Real Estate Trends

April 22, 2014

Yoko Ono’s Greenwich Village Condo Sells for $8.3 Million

We’re not sure if the new owners will be staging any sit-ins, but they’ll certainly have plenty of room to do so in this 5,700-square-foot Greenwich penthouse that they purchased for $8.3 million from Yoko Ono. Ono bought the condo at 49 Downing Street in 1995 for her son Sean Lennon, but it’s sat empty since the first few years when he lived there (Ono famously still lives in the Dakota apartment she once shared with John Lennon). The home originally hit the market in July 2013, but was taken off shortly thereafter while Ono battled her co-op board in court, citing that they interfered with her plans to sell. It was listed again in November 2013 for $6.5 million, and earlier this month public records listed the final selling price at $8.3 million.
A closer look inside here
April 21, 2014

Brooklyn Expo Center to Open in Greenpoint This Fall

If convention-goers thought the Javits Center was hard to get to, wait until events start taking place at a Greenpoint exhibition complex set to open later this year. Backed by controversial real estate developer Joshua Guttman, the sprawling Brooklyn Expo Center will be housed in the former Greenpoint Terminal Market (pictured here), which is accessible by only one subway line — the oft-complained about G train.
More on the new expo here
April 18, 2014

Maya Lin and Daniel Wolf to Turn a Former Yonkers Jail Into a Studio and Gallery

For nine decades the brick walls at 24-26 Alexander Street in Yonkers were known more for its portfolio of inmates than as a museum-like structure. But soon the classic two-story building will be liberated from its former life as a prison to house a collection of a very different kind. As part of a concentrated effort by the City of Yonkers to continue the transformation of the area all along the Husdon River, Mayor Mike Spano was more than a little excited when art collector and dealer, Daniel Wolf, and his wife, the renowned artist and architect Maya Lin, expressed interest in the property.
pics of the prison here
April 17, 2014

Billionaire Philanthropist Jon Stryker Sells His CPW Penthouse for $42 Million

After nearly six months on the market, Jon Stryker's luxurious Central Park West penthouse has finally found its buyer. The penthouse changed hands this week for $42 million, falling $6 million short of the ask. Stryker originally purchased the historic Prasada triplex for $12.8 million in 2002, and he took to renovating the 5,600-square-foot space shortly after with the help of Shelton, Mindel & Associates (Stryker is a trained architect himself). Over the years, the updated design has garnered plenty of accolades, including a spread in Architectural Digest, and in 2010, it nabbed the coveted AIA award for 'Interior Architecture'.
A look inside the luxurious penthouse here
April 2, 2014

Domino Sugar Factory Development Will Overburden Local Infrastructure, Says Zoning Comittee

Two Trees Management’s sweet deal with the city for the former Dominos Sugar factory site could cause a toothache for the City Council and local residents. The historic complex, with its charming yellow sign, has been part of Brooklyn’s landscape since 1882, when it opened as the largest sugary refinery in the world. Now plans for the 2.2 million-square-foot multi-use project, designed by SHoP Architects, are causing concern that it could house more people than the Brooklyn neighborhood can handle.
Home Sweet Home?