Real Estate Trends

Photo via CityRealty

April 11, 2018

Why middle-income New Yorkers are turning down affordable housing

It sounds like a dream come true. After a decade of living and struggling to pay your rent as a middle-income New Yorker, you get an email from NYC Housing Connect that says, “Invitation for Interview” followed by the address of the building to which you applied. For a moment, you are ready to break out the champagne and start celebrating the fact that that rent-stabilized, affordable NYC apartment you have always dreamt about living in—yes, that massive apartment that is only a fraction of everyone else’s monthly rent—is finally in reach. But then, like a lot of middle-class New Yorkers, you start to seriously consider whether you’re ready, willing, and able to accept what NYC Housing Connect is actually offering.
Hear from real New Yorkers who have turned down affordable housing

By 2020, the U.S. will have 300 food halls

UrbanSpace Vanderbilt. Photo by Shinya Suzuki/Flickr

April 11, 2018

By 2020, the U.S. will have 300 food halls

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Between 2015 and 2020, the number of food halls operating nationwide will go from 70 to 300, finds a new Cushman & Wakefield report. This trend is very clear in New York City with 25 active permanent food halls and at least 10 others planned, or rumored, for the near future. Some of the most notable examples in the works are the TimeOut DUMBO food hall and the Essex Crossing's Market Line (set to be one of the largest in the world), in addition to examples like the very successful Urban Space which opened another food hall only six blocks from one of its other locations.
What's driving the trend

Construction kicks off for Handel Architects’ mixed-use tower at Essex Crossing

Rendering via Moso Studio

April 10, 2018

Construction kicks off for Handel Architects’ mixed-use tower at Essex Crossing

By Devin Gannon

Construction of Handel Architects' mixed-use tower planned for the Lower East Side's Essex Crossing development has officially begun. Located at 180 Broome Street, the tower sits at the Manhattan entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge, the structure which influenced the oversized concrete frames in the building's design. The tower includes 263 apartments, retail at street level, office space on levels two through five and a section of the massive marketplace below ground, the Market Line. According to CityRealty, the start of construction at 180 Broome makes it the sixth site to begin building in the nine-site complex.
Take a peek

REVEALED: Jeanne Gang’s 51-story condo next to Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s

Rendering via Tishman Speyer

April 9, 2018

REVEALED: Jeanne Gang’s 51-story condo next to Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s

By Devin Gannon

Tishman Speyer released on Monday the first renderings for its new luxury residential tower in Downtown Brooklyn, 11 Hoyt. Designed collaboratively between Hill West Architects and Jeanne Gang's architecture firm, Studio Gang, the 51-story, 480-unit condominium project will offer a variety of apartment layouts, with more than 190 different floor plans. The tower's rippling exterior seems to borrow elements used in two of Gang's Chicago projects, the Aqua Tower and the Vista Tower, which is currently under construction. The project will rise next to the Macy's on Fulton Street, which is currently undergoing renovations by Tishman Speyer, who are also planning a 10-story office tower on top of the store. Sales will launch at the tower this summer, but interested buyers can now check out the building's newly launched teaser site.
See them here

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

Photo via Ed Yourdon/Flickr

April 9, 2018

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

‘Tis the time of year for private school acceptance letters to arrive. Nervous teens and parents race to their inboxes and find out if they are given the honor of spending upwards of 50k a year on their children’s education, often at one of the Upper East Side's highly prestigious institutions. At the same time, the starting gun sounds on the race to find an Upper East Side home to move to near school. amNY reported that with the “private school bump,” not only do buildings see a jump in families moving their primary residences to the area but many see NYC residents buying “little studios for them and their kids for Monday through Friday just to be closer to the school so they don’t have to commute from Tribeca, the Lower East Side, or Chelsea.”
Hear from the pros

Real Estate Trends

Richard Meier’s East side master plan moving ahead with three condos and biotech offices

Rendering courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners / Solow / BloomImages

April 9, 2018

Richard Meier’s East side master plan moving ahead with three condos and biotech offices

By Annie Doge

Across the street from Richard Meier’s nearly-complete new black glassy-facaded condo/rental tower at 685 First Avenue (known as 685 First), between First Avenue and the East River, a boarded-up construction site has remained quiet for the better part of a decade. Now, Curbed reports, the site’s developer, Solow Building Company, headed by Sheldon H. Solow, 89, and son Stefan Soloviev, confirms the site's awakening and imminent transformation into three condominium buildings and a fourth building, to be a biotech office, using the 2012 master plan penned by Meier's architecture firm.
Find out more

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

Images (L to R): The Beckenstein and interior at The Rollins

April 7, 2018

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

By Ondel Hylton

Top 10 Rental Buildings on the Lower East Side Manhattan Skyline Partners with Jetty to Help Renters Meet Move-In Requirements Interview: How Ajay Yadav’s Roomi App Prevents Bad Roommate Experiences Renting and Buying in Times Square; What’s Available Right Now ML House Gets Clad; Bryant Park’s First Luxury Rental Set to Debut Summer 2018 Park […]

April 5, 2018

REVEALED: New renderings of Domino Sugar Factory’s waterfront park and esplanade

By Dana Schulz

Almost a year to date since the first renderings were revealed for Domino Park, the 11-acre park and waterfront esplanade that will anchor the three-million-square-foot Williamsburg mega-development at the Domino Sugar Factory site, a new batch of views has been released by developer Two Trees, and they showcase everything from an urban "beach" to a better look at how preserved artifacts from the historic factory will be incorporated throughout. Designed by James Corner Field Operations (of the High Line fame), the park is scheduled to open this summer, ahead of most of the buildings.
All the renderings and details ahead

$165M sale of South Bronx waterfront site is the borough’s priciest development deal ever

An original rendering of 2401 Third Avenue via Hill West Architects

April 4, 2018

$165M sale of South Bronx waterfront site is the borough’s priciest development deal ever

By Devin Gannon

Somerset Partners and Chetrit Group have sold their massive South Bronx waterfront site to Brookfield Properties for $165 million, the priciest transaction for a development in the Bronx on record. As the New York Post reported, the project includes two sites on either side of the Third Avenue Bridge. At 2401 Third Avenue, original plans called for a 25-story standalone tower and a 25-story and 16-story building rising from an eight-story base. Developers also planned to bring three 24-story buildings and a 22-story building on top of a six - and seven-story base at the second site at 101 Lincoln Avenue.
Find out more

April 4, 2018

David Adjaye’s first New York skyscraper begins its 800-foot rise in the Financial District

By Dana Schulz

Four months after revealing renderings for his first NYC skyscraper, esteemed British architect David Adjaye is finally seeing the project get off the ground. CityRealty reports that construction at 130 William Street has reached street level, with a red kangaroo crane in the ready to begin its nearly 800-foot-tall rise. The Ghana-born architect, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and named one of TIME’s 2017 most influential people, has said the condo tower was inspired by the historic masonry architecture of the Financial District.
Find out more ahead

What would congestion pricing mean for NYC real estate?

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Congestion pricing is dead in the water again. But New York City’s traffic and subway problems continue to get worse while the population and Cuomo and De Blasio’s battles continue to grow. Something has to give. With that in mind, the question remains, if congestion pricing ever happens, what is the relationship between congestion pricing […]

April 3, 2018

La Central, 992-unit affordable Bronx development, ramps up construction

By Michelle Cohen

As 6sqft previously reported, after getting the green light for La Central, a new development that would bring nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing to the site of the Bronx Zoo-bordering Lambert Houses, construction on phase 1 of the project is well underway. Welcome2TheBronx reports that a 160-unit building D at Bergen Avenue and 152nd Street, a supportive housing building for formerly homeless individuals, is almost topped out and is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2019. Two more buildings in the 992 unit, 1.1-million-square-foot Hudson Companies, Inc, development have broken ground.
Find out more

Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency and real estate

NYC skyline via Pexels; Bitcoin via Pexels

April 2, 2018

Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency and real estate

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

NYC skyline via Pexels; Bitcoin via Pexels Just when you think you understand the world of cryptos, all you understand is how little you know. And when you do actually master a topic, it will change. Which is why to get you started, we've put together a 101 guide to cryptocurrencies and real estate transactions. From the technology behind digital currencies such as Bitcoin to their risks, the real estate market is ripe for potential when it comes to this burgeoning market.
Get your primer ahead

April 2, 2018

Heidi Klum buys a raw Soho penthouse loft in need of a complete reno for $5M

By Michelle Cohen

Though Heidi Klum has spent summers renting a New York City pad and even checked out Bon Jovi's pricey penthouse, the supermodel and TV personality was LA-based until recently. The Post reports that Klum just closed on a 4,772-square-foot Soho penthouse loft at 515 Broadway for $5.1 million. Purchased under the name “HK East Coast LLC,” the loft, in a 19th century Queen Anne-style building also known as 84 Mercer Street, is a former artist's studio, though it's exempt from Artist Certification requirements. The totally raw space is in need of just about everything.
Take a look

‘Atlantic Chestnut’ development will bring over 1,100 fully-affordable units to East New York

Rendering via Dattner Architects

March 29, 2018

‘Atlantic Chestnut’ development will bring over 1,100 fully-affordable units to East New York

By Devin Gannon

A mixed-use development will bring 1,165 fully-affordable units to the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York, an evolving community in need of new and preserved housing. Dattner Architects released this week new renderings of the development, dubbed Atlantic Chestnut after the two streets it will face (h/t CityRealty). The complex, which will include three 14-story buildings, sits on 4.5 acres and measures over a million square feet. The three buildings will be completed in successive phases, with the first scheduled to wrap up in 2020, the second in 2021 and the third in 2022.
Find out more

Essex Street Market announces more vendors for new Essex Crossing location

Rendering courtesy of SHoP Architects for Market Line

March 29, 2018

Essex Street Market announces more vendors for new Essex Crossing location

By Michelle Cohen

This week's announcement of more vendors that will make up the inaugural roster for Essex Street Market's new home at the Essex Crossing mega-development included some favorites from around the city along with current faces, reports Bedford + Bowery. New to the market when the 24-story building at 115 Delancey Street opens will be Williamsburg's Middle Eastern takeout spot Samesa, East Village herbal apothecary Roots, Fort Greene florist Saffron and Union Square Greenmarket regular Josephine's Feast!
What else is in the works?

March 28, 2018

The final frontier of history and hip: Developments and amenities shaping the Lower East Side

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

For many New Yorkers, the Lower East Side is one neighborhood that still has a lot of authenticities and good 'ole New York grit left. It has been described as Manhattan’s "last frontier of cool. The promised land of old as well as new... Where the Godfather lives side by side with a hipster movie." Put more tangibly by Benjamin Baccash of Taconic Investment Partners, the developer of LES's Essex Crossing, "The Lower East Side has wonderful restaurants, art galleries, and great street life. It’s a real neighborhood and that’s what a lot of people are looking for." In addition to great diversity, personality, and transportation, the city is undertaking huge improvements on the east river waterfront, and developers are erecting new developments at all corners of the 'hood. Ahead, 6sqft takes a look at everything that's keeping the Lower East Side a vestige of old New York during its contemporary resurgence, from massive projects like Essex Crossing to a booming art gallery scene.
As Irving Berlin once said, “Everybody ought to have a Lower East Side in their life.”

Real Estate Trends

Investor group may create its own cryptocurrency to fund purchase of the Plaza

Photo via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

March 28, 2018

Investor group may create its own cryptocurrency to fund purchase of the Plaza

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Photo via Wally Gobetz/Flickr Cryptocurrencies make the wild west look tame. Yet despite their volatility, they’re becoming more of a presence in NYC real estate. Five days ago, when we reported on the first Bitcoin closings in Manhattan, the value of Bitcoin was $8,592. It is currently $7,999. According to a CNBC report, Chimera, a group of foreign investors interested in buying the Plaza Hotel, is considering offering partial payment for the transaction in a new cryptocurrency. Chimera has proposed the creation of the “Plaza Token,” an asset-backed securitized token, to raise more than $375 million. They are being advised about this initial coin offering by a company called Securitize. “This would give cryptocurrency investors the chance to diversify into luxury real estate and receive certain concessions inside the Plaza Hotel,” CNBC reports.
READ MORE

Mike Myers finally unloads $14M Soho penthouse

Photo of Mike Myers via Wikimedia

March 27, 2018

Mike Myers finally unloads $14M Soho penthouse

By Annie Doge

After three years on the market, Mike Myers' Soho penthouse has gone into contract. The actor bought the duplex at 72 Mercer Street back in 2007 for just under $8 million and renovated to its current contemporary state. He first listed in 2015 for $17 million, shortly after adding another unit in the building to the sale, upping the combo price to $21.5 million. This past November, Myers tried yet again, relisting the original penthouse unit for the reduced price of $14 million, and it looks like that did the trick as it's now in contract.
Get a look inside

First rendering unveiled for Durst’s Long Island City tower, projected to be the tallest in Queens

Rendering courtesy of Durst Organization via SkyscraperPage

March 27, 2018

First rendering unveiled for Durst’s Long Island City tower, projected to be the tallest in Queens

By Devin Gannon

After picking up the Long Island City property for $173.5 million in 2016, the Durst Organization released this week the first rendering of its massive mixed-use building planned for 29-37 41st Avenue. Dubbed Queens Plaza Park, the 978,000-square-foot tower will hold 958 rental residences, as well as retail and office space. The rendering reveals a concave-shaped building which will wrap around the 90-year old landmarked Clock Tower, which is being saved and restored, as CityRealty reported.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

JetBlue taps RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group for JFK expansion

Rendering of JFK Airport via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

March 27, 2018

JetBlue taps RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group for JFK expansion

By Devin Gannon

JetBlue Airways this week selected RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group to lead its planned terminal expansion at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The project, estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3 billion, will add larger gates in order to fit wider planes. JetBlue, which currently operates out of JFK's Terminal 5, will expand across to Terminal 6 and possibly Terminal 7, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed expansion comes over a year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $10 billion overhaul of JFK, aimed at expanding and redeveloping terminals, redesigning on-airport roadways for easier access and adding more dining and retail options. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency which oversees the airport's operations, will work with JetBlue about if and when the project can proceed.
More details here

Ahead of next year’s opening, TWA Hotel’s second tower tops out

Photo by Max Touhey

March 26, 2018

Ahead of next year’s opening, TWA Hotel’s second tower tops out

By Devin Gannon

MCR and Morse Development's repurposing of Eero Saarinen's historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport into a hotel, event space and dining destination continues to move full speed ahead. The second crescent-shaped tower of the TWA Hotel officially topped out this week, nearly a year ahead of its spring 2019 opening. The hotel will contain 505 rooms, a rooftop pool, an observation deck, eight bars and restaurants and 50,000 square feet of event space. Saarinen's landmarked TWA Flight Center terminal building will serve as the hotel lobby, a 200,000-square-foot space with retail, restaurants and bars.
Find out more

New looks at Manhattan West and Empire Station developments show the future Midtown West

Via Visualhouse

March 26, 2018

New looks at Manhattan West and Empire Station developments show the future Midtown West

By Devin Gannon

Imagine a future Midtown West with state-of-the-art retail and office towers, an abundance of open green space and an attractive, efficient transit station. While plans to bring all of that is in the works, it could be years away from becoming reality. As CityRealty learned, one of the neighborhood's busiest developers, Brookfield Properties, is giving us a preview of what the area will eventually look like, with new renderings for its expansive, six-building Manhattan West project. Plus, the developer also created a CGI video that provides a virtual tour of the Empire Station, the hall currently undergoing renovations at Penn Station.
Take a peek

March 26, 2018

Nearly 250,000 NYC rental apartments sit vacant

By Emily Nonko

Early numbers from the Census Bureau’s Housing and Vacancy Survey show that the number of unoccupied apartments throughout New York City has grown significantly over the past three years--a whopping 35 percent to 65,406 apartments since 2014, when the last survey was taken. As the Daily News puts it, "Today, 247,977 units — more than 11% of all rental apartments in New York City — sit either empty or scarcely occupied, even as many New Yorkers struggle to find an apartment they can afford." One reason for the growing vacancy rates, as the article states, is the city's high rent, which has risen twice as fast as inflation.
Here's a breakdown of vacancy rates

Real Estate Trends

Why middle-income New Yorkers are turning down affordable housing

By 2020, the U.S. will have 300 food halls

Construction kicks off for Handel Architects’ mixed-use tower at Essex Crossing

REVEALED: Jeanne Gang’s 51-story condo next to Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

Richard Meier’s East side master plan moving ahead with three condos and biotech offices

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

REVEALED: New renderings of Domino Sugar Factory’s waterfront park and esplanade

$165M sale of South Bronx waterfront site is the borough’s priciest development deal ever

David Adjaye’s first New York skyscraper begins its 800-foot rise in the Financial District

What would congestion pricing mean for NYC real estate?

La Central, 992-unit affordable Bronx development, ramps up construction

Everything you need to know about cryptocurrency and real estate

Heidi Klum buys a raw Soho penthouse loft in need of a complete reno for $5M

For $6.75M, everything you'd want in a Park Slope brownstone

‘Atlantic Chestnut’ development will bring over 1,100 fully-affordable units to East New York

Essex Street Market announces more vendors for new Essex Crossing location

The final frontier of history and hip: Developments and amenities shaping the Lower East Side

Investor group may create its own cryptocurrency to fund purchase of the Plaza

Mike Myers finally unloads $14M Soho penthouse

First rendering unveiled for Durst’s Long Island City tower, projected to be the tallest in Queens

JetBlue taps RXR Realty and Vantage Airport Group for JFK expansion

Ahead of next year’s opening, TWA Hotel’s second tower tops out

New looks at Manhattan West and Empire Station developments show the future Midtown West

Nearly 250,000 NYC rental apartments sit vacant

144 Vanderbilt Avenue in Clinton Hill

Real Estate Trends

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:
Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!