Real Estate Trends

September 30, 2014

Isabella Rossellini’s Daughter Buys Eerie $2M Fort Greene Townhouse

Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, daughter of famed Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini, has just picked up a $2.2 million Fort Greene townhouse, according to city records. And the beautifully historic, yet slightly disheveled home at 23 South Elliott Place would make the perfect backdrop for a fashionably eerie photo shoot (or some really good Instagrams). Built in 1870, and part of the Fort Greene Historic District, the five-bedroom home is currently configured as a two-family residence, but we're guessing Ms. Rossellini isn't going to be looking for roommates and will likely convert it back to a single-family dwelling.
Tour the historic, sepia-toned home here

<b>Goldilocks Blocks: Vanderbilt Avenue in Wallabout, Brooklyn</b>

Between hyper-developed hotspots, main drags in up-and-comers, and those genuinely avoidable areas, there can often be found a city’s “just-right” zones. They aren’t commonly known, but these micro-neighborhoods often hide within them real estate gems coupled with perfectly offbeat vibes. Continuing our Goldilocks Blocks series, this week we turn to Brooklyn.

September 29, 2014

Goldilocks Blocks: Vanderbilt Avenue in Wallabout, Brooklyn

By Michelle Cohen

The culturally rich, architecturally stunning Brooklyn neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill need little introduction. The Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north is busily growing as a start-up business incubator and creative and commercial hub. An “in-between” zone—the sort of area that engenders a question mark and a furrowed brow when perusing neighborhood maps—lies just north of Myrtle Avenue and south of the Navy Yard. Known as Wallabout, the area was named for Wallabout Bay to the north, much of which was filled in to create the Navy Yard in the 19th century. Unique among its neighbors, a block-long stretch of this border district feels more like a small-town side street than a growing urban crossroads.
Find out what makes this historic block so special, and why it’s likely to stay that way.

September 29, 2014

The Top 15 Family-Friendly Buildings in NYC

By Elijah Quinton

Last week, we talked to five families currently raising children in New York City’s many diverse and multifaceted neighborhoods about why they pick city living over the suburbs, and most of our readers agreed that they prefer an urban upbringing to the more "traditional" suburban childhood. But once you've decided to raise your children in the Big Apple, it can be tough deciding which neighborhood is best for your family. Many factors come into play: What are the best schools in the area? What amenities does the building offer? Are there playgrounds nearby? How secure is the building? And the list goes on. But to make the process a little easier, we've rounded up 15 of the best family-friendly buildings in New York City.
Check out our list here

September 29, 2014

Triangular Townhouse in Greenwich Village with Italian Renaissance Interior Sells for $5M

By Dana Schulz

Fashion director and stylist Alessandra Gambaccini (who goes by Sciascia) purchased her Greenwich Village townhouse at 45 West 12th Street in 1996 for $865,00, and has now sold it for a whopping $4,975,000. But it's not just the incredible profit Ms. Gambaccini made that makes this historic home stand out--it's also its unusual triangular shape, the result of having been built in 1846 diagonal to Minetta Brook, since covered over by the city. There are hidden remnants of the old creek all throughout the Village, and this Greek Revival townhouse is definitely one of the most storied. Sciascia spoke to the Wall Street Journal about her fascinating home and how she was rather intrigued by its unusual shape. The four-bedroom house is also noted for its opulent interior, outfitted with custom-made Italian décor thanks to Milan-based architect and decorator Roberto Gerosa. And if those weren't enough talking points, the deed to the cobblestone courtyard is said to have once been owned by English royalty, and Frank Lloyd Wright's sister is a past inhabitant.
Now, let's check out those interiors

September 26, 2014

Real Estate Wire: A Look Inside the Woolworth Condos; Another Tall Residential Tower for DoBro

By Diane Pham

A first glimpse inside the new Woolworth condos. [NYT] The penthouses at Tribeca’s Seven Harrison have hit the market. [CityRealty] This block near the final section of the High Line is real estate gold. [TRD] Downtown Brooklyn’s skyline is a getting another tall residential tower. This one will rise 65 stories at 420 Albee Square. [Brownstoner] […]

Real Estate Trends

September 26, 2014

New Exterior Rendering Released for 60 Water Street Rental Project in DUMBO

By Dana Schulz

Two Trees Management Company has revealed an additional, close-up exterior rendering and a teaser website for their new rental development 60 Water Street in DUMBO, which is nearing completion. Designed by LEESER Architecture and Ismael Leyva Architects, the building will begin leasing in the coming weeks, though pricing and interior images have not yet been released. The façade stands out in the former-industrial neighborhood thanks to glass curtain walls with angled windows.
Get a closer look at the glass pattern and entrance

September 25, 2014

Timeless Trophy: 740 Park Avenue

By Dana Schulz

New York City may have an ever-revolving cast of hottest restaurants, hippest clubs, and even most desirable neighborhoods, but some real estate titans never go out of style in this metropolis. Known as the "Tower of Power," 740 Park Avenue is one such mainstay. The Upper East Side 19-story, Art Deco building was completed in 1930 to the designs of Rosario Candela, often considered the finest architect of luxury apartment interiors, as the last of the grand dames erected along Manhattan's Gold Coast. It didn't reach its peak until the real estate boom of the 1980s, but is today one of the most sought-after addresses with 31 apartments, mostly all duplexes, triplexes, and penthouses. The massively scaled residences feature grand living rooms, formal dining rooms, spiral staircases, high ceilings, expansive foyers, and an abundance of windows.
Plenty more on this timeless trophy residence and its long list of well known inhabitants

September 25, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Ridgewood Sees a Rise in Property Sales; 57th Street Supertalls

By Diane Pham

The rise of Ridgewood continues. The neighborhood has seen a surge in the sales of commercial properties. [NYO] Meryl Streep’s model daughter has bought a South Williamsburg pad. [NYDN] Mario Testino just purchased a pricey apartment at the Herzog & de Meuron-designed 215 Chrystie Street. [TRD] Penthouses with decks are coming to a former hospital. [DNA […]

Real Estate Trends

September 24, 2014

Real Estate Wire: A $400 Million Offer for One Vanderbilt; Three New Towers Coming to the High Line

By Diane Pham

Three new residential towers are coming to the High Line. [TRD] In what some are calling a PR stunt, the owner of Grand Central has offered SL Green $400 million for One Vanderbilt. [NYT] Manhattan commercial real estate is the top ranked in the country. [AMNY] Ridgewood, Queens, the hot new neighborhood dubbed “Quooklyn,” had […]

Real Estate Trends

REVEALED: Beekman Hotel and Condo Interiors

By Dana Schulz

Last month, pricing and exterior renderings were released for the much-anticipated Beekman Hotel and Condo conversion project. The long-shuttered historic structure (originally known as the Temple Court Building) will be topped off with a 51-story condominium tower adjacent to the 1883-built landmark and its famous atrium. It will contain 68 residential units designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen. The building's lower levels will house 287 hotel rooms. Now, Curbed has received the first reveal of the interior renderings, and they do not disappoint. From the modern apartments with Woolworth Building views to the luxe amenity areas, the rooms at 5 Beekman Street exude luxury and prestige. One of the most impressive interior shots is of the atrium, which extends through all nine stories of the original Terra Cotta structure and is topped off by a large, pyramidal skylight. It will be a lounge by Tom Colicchio known as the Living Room, the centerpiece of the hotel and a fine dining spot for residents and guests alike.
Tour the rest of the conversion, from the atrium to the roof terrace

September 24, 2014

$130 Million Penthouse at 520 Park Avenue Will Be the City’s Most Expensive

By Diane Pham

The Ritz Carlton penthouse combo has just been shoved from its top spot as the city's priciest listing and replaced by the triplex penthouse at Zeckendorf Development Co.’s 520 Park Avenue. At $130 million, it will become the most expensive to ever hit the market, beating out the Ritz pad by about $11 million. According to Bloomberg, the building's sales plan was approved by the New York State attorney general's office last week, and Zeckendorf is already calling the penthouse "the greatest apartment on the Upper East Side.”
More here

September 23, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Atlantic Yards Modular Tower Contract Terminated; New Colors for HAP 5?

By Diane Pham

Skanska has terminated its contract with Forest City Ratner to construct a prefab modular tower at the Atlantic Yards. The news brings a close to the seemingly never-ending dispute between builder and the developer. [NYDN] Red Apple Group is building a 32-story residential tower on Myrtle Avenue at Fleet Place. [MyrtleAvenue.Org] A new Pierhouse addition has preservationists up in […]

Real Estate Trends

September 23, 2014

Prominent Architecture Couple Buys Pretty-in-Pink Victorian in Ditmas Park

By Dana Schulz

We have a feeling well-known architects David H. Sherman, of Abelow Sherman Architects, and his wife Benita Welch, a Principal at Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects, will give the interior of their new home a fresh coat of paint before settling in...that is, unless they like the current bubble-gum-pink color scheme. It makes perfect sense that the couple picked up this Victorian house in Ditmas Park for themselves and their two children, as Benita specializes in restoring historic homes, and David is known for his expertise working with NYC townhouses. According to city records filed today, they purchased 28 Waldorf Court for $1.41 million. Located just off Rugby Road (often considered the heart of Victorian Flatbush) on a highly desirable cul-de-sac, the five-bedroom home has been in the same family for 30 years.
Tour the home before it gets what's sure to be a beautiful makeover

September 22, 2014

Goldilocks Blocks: (Far) East 7th Street in Alphabet City

By Michelle Cohen

Between hyper-developed hotspots, main drags in up-and-comers, big-ticket townhouse enclaves, and those genuinely avoidable areas, there can often be found a city's "just-right" zones. Free from corner menace, sticker shock and boom-time developer schlock, these special spots often span only a few blocks in each direction and are close enough to the center of their 'cool destination' nabes to legitimately bear their names. They aren't commonly known, and are best found by pounding the pavement, but these micro-neighborhoods often hide within them real estate gems coupled with perfectly offbeat vibes—you just have to be willing to do a little legwork. But when you do find them, don’t sleep on them... Winners like the Columbia Street Waterfront District were once Goldilocks blocks. Today we'll look at a unique 7th Street stretch hidden in Alphabet City.
Find out what makes this Alphabet City block so special.

September 22, 2014

Oscar-Winning Director Errol Morris Buys a Poetic Brooklyn Heights Home for $1.9M

By Diane Pham

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, and his poet wife Julia Sheehan have just closed on a charming three-bedroom at 22 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights for $1.9 million. According to city records, the couple will be following in the footsteps of another celebrated creative, having purchased the home from the estate of late Russian poet, 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Joseph Brodsky.
Inside the book-filled home here

September 22, 2014

Real Estate Wire: 15 CPW Pad Sells for 3x’s Its Purchase Price; Atlantic Yards Modular Tower Could Leak

By Diane Pham

A tower unit at 15 Central Park West has sold for nearly $10M, about three times what the owner paid for it. [NYO] The Astoria Cove housing development is required to set aside 20% of its 1,700 units for lower-income residents, but the city may push for as many as 30%. [Crain’s] The Fiscal Policy Institute […]

Real Estate Trends

September 22, 2014

Bright and Sunny Carroll Gardens Townhouse Sells for $2M

By Annie Doge

Bright, beautiful, and boasting plenty of space, one lucky buyer just scooped up this stunning townhouse at 297 Hoyt Street in Carroll Gardens for $2,175,500, according to city records released today. The brownstone home is currently configured in a two-family setup, but can easily be converted to one, adding an additional 1,300 square feet to the already spacious footprint. And with a private garden, full basement, and lots of original details, it will likely be hard for this home's new owner not to keep the entire townhouse to themselves.
Take a look inside

September 21, 2014

Bernie Madoff’s Infamous Upper East Side Penthouse Sells for $14.5M

By Dana Schulz

The duplex penthouse at 133 East 64th Street on the Upper East Side, where Bernie Madoff notoriously was arrested by the feds and lived under house arrest, has just sold to Lawrence Benenson of Benenson Capital Partners for $14.5 million. Madoff had lived in the home since 1984, but after the government seized it in 2008, it was picked up by toy mogul Alfred Kahn and his wife Patsy in 2010 for $8 million. Apparently, Mr. Kahn was superstitious of the "Madoff curse," but Patsy fell in love with the unit's terrace. They reportedly put the penthouse back on the market in August 2013 for $17.25 million, but reduced the price several times as well as filed for divorce.
Tour the infamous pad here

September 19, 2014

Kelly Ripa’s Soho Penthouse Sells at a $4.5 Million Discount

By Annie Doge

Kelly Ripa has officially unloaded her Soho penthouse, according to city records filed today. The five-bedroom beauty at 76 Crosby Street sold for $20 million, $4.5 million less than what she was asking when she first listed it in January last year. Though Ripa came up a little short, it's worth noting that her and hubby Mark Consuelos paid just $9.5 million for it in 2005. Today's sale is also the 6th highest ever recorded in Soho, according to CityRealty.
Photos here

September 19, 2014

Real Estate Wire: State Seizes Seven Properties for the Atlantic Yards; BAM Cultural District Gets $131M

By Diane Pham

The state has gotten approval to seize seven sites for Forest City Ratner’s Pacific Park Brooklyn project (previously named Atlantic Yards). Tenants now have 90 days to vacate their units. [DNA Info] The $1B three-tower expansion for Silvercup West is back on track. [Curbed] Most of the world’s billionaires call NYC home. [TRD] Winston Von […]

Real Estate Trends

September 19, 2014

REVEALED: Skyline Views of KPF’s One Vanderbilt Near Grand Central

By Dana Schulz

We've been keeping a close eye on One Vanderbilt, SL Green's new 65-story office tower planned for the entire block west of Grand Central and north of East 42nd Street. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, it will be the second-tallest building in the city when completed. Now, Yimby has hot-off-the-press skyline views of One Vanderbilt from KPF, and the newest NYC supertall certainly stands out amongst the nearby Empire State Building and Chrysler Building.
READ MORE

September 18, 2014

Glass vs. Stone: An Epic Architecture Battle

By Dana Schulz

Decisions, decisions...sometimes there's just far too many in New York City. Thai or Chinese takeout? Subway or bus? Central Park or the High Line? The list goes on. And one of the most grueling decisions we make as New Yorkers is where to live. From choosing a borough and neighborhood to deciding on a price point, it's quite the undertaking. But what about the most elementary component of the building in which we decide to live--it's material. To be more exact, glass or stone. Glass tower dwellers are often drawn to the floor-to-ceiling windows, panoramic views, and clean lines, whereas buyers of apartments in stone buildings prefer a more traditional feel, with pre-war-style layouts that provide great separation of spaces. And some of the city's most prominent architects have become synonymous with one style or the other. Think Richard Meier for glass and Robert A.M. Stern for stone. CityRealty decided to take a closer look at this epic battle and see how pairs of glass and stone developments fared across the city.
See how these buildings battle it out

September 18, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Sales Launch at 11 Beach; Another HAP Building On the Way

By Diane Pham

Three of the 27 apartments at 11 Beach in Tribeca have hit the market. The three-bedroom is going for $5.3M, the four-bedroom $6.65M, and the five-bedroom is priced at $7.75M. [CityRealty] Another HAP building is coming to 247 East 117th Street, but this time Karim Rashid isn’t on the docket to design. Instead, Daniel Goldner Architects will take […]

Real Estate Trends

September 18, 2014

Construction on Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower will Finally Move Forward!

By Diane Pham

Hot off the purchase of $85 million in air rights, and with a new construction loan of $860 million in tow, Hines is back on track to bring the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA residential tower to fruition. According to TRD, Hines just closed on two deals to buy more than 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church for $85.3 million.
more here

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