Real Estate Trends

220 Central Park South Penthouse Could Set a New Record with $175 Million Price Tag
March 5, 2015

220 Central Park South Penthouse Could Set a New Record with $175 Million Price Tag

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It's a good day for Robert A.M. Stern, whose buildings seem to be bringing billionaires to their knees. The Real Deal has just caught wind of the offering plan for Stern's 220 Central Park South tower being developed by Vornado. According to the papers filed with the Attorney General and sources close to the development, the penthouse may ask $150 million to $175 million, bringing the building's total sellout to a staggering $2.4 billion. The $175 million price tag would by far blow the Sony Building's $150 million penthouse out of the water, and most certainly One57's record $100 million sale which currently holds the title for the most expensive unit ever sold in the city.
Find out more here, plus floor plans!
Woolworth Combo Apartment Wants $51M; Doggy Daycare and Spa Coming to the Abington House
March 5, 2015

Woolworth Combo Apartment Wants $51M; Doggy Daycare and Spa Coming to the Abington House

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A 29th-floor Woolworth Building apartment combo totaling 11,450 square feet is asking $51.4 million. [WSJ] Taking inventory in “the most powerful apartment building in the world”: Here are all the big shots that live in 15 Central Park West. [TRD] Related Companies plans on opening an onsite Dog City doggy daycare and spa in their ultra-luxe Abington House located right […]

James Burrows, Go-To ’90s Sitcom Director, Buys Handsome Greenwich Village Apartment for $4.2M
March 5, 2015

James Burrows, Go-To ’90s Sitcom Director, Buys Handsome Greenwich Village Apartment for $4.2M

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"Cheers," "Frasier," "Will & Grace," "Friends"... these are just some of the '90s sitcoms that director James E. Burrows has on his resume. The television maven and his wife, noted sitcom hairstylist Debbie Easton, have definitely met their fair share of celebrities, but it seems that now they're looking to trade in their Wilshire Boulevard address for a more low-key lifestyle in Greenwich Village...though they are moving to prestigious 1 Fifth Avenue. The couple picked up a one-bedroom apartment at the storied building for $4.2 million, according to city records released today. It's definitely not up to par with Will and Grace's elegant home or Monica and Rachel's kitschy apartment, but it's charming in its own right.
READ MORE
How Brokers Benefit from Racial Tipping Points; Buying the Worst House in the Best Neighborhood
March 4, 2015

How Brokers Benefit from Racial Tipping Points; Buying the Worst House in the Best Neighborhood

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When does it make business sense for a broker to trigger white flight? Or: How do brokerage fees anticipate a neighborhood’s racial transition? A new paper investigates. [CityLab] A new eight-unit condo building at 150 Richardson Street in East Williamsburg will launch sales next week. [6sqft inbox] Real Estate crowdfunding could top $2.5B in this year. [Finance and commerce] […]

Where Will Mayor de Blasio Land on the 421-a Tax Abatement Debate?

Mayor de Blasio via @KevinCase via photopin cc; affordable housing buildings via gkjarvis flickr

March 2, 2015

Where Will Mayor de Blasio Land on the 421-a Tax Abatement Debate?

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Developers have been rushing to break ground on projects before June, when the controversial 421-a tax abatement is set to expire, as it provides incentives to developers for up to 25 years when they reserve at least 20 percent of a building’s units for low- and moderate-income tenants. However, those against the 40-year-old program criticize it for using working people's tax dollars to build swimming pools and pet hotels for the world's billionaires; after all, the construction of One57, where a penthouse recently sold for $100 million, was built using subsidies from the program. But on what side of the debate does Mayor de Blasio, whose goal is to implement "the largest affordable housing program that any city, any state has attempted in a ten-year time span in the history of the republic," fall? Though many of his supporters oppose 421-a, in order to reach his goal of building 80,000 new affordable housing units–especially in places like East New York where a rezoning would be necessary to allow for denser construction that mandates the inclusion of permanently affordable apartments–de Blasio says he needs the program, according to Capital New York.
More on the 421-a debate here
Revealed: AB Architekten’s 29 Clay Street to Bring Manhattan Modernism to Greenpoint
February 27, 2015

Revealed: AB Architekten’s 29 Clay Street to Bring Manhattan Modernism to Greenpoint

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A proposed 12-story residential building near the mouth of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint may bring some avante-garde design to a neighborhood better known for its low-slung factories, unpretentious row-houses, hearty Polish community, and an immense wastewater treatment plant. Coming from the office of AB Architekten, led by Alexander Blakely, a 70,000-square-foot proposal at 19-29 Clay Street is envisioned to rise directly across from the long-promised Box Street Park, and it may be the first of a multitude of high-rises set to radically transform the neighborhood's waterfront.
More information on the proposed project
City Council Proposes New Law That Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords for Using Airbnb

Via Airbnb

February 27, 2015

City Council Proposes New Law That Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords for Using Airbnb

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One week ago we learned of the landmark ruling to evict a rent-stabilized tenant from his ultra-luxe 450 West 42nd Street building for listing the unit on Airbnb for nearly triple what he was paying, a show of just how serious the city is about the issue. Now they're getting even more aggressive, as two City Council members want to pass a new law that would let tenants sue their landlords for renting out neighboring apartments as illegal hotels through Airbnb.
More details ahead
Rents Rising Faster Than Inflation; Tour the Brooklyn Kings Theatre
February 25, 2015

Rents Rising Faster Than Inflation; Tour the Brooklyn Kings Theatre

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NYC rents have been rising faster than inflation over the last three years. [NYT] East New Yorkers are trying to stop some of the “new frontier” developments big-wigs are looking to bring to the neighborhood at the center of the de Blasio administration’s affordable housing plan. [Village Voice] A worker at Barclays Center installing the arena’s green […]

Is 212 Fifth Avenue the Ultimate Manhattan Address?
February 25, 2015

Is 212 Fifth Avenue the Ultimate Manhattan Address?

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That's what developers of a new condominium at 212 Fifth Avenue are hoping. The prestige of Fifth Avenue is world-famous (it also adds a 5- to 10-percent premium to the price of an apartment), and as anyone who was around back in the days of analog phone exchanges knows, 212 is synonymous with Manhattan. Reporting on the "New York-iest address," the Daily News mentions how even "Seinfeld"'s Elaine steals her dead neighbor's 212 phone number after she gets changed to a 646 area code. "The bearer of a 212 phone number looks like a longtime New Yorker. It's the ultimate luxury accessory," the paper says.
Is all the fuss justified?
Spectacular ‘Working Girl’ Townhouse on Star-Studded West Village Street Sells for $17 Million
February 25, 2015

Spectacular ‘Working Girl’ Townhouse on Star-Studded West Village Street Sells for $17 Million

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The West Village home that's captured the hearts of film buffs, film makers, preservationists, pinners, real estate oglers—need we go on?—across the globe has just sold for a sweet $17 million, according to city records filed today. Although it was previously reported that the home needed work, buyers were certainly not deterred. A bow-fronted facade, dramatic staircase, 40-foot garden, and spectacular storied details surely kept the bidding war going strong for this 66 Morton Street beauty which was originally listed for just $13 million last October.
have a look inside this way
NYU Expansion Plan Opponents Will Get Final Day in Court

A rendering of the expansion plan

February 24, 2015

NYU Expansion Plan Opponents Will Get Final Day in Court

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In October, the appellate court overturned a previous decision by the New York Supreme Court that prohibited NYU's $6 billion, 1.9 million-square-foot Greenwich Village expansion plan, but community groups vowed to appeal the decision. And they most certainly kept their word. In a press release sent today by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), we've learned that the New York State Court of Appeals agreed to hear an appeal by GVSHP, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan, Community Board 2, actor Mark Ruffalo, and other local concerned parties.
More info here
Film Critic Jonathan Baumbach Sells Prospect Park South Victorian for $1.8M
February 24, 2015

Film Critic Jonathan Baumbach Sells Prospect Park South Victorian for $1.8M

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Film critic and novelist Jonathan Baumbach (you may know his son, film maker Noah Baumbach, or his first wife, Village Voice critic Georgia Brown) and his wife have sold their historic Prospect Park South Victorian home for $1.8 million, according to city records released today. Built in 1901, the five-bedroom property originally hit the market back in September 2014 for $2.27 million, but decreased its price twice in just five short months.
Take a look around this classic Victorian
The U.S. Trails Behind in the Global Skyscraper Race
February 23, 2015

The U.S. Trails Behind in the Global Skyscraper Race

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New York is most certainly experiencing a skyscraper boom, but you may be surprised to find out that the number of supertalls going up in the city account for only a small percentage of what's going up globally. According to CBS News, just 20 percent of the world's towers are being built stateside, and of all the tall buildings completed last year, we had only four in the top 20 (One World Trade Center topped the list). So if we aren't number one in this race, then where is this new crop of towers creeping up?
Find out here
First Look at the Amenities in Queens’ Tallest Residential Skyscraper 28 on 28th
February 23, 2015

First Look at the Amenities in Queens’ Tallest Residential Skyscraper 28 on 28th

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In December we broke the news that 42-12 28th Street, known as 28 on 28th, in Long Island City would top out at 58 stories and 648 feet. Now, Goldstein, Hill & West's (GHWA) affiliated interior design firm, Whitehall Interiors NYC, has given us our first look at the amenities of Heatherwood Communities' upcoming rental tower. The perks include a swimming pool and attended parking garage–and they also give us a glimpse of how the units themselves may be designed. The construction site already has steel re-bar poking up above street-level, meaning the tower will soon race skyward, eventually taking its place as the tallest residential skyscraper in New York City outside of Manhattan.
Check out the renderings here
Interior Renderings Revealed for Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower

Interior rendering via Hayes Davidson

February 23, 2015

Interior Renderings Revealed for Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower

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The last time we got any insider knowledge about Jean Nouvel's MoMA Tower, known officially as 53W53, was back in September when the penthouse floor plans of the 82-story, 1,050-foot building were revealed. Now it's gotten even better with actual interior renderings surfacing courtesy of the New York Times. The rendering is accompanied by a full-scale unit model of a $10 million, two-bedroom, 32nd-floor apartment planned for the tower. Set in a Sunset Park warehouse, the mock up shows how the building's well-known zig-zag façade pattern (the "diagrid") will translate inside, which leads to tilting windows and slanted columns. These unusual architectural features will inform the interior designs of Thierry W. Despont, who has been tapped to craft the 140 condo interiors.
More details ahead
The Bovina Residence: A 19th-Century Wooden Barn Gets a 21st-Century Upgrade
February 22, 2015

The Bovina Residence: A 19th-Century Wooden Barn Gets a 21st-Century Upgrade

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Brooklyn-based Kimberly Peck gave a 19th-century barn a stylish 21st-century upgrade. To make the stunning Bovina Residence, the architect restored and relocated the old farm building to its new location in Bovina, the town that gives the home its oxen-like name. Due to the extremely cold winters in the Catskills, insulation was a primary concern, but once that was out of the way, the architect designed some stunning, eclectic interiors using plenty of reclaimed wood, which provides the house with an undeniable warmth.
Learn more about this renovated barn
Rent-Stabilized Tenant Gets Evicted for Listing His Apartment on Airbnb in a Landmark Decision

Inside the apartment. Image via Airbnb

February 20, 2015

Rent-Stabilized Tenant Gets Evicted for Listing His Apartment on Airbnb in a Landmark Decision

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If you were questioning how truly serious the city is about its beef against Airbnb, look no further than this landmark ruling to evict a rent-stabilized tenant from his ultra-luxe 450 West 42nd Street building. The Post reports that Henry Ikezi was just given the boot by a Manhattan Housing Court judge for posting his 46th-floor Hell's Kitchen apartment on the site for $649 per night, about triple what he was paying at $6,670 per month. The home's market value is upwards of $9,000.
More on the landmark case here
Anti-Gentrification Architecture; See Williamsburg as It Was in the Early ’80s
February 20, 2015

Anti-Gentrification Architecture; See Williamsburg as It Was in the Early ’80s

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Should we take note? Ugly architecture proves resilient against gentrification—at least in Amsterdam. [Failed Architecture] What did Williamsburg look like in ’80s? A 1984 documentary called Living Los Sures gives us an incredible look at the trendy neighborhood’s Latino past. [Brooklyn Magazine] Permits have been filed for a 305-unit property at 30 Sixth Avenue, part of Forest City […]

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