Real Estate Trends

February 17, 2021

See the new Long Island City condo tower anchored by Trader Joe’s

A new condo building in Long Island City is offering buyers a rare amenity in New York: private outdoor space. Located at 22-43 Jackson Avenue, The Prime contains 71 units, all of which boast balconies. And perhaps even more exciting for some, a Trader Joe's grocery store will open on the building's ground floor this year. Sales launched earlier this month at the building, developed by Circle F Capital and designed by Andres Escobar's Lemay+Escobar Architecture, with residences starting at $700,000.
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February 16, 2021

Candice Bergen buys $2M Upper East Side co-op

According to city property records, actress Candice Bergen spent $2,150,000 on an Upper East Side co-op at 825 Fifth Avenue. The apartment last sold in 2007 for $1,600,000; it had previously been owned by eccentric real estate developer and political figure Abraham Hirschfeld, who passed away in 2005. In December, Ms. Bergen put her Hamptons home on the market for $18 million.
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February 11, 2021

Details revealed for new Morris Adjmi-designed condo on 14th Street

When it comes to a prime downtown location, the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue is pretty darn good. On the northeast corner, the new 50-unit condo at 540 6th Avenue was designed inside and out by Morris Adjmi, replacing a lower-scale building that held a long-time dance studio (one home to Merce Cunningham) and an outpost of Moscot eyewear. The 12-story condo, which topped out this past November, has now launched a teaser site as it gears up to launch sales. It's also been dubbed Förena, the Swedish word for "unite," a nod to the building's location at the nexus of Greenwich Village, Union Square, and Chelsea.
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February 11, 2021

Take a look inside the penthouses at the High Line-straddling Lantern House

Thomas Heatherwick's unique condo project on the High Line is showing off its collection of penthouses ahead of the building's impending completion this year. Lantern House, located at 515 West 18th Street in Chelsea, consists of two towers that rise on either side of the High Line, one at 10 stories and the other at 22. Last October we got a peek inside the bubbled residences, and now new images have been released of a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath penthouse with a large outdoor terrace, currently listed for $12.975 million.
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February 10, 2021

NYC sees end-of-year residential sales surge, especially in Brooklyn and Queens

After three consecutive quarters of decline, the total residential sales volume and residential transactions in New York City during the final quarter of last year increased considerably. According to a new report released this week by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), total sales increased to $9 billion in Q4 2020 from $6.5 billion in Q3, a roughly 40 percent increase in sales volume. Notably, the outer boroughs drove the surge in sales, with a sales volume increase of 90 percent in Brooklyn and 69 percent in Queens during this period.
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January 20, 2021

How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

After Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, his immediate focus will be getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and providing direct relief to Americans. In addition to immediate actions related to COVID-19, Biden's Day 1 housing priorities include extending the federal nationwide moratorium on residential evictions through the end of September and sending an additional $25 billion in rental assistance to states. Down the road, Biden has proposed fewer developer-friendly policies than his predecessor, including a repeal of the 1031 exchange and reform of the Opportunity Zone tax program. But overall, there is optimism among New York City real estate industry experts who see a Biden Administration as a way to restore stability and consumer confidence. With a pledge to defeat COVID-19 and send federal support to New York City, there's hope on the horizon for the city's recovery.
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January 19, 2021

Tommy Hilfiger sells lavish, chateau-style Connecticut estate for $45M

Fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger has unloaded the last of his Greenwich, Connecticut properties for $45 million, Sotheby's International Realty tells 6sqft. The 22-acre estate was built in 1939 and resembles a French chateau from the outside, with an eclectic, European flair inside. It's located on the summit of Round Hill, the highest point in Greenwich, providing views of the Long Island Sound and Manhattan skyline. Other lavish amenities include a baronial Elizabethan-style spiral staircase, six fireplaces, a pool house, tennis court, and parterre gardens. According to the Post, he and his wife Dee Ocleppo bought the home for $31.37 million in 2010, after which they spent millions more on renovations.
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January 14, 2021

Renderings and pricing revealed for VU, new Murray Hill condo with amazing views

Murray Hill might not be the first neighborhood that comes to mind when thinking of luxury condos, but that just might be a good thing. VU, the new 100-unit project at 368 Third Avenue, is one of the tallest buildings in the neighborhood, which affords its 100 units incredible views of the East River, Midtown, and even down to the World Trade Center. We've now got our first look at the flashy new project, along with a pricing reveal.
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January 13, 2021

Brooklyn Heights townhouse sells for $25.5M, breaks borough record

As was first reported by The Real Deal, billionaire Vince Viola has sold his Brooklyn Heights mansion at 8 Montague terrace for a record-setting $25.5 million, according to city property records. The sale beats out the $20.3 million penthouse in Brooklyn Heights’ Quay Tower, which sold virtually back in April. Viola, an Army veteran who founded Virtu Financial and owns the NHL Florida Panthers, bought the home with his wife Teresa in 2007 for $8 million. At the time it was a multi-family dwelling, but they converted it to a single-family home. The new buyer is not identified, and it appears to be an off-market deal.
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January 12, 2021

New looks and prices for luxury condo building at Essex Crossing

The second condo building at the Essex Crossing mega-development has revealed a slew of new renderings, along with the first pricing details. Located at 202 Broome Street, One Essex Crossing is the seventh of nine buildings at the Lower East Side project. The 83-unit building was designed by CetraRuddy and is distinguished by its elevated 9,000-square-foot amenity garden. Prices range from an $890,000 studio to a $6,689,000 duplex penthouse. Occupancy is expected later this year.
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January 8, 2021

2020 luxury home sales rose 270% in some upstate New York counties

It's not news at this point that throughout 2020 the suburbs of New York City were flooded with new home buyers, pushing up prices and leading to unbelievable bidding wars. But what is news is just how much certain upstate areas saw a rise. According to Houlihan Lawrence's Q4 2020 Market Report, Putnam and Dutchess counties saw a 269-percent increase in home sales $1 million and over. And in Westchester county, sales $2M and higher grew by approximately 53 percent.
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January 7, 2021

220 Central Park South is the best-selling NYC condo by a long shot

In a year where the number of real estate sales dropped significantly in New York City, it was a few top-tier new developments that kept things afloat. According to the CityRealty 100 report—an index comprised of the top 100 condominium buildings in Manhattan—this includes closings in 15 Hudson Yards, The Park Loggia, and Waterline Square. It also includes 220 Central Park South, which accounted for the top 22 sales during the 12 month period of this report and had a total of $1.52 billion in cumulative sales in 46 units.
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January 6, 2021

Construction set to begin at huge South Bronx complex with Universal Hip Hop Museum

Construction of the South Bronx mixed-use project that will have over 1,000 units of housing, a waterfront esplanade, and a permanent home for the Universal Hip Hop Museum is set to begin in the coming weeks. Developed by L+M Development Partners, Type A Projects, BronxWorks, and the city of New York in a public-private partnership, the project, known as Bronx Point, secured $349 million in financing last week. S9 Architecture is leading the design of the 22-story development, with the publicly-accessible open space along the Harlem River designed by Marvel Architects and Abel Bainnson Butz.
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January 5, 2021

See new renderings of controversial South Street Seaport towers and museum expansion

Plans to construct two 470-foot towers and expand a museum in the historic South Street Seaport neighborhood were met with mixed feedback during a public Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on Tuesday. The Howard Hughes Corporation presented a proposal for a $1.4 billion mixed-use project consisting of rentals, condos, and office space at 250 Water Street, as well as a new building for the South Street Seaport Museum at 89 South Street. While those in favor of the project say it will bring much-needed affordable housing to a neighborhood that has almost none and help the museum stay open, opponents claim the project is out of scale with the rest of the district. New renderings of the proposed expanded museum show plans for a copper-clad exterior, flexible gallery space, an outdoor terrace, and a connection to the historic structure.
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January 5, 2021

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen unload Tribeca condo for $37M

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have long maintained a home in New York City, but now that the NFL quarterback has taken up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they're consolidating a bit. As the Post first spotted, the couple has sold their Tribeca apartment for $36,800,000 million, according to property records. Brady and supermodel Bündchen bought the five-bedroom, 12th-floor pad in Robert A.M. Stern's 70 Vestry Street in 2018 for $25.5 million pad. Just last month, though, they bought a smaller unit on the same floor for $3.5 million, which will presumably now serve as their NYC pied-à-terre.
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January 5, 2021

After 20 years, Sarah Jessica Parker sells West Village townhouse for $15M

As was first spotted by the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have sold one of their West Village townhouses for $15 million, according to property records. The couple bought the home on Charles Street in 2000 for just $2,995,000. This time last year, the rumor mill said that they'd been trying to sell the property off-market, as they were living in this home while construction took place combining two adjacent townhouses on West 11th Street that Parker and Broderick bought for $34.5 million in 2016.
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December 23, 2020

Over 1,000 NYC chain stores have closed this past year, the biggest drop in a decade

More than 1,000 chain stores in New York City have closed over the past year, the largest year-over-year decline in over a decade. According to the Center for an Urban Future's annual "State of the Chains" report, nearly one out of every seven chain retailers open at this time last year is now closed, due to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the continued growth of e-commerce. Even Dunkin', the city's largest retailer, closed 18 locations in 2020, the first time the coffee chain experienced a decline since CUF began tracking chains 13 years ago.
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December 22, 2020

In a win for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, de Blasio says he opposes Crown Heights high-rise towers

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday announced his opposition to two controversial high-rise towers proposed for a Crown Heights lot across from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. As first reported by Gothamist, the mayor said the project would "harm the research and educational work carried out by one of this city’s prized cultural institutions."
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December 9, 2020

$57M penthouse at 111 West 57th Street joins list of NYC’s priciest pandemic sales

A penthouse apartment at the supertall 111 West 57th Street has sold for over $50 million, making it one of the priciest real estate deals in the city since the coronavirus pandemic struck this spring. Duplex Penthouse 75 sold "for around the list price" of $57 million, according to a spokesperson for the Billionaires' Row development. The two-level apartment has four bedrooms, five and a half baths, and boasts 14-foot ceilings and incredible views of Central Park.
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December 8, 2020

Proposed Coney Island complex has 461 units and outdoor pool with ocean views

Real estate developer LCOR last week filed plans with the city to bring a 461-unit residential project to Coney Island. Located about a block from the beach and boardwalk at 1515 Surf Avenue, the proposed 16-story development will rise on the parking lot of Gargiulo's Restaurant, a 100-year-old neighborhood staple. Gargiulo's owner Louis Russo agreed to a 99-year ground lease for the lot late last year.
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November 23, 2020

All 950 units at city’s Gowanus housing development will be affordable

The city's proposed six-building residential development in Gowanus will be 100 percent affordable, officials announced last week. The Gowanus Green project, part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration's plan to rezone the Brooklyn neighborhood, will contain 950 units of affordable housing, with at least 50 percent designated to extremely low and very low-income households. Previously, the plan called for roughly 74 percent of units to fall below the market rate.
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November 20, 2020

See inside New Jersey’s tallest residential tower, 99 Hudson

As residents continue to move in at 99 Hudson Street, new photos of the residential tower were released this month, showing off the exterior and interior of New Jersey's tallest building. Located on the Jersey City waterfront, 99 Hudson rises 79 stories directly across from One World Trade Center. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the building contains a range of studio to two-bedroom residences, along with a handful of penthouses, with units priced between $548,000 and over $4 million.
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November 12, 2020

David Adjaye and Aston Martin collaborate on residences and luxury car at 130 William in FiDi

Five apartments for sale at Sir David Adjaye's first New York City tower have been custom-designed by luxury carmaker Aston Martin. Located on the 59th and 60th floors of 130 William, a 66-story condo in the Financial District, the exclusive units come with a special edition Aston Martin DBX, an SUV designed in collaboration with Adjaye. The five condos include two penthouses, one priced at $11.5 million and the second at $10.5 million, and three loggia residences, priced at $3.985 million, $5.985 million, and $10 million.
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November 10, 2020

See inside Bjarke Ingels’ new Harlem rental The Smile, with apartments from $2,056/month

Living in a starchitect-designed apartment building is now slightly more attainable. The Smile, a new rental tower in East Harlem designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, has officially opened. The 11-story tower at 158 East 126th Street, named for its grin-like shape, contains 233 apartments, 70 of which are affordable. Leasing kicked off in September, with pricing for the market-rate rentals starting at roughly $2,056/month. New photos released this week take us inside the minimalist model residences and the impressive amenity package that is tailored to those working from home, including a co-working studio and a rooftop with a plunge pool, three whirlpools, and an outdoor movie theater.
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November 9, 2020

The Rockefeller Center ice skating rink will only be open for two months this year

Photo by Shinya Suzuki via Flickr cc As was first reported by the New York Times, the famous ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center will be be open for the holidays this year, but it will be a much abbreviated season. The rink will open a month later to give more time to restaurants currently using the plaza for outdoor dining, and it will close several months early on January 17 to begin work on a major revamp that was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in April.
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