Butterfly and Stings Like a Bee

A charming two-bedroom unit at Duane Park Lofts in Tribeca is back on the market, asking $2.095 million. This return marks the second price drop for the pad, which initially asked $2.5 million. The 1,350-square-foot loft has a floor plan that makes the most of its eastern exposures. Unfortunately that means the second bedroom is a windowless interior space, but quintessential loft features, a prime location and room for a second bathroom make this space worth a look.
More photos here

Distinctive Homes

95 Historic Sites in Jeopardy After Landmarks Commission Proposes Mass “De-Calendaring”

The currently calendared Pepsi sign in Long Island City via gigi_nyc via photopin cc

December 2, 2014

95 Historic Sites in Jeopardy After Landmarks Commission Proposes Mass “De-Calendaring”

Just a month before the year-long celebration of the landmarks law's 50th anniversary is set to commence, the preservation community was dealt what is perhaps its biggest blow since the demolition of Penn Station. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission revealed in its public review meeting last Wednesday that it would de-calendar 95 historic sites and two historic districts throughout the five boroughs, removing the historic buildings and spaces from the landmarking to-do list and leaving them completely unprotected. Proponents of the plan argue that many places on the list have been there for 50 years, and their removal would free up the LPC's backlog. Preservationists dismiss this claim, citing that the fact that the historic sites have sat unlandmarked for so long is all the more reason this out-of-nowhere proposal is bad public policy. Some of the more high-profile locations under consideration include Long Island City’s Pepsi sign, Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman building, and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
More on the de-calendaring and what it means

December 2, 2014

ThyssenKrupp’s New Elevator Could Revolutionize Skyscraper Design with Its Horizontal Capabilities

We've been spending a lot of time lately looking at NYC's skyscraper boom and what's to come for our skyline. And if the soaring towers and geometric architecture continue, the traditional elevator is just not going to cut it. That's where ThyssenKrupp's new elevator innovation comes in. The cable-free, multi-car, multi-directional elevator operates with magnetic technology similar to that of Maglev trains. Each cabin runs on its own individual motor, and the "MULTI" elevator systems allows them to move both vertically and horizontally, creating the potential for multiple cabins to run on a single system.
More on the ground-breaking elevator here

Policy

December 2, 2014

You Can Now Tour Gramercy Park Without a Key, Thanks to Airbnb and Google Maps

For the vast majority of New Yorkers, the closest look they've gotten into Gramercy Park is peering through the perimeter wrought iron gates. As one of the most elite and inaccessible outdoor spaces in the city, only those who live in dwellings circling the park have keyed access via an annual fee. That is, until now. Thanks to a rule-breaking Airbnb-er, the world can now revel in the verdant splendor that is Gramercy Park.
Find out how this guy got all the snaps

Uncategorized

December 2, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Real Estate in 2015; Landmarks Turns Away Extell’s Park Avenue Tower Proposal

Real estate issues to keep an eye on in 2015. [TRD] Extell’s proposal for a 16-story building along Park Avenue has failed to pass Landmarks muster. [Curbed] Investors are lending $1.55B to the Plaza’s owner in order to lock in control of the hotel. Part of the money will also go towards bailing Plaza chairman Subrata Roy out […]

Real Estate Trends

December 2, 2014

Fabrica718 Transforms Industrial Space into Cool Williamsburg Loft Perfect for Work and Play

By Rebecca Paul

Most New Yorkers are well aware that a short ride over the Williamsburg Bridge will put you in one of the hippest neighborhoods in the city. This cool pad, located on Jackson Street in Williamsburg, was previously outfitted for a manufacturing business, but was recently converted into a design office and residential loft. The design team responsible for the upgrade is Fabrica718, and their goal was to optimize the common spaces to account for all of their client's needs. The stylish new interior is the perfect combination of the hip and rustic styles that typify the surrounding neighborhood's attitude.
Check out the rest of the home

Learn How to Speak New York with This Fun New Web Tool

If seeing these words leaves you red-faced and scratching your head, you can finally breathe easy knowing you'll no longer have to mumble "Shemer-hhhhherzz" into the phone when trying to give directions to your buddy. Popular radio heads such as NPR's Brian Lehrer, Amy Eddings of "All Things Considered" and news host Richard Hake lend their voices to a brand new WNYC-developed web app designed to teach even the most seasoned New Yorker how to pronounce all those mind-bending names marking our streets. Bonus: Learn how to pronounce "George Pataki."
Sound like you live here

City Living

December 2, 2014

6sqft Gift Guide: Neighborwoods Map Coasters

Coasters are definitely high on the list of "gifts for people who you don't know what to give," and if you're like us, you're always searching for sets that aren't the standard square cloths or round pieces of wood. So, we've found the perfect coasters--not only are they unique and visually appealing, but they have a personal touch. Neighborwoods Map Coasters were created by San Francisco graphic designer Aymie Spitzer, who has a passion for hand-lettered vernacular and antique maps. The cedar wood coasters celebrate the special neighborhoods of some of the country's biggest urban sites, including Manhattan and Brooklyn.
More on Neighborwoods Coasters here

December 2, 2014

Daily Link Fix: NYC Has a Lot More Trees Now Than 100 Years Ago; Astor Place Gets a Keith Haring Sculpture

Take a tour inside the Greenpoint home of Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge. [BK Mag] A then-and-now photo comparison shows how many trees have been planted in NYC in the last century. [NY Times] Astor Place gets a Keith Haring sculpture. [EV Grieve] The Sturgeon Queens, a documentary about Russ & Daughters, premieres tonight on […]

Uncategorized

December 2, 2014

$7M Townhouse Is Available for Second Time in Half a Century

An exclusive four-story townhome on one of Manhattan’s most attractive blocks has just popped up on the market, asking literally $5 less than $7 million. The Renaissance Revival home was built in 1890 by McDowell & Henry and still retains its unique Eastlake style details with four original fireplaces, historic wood shutters, and a stained glass skylight over the stairs. And that’s just the beginning.
Take a closer look here

December 1, 2014

Chelsea Townhouse Gets an Upgrade with a 550-Square-Foot Glass and Steel Garden Extension

By Rebecca Paul

The renovation of this beautiful West Side property was made possible by the design team from Chelsea's very own respected architecture firm, Archi-Tectonics. This project included the addition of a garden extension, two floors, and a rooftop terrace. The client, who is a fashion designer, wanted the home to reflect a "textured" or layered approach in its design, and the cool, narrative style does just that. The contemporary renovation was completed in 2011, when the original 3,400-square-foot brownstone–also a New York City landmark–was extended by 550 feet with the addition of the new garden space to create a residence that was light and airy.
Take a look at the rest of the house

December 1, 2014

You May Have to Pry This $3.5M Dream Home from an Oscar Nominee’s Hands

Shopping for the holidays can get complicated. How do you pick just the right gift for someone? In a perfect world we could buy our loved ones gifts they could turn into whatever they wanted. Well, we’re not going to be doing your Christmas shopping this year, but we do have a listing that’s ready for its new owner to add his or her own personal stamp. We’re talking a fully gutted townhome in Murray Hill with all the renovation plans and permits already set and approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of Buildings. So all you have to do is sit back and let your imagination do the rest.
Take a look at the possibilities, here

Distinctive Homes

December 1, 2014

ABC No Rio’s Graffiti-Covered Tenement Will Be Replaced with an Ultra-Modern “Passive House”