Real Estate Trends

During a City Planning Commission hearing on Wednesday, local residents and officials of the Two Bridges community voiced their strong opposition to four towers planned for the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. Those who testified against the buildings questioned the developer's draft environmental impact study (DEIS), which found the projects would not cause displacement, amNY reported. Developers also announced measures to mitigate the potential adverse effects on the neighborhood, which include upgrading the F train station at East Broadway, improving public parks, and implementing flood protection measures.
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London housing pioneer will bring NYC’s largest co-living location to Brooklyn

The Collective Old Oak in West London.

October 16, 2018

London housing pioneer will bring NYC’s largest co-living location to Brooklyn

6sqft has checked in periodically to track the progress of co-living brands like Common and a foray into what some call "adult dorms" by co-working giant WeWork. Now, lifestyle and housing brand The Collective, the London-based creator of the world's biggest co-living community, has announced plans for a New York City flagship in Brooklyn at the border between Williamsburg and Bushwick at 555 Broadway.
When can we move in?

High-end shops compete for space in Williamsburg as North 6th rivals Bedford as the main drag

Toby’s Estate cafe and roastery on North 6th Street. Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

October 16, 2018

High-end shops compete for space in Williamsburg as North 6th rivals Bedford as the main drag

It started with Bedford Avenue. Whether you called it Williamsburg 3.0 or the New Brooklyn or any number of monikers signifying the North Brooklyn neighborhood's ascent to the international hall of coolest–and priciest–neighborhood fame, that avenue was its anchor. A Whole Foods and an Apple store soon followed. And, inevitably, as businesses flocked to the surrounding streets, the clear hegemony of Bedford began to become less evident even if its tourist population continued to grow. Now, the New York Post hails North Sixth Street, longtime home of anchor condo The Edge and more recently a growing host of retail chain shops, as the top contender.
The new 34th Street?

October 15, 2018

15 Hudson Yards reveals model home with shoppable interiors by Neiman Marcus fashion director

The first phase of the Hudson Yards megaproject, including the public square and gardens and its centerpiece, Vessel, as well as The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards, which will be anchored by NYC's first Neiman Marcus store, is preparing to open this March. Now, Fifteen Hudson Yards has announced that that Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing has designed and styled the interiors for a new model home at the 88-story luxury condominium. Furthering the connection between the upper-crust department store and the development's high-end aspirations is a freshly-launched Neiman Marcus microsite that will allow people to purchase select items in the residence.
Interiors you can buy, this way

October 15, 2018

Artist Abby Leigh unloads Upper West Side co-op for $4.8M

Abby Leigh may be famous around the world for her contemporary art, but here in NYC, she's becoming just as well known for her big-ticket real estate wheeling-and-dealing. In June of 2014, just three months after her husband, Tony-winning “Man of La Mancha” composer Mitch Leigh, passed away, she bought a $4.8 million Upper West Side artist co-op at 27 West 67th Street. The following year, she both listed her Upper East Side townhouse for $28 million (it sold for $20.4 million in 2016) and bought an $8 million home in one of the turrets of the former New York Cancer Hospital on the Upper West Side. And perhaps now Leigh has decided she only needs one UWS residence, as she's just unloaded the 67th Street residence for $4.8 million according to property records, breaking even on the sale.
Get a look around

Coney Island’s ‘Miami-inspired’ Ocean Dreams rental project tops out

Developer John Catsimatidis hopes the Ocean Dreams project will eventually include three more towers, which require city approval. Rendering by Pace/Hill West Architects

October 15, 2018

Coney Island’s ‘Miami-inspired’ Ocean Dreams rental project tops out

Last spring, 6sqft revealed new renderings of grocery store king (Red Apple, Gristede's) John Catsimatidis' 425-unit Coney Island rental project at 3514 Surf Avenue known as Ocean Dreams. According to The Real Deal, Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Group secured a construction loan for $130 million from Bank of America for the project back in June. Now, the New York Times has reported that the pair of 21-story luxury apartment towers overlooking the Atlantic on the island's western end has topped out and is scheduled to open next summer.
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Sales launch at Extell’s Central Park Tower, the world’s tallest residential building

Via Extell

October 15, 2018

Sales launch at Extell’s Central Park Tower, the world’s tallest residential building

Sales have launched for Central Park Tower, the tallest residential tower in the world, Extell Development announced Monday. Located at 225 West 57th Street, the 1,550-foot tower is rising on Billionaires' Row, a strip of ultra-luxury residences at the southern end of Central Park in Midtown. While Extell hasn't officially released pricing for its 179 condos, the Real Deal reported last year that 20 of the units have a price tag of $60 million and higher, with a $95 million penthouse being the most expensive. If the building achieves its projected $4 billion sellout, the tower would become the most expensive condo project in New York City.
More here

Real Estate Trends

October 12, 2018

Marvel Architects reveal condo conversion of 200-year-old Nolita school

Marvel Architects has completed its school-to-condo conversion in Nolita, bringing seven condos and one private townhouse to the former site of the Old St. Patrick's School on Prince Street. The project restored the facade of the four-story building, which was built in 1826, as well as its dormer windows and arched doorways. Because the interiors of the building, dubbed the Residences at Prince, were not landmarked, the architects were able to add new modern elements like steel columns and white oak floors while retaining original brick walls and roof timbers.
See it here

October 12, 2018

For the first time, average Brooklyn home prices break the $1M threshold

By Emily Nonko

According to Douglas Elliman's latest market report, home prices in Brooklyn are higher than ever. The median and average sales prices for the borough both broke records, crossing the $800,000 and $1 million thresholds for the first time in the third quarter of this year. "As the Brooklyn market continues to reinvent itself over the past five years," says the report, "There is no standard of comparison with historical trends." It means Brooklyn, and also Queens, boast some of the fastest residential price growth in the country, with new developments cropping up and demand skyrocketing as buyers stream into outer boroughs.
Keep reading for stats

Real Estate Trends

Scarlett Johansson scoops up $4M ivy-clad house in secluded Snedens Landing

By Annie Doge

Actress Scarlett Johansson has closed on a property in Snedens Landing, a haven near the Palisades known for attracting celebrities. Dubbed the "Ivy House," the Rockland County home at 40 Washington Spring Road sold for $4 million (h/t New York Post). The ivy-clad four-bedroom home was designed by Eric Gugler, an architect tapped in 1933 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to design the Oval Office in the White House. Boasting water views from every room, the stunning home overlooks the Hudson River and has a pool and adjacent cabana house.
See the starlet's home

$20M Brooklyn Heights penthouse could be the borough’s priciest sale ever

Via Moso Studio

October 10, 2018

$20M Brooklyn Heights penthouse could be the borough’s priciest sale ever

A combination penthouse at Quay Tower, a brand new luxury condo building on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, went into contract this week for over $20 million. If closed, the deal would become the most expensive residential sale in Brooklyn history, breaking the previous record of $16.645 million for a penthouse picked up by actor Matt Damon last year. And before that, a $15.5 million brick carriage house in Cobble Hill held the record for most expensive single residence sale in Brooklyn, which was purchased by photographer Jay Maisel in 2015.
More on the deal this way

Real Estate Trends

October 8, 2018

Asbury Ocean Club wants to bring Manhattan luxury to the Jersey Shore

In just 70 minutes, you can drive from Manhattan to Asbury Park, New Jersey, and escape to one of the state's most up-and-coming areas (think Williamsburg meets Bruce Springsteen-land meets Venice Beach). And if you want to do this pretty regularly, the town's mega-developer, iStar, thinks it has found the perfect balance of urban luxury and beachfront living at their new condo/hotel the Asbury Ocean Club. Ranging from $900,000 one-bedrooms to two $6 million penthouses, the pricing is certainly more NYC, but on a recent visit, it was clear that the artsy vibe, live music scene, and booming foodie culture is uniquely Jersey Shore.
Learn all about this new development

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): 525W52, Forty Gold, Riverbank and 505W37

October 6, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): 525W52, Forty Gold, Riverbank and 505W37 525 West 52nd Street Offers Leases with 3 Months Free; New Affordable Housing Lotto Launches [READ MORE] Downtown Two-Bedroom Rentals at Forty Gold Listed with 2 Months Free on 20-Month Lease [READ MORE] Special Offers at Midtown West’s Riverbank: Rentals from $3,860/Month + New Amenities […]

Real Estate Trends

Bradley Cooper drops $13.5M on a Greenwich Village townhouse with a garden oasis

Photo of Bradley Cooper via Wikimedia

October 5, 2018

Bradley Cooper drops $13.5M on a Greenwich Village townhouse with a garden oasis

By Annie Doge

Bradley Cooper purchased a $13.5 million Greenwich Village townhouse in May, the Wall Street Journal just reported. The actor, who currently stars in the new movie "A Star is Born," registered the property under the "Cool Trust" to keep the sale hush-hush, city documents reveal. The home at 224 West 10th Street contains six bedrooms, a 1,100-square-foot garden oasis, and plenty of romantic, rustic details. And Bradley seems to be enjoying all the Village has to offer; a source tells us he dined last Friday at Fifty, a new American-South American restaurant on Commerce Street.
See Cooper's coop

New renderings show Vornado’s Pompidou Center-like office plans for Chelsea

260 Eleventh Avenue expansion (Vornado Realty Trust)

October 5, 2018

New renderings show Vornado’s Pompidou Center-like office plans for Chelsea

A high-tech future awaits the 235,000-square-foot building at 260 Eleventh Avenue that served as headquarters for the iconic Otis Elevator company from its construction in 1911 until the company's move to midtown 1974. For the site's next life, REIT Vornado Realty Trust plans to renovate and expand the property, which they purchased in 2015, for commercial tenants. Now, CityRealty reports, a trio of renderings from Vornado's latest investor report provide a peek at the planned design overhaul by British architect Richard Rogers. Evoking the "inside-out" structure of the Pompidou Center in Paris and the high-tech Lloyd's of London building, the new addition displays exposed structural and circulation systems and a multi-story atrium beneath glass-enclosed floors.
More Renderings this way

October 4, 2018

REVEALED: Cuomo’s $13B JFK Airport overhaul to feature an indoor ‘park’ and food hall

Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed new details Thursday of his $13 billion plan to overhaul John F. Kennedy Airport and transform it into a 21st-century transit hub. In addition to two much-needed new international terminals, the overhaul will bring NYC's biggest tourist attractions into its passenger waiting areas and a central hub. There will be interior green space called "Central Park at JFK," a food hall modeled after Chelsea Market, an elevated walkway called "The High Line," and artwork and exhibits honoring iconic landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty's torch.
See the new renderings

October 4, 2018

Victoria’s Secret model Lindsay Ellingson struts into a $1.4M Williamsburg pad

By Annie Doge

Victoria’s Secret Angel Lindsay Ellingson hasn't had your average runway trajectory, starting out as a biology major before being discovered on the street and then taken under the wing of John Galliano in Paris. And instead of settling in a swanky new Manhattan building, the 33-year-old and her husband, medical equipment salesman Sean Clayton, have long called Williamsburg home. They've now landed a new pad in the Austin Nichols House, a former bourbon distillery on the waterfront converted to condos by architect Morris Adjmi. According to the Post, the couple paid $1.4 million for the two-bedroom unit, down from its $1,575,000 asking price.
Have a look

October 3, 2018

Upper West Side school-to-condo conversion reveals $18M solarium penthouse in former gymnasium

As of today, listings are live for developer/architect Cary Tamarkin's 555 West End Avenue. The project converted the former Catholic St. Agnes Boys High School into a 13-unit luxury condo. Not only does it retain the facade's original 1908 English collegiate- and Gothic-style elements, but the interiors benefit from the historic structure's 12-foot ceilings and oversized windows. The most impressive of these residences is undoubtedly the solarium penthouse, carved out of the school's one-time gymnasium. Listed for $18 million, the incredible space has a soaring 20-foot-high vaulted glass ceiling and an enormous, floor-to-ceiling arched window wall.
Lots more to see

No subway, no worries: Developers offer incentives to lure tenants off train lines

Williamsburg, where the L train shutdown will soon take effect, via Wiki Commons

October 3, 2018

No subway, no worries: Developers offer incentives to lure tenants off train lines

By Cait Etherington

Williamsburg, where the L train shutdown will soon take effect, via Wiki Commons In a city with fewer car owners than nearly any other location in North America, it should come as no surprise that subway access is a key factor for most New Yorkers when they go on the housing market. In fact, many New Yorkers won’t even consider renting or buying if the address is more than a 10-minute walk from the nearest subway. This explains why some neighborhoods, including Greenpoint, which has a subway but not one that leads to Manhattan, and Alphabet City, which doesn’t have a subway at all, have long reported lower real estate values and rental prices that their nearest neighbors. However, there are growing signs that subway access may no longer matter as much as it once did. While subway access remains important, it is increasingly no longer a deal breaker for developers or prospective tenants. In today’s real estate market, a growing number of developers are pouring money into developments located off the subway line, and many tenants don’t seem to mind. This may also explain why not all developers with projects located along the L line are worried about the pending shutdown, which is now slated to begin in April 2019.
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To lure Google workers, investors drop $83M on a block of Chelsea apartments

102-116 Eighth Avenue; via Brodsky Organization

October 2, 2018

To lure Google workers, investors drop $83M on a block of Chelsea apartments

Real estate investors Dalan Management Associates and Elion Partners announced a joint venture on Tuesday to acquire eight adjacent buildings in Chelsea for $83 million. The buildings, which run along Eighth Avenue from West 15th to West 16th Streets, contain 102 multi-family units and 10 ground-floor retail spaces known as the Chelsea Collection. Because the property sits directly across from Google headquarters, developers hope to attract workers from the tech giant, Crain's reported.
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Real Estate Trends

October 2, 2018

Listings go live at the world’s skinniest skyscraper, 111 West 57th Street

The race to build the tallest residential building in the world has long been underway along Billionaires' Row, but 111 West 57th Street not only boasts height (at 1,428 feet it'll surpass the current record holder, 1,396-foot 432 Park Avenue until the 1,500-foot Central Park Tower tops out) but a frame that is so slender (a ratio of 1:24) it garners it the title of skinniest skyscraper in the world. And after six years watching the development unfold, listings have finally gone live for the 46-unit condo, first spotted by Curbed. The first batch includes seven units, six of which are three-bedrooms ranging from $18 to $30 million, along with a $56 million penthouse.
Ogle the floorplan porn

Images (L to R): Hunters Landing, 33 Bond Street, One Sixty Madison and RiverHouse11

September 29, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): Hunters Landing, 33 Bond Street, One Sixty Madison and RiverHouse11 Long Island City’s Hunters Landing Launches Leasing: No Fee Rentals from $2,211/Month [READ MORE] Newly Launched 33 Bond Street in Downtown Brooklyn Offers Rentals with Up to 2 Months Free [READ MORE] NoMad’s One Sixty Madison Offering One Month Free on […]

Real Estate Trends

Battery Park City and Upper West Side communities transition from middle-aged to millennial

Via Wikimedia

September 28, 2018

Battery Park City and Upper West Side communities transition from middle-aged to millennial