Real Estate Trends

The plastics company, Plaxall, announced on Tuesday a massive rezoning proposal to allow for a mixed-use district in Anable Basin, the area surrounding a 149-year-old inlet located in Long Island City. Since founding the company more than 70 years ago, the Plaxall family has purchased and rehabilitated properties in the neighborhood and currently manages over one million square feet of space. Achieved through rezoning, the proposal calls for 335,000 square feet for industrial uses, 4,955 housing units with 25 percent of them affordable, a 700+ seat public school and a new, elevated promenade. If the rezoning is approved, construction is anticipated to begin in 2020 with a completion date in 2034, but no official timeline has been set.
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New development sales in Manhattan expected to hit $12B by 2020

New development visualized through 2020, via CityRealty

November 14, 2017

New development sales in Manhattan expected to hit $12B by 2020

According to CityRealty's 2017 Manhattan New Development Report, things are really going to heat up over the next few years. While new development sales dropped to $8.3 billion in 2017 from $9.4 billion in 2016 (attributed to a softening in the luxury market), there are a number of new big-time buildings that will commence closings and have the potential to drive total sales up to a whopping $11.9 billion by 2020. One key player is Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side. With 815 apartments, it will be the largest condo by unit count ever constructed in the city. And up on Billionaires' Row, Extell's Central Park Tower will have the city's biggest sell-out ever at $4 billion, while Vornado's 220 Central Park South is looking to set the record for highest price per square foot ever in NYC.
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Real Estate Trends

November 14, 2017

Park Slope duplex is a perfect townhouse tryout at $4,800/month

In the heart of lovely, leafy north Park Slope, a block from Prospect Park and surrounded by some of Brooklyn's priciest historic architecture, this 1,500-square-foot duplex condominium at 502 1st Street is available for rent, asking $4,800 a month. If you're looking for a townhouse tryout–without all the stress that comes with purchasing an actual townhouse–the two-floor, three-bedroom space is big enough for the whole family. They'll fit right in here–and two private outdoor spaces provide a closer-to-home alternative to the park.
Have a closer look

Waldorf Astoria will lose 1,000 hotel rooms in renovation

Photo via Wiki Commons

November 13, 2017

Waldorf Astoria will lose 1,000 hotel rooms in renovation

By Emily Nonko

In the coming weeks, the renovation of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel will finally begin--a three-year process to convert much of the building to luxury condos. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, who had owned the landmark since 1972, agreed in 2014 to sell the 1,413-room hotel to Beijing-based financial and insurance company Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion. Since then, the interior was landmarked, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was tapped to design the project, and the building closed to begin work. Now the New York Post reports that post reno, the Waldorf will only hold 350 hotel rooms--a number that's "at the low end of recent estimates and much smaller than the number former Waldorf owner Hilton had expected," according to the paper.
It's caused some tension

One month free at SHoP’s American Copper Buildings and more rental offers

Photos via JDS Development/SHoP Architects

November 11, 2017

One month free at SHoP’s American Copper Buildings and more rental offers

The American Copper Buildings, famous for their slanted silhouettes and already-iconic skybridge, commenced leasing in early 2017, but they're now offering one month free on a 13-month lease and one month broker OP, according to the building's website. Each of the two buildings has more than 300 unique layouts; current availabilities include studios from $2,975/month, one-bedrooms from $5,00/month, and two-bedrooms from $6,530/month.
More offers ahead

Real Estate Trends

Photo of Trump Tower via Krystal T’s Flickr

November 10, 2017

Trump Tower prices slide since 2015 presidential campaign

Sales prices at the tony Midtown condo building at 721 Fifth Avenue have dropped sharply since Donald Trump began his presidential campaign, according to the Wall Street Journal. The median sale price and average price per square foot are down since 2015 and are now reaching the lows experienced during the last financial crisis. Brokers aren't exactly sure whether the "Trump effect" has caused the slump–including issues specific to the tower such as heightened security, protests, and a general antipathy toward all things Trump–or it's part of an overall softening of the luxury condo market.
Is it the Curse of Trump?

Real Estate Trends

MAP: Where to find free rent and concessions across NYC

Photo © Daxiao Productions – Fotolio

November 7, 2017

MAP: Where to find free rent and concessions across NYC

Complimentary Netflix, reduced security deposits, amenity memberships, and best of all, free rent–there’s no shortage of concessions in the NYC rental market, but with landlords offering twice the amount of deals as last year, it’s hard to pinpoint where the best bargains are. Which is why CityRealty has put together a city-wide interactive map of leasing […]

Real Estate Trends

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

Images (L to R): HOUSE39, THE CRESCENDO, THE LANE and 180 WATER STREET

November 4, 2017

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

Images (L to R): HOUSE39, THE CRESCENDO, THE LANE and 180 WATER STREET Live & Play at THE CRESCENDO: Unprecedented Rental in South Bronx Leasing from $2,100/Month [link] One-of-a-Kind Rentals Debut on West Houston Street in Storied Greenwich Village Building [link] Live at The Monterey: Leasing Special at Upper East Side Rental with Health Club […]

Real Estate Trends

Study shows huge disparity in U.S. urban land value, with NYC making up 10%

Photo via Public Domain Pictures

November 3, 2017

Study shows huge disparity in U.S. urban land value, with NYC making up 10%

A recently-published study by economists at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan shows that 48 percent–almost half–of the total value of America’s urban land can be found within the borders of five of what Citylab's Richard Florida calls "superstar metro areas:" New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. According to the study, the value of America's urban land is a total of $25 trillion as of 2010—more than double the nation’s 2006 GDP. That's an average of $511,000 per acre or $100,000 for the typical residential lot of a fifth of an acre. But in NYC, which makes up a whopping 10 percent of this total, an acre of land is worth more than $5 million.
The gap widens

Real Estate Trends

Fully skinned, TF Cornerstone’s mammoth Midtown tower on West 57th tops out

In May 2012, TF Cornerstone (TFC) entered a 99-year ground lease for the building's site that spans nearly a full city block and measures 63,000 square feet. Now topped out and fully skinned, the massive rental at 606 West 57th Street has a less flashy appearance than renderings previously hinted, but still features an impressively imposing, boxy design, as CityRealty reported. Designed by Arquitectonica, the 42-story, 1.2 million-square-foot building will contain a whopping 1,028 apartments. It joins other West Side gems like the Helena and the pyramid-shaped, Bjarke Ingels-designed Via57 West.
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‘Good Wife’ star Josh Charles buys Devonshire House pad in the Village for $6.3M

Image courtesy of the Stein Team of Sotheby’s Downtown. Credit: Scott Wintrow/Gamut Photos.
Josh Charles image: Wikipedia.

November 2, 2017

‘Good Wife’ star Josh Charles buys Devonshire House pad in the Village for $6.3M

By Annie Doge

Alec Baldwin and Amanda Seyfried just got a new celebrity neighbor at the venerable Greenwich Village condo Devonshire House at 28 East 10th Street. According to the Post, "The Good Wife" star Josh Charles just purchased a three-bedroom home at the celebrity-loved building for $6.3 million. According to records, the actor recently sold a two-bedroom condo at 42 East 12th Street for $3.75 million.
Take a look

3 Hudson Boulevard loses 100+ feet in new renderings

A new rendering of 3 Hudson Boulevard, via FXFOWLE/Moinian Group

November 1, 2017

3 Hudson Boulevard loses 100+ feet in new renderings

A revised proposal for the Moinian Group’s Hudson Yards tower 3 Hudson Boulevard calls for a slight height chop, which will strip it of its supertall status. A redesign from FXFOWLE now brings the total square footage to 2 million square feet from a previous 1.8 million and lowers its height to 940 feet tall from 1,050 feet. Instead of 63 floors, the tower will rise 53 floors in this new design. To match standards for today’s modern office, the building will now feature larger floor plates, higher ceilings and a terrace on the eighth floor. As the New York Post reported, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held this Friday with elected officials, celebrating the reboot.
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First 5Pointz-replacing tower tops out in Long Island City

Construction progress as of late-October, via CityRealty

October 31, 2017

First 5Pointz-replacing tower tops out in Long Island City

The first tower of the controversial rental complex in Long Island City, 5Pointz, has officially topped out, although not without some roadblocks. Once an art studio and exhibition space, known for its vibrant graffiti-covered warehouse, the complex was whitewashed of its iconic murals in 2013, making way for the new development. Now, four years and several lawsuits later, construction of the development at 22-44 Jackson Avenue continues to chug along, with its first and tallest tower topping out this week. As CityRealty discovered, David Wolkoff's 1.4 million-square-foot plan calls for a 47-story tower and a 41-story tower, with 1,115 apartments total.
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October 30, 2017

Seth Meyers’ $4.5M West Village condo is in contract after only a month

Just over a month after listing his West Village condo at 302 West 12th Street for $4.5 million, the “Late Night” host has reportedly found a buyer for the two-bedroom unit (h/t Curbed). Meyers and his wife, Alexi, purchased the pad for $3.5 million in 2013, but last summer they dropped $7.5 million on a five-bedroom co-op at 32 Washington Square West.
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New Domino Sugar Factory renderings show barrel-vaulted glass topper and taller towers

292-314 Kent. Rendering by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism via Landmarks Preservation Commission.

October 30, 2017

New Domino Sugar Factory renderings show barrel-vaulted glass topper and taller towers

Update 10/31/17: The Landmarks Preservation Commission did not approve the new plans at the hearing, instead suggesting the architects present revised designs that address how the newly exposed brick will be preserved and how the ground floor will interact with the open space. The Commissioners were divided on the glass topper, with some feeling it appropriately references the building's arches and others feeling it inappropriately treats the structure as a ruin. 6sqft previously shared the latest round of designs for the three million-square-foot Domino Sugar Factory mega-development in Williamsburg, done by Vishaan Chakrabarti‘s Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU). Developer Two Trees broke ground on the first tower in the Domino Sugar Refinery Master Plan last spring, and the lottery opened for 104 affordable units at the SHoP Architects-designed building, the 16-story 325 Kent Avenue. Now, more new renderings of the complex have been released ahead of an October 31 presentation before the Landmarks Preservation Commission (h/t Brownstoner).
More new renderings this way

Images (L to R): CHELSEA29, 800 UNION, ARC and 363 BOND

October 28, 2017

This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): CHELSEA29, 800 UNION, ARC and 363 BOND New Rental Tower ‘Chelsea29’ Offers Two Months Free & Launches Affordable Housing Lottery [link] Brand New Rentals Debut in Ridgewood at ‘The Mill’ from $2,000/Month [link] Exclusive Residences Debut at 91 Crosby Street in SoHo, Including Rare $30K Triplex Penthouse [link] Rentals Debut at […]

Real Estate Trends

October 27, 2017

First look at proposed Greenwich Village tower by Robert A.M. Stern

If there's one neighborhood in NYC where new developments face the most challenges it's Greenwich Village. One of the city's first historic districts and once home to preservation godmother Jane Jacobs, the low-scale community is arguably the most vocal and steadfast in the city. But it looks like Madison Realty Capital didn't get the memo, as they've tapped starchitect Robert A.M. Stern to design a hulking, 27-story condo tower at 14 Fifth Avenue, just a block north of Washington Square Park, according to NY Yimby. And while Stern's signature classy, limestone design fits in well with the stretch's other apartment buildings, the proposed 367-foot height will likely not sit well with locals. However, at this point, the tower is merely conceptual and will still require a public review need Landmarks Preservation Commission approvals.
More looks and details

262 Fifth Avenue, the tallest tower between Empire State Building and One WTC, gets new details

Rendering via DBOX for Meganom

October 25, 2017

262 Fifth Avenue, the tallest tower between Empire State Building and One WTC, gets new details

There will be a lot of firsts at 262 Fifth Avenue--Nomad's first supertall, Moscow-based firm Meganom's first U.S. project, and NYC's first Russian-designed supertall. 6sqft first uncovered renderings of the super-skinny, 1,009-foot skyscraper in May, revealing its aluminum and glass facade and "striking arched observation deck" at its top. Now, Yimby has gotten its hands on a new rendering, just a day after the Department of Buildings approved plans for the project.
See the new rendering in full

Rezoning plan for Sunset Park’s Industry City set into motion

Photo courtesy of Industry City

October 24, 2017

Rezoning plan for Sunset Park’s Industry City set into motion

The public review process for the rezoning of Industry City begins Tuesday, an effort to boost total capital investment of the sprawling campus to $1 billion and generate 13,000 on-site jobs and 7,000 off-site jobs over the next decade. Currently, Industry City sits on 35 acres with 16 buildings in its waterfront Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park. The rezoning would restore the century-old campus and increase total usable square footage from 5.3 million to 6.6 million square feet. After presenting plans to the City Planning Commission and creating an environmental statement, the project will then enter the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) this Spring, followed by the public review process.
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October 23, 2017

Hamptons’ infamous Grey Gardens estate sells for the first time in 40 years

After two years as a rental and seven months on the market, the infamous Grey Gardens Estate has gone into contract for the first time in 40 years. The 28-room mansion was last listed for $18 million, but according to the Washington Post, the exact sales price and buyer haven't yet been revealed. Though now a stunning Hamptons home, as 6sqft previously explained, it gained notoriety as a "decrepit, crumbling, cat-infested, overgrown horror," after its isolated residents, Edith wing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (the aunt and cousin to Jackie O), were featured in the 1975 documentary "Grey Gardens."
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Comptroller wants on-time rent payments to count towards credit scores

Photo via Wikimedia

October 23, 2017

Comptroller wants on-time rent payments to count towards credit scores

City Comptroller Scott Stringer unveiled a plan on Monday that would allow renters in New York City to count on-time, monthly payments toward their credit score. While homeowners who punctually pay a mortgage can boost their credit, renters currently cannot count on-time payments in the same way. Those without credit or bad credit often pay higher interest rates on loans and other monthly bills, like utilities or cell phone payments. As the New York Times reported, Stringer’s office looked at a sampling of tenants who pay less than $2,000 per month and found that 76 percent of them would improve their credit scores if rent payments were reported. Stringer told the Times that his plan "could create a powerful credit history that could lift you out of poverty."
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October 23, 2017

For $3,500 a month, this Bed-Stuy brownstone rental has charm, personality, and a private backyard

In a sea of cookie-cutter rentals, there are a rare few that look like home–or even like an interesting place to live. Located at 481 Greene Avenue in what seems to be the new neighborhood of choice for the city's interior design professionals, this two-bedroom brownstone apartment goes far beyond the average Bed-Stuy rental when it comes to good looks. The gut-renovated 1,100-square-foot first floor unit is one of only six, and it comes with the rare bonus of a private back yard.
Have a look around

Images (L to R): LEFRAK CITY, 4720 CENTER BOULEVARD, 200 WATER STREET and PERCH HARLEM

October 21, 2017

This week’s roundup of NYC rental news