Real Estate Trends

November 21, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Most Expensive Townhouse Lists for $63M; High-Rise Towers Could Rise Along Gowanus Canal

Morris Adjmi will design condos to replace the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. [BK Heights Blog] New York’s most expensive townhouse officially hit the market for $63 million. [Curbed] Queens real estate is getting a lot of attention lately. [NYT] An $18 million Williamsburg warehouse sold for $434/square foot, among the highest sales ever in the borough. [Crain’s] Gowanus […]

Real Estate Trends

November 21, 2014

REVEALED: SHoP’s Scaled-Back South Street Seaport Tower

By Dana Schulz

This week, the Howard Hughes Corporation gave a presentation to the South Street Seaport community about their residential tower planned for the waterfront beside Pier 17. The original design by SHoP Architects was 52 stories and 650 feet, but to satisfy concerns by neighborhood residents and elected officials about the tower's appropriateness, the firm scaled back the design to 42 stories and agreed to also build a middle school and waterfront esplanade. But even this revised plan was met with much criticism at the community meeting; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council member Margaret Chin both expressed that they would not support the tower and likened it to plopping a high-rise in the middle of Colonial Williamsburg. The luxury residential tower is part of Howard Hughes's overall $305 million plan for the Seaport, which, if approved, would include a restoration of the historic Tin Building and a new home for the Seaport Museum.
More details on the project and revised design

November 20, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Staten Island Has an App Designed for Reporting Complaints; NYC Still a Safe Bet for Foreign Money

By Diane Pham

Disgruntled Staten Island residents can now report problems directly to borough hall with a new app called BP Assist. [DNA Info] NYC real estate is still the safest bet for foreign investors. [CO] The de Blasio administration will sell a 25,204-square-foot plot on the southern side of West 53rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues […]

Real Estate Trends

Hudson Yards Cost Taxpayers $650 Million So Far, and It’s Not Over

Hudson Yards rendering

November 19, 2014

Hudson Yards Cost Taxpayers $650 Million So Far, and It’s Not Over

By Dana Schulz

Just yesterday, the city hailed the completion of the platform built over the west side rail yards that will support the Brookfield West development, a major component of Hudson Yards, the 26-acre development rising on the far west side. And while Brookfield will boast a two-acre park plaza, two 60-plus-story high rises and other public commercial space, it's important to note that $7 million was spent just on designing and producing a special machine called "The Launcher" to lift the 56,000-ton concrete slabs to build the platform. This is just one of many substantial costs in the mammoth Hudson Yards project, for which the city will have paid nearly $650 million in subsides by the end of this fiscal year, money that, over the past ten years, has come straight from the pockets of taxpayers. And that's not all; according to a review by the city's Independent Budget Office, even more will be needed through 2019 to complete the "next great commercial district."
More on the subsidies and Hudson Yards

November 19, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Mega Residential Development Could Come to Bronx Waterfront; Fifth Avenue Is World’s Most Expensive Retail Address

By Dana Schulz

William Randolph Hearst’s penthouse apartment at 91 Central Park West is back on the market for $27.5 million after Giorgio Armani’s deal fell through. [Curbed] An abandoned industrial lot on the Bronx waterfront could become the next mega residential development for $30 million. [NYDN] Fifth Avenue is the world’s most expensive retail address, overtaking Hong […]

Real Estate Trends

City Wants to Up Mansion Tax to Raise Funds for Affordable Housing

When completed, 520 Park Avenue will have a $130 million penthouse, the most expensive apartment ever in NYC

November 19, 2014

City Wants to Up Mansion Tax to Raise Funds for Affordable Housing

By Diane Pham

As the city continues to explore new avenues for the creation of affordable housing, the WSJ reports the latest idea being floated is a new "mansion tax" that would increase the amount collected on the most expensive apartment sales. Currently, homes that change hands for more than a million dollars are subject to a 1% tax, but the city wants to up this to take advantage of the red hot luxury housing market. The proposal, unsurprisingly, has met with much criticism.
More on the mansion tax here

November 18, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Inside a Spooky $2.1M Staten Island Mansion; Construction on the B2 Modular Tower to Resume

By Diane Pham

This eerie $2.1M home on Staten Island has been the backdrop for murder, madmen and fashion models. [NYT] Forest City Ratner may soon restart construction on the B2 Tower at the Atlantic Yards. The developer has agreed to buy out builder Skanska’s interest for an undisclosed amount. [NYDN] A 66th Street mansion that sold in July […]

Real Estate Trends

November 18, 2014

New Residential Building To Rise Near the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria

By Ondel Hylton

An aptly located residential building called the Marx is getting underway in Astoria. The seven-story building at 34-32 35th Street is a "stone’s throw away" from the Museum of the Moving Image and directly across from Kaufman Astoria Studios (think Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live). The building will replace two small houses and a parking lot and sits adjacent to a stalled construction site slated to give way to its own seven-story residential building. The Marx is designed by Fogarty Finger Architects, who also designed One Murray Park, and will contain 33 units, likely rentals. It will feature a dark grey brick façade of large, evenly gridded square windows (the latest rage in NYC architecture) whose angled metal panels and glazing variations will create an interesting play of light and shadow.
More on the project here

November 18, 2014

Minetta Street Townhouse with Yo-Yo Sales History Goes for $5.7M

By Dana Schulz

Sure, we all love a good flip story, but this is more like a flip flop. This lovely townhouse at 17 Minetta Street in Greenwich Village sold for the first time as a single-family home in 2010 for $5.1 million; it then sold again in 2013 for $5.8 million (after asking $7.5); now it's sold for $5,676,000, above the $5.35 asking price, according to city records. We're not quite sure why the landmarked home keeps getting tossed around for little to no profit. The 19th century Federal townhouse got a modern renovation in 2008 by architects and designers Zhenya Merkulova and Alan Tanksley; it's accessed through a gated mews that leads to a private garden.
Tour 17 Minetta Street here

November 17, 2014

One Vanderbilt: New Images of Midtown East’s Zigzag Supertower

By Ondel Hylton

Recently at the Municipal Art Society's 2014 Summit for NYC, James von Klemperer, FAIA , a principal at Kohn Pederson Fox & Associates, briefed the audience with new details on the architecture firm's upcoming supertall project known as One Vanderbilt. In case you haven't been paying attention, the 68-story, 1,514-foot zigzag building is expected to become the tallest office tower in Midtown and third tallest in the city behind One World Trade Center (1,776 feet to spire tip) and Extell's Nordstrom Tower (1,775 feet to spire tip).
Check out all the new images of the supertall tower here

Real Estate Wire: TD Bank Taking Up 200,000 SF at One Vanderbilt; Brooklyn Navy Yard Getting $140M from the City

By Diane Pham

TD Bank has signed a lease to take 200,000 square feet of office and retail at One Vanderbilt. [WSJ] The city is investing $140 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in order to add 3,000 jobs. This will expand employment at the Navy Yard by more than 40%. [Crain’s] Times Square’s massive new LED billboard […]

Real Estate Trends

20 Years from Now We May Sorely Regret Building All of These Glass Towers

What Manhattan will look like in 2018. Many of the buildings going up will be wrapped in glass. Image via CityRealty

November 14, 2014

20 Years from Now We May Sorely Regret Building All of These Glass Towers

By Diane Pham

Providing more affordable housing to New Yorkers is at the top of the De Blasio administration's agenda, but greening the city is certainly a major concern as well. It is anticipated that a new bill aimed at cutting the city's greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 will be signed in to law, much of which is expected to center on green building. Ambitious, yes—but is 2050 too late? The Globe and Mail recently interviewed Canadian architect and journalist Lloyd Alter on the glass condo obsession, which, as with NYC, is taking the cities of Vancouver and Toronto by storm. What Alter shares for the future of glass towers worldwide is quite bleak, but he also proposes a number of measures and case studies that NYC developers should certainly take note of if they want to reduce costs and keep property values up in the long run.
Find out more here

November 14, 2014

Checking In on the Progress of Zaha Hadid’s High Line Condos

By Diane Pham

Of the condos planned along the High Line Park, one of the most—if not the most—anticipated addition comes via Zaha Hadid. One of our intrepid reporters recently stopped by the construction site located at 520 West 28th Street to see how works are coming along, and it looks like the site is near-ready for its starchitect treatment. […]

November 14, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Inside the Kelley Mansion’s Top Floor Apartment; Ben Shaoul Wants $73M Cash for 62 Bloom

By Diane Pham

The top floor of the historic Kelley Mansion in Bed-Stuy hides an interesting apartment with an unexpected modern design. [Curbed] Ben Shaoul is looking to sell 62 Bloom for $73M cash. [TRD] 532 West 20th Street, the site of an art gallery near the High Line, has sold for $24.25M to luxury condo builder DDG. [Crain’s] Development sites at the south of […]

Real Estate Trends

November 14, 2014

ESPN NFL Guru Adam Caplan Swaps Almost-Identical Tribeca Apartments

By Annie Doge

It's pretty common that we report on celebrities upgrading their digs, but today we have the opposite story. ESPN's NFL insider Adam Caplan sold his two-bedroom, floor-through penthouse apartment at 150 Chambers Street in Tribeca for $3 million, but picked up another similar two-bedroom unit in the same building for $2,375,000, according to city records released today.
Take a look at Caplan's old and new homes

November 14, 2014

Gorgeous Penthouse Condo Offers All the Thrills of Greenwich Village

By Rebecca Paul

As a neighborhood, Greenwich Village offers a taste of almost everything that makes people dream of living in New York–eclectic restaurants, vibrant nightlife and shopping and world-famous community events, all in a low-scale, family-friendly neighborhood. Now you can enjoy all of the benefits of living in one of the best neighborhoods in the world, as this impeccable five-bedroom penthouse condo just popped up on the market. Located at 29 East 10th Street, this seriously gorgeous piece of real estate is currently listed for $14.995 million and offers the privacy of townhouse living with the ceiling heights and proportions of a classic Downtown loft.
Tour the rest of the home here

November 14, 2014

Lindsay Lohan Rents Financial District Apartment

By Annie Doge

LiLo is moving to FiDi. When she wraps up her run of “Speed the Plough” on London's West End, Lindsay Lohan will cross the pond straight to the Financial District, where she's inked a deal on a 700-square-foot apartment at the W New York Downtown at 123 Washington Street, according to the Daily News. The one-bedroom pad was originally listed for $2 million and then as a $5,000/month rental, though there's no confirmed word on exactly what Lindsay, along with her sister Ali, will be paying. But the Lohan girls will have plenty of celeb neighbors, including Kate Upton and Bow Wow.
Take a look inside LiLo's new home

November 13, 2014

Even More Skyscrapers Set for NYC: Living in the Sky Part III

By Ondel Hylton

We recently brought you parts one and two of our tallest residential skyscrapers series, which totaled 63 projects poised to scrape the sky. But this list doesn't even take into consideration the development boom occurring in Jersey City, unreleased plans on the drawing board, and the numerous office and hotel projects also rising throughout the city. So here you have it, part three of the series to complete our look at NYC skyscrapers.
Check out the list here

November 13, 2014

One57 Is the City’s Most Expensive Condo Building

By Diane Pham

15 Central Park West has held strong as the most expensive condo building in New York City for the last two quarters, according to CityRealty. But while perusing their latest report we were led to their dynamic CR100 building list which reveals that.... wait for it... One57 is, as we speak, the most expensive building in the city. With an average closing price of $6,703 per square foot, this building boasts a per-square-foot premium of $286 per square foot over its predecessor, 15CPW. Units currently up for grabs also top the charts at an incredible $6,719 per square foot.
READ MORE

Real Estate Trends

November 13, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Paris Hilton Buys Noho Penthouse; $51M Tribeca Condo Could Set Downtown Sales Record

By Dana Schulz

Paris Hilton buys a $5 million Noho penthouse at 738 Broadway. [TRD] A crazy waterfront compound in Brooklyn’s Mill Basin drops its price from $30 million to $17 million. [Curbed] Developers are offering to build a high-tech elementary school at Sunset Park’s forthcoming mega complex. [Brooklyn Paper] Bed Stuy is getting two Karl Fischer-designed apartment buildings. […]

Real Estate Trends

November 12, 2014

Light Installation Artist James Turrell Sells Gramercy Park Apartment for $2M

By Dana Schulz

From June to September of 2013, crowds were flocking to the Guggenheim for a chance to stare up at the famous rotunda, recast as an enormous volume filled with shifting artificial and natural light. Titled Aten Reign, the show cemented installation artist James Turrell's reputation as a major cultural force in New York City. But now that the fanfare has died down, the Flagstaff, Arizona-based artist and his wife have sold their apartment at 26 Gramercy Park South for $2.1 million, according to city records released today.
Check out Turrell's NYC pad here

November 11, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Thousands of New Apartments Coming to LIC; Bryant Park’s Mallification

By Diane Pham

A map of all the new residential towers going up in Long Island City around Queens Plaza and Court Square. [DNA Info] The mallification of Bryant Park. [NYO] The tiniest development lot in the city will house a five-story building. [TRD] The site of a Mobil station in Downtown Brooklyn has hit the market for […]

Real Estate Trends

November 10, 2014

Real Estate Wire: What Will Manhattan’s Skyline Look Like in 2018?

By Diane Pham

A fantastic projection of what Manhattan’s skyline could look like in 2018. Things are getting very tall and crowded, to say the least. [CityRealty] A month after launching sales, a quarter of the Beekman Residence’s 68 condos are under contract for an average price of $2,200 per square foot. [TRD] Research who your future neighbors will be. [NYT] The Coney Island […]

Real Estate Trends

November 10, 2014

Quooklyn: The Rise of Ridgewood and Why Your Friends Will be Moving There

By Michelle Cohen

Among neighborhoods primed to be the next untapped frontier, Ridgewood isn’t a newcomer. This low-key community on the western border of Queens has seen a steady migration of L-train riders, including the young and restless fleeing Williamsburg and professionals looking for a safe, accessible, quiet ‘hood to call home. In New York City, where every square foot vies for “next big thing” status, Ridgewood is a smart alternative to its headline-stealing North Brooklyn neighbors, Bushwick and Williamsburg, for anyone looking to invest in an up-and-coming residential area.
More on the rise of Ridgewood this way

November 10, 2014

Actor Tate Donovan Buys $1.8M Chelsea Condo

By Annie Doge

You probably recognize actor and director Tate Donovan from The O.C., 24: Live Another Day, and the short-lived Hostages (and as the former fiancé of both Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock). And now you might be running into him in Chelsea. According to city records published today, Donovan purchased a $1,775,000 condo at 428 West […]

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