Real Estate Trends

Unsellable condos at the Trump Soho have sent the building into foreclosure and off to the auction block. [WSJ] The Federal Transit Administration handed out $1.9B for Sandy-related upgrades, yesterday. $40M of the available funds will go towards the Moynihan Station and about $13 million will go to the planned $700 million second phase of the project that will turn the […]

Real Estate Trends

September 17, 2014

Gamer Zach Gage Nabs Penthouse with Futuristic Rooftop Watchtower for $3.9M

Forbes' 30 under 30 in video games, Zach Gage, is cashing in on his success. The gamer and conceptual artist just picked up this sweet Chinatown penthouse at 18 Orchard Street for $3.9 million, according to city records filed today. The 28-year old, who has developed games such as SpellTower, Ridiculous Fishing, and Lose/Lose, and been exhibited at venues like the Venice Biennale, the MoMA, and in Apple stores worldwide, seems to not have strayed far from his edgy sensibilities. His new three-bedroom duplex features a rooftop catwalk, some killer lights, and a futuristic watchtower with "a transcendent view of the sunset and cityscape".
Tour the home here

September 17, 2014

POLL: Is the East River Skyway the future of NYC transportation?

Yesterday, Dan Levy, the president and CEO of CityRealty, presented his proposal for the ‘East River Skyway,’ an aerial gondola system that would run along the Brooklyn waterfront and into Manhattan, bringing commuters over the river in just 3.5 minutes. Now, we want to know what you think about the idea. Images: East River Skyway, courtesy of CityRealty […]

September 17, 2014

ANNOUNCED: Hudson Companies Will Buy Brooklyn Heights Library for $52M, Add Luxury Rental Complex

Just yesterday, the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library announced that they will sell their building to the Hudson Companies for $52 million, along with the promise of 114 affordable housing units to be built at a different location in the neighborhood. The developer, who won the bid over 14 others, will convert the city-owned building at 280 Cadman Plaza West into a 20-story luxury rental complex with a new 21,000-square-foot library on the ground floor.
More details here

September 17, 2014

Highlights: What Real Estate Big Wigs Have to Say About Brooklyn and Its Future

By Carter B. Horsley

Brooklyn real estate is hot, very hot, and there’s no cooling off in sight, according to most speakers at yesterday's sold-out Brooklyn Real Estate Summit, sponsored by Massey Knakal and held at the Brooklyn Museum. From Billy Macklowe to David Shorenstein and Jonathan Rose, get the run-down of what the industry's leading pundits have to say about BK real estate.
What they're saying about Brooklyn here

September 16, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Inside 1110 Park Avenue; Oosten Condos Hit the Market

Renderings of what 1110 Park Avenue will look like inside. [Buzz Buzz Home] Condos at Ian Schrager’s upcoming Public hotel on the Lower East Side are poised to break a sales record for the neighborhood. Prices are said to start at $7M. [TRD] Condos at the Oosten have hit the market. The building offers up […]

Real Estate Trends

September 15, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Rent Vouchers Instead of ‘Poor Doors’; Inside the $1.4B MTA Fulton Center

A peek inside the new $1.4B MTA Fulton Center under construction. [NYDN] The ‘poor door‘ fix: Leonard Grunstein pens an op-ed saying that rather than requiring developers to produce more affordable units, they should give rent vouchers for low-income tenants for use at other apartments in the city. [Crain’s] Blame Anna Wintour. A slew of new luxury […]

Real Estate Trends

September 15, 2014

Ben Shahn Murals and a Market? YoungWoo & Associates Tries Again at the Bronx General Post Office

By Stephanie Hoina

The firm that once hoped to bring a Bronx market to the Kingsbridge Armory site may get their chance with another historic building in the borough. Last week it was announced that developer YoungWoo & Associates purchased the landmarked Bronx General Post Office building on the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street for an undisclosed sum.
What's in store for the building and its treasures?

September 15, 2014

Penthouse Sales Launch at Brooklyn’s Tallest Skyscraper, 388 Bridge

Downtown Brooklyn's most talked about new development—and tallest tower—has just announced the launch of its 'Penthouse Collection'. Located at 388 Bridge, 40 penthouses ranging from 1,144 square feet to 2,371 square feet on floors 45 through 53, have been priced at $1.742 million and up. The units offer up 360-degree views looking out to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, and several residences have been set up as duplexes with outdoor terraces.
Find out more here including pricing

Real Estate Wire: A Portfolio of Parking Lots Worth $250M; Upgrades Planned for Grand Central Get Flack

The Brooklyn shtetls that have embraced Crown Heights’ new hipster neighbors. [Tablet] An Afro-Caribbean has raised $7.5M to turn a long-vacant East Harlem firehouse into a new cultural center. [NYDN] New York state’s Empire State Development Corporation is trying to seize seven properties for Atlantic Yards Project through eminent domain. A judge was asked to […]

Real Estate Trends

<b>South Williamsburg’s New Cool: Everything Below Grand Catches Up with the North</b>

A view towards the Williamsburg Bridge. Image © Ray’s Tours

September 12, 2014

South Williamsburg’s New Cool: Everything Below Grand Catches Up with the North

By Lauren Price

There has always been a somewhat “invisible” line dividing ritzier North Williamsburg and the once-grittier-but-now-gentrifying South Williamsburg neighborhood—and that southern portion’s border is generally considered to be from Grand Street to Division Avenue between Union Avenue and the East River. And though this south side of the neighborhood continues to be populated by a diverse group of residents, new amenity-filled developments are quickly attracting a younger population and pushing prices to match those in the northern part of the nabe. Here, we take a look at some of the most notable developments and a few cool listings bridging the gap ahead.
Find out more here

Real Estate Trends

September 12, 2014

Patrick Stewart Finds a Buyer for His Upper West Side Penthouse

Sir Patrick Stewart of X-Men and Star Trek fame has found a buyer for his Upper West Side pied-à-terre. The two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot co-op at 118 West 79th Street entered contract after seeing several bids. The actor put the unit on the market in June for $3.8 million. He bought the home in 2003 for $1.8 million with his then-wife Wendy Neuss, but the couple divorced shortly thereafter, and Neuss remained in the penthouse apartment.
Take a look inside

September 11, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Renewed Hope for the TWA Terminal; Tribeca’s New Bogardus Park

Brazil’s top hotelier is looking to make his mark on 57th Street. Billionaire Rogerio Fasano is in talks to have starchitect Rafael Vinoly design the building. [NYDN] It ain’t easy being green: Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo, and her Colombian billionaire beer heir husband, have neighbors up in arms over the noise they’re making trying to […]

Real Estate Trends

September 10, 2014

Real Estate Wire: $13M for Bed-Stuy’s Tallest Apartment Building; Aby Rosen is Creating His Own Mansion

A ‘seven-star hotel’ will rise on the former site of the Rizzoli Bookstore near Central Park. [WSJ] Aby Rosen wants to turn an 11-unit co-op at 1025 Park Avenue into his personal 19,000-square-foot mansion. [NYDN] Owners of a 13-story, 23-apartment rental at 11 Spencer Court in Bed-Stuy are looking to make $13 million sale—50% more than […]

Real Estate Trends

September 10, 2014

Anatomy of a Killer Flip: The Townhouse Everybody Wanted Heads Back to the Market

By Michelle Cohen

In January of 2013, in the dead of winter, an 1899 detail-laden Italianate townhouse fixer-upper at 102 Gates Avenue hit an inventory-starved rising market. The listing price of $1.295 million, was a double-take for many, even though it was less than what properties like it were selling for in the area. Fast forward to September 2014, where renovations, which commenced almost immediately after the sale, are nearing completion (and according to reports, they’ve been done right). Word is that the house is about to head back to the market—at more than twice its winter selling price.
Find out why 375 people waited in the cold for the first open house

September 9, 2014

Real Estate Wire: $1M Parking Spots; 700 Non-Toxic Condos Coming to Gowanus

The Arthur G. Cohen Estate has put in a $205M bid for the Chelsea Dream Hotel. [CO] New York isn’t expensive as you think it is. If you’re rich by U.S. standards, you’re probably also rich by New York standards according to these two graphs at Slate and Vox. [Slate/Vox] The Annabelle Selldorf-designed 42 Crosby […]

Real Estate Trends

September 9, 2014

REVEALED: $210 Million Upgrade for Grand Central’s Subway Station As Part of One Vanderbilt Tower

As part of a five-year, $210 million plan to significantly upgrade Grand Central's subway station, developer SL Green hopes to install new staircases to the train platforms, two new street-level entrances and a refurbished mezzanine level, and a 4,000-square-foot ground-level commuter waiting area. The improvements were conceived in conjunction with the MTA and the de Blasio administration earlier this year as the first component of the Midtown East Rezoning project. The transit upgrades must all be completed before tenants can occupy One Vanderbilt (planned for completion in January 2020), 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 Pederson Fox, the tower will be the second-tallest building in the city when completed.
More on the upgrades ahead

September 8, 2014

Real Estate Wire: David Sanborn Sells Finally Sells His Townhouse; Philip House Penthouses for Sale

Inside the Park Slope condos giving away a Tesla with every purchase. [Curbed] Forest City Ratner slaps Skanska USA with a second lawsuit over the B2 modular tower. [TRD] The Philip House, located at 141 East 88th Street, has added ten new residences for sale, including four penthouses. [Philip House Residences] After several years of […]

Real Estate Trends

September 8, 2014

REVEALED: New Skyline Renderings for Nordstrom Tower at 217 West 57th Street

Back in July, we learned that Extell's Nordstrom Tower will rise 1,775 feet–just one foot shorter than One World Trade Center, making it the tallest residential building in the world. Now, New York YIMBY has released renderings of how the 92-story supertall will look against the rest of the skyline. Though official images from Extell haven't been released, these preliminary sneak peeks are pretty impressive.
More on the new development here

September 5, 2014

Real Estate Wire: $190M for America’s Dirtiest Hotel; How High Tech Investors Live

An image of what could go up at the long-stalled Kedem winery site in south Williamsburg. [Brownstoner] They’re just like us? The super-rich buy super-expensive apartments and fill them with super-expensive furniture but never actually occupy them. [NYDN] The priciest properties belonging to tech investors, entrepreneurs and CEOs. [TRD/Business Insider] Joseph Chetrit has agreed to pay $190 […]

Real Estate Trends

September 5, 2014

Jimmy Fallon Buys a Fifth Apartment in His Gramercy Park Building

The Fallon family's collection of 34 Gramercy Park East apartments continues to grow. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon just purchased a cozy, top-floor studio in the famed residence for $725,000. The small space neighbors his four-bedroom apartment, which he also recently bought for $1.35 million back in April. No word on whether the units will be combined, but either way, the petite pad is pretty nice as is.
Take a look inside here

September 4, 2014

Katz’s Deli Co-Owner Jake Dell Nabs $1.9 Million Greenwich Village Pad

The Lower East Side's iconic Katz's Deli was the talk of the town recently when it came to light that the neighborhood institution had sold its air rights. It's speculated that a parcel of adjacent buildings will be demolished to make way for a new cantilevered building. Jake Dell, the third-generation co-owner of the 126-year-old pastrami mainstay, has been quoted as saying that the sale will not affect the deli in any way, though he didn't cite specifics of the deal. But regardless of the details, it looks like Dell made out pretty well for himself, as he's just scooped up a $1,899,000 apartment at 808 Broadway in the heart of Greenwich Village. Just a short walk from Katz's, his new pad is described as a "Park Avenue-inspired home."
Take a look inside the pastrami king's new digs

September 4, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Inside The Shops at Hudson Yards; Park Avenue Pad Sells for Record-Breaking $71.3M