Real Estate Trends

January 23, 2017

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh sells stylish Chelsea pad for $4.8M

All the way back in August 2014, 6sqft featured the $5 million listing for this stylish co-op at 147 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, pointing out its trendy features such as a retractable garage-style glass door, massive open living space with wall-to-wall windows, and uber-contemporary kitchen. And as it turns out, the full-floor spread belonged to producer and director Steven Soderbergh, who's best known for his work directing "Erin Brockovich," "Traffic" (for which he won the Oscar), and "Ocean's 11." The Real Deal reports that he's now finally found a buyer for the apartment, selling it for $4.8 million.
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January 20, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

Midtown Rental Skyscraper ‘Tower 31‘ Offering One Month Free or One Month OP on Select Leases [link] Leasing Launches at 531 Myrtle Avenue; First to Open for New Clinton Hill Rental Duo ‘Myrtle & Steuben’ [link] Month of Free Rent at The Giovanni, 81 Fleet Place in Downtown Brooklyn [link] SLCE-Designed Downtown High Rise, The […]

January 18, 2017

Tennis great Novak Djokovic buys two units in Renzo Piano’s 565 Broome SoHo

When he's not busy winning titles as the second-best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic is apparently quite the architecture aficionado. The Serbian athlete told the Wall Street Journal that he's a big fan of Renzo Piano; earlier this year he bought a unit in Piano's Miami beach project Eighty Seven Park, and he's now gone into contract for two condos in the starchitect's under-construction NYC venture 565 Broome SoHo, where sales launched this past September.
The full scoop
January 17, 2017

CNN’s Don Lemon sells Harlem condo for small profit

Emmy Award-winning CNN news anchor Don Lemon picked up a somewhat modest condo a little over two years ago in Harlem‘s 2280FDB (2280 Frederick Douglas Blvd.). He paid $867,780 for unit 11A, right next door to 11B that he already owned. 6sqft speculated that he was planning to combine the condos, but according to city records released today, Lemon's sold off 11A for $969,000.
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January 13, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

Renovated Apartments on West 30th Street Near Hudson Yards Offering One Month Free [link] Free Rent & Special Offers at Spencer Street Apartments in Bed-Stuy [link] Name Revealed for New Clinton Hill Rental, Leasing Site Launched for 5-Story ‘Myrtle & Steuben‘ [link] Stonehenge 57, Midtown East High-Rise in Sutton Place, Offering One Month Free [link] […]

January 13, 2017

Third lottery opens at Pacific Park Brooklyn, apply for 303 affordable units from $532/month

Last spring, the first housing lottery opened at Pacific Park Brooklyn when 181 affordable units at SHoP's 461 Dean Street (the world's tallest modular tower) came online. It was followed a few months later by 298 openings at 535 Carlton Avenue, COOKFOX's entirely affordable building, and now the third set of apartments for low- to middle-income New Yorkers is open. SHoP Architects also designed an all-affordable building at 38 Sixth Avenue, adjacent to the Barclays Center, and as of today these 303 residences are up for grabs, ranging from $532/month studios to $3,695/month three-bedrooms. Households earning between 101 and 165 percent of the area media income (or up to $173,415 annually) are eligible for 198 of the units, while 105 units are set aside for those earning between 30 and 100 percent (as low as $20,126 a year).
More details and the whole qualification breakdown
January 13, 2017

Pieces of Thomas Heatherwick’s massive, climbable ‘Vessel’ arrive at Hudson Yards site

Back in September, Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross finally unveiled the large-scale artwork that would anchor the central public space within Hudson Yards. As Ross revealed, Thomas Heatherwick was chosen to design the piece, and it would cost an incredible $150 million to build. Dubbed "The Vessel,” the climbable sculpture would rise 16-stories—150 feet tall, 50 feet wide at its base and 150 feet wide at the top—and consist of a web of 154 concrete and steel staircases with 2,500 steps, 80 landings and an elevator; the piece, in fact, so massive that it could comfortably accommodate 1,000 visitors at a time. The sculpture was to be constructed in Monfalcone, Italy before being shipped to its home on the Hudson River. And now CityRealty reports that parts of what Ross once called "New York's Eiffel Tower" have officially arrived at the site and await assembly.
More photos this way
January 12, 2017

After seven years on the market, Keira Knightley’s former Tribeca loft finds a buyer

This massive, duplex loft at 16 Jay Street in Tribeca has been trying to sell since April 2011. Its owner, textile designer, painter, and sculptor Gianluca Berardi, bought the pad in 2002 for $2.2 million, then undertook a lengthy overhaul that included adding the "sweeping cast-iron and mahogany staircase that was welded together inside the home in the shape of a double ellipsis," as 6sqft previously reported. She first listed it in 2009 for $8.4 million, then reduced it to $8 million in 2012, and in 2014, re-listed it as a $45,000/month rental. The following year, actress Keira Knightly rented the apartment, as did Rangers player Eric Staal. It then came back on the market for $6.6 million this past March, and now, after seven long years, it's finally found a buyer for the reduced price of $6 million, reports the Post.
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January 11, 2017

Related Cos. plays a prominent role in supporting controversial immigration program for wealthy investors

New York-based mega-developer Related Cos. has been instrumental in recent efforts to keep the door open on a controversial program that provides green cards to wealthy investors, reports the Wall Street Journal. Related, the developer behind the $20 billion Hudson Yards project and many other luxury developments, has been instrumental in blocking bipartisan efforts to overhaul a green card program, known as EB-5, that allows permanent legal U.S. residency to immigrants who invest $500,000 or more in certain U.S. businesses.
Hoping for a supportive Trump White House
January 11, 2017

First look at the $30M penthouse at Robert A.M. Stern’s 30 Park Place

The top-floor units at Robert A.M. Stern's 930-foot 30 Park Place have a way of making headlines. The 82nd floor penthouse, for instance, boasts the highest private outdoor space in the city, and the building's own developer, Larry Silverstein, recently snatched up the massive 80th floor spread for $34 million. But below these units are two duplex penthouses that span the 78th and 79th floors, notable for their double-height loggias that, as Curbed notes, have become a fixture in classic Stern buildings like 15 Central Park West and 520 Park Avenue. Curbed also got their hands on new photos of penthouse 78B, on the market for $29.5 million, which not only showcase the incredible views from the terrace, but new looks at the interiors.
More looks ahead
January 11, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

The Eugene, Midtown’s Tallest Rental Skyscraper, Gears Up for Early 2017 Leasing [link] Grand Opening: Leasing Begins at 681 Franklin in Crown Heights [link] Grand Opening: Leasing Begins on No Fee Bed-Stuy Apartments at 766 Lafayette Avenue [link] One Month Free on Select Units at Brodsky’s Midtown West High-Rise, One Columbus Place [link] One Month […]

January 10, 2017

Christian Slater gets $1M for modest Hell’s Kitchen condo

Christian Slater made headlines Sunday night with his obviously baffled reaction to Tom Hiddleston's Golden Globes acceptance speech, but now that we've seen Slater's rather mundane Midtown condo, we're the ones a bit confused. LL NYC reports that the "Mr. Robot" actor has sold his two-bedroom Hell's Kitchen apartment for $1.1 million; he bought it for $882,500 in 2005. But as LL notes, the sparse listing photos seem to imply that he didn't spend much time there.
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January 10, 2017

Construction update: FXFOWLE’s Circa Central Park nears the finish line

Last we heard from Circa Central Park, the circle-hugging Central Park north condo from architects FXFOWLE and developers Artimus, the lottery had launched for 10 affordable units in the building. Seven months later, with occupancy slated for this year and nearly all apartments sold, CityRealty stopped by the Harlem site to check on construction. They've shared some great views of the nearly-completed glass, metal, and brick facade, which utilizes "a brise soleil system of horizontal louvers and vertical fins" to reduce solar gain and add depth to the structure by highlighting them in bright colors.
More details ahead
January 9, 2017

Tower 28, Queens’ soon-to-be second-tallest residential building, gets new renderings

When it's completed in March, Long Island City's Tower 28 (formerly 28 on 28th) will be the tallest residential building in Queens at 647 feet and 57 stories--that is, until it's taken over by the 66-story Court Square City View Tower nearby (this will also overtake the 673-foot 1 Court Square as the tallest overall building in the borough). Though its superlative will be short-lived, Heatherwood Communities' rental at 42-12 28th Street will still offer panoramic views, which new renderings from architects Hill West tell us will be taken in from a top-floor observatory, as well as a host of swanky amenities to "rival any vacation destination." According to CityRealty, the new exterior and interior views also come with news that leasing will begin in March, ranging from $1,900/month studios to $7,500/month three-bedrooms.
More renderings and details ahead
January 9, 2017

Eli Manning buys $8M beachfront mansion in the Hamptons

His dreams of winning a third Super Bowl may have been squashed yesterday, but at least Eli Manning's got a nice new beachfront mansion in the Hamptons to go home to. The Post reports that the Giants Quarterback dropped $8.5 million on a three-story house in Quogue, a secluded village that isn't a surprising choice for the rather low-key NFL player. The modern home was built in 2004 and has five bedrooms, a fireplace, pool, massive backyard deck, and private beach access.
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January 9, 2017

Manhattan real estate investor bought Donald Trump’s childhood home sight unseen for $1.4M

At the end of last month, 6sqft revealed that an anonymous New York investor had bought Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens with plans to flip it at auction this month and turn a hefty profit. The Post has now learned that the mystery buyer--and democrat-turned Marco Rubio supporter--is Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis. Without ever having driven past the Tudor-style home at 85-15 Wareham Place, Davis dropped $1,390,500 on the piece of Trump ephemera, which he still plans to bring to auction next week.
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January 6, 2017

SOM reveals official rendering for American Bible Society-replacing condo-rental tower

In the fall of 2015, the American Bible Society moved from their long-time home at Broadway and 61st Street to Philadelphia. Their Columbus Circle/Lincoln Center headquarters was built in 1965 by architects Roy O. Allen Jr. and Donald C. Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who created a 12-story Brutalist structure that was the first in the city constructed with load-bearing, pre-cast concrete exterior walls. But with the institution's recent departure came the sale of the building at 1865 Broadway for $300 million to AvalonBay Communities. The developer returned to the original architectural firm to create a new condo-rental tower at the site, and CityRealty has now uncovered SOM's first official rendering of what will replace their former work, which, interestingly enough, harkens back to the Brutalist aesthetic.
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January 6, 2017

New renderings of Court Square City View Tower, Queens’ future tallest building

When plans were originally filed in February 2016, the Long Island City skyscraper since dubbed Court Square City View Tower was set to reach 964 feet. In April, it got bumped up to supertall status at 984 feet, making it Queens' future tallest building. It's since been dropped to 66 stories, but according to a new project page from architects Hill West (formerly Goldstein Hill & West), it will still be Long Island City's tallest tower, and therefore the tallest in the borough. CityRealty first noticed the updated details, which come with the first true renderings of the 800-unit condominium at 23-15 44th Drive. In addition to 360-degree views of Manhattan, the tower will offer an all-glass curtainwall facade, a retail base, and a slew of corner-apartment balconies.
More details ahead
January 6, 2017

Plans filed for a 21-story Coney Island ‘Dreams’ project on the boardwalk

Developer John Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group has filed plans for a 21-story tower on a Surf Avenue parcel that he purchased last summer according to Brooklyn Daily; the tower is part of a three-building Coney Island project that will likely include 415 apartments and retail. In the billionaire grocery mogul's typically patient fashion, he has slowly been acquiring the Boardwalk-adjacent lots between West 35th and West 37th streets for the project, called Ocean Dreams, since 2005.
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January 6, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

Midtown West’s Mercedes House with 80,000+ Square Feet of Amenities Now Offering Two Months Free on Select Leases [link] Up to Two Months of Free Rent at Murray Hill’s The Frontier [link] Two Months Free with 18-Month Leases at Battery Park City’s Gateway Rentals [link] Brodsky Offering Up to Three Months Free at City Tower […]

January 5, 2017

Mike Myers drops $14.65M on Tribeca condo at super-luxe 443 Greenwich

The red-brick, former warehouse building at 443 Greenwich Street in Tribeca was converted to boutique condos by CetraRuddy Architects and developer Metro Loft Management in 2014, and since then it's been attracting quite a bit of high-profile interest thanks to its low-profile location, luxurious lofts, and wealth of amenities. The latest celeb to cash in here is Mike Myers; the Observer reports that he and wife Kelly Tisdale have dropped $14.65 million on a four-bedroom spread (more than the $14.25 million list price). The funnyman has been trying to sell his Soho penthouse since April 2015, and though there's no word that it's found a buyer, that could very well be the reason for the move.
More on Myers' new abode
January 5, 2017

Ousted ‘Today’ show anchor Billy Bush finally sells Chelsea townhouse

Disgraced "Today" show anchor Billy Bush had bought the townhouse at 224 West 22nd Street in Chelsea in December 2015 in preparation for his new gig with NBC, but after video hit of his "locker room" chat with Donald Trump, the network gave him the boot. He had listed the residence seven months earlier, but when he lost his job he chopped the price from $8,995,000 to $8,250,000 this past October. His quick getaway plan proved mostly successful, as the Wall Street Journal reports that it's now in contract.
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January 5, 2017

NFL star Damon Harrison scores a $1.55M ritzy manor in northern Jersey

Defensive tackle Damon Harrison (aka Snacks) signed a $9.25 million/year contract with the New York Giants in March 2016, and it looks like he's decided to put some of that cash into the real estate game. The Post reports that the 28-year-old player just dropped $1.55 million on a ritzy, custom-built manor in northern New Jersey. Located in the Washington Township, about 20 miles from MetLife Stadium, the palatial, 7,080-square-foot home was custom built in 2013 and boasts glamorous (though at times a bit gaudy) details like an oversized heated driveway to melt snow, a two-story marble foyer complete with a bridal staircase and gigantic chandelier, and a double-height great room overlooked by three upstairs balconies.
See it all here
January 5, 2017

High-income renters on the rise in the Bronx and Queens

In November, 6sqft shared an analysis from RentCafe that showed the number of high-income renters in NYC has tripled over the last decade, with the number of renter households earning more than $150,000 annually increasing by 217 percent between 2005 and 2015, from 551,000 to 1.75 million. Now, DNAinfo has asked the site to break the data down further by neighborhood, and what it tells us is that Eastchester and Baychester in the Bronx and East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights in Queens saw the largest increase in wealthy renters.
Learn more and explore RentCafe's interactive charts
January 3, 2017

New renderings and details for Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich Street

Construction at Rafael Viñoly’s slender skyscraper 125 Greenwich Street has reached street level, but as CityRealty uncovered, the tower that was slated to be taller than 1,000 feet over the summer (and previously 1,400 feet), is back down to 898 feet. Though this now makes it shorter than Fumihiko Maki’s 977-foot 4 World Trade Center one block north, fresh renderings show that the 88-story condo will still offer sweeping views of the city and harbor, which are shown for the first time from interior shots.
More views and details ahead