Real Estate Trends

February 8, 2018

The long-awaited Bayonne boom: Transit options, adaptive reuse, and affordability

Bayonne, located on the southern peninsula of New Jersey’s Gold Coast, is ripe for a construction boom. That being said, it has been awaiting this boom for over 18 years - since the light rail system was installed. As Newport and Jersey City’s markets are on fire, Bayonne hopes that development momentum is headed their way. But with its Hudson River location, city views, access to Manhattan via light rail and the PATH (it is about 30 minutes to take the light rail to the PATH to the World Trade Center), Bayonne has taken its future into its own hands and massively revised its master plan for the first time since 2000. Bayonne considers its proximity to New York City and lower prices its greatest assets. The average home sales are around $400,000 versus $800,000 in Jersey City. The new master plan aims to transform Bayonne into a walkable, bikeable, mixed-use community with densely settled areas (which they call “transit villages”) around the light rail stations. The town’s 22nd Street Light Rail stop connects residents to the rest of the Gold Coast and PATH trains running to Manhattan. Bayonne City Planner Suzanne Mack is quoted as saying, “Our assets are our charm and home life...We’ve moved from being an industrial giant, an oil tank farm basically, into more of a bedroom community with a lot of community resources.”
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February 7, 2018

Passing $2B in sales, 432 Park becomes highest selling building in NYC ever

CIM Group and Macklowe Properties announced on Wednesday that the world's tallest residential building just broke another record: the single best-selling building in New York City. According to the developers, they have sold $2 billion in luxury condominiums at 432 Park Avenue, a 1,396-foot tower designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly. The building's most significant closings include 48 residences selling for more than $20 million each.
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February 7, 2018

New details and renderings for Essex Crossing’s Market Line, NYC’s largest food hall

It's been over a year since we got our first look at Market Line, the 150,000-square-foot market that will anchor the Essex Crossing mega-development. It will serve as the new home for the Lower East Side's iconic, 76-year-old Essex Street Market and boast two indoor parks, a beer garden, 150 food vendors, and 20 retail spaces--all adding up to the city's largest food hall. Eater now has spotted a fresh set of renderings of Market Line, as well as the first vendor announcement. Among those who will be hawking their grub are Queens' famed taco spot Tortilleria Nixtamal, the Upper East Side's 100-year-old German meat market Schaller & Weber, and the East Village's Ukrainian institution Veselka.
Check out the other vendors and more renderings
February 6, 2018

Lottery launches for 258 rentals at TF Cornerstone’s West 57th tower, from $613/month

The lottery for TF Cornerstone's massive building at 606 West 57th Street officially launched on Tuesday, offering 258 mixed-income rentals in the brand new 42-story tower. Designed by Arquitectonica, the rental, dubbed 606W57, boasts a unique, boxy design and will hold over 1,000 apartments. It sits near other West Side architectural standouts like the pyramid-shaped, Bjarke Ingels-designed Via57 West, as well as the Helena. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 60 and 120 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $613/month studio to a $2,902/month three-bedroom.
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February 6, 2018

Google to buy Chelsea Market building for $2.5B, the second largest single sale in NYC history

Editor's Note: The New York Post reports Google will buy Chelsea Market for $2.5 billion, which would make it the second biggest single sale in the city's history. It closely follows the $2.8 billion purchase of the GM Building in 2007. Google has entered contract with Jamestown LP to buy the Chelsea Market building for over $2 billion. As 2018's first billion dollars plus transaction in New York, the deal is expected to close sometime in the next two months, according to the Real Deal. This will further the tech giant's presence in the Manhattan neighborhood; it is currently the biggest tenant at 75 Ninth Avenue and its headquarters are located across the street at 111 Eighth Avenue.
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February 6, 2018

Taylor Swift buys yet another Tribeca property, spending $50M on a single block of real estate

Taylor Swift nabbed yet another Tribeca property--bringing her spending along Franklin Street to an astounding $47.7 million. The New York Post reports that she has just purchased a 3,540-square-foot unit on the second floor of 155 Franklin Street, the condo building where she already owns a duplex. The pop star paid financier Jeremy Phillips $9.75 million for it in an off-market deal. She bought her existing top-floor penthouse at 155 Franklin, which spans 8,000 square feet, from “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson in 2014 for $19.95 million. Swift then bought the $18 million townhouse next door, at 153 Franklin Street, which comes with its own paparazzi-proof garage.
There's speculation to her latest purchase
February 5, 2018

Largest timber-constructed office building in the nation planned for Newark’s waterfront

Lotus Equity Group announced on Monday plans to bring the largest mass timber office building in the United States to the Newark waterfront. Michael Green Architecture has been tapped to design the 500,000-square-foot office building made with a wooden structure for Riverfront Square, a massive mixed-use development proposed for the Broad Street corridor of the Jersey neighborhood, according to the Wall Street Journal. The building will rise in three separate sections to six, eight and 11 stories tall and have a concrete foundation. Its columns, exterior panels,  elevators, stairwells and floor systems will be made of mass timber. Interiors will boast exposed wood with a facade covered in metal panels, brick or wood.
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February 3, 2018

NYC RENTALS: This week’s roundup of rental news & offers

Images (L to R): 325 Kent Avenue, Instrata Gramercy, 63 Wall Street and Watermark LIC Leasing Launches at 490 Lefferts Avenue; New Brooklyn Rentals Start at $2,000/Month Long Island City Hot Block: Live at the Crescent Club and Get 1 Month Free 63 Wall Street Luxury Rentals: 2.5 Months Free on 17 Month Leases + […]

February 2, 2018

Empire State Building looking for tenants to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space

The landlords of New York City's most iconic skyscraper are looking to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space by 2020, even as brick-and-mortar businesses in Manhattan have struggled to stay open. According to Bloomberg, owners of the Empire State Building are marketing the tower's ground-floor, concourse and second-floor real estate, as the building undergoes a retail renovation for the first time since opening in 1931. Plus, the tower's observatory entrance will be moved from Fifth Avenue to 34th Street.
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February 1, 2018

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site's property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.
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February 1, 2018

Aziz Ansari dropped $5.7M on this Tribeca loft right below Taylor Swift

Back in May, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sold his Tribeca loft at 155 Franklin Street, located directly below Taylor Swift's duplex penthouse in the celeb-studded building, for $5.7 million. Though the buyer's identity was shielded by an LLC, the Post now reports that it was none other than comedian and "Master of None" star Aziz Ansari. They don't disclose their sources, but assuming they're correct, Ansari's new three-bedroom spread boasts nearly 2,500 square feet, brick and timber-beamed ceilings, tons of exposed brick, and massive south- and east-facing windows.
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January 31, 2018

Jon Bon Jovi sells West Village duplex for $16M

For $15.995 million, Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi has finally sold his duplex apartment at 150 Charles Street, a celebrity haven in the West Village. But the "Livin' on a Prayer" singer isn't moving too far away; he recently bought a nearly $19 million apartment in the Greenwich Lane, a condominium project that stretches almost a full city block between 12th and 11th Streets off Seventh Avenue. While Bon Jovi attempted to sell the duplex as a $29.5 million combo unit with a neighboring duplex this summer, the apartment went into contract alone, for $15.995 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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January 31, 2018

Fresh renderings revealed of 99 Hudson Street, the soon-to-be tallest building in New Jersey

When construction of 99 Hudson Street wraps up in Jersey City next year, the 889-foot condominium tower will become the tallest building in all of New Jersey. While that title alone is impressive, new renderings of the Perkins Eastman-designed tower show an equally profound modern interior with a swath of amenities (h/t Curbed NY). Developed by China Overseas America, 99 Hudson will rise 79 stories and contain 781 units, while boasting 15,000 square feet of retail space and 14,000 square feet of public space.
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January 29, 2018

Newport’s master plan ambitions: Diversity and development at LeFrak’s Jersey City community

The mention of Newport conjures up images of yacht-filled harbors, gorgeous mansions, and beautiful beaches. But there is another Newport much closer to downtown Manhattan than Rhode Island and, amazingly, it also has yacht-filled harbors, beautiful residences, a beach, and unparalleled waterfront views. A 600-acre, master-planned community that began almost 35 years ago by the LeFrak family, Newport, Jersey City is now hitting its stride. With sleek architecture, 15,000 residents, 20,000 professionals, a growing mix of retail and commercial options, and a location minutes from midtown and downtown Manhattan, Newport offers some appealing alternatives to those priced out of New York City or others looking for a slightly quieter option. The area boasts its diversity, but with a single family in charge of development and a skyline that looks more like Manhattan than Jersey City, is Newport just Manhattan-lite or does it truly have diversity with offerings for everyone?
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January 29, 2018

$8.5K/month Chelsea duplex has a sweet roof deck and plenty of character

Right from the beginning you'll feel fortunate–if  you can swing the $8,495 a month rent–living in this charming townhouse condominium at 360 West 19th Street: You'll only have one neighbor, as the building only contains two units. Two sun-filled upper floors hold the standard townhouse bounty of three bedrooms above a spacious living area, plus a private roof deck, all on a pretty Chelsea block.
Tour the duplex
January 29, 2018

Bruce Willis sells $18M Central Park West co-op in just one week

Just a little over a week ago, Bruce Willis and wife Emma Heming Willis put their six-bedroom co-op at 271 Central Park West on the market for $17.75 million. They bought the duplex apartment back in 2015 for $17 million (from Milwaukee Bucks owner Wesley Edens), after Willis unloaded his nearby El Dorado co-op for $13 million. The couple recently decided to scale back since they don't spend enough time in the Upper West Side spread, and lucky for them the unit is already in contract, according to Curbed.
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January 26, 2018

Real estate bigwig drops $4.35M on Seth Meyers’ West Village condo

Real estate bigwig Michael Fuchs (he co-founded RFR Realty with his childhood friend Aby Rosen) paid $4.35 million for Seth Meyers' West Village condo at 302 West 12th Street, according to the Post. The “Late Night” host and his wife Alexi Ashe bought the two-bedroom unit in 2013 for $3.5 million, but after dropping $7.5 million on a five-bedroom Washington Square West co-op in summer 2016, they listed their smaller pad this past September for $4.5 million. And Fuchs must've really seen something in the apartment, because he went into contract on it just a month later.
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January 26, 2018

The Eleventh, Bjarke Ingels’ pair of twisting towers, takes shape along the High Line

The Eleventh, a pair of slanted towers designed by Bjarke Ingels', officially went vertical in West Chelsea this week. Developed by HFZ Capital, the two-building complex at 76 Eleventh Avenue sits near the High Line between West 18th and 17th Streets. A space between the buildings at their base gives the illusion that the buildings are being pulled apart, and its ruled corners highlight the towers' movement. The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2019.
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January 25, 2018

Anthony Scaramucci scoops up brand new Hamptons beach house for $7.5M

Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director who President Donald Trump fired before he even started his job, might be having more luck in real estate than in politics. The Mooch and his wife, Deidre Ball, have snagged a mansion in Bridgehampton South for $7.495 million, according to the New York Post. The newly built home at 30 Lawrence Court boasts eight bedrooms, seven and a half baths and a swimming pool.
See the Mooch's new mansion
January 24, 2018

Did the Obamas just close on this classy Upper East Side duplex for almost $10M?

In October, 6sqft reported that Barack and Michelle Obama had been spotted on their way to view a listing in Yorkville's 10 Gracie Square. At the time, it was speculated that they checked out a five-bedroom duplex that had gone into contract for $10 million shortly following the visit. The buyer wasn't confirmed, but the unit has now closed for $9.64 million (h/t Katherine Clarke), purchased through a "Gracie Square Revocable Trust. So while it's still not confirmed that the Obamas are moving to the Upper East Side, the building is one of New York City's most prestigious addresses, located just a stone's throw away from the Mayor's residence and over the years attracting the likes of Alexander Woollcott, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Gloria Vanderbilt and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
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January 23, 2018

With redevelopment imminent, are Red Hook’s industrial spaces at risk?

Like many waterfront communities in New York City, Red Hook is posed for a major redevelopment, with officials itching to bring new housing, commercial space and even mass transit to the industry-heavy Brooklyn neighborhood. In Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address this month, he said the neighborhood is "full of untapped potential" and called on the Port Authority to "accelerate consideration of relocating its Red Hook maritime activities to free up this waterfront for more productive community use." While almost all of the area is zoned for manufacturing purposes, there's been a significant reduction of industrial space in Red Hook, concerning its long-time residents as retail space has started displacing manufacturing, according to Crain's.
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January 22, 2018

Jason Biggs sells custom-designed Tribeca loft for $2.7M

"American Pie" actor Jason Biggs and his wife Jenny Mollen have sold their spacious three-bedroom Tribeca loft for $2.65 million, after first putting the pad on the market nearly a year ago. The 2,200-square-foot apartment at 288 West Street boasts authentic details throughout, like timber beams and columns, as well as hardwood oak floors. As the Observer learned, Biggs and Mollen bought the apartment for $2.55 million in October 2013 and tapped designer Cliff Fong to decorate the space. The couple moved to the West Village this past summer after purchasing a $6.98 million four-bedroom condo at the Shephard.
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January 22, 2018

The new Nordic: Scandinavian design goes from Ikea to luxury NYC real estate

Scandinavian design is on the rise in luxury residences. At first, that might seem like an oxymoron since Scandinavian design was founded on the principles of utility, affordability, and simplicity - and high-end residents are not. But luxe and Scandinavian design have found much common ground. From its early 20th century roots, based on Germany's Bauhaus school and developed in the Nordic region, to the mass-produced appeal of Ikea, the trend has certainly remained at the forefront of the design world. And perhaps now it's seeing its biggest moment, serving as a major selling point for hot new NYC condo projects such as Carroll Gardens' 145 President and being reimagined by of-the-moment firms like Morris Adjmi and Denmark's own Thomas Juul-Hansen.
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January 22, 2018

Josh Hartnett’s Tribeca penthouse just sold for $3.55M

Back in July, 6sqft reported that the elusive Josh Hartnett ("Black Hawk Down," "Pearl Harbor") had surfaced to list his sprawling Tribeca co-op at 16 Hudson Street for $4.25 million. Though the corner penthouse, which Hartnett bought in 2004 for $2.4 million, looks massive, it’s only got one bedroom. The heartthrob actor-turned-producer just had a second child with longtime girlfriend Tamsin Egerton, so we're guessing more space is key. The 1,965-square-foot apartment with One World Trade Center views recently sold for $3.55 million, according to Mansion Global.
Get a final look
January 18, 2018

Chris Rock’s cool Clinton Hill carriage house sells for $3.35M

Back in May 6sqft noted that Chris Rock had just listed his tricked-out Clinton Hill carriage house for $3.85 million. The comedian bought the historic property at 239 Waverly Avenue in 1994 for just $370,000. The 1901 home was also listed for rent in 2013 with an ask as high as $15,000/month at one point. Records now show that the renovated residence with room for two or three bedrooms, a 23-foot-wide master suite with skylights, and the elusive urban perk of being above a private two-car garage sold in September for $3.35 million. That's well below the ask, but still a tidy profit for Rock, who was recently spotted, according to the New York Post, checking out a posh penthouse and a townhouse at the Element condo tower at 555 West 59th Street.
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