Real Estate Trends

July 31, 2016

Revealed: Rem Koolhaas’ First NYC Building in Gramercy

As 6sqft previously reported, "thirty-eight years after the publication of his acclaimed book 'Delirious New York,' Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his global architecture firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)... have finally landed their first ground-up New York City commission." And now, CityRealty.com has uncovered the first official renderings of the two-towered condo development, located at 122 East 23rd Street in Gramercy. The Pritzker Prize winner has designed a crystalline glass and concrete facade with a chiseled corner on the north building that exposes its glass edges. In between the two buildings will be a courtyard surrounded by private apartment terraces. The courtyard will lead into a pool area, children's play area, and screening and party rooms on the building's lower levels. There will also be a robotic parking system that brings cars to underground storage.
More details

July 29, 2016

The Bronx Dethrones Brooklyn for Most Residential Permits Issued

By Dana Schulz

For the past four years, Brooklyn has had more residential permits issues through the Department of Buildings than any other borough. But according to a report from the New York Building Congress shared by DNAinfo, during the first six months of 2016, the Bronx has taken the lead, accounting for nearly 32 percent of all permitted units, a major jump from its 11 percent average over the past four years. For comparison, last year Brooklyn had a staggering 26,000 units permitted, but this year fell to 1,400; the Bronx had 1,900 units authorized this year. Brooklyn's sharp decrease is part of a city-wide drop after the 421-a program expired at the beginning of the year that caused developers to rush to get their permits in at the end of 2015. But the Bronx's surge is likely due to a huge affordable housing push: "More than 43 percent of the units that began construction in the first six months of this year under Mayor Bill de Blasio's ambitious affordable housing plan... were in the Bronx."
More on the trend

Real Estate Trends

July 29, 2016

Floor-Through, Two-Bedroom With Historic Touches Asks $9,500/Month in the Village

By Emily Nonko

Charm abounds at this two-bedroom West Village apartment, which spans a full floor of the 1875 brownstone building 69 Perry Street. The interior boasts some beautiful historic details like moldings, carved fireplace mantles and original shutters. The fully-furnished apartment also comes with the owner's impressive collection of antique mantel pieces, 19 century paintings and antiques, and an Italian ceramic collection. Overall, not a bad spot to cozy up for a year.
See more of the apartment

July 28, 2016

Hip Apartment With Spacious Private Balcony Asks $695K in Ridgewood

By Emily Nonko

This super-stylish condo apartment comes from the Glenridge Mews, a complex in Ridgewood, Queens comprised of nine interconnected buildings with private walk-ways lined with lush greenery and landscaping. The outdoor space doesn't end at the apartment, as the 1,089-square-foot pad comes with a 75-square-foot private balcony large enough for a modest outdoor dinner party. And inside, tons of windows and exposures to the east, west and south ensure a bright, cheerful spot that's now asking $695K.
Take a tour

POLL: Will Whole Foods Drive Up Real Estate Values in Harlem?

A rendering of the new Harlem Whole Foods

July 28, 2016

POLL: Will Whole Foods Drive Up Real Estate Values in Harlem?

By Dana Schulz

6sqft has previously written about the Whole Foods Effect--the pattern of real estate values increasing when a new grocery store opens nearby. In fact, national data from Yahoo! Finance showed that "homes with a Whole Foods in the ZIP code appreciated by nearly 34 percent." And here in New York, the Effect seems to be taking hold in Harlem, where a Whole Foods will open next year at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in a six-story commercial building spanning over 200,000 square feet (other tenants will include Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom Rack, Olive Garden and TD Bank). Citi Habitats agent Chyann Sapp told the Post that "there’s a one-bedroom two blocks away for $1,800. And the owner said that once Whole Foods opens he thinks he could easily get $2,000, $2,100 for it." The store was first announced in 2012, at which time the area's price per square foot was $594, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. As of 2015, it had risen to $839. Similarly, townhouse prices have doubled from $2 million to $4 million in this time.
Is Whole Foods behind it?

Real Estate Trends

July 28, 2016

Rupert Murdoch’s Multi-Terraced West Village Townhouse Sells for $27.5M in Just Five Months

By Michelle Cohen

Last August 6sqft reported that News Corp. head and Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch had put his West Village townhouse–the one he'd bought just five months prior for $25 million–on the market. Now, just five months after listing the 25-foot-wide, four-story brick home for $28.9M, the house has found a buyer, the New York Observer reports. Whomever is behind the entity known as West 11th Street, LLC has purchased the 6,500-square-foot Greek Revival manse for $27.5 million. The deal represents a $2.5M profit for Murdoch (and we all know how much he needs a few more million).
See what else makes this townhouse so buy-able

July 26, 2016

Maya Angelou’s Historic Harlem Brownstone Finds a Buyer for $4M

By Dana Schulz

The historic Harlem brownstone of author, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou listed for $5.1 million in February, and after a drop to $4.95 million in March, it's now found a buyer for a reduced price of $4 million, The Real Deal tells us. Dr. Angelou purchased the four-story home, built in 1909 in the Mount Morris Park Historic District, sight unseen in 2002 to serve as her northeast residence when she wasn't teaching at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. But she didn't move in until 2004 (vandals had turned it into a "dilapidated shell"), when East Harlem-based architect Marc Anderson had completed a gut renovation that added contemporary amenities such as an elevator, two skylights, and a basement entertainment area, while retaining historic details like the original oak-front door, wainscoting, carved banister, and decorative fireplaces.
See it all

July 25, 2016

Lottery Launches for 76 Affordable Units at 300 Ashland Place, From $889/Month

By Ondel Hylton

It's been 14 years since Enrique Norten's ship-like design was chosen to sail upon a triangular site in an ambitious arts district planned for the area around the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Initially proposed as an eight-story glass building to house the Brooklyn Library for the Visual and Performing Arts, the project was altered to a mixed-use high-rise when Two Trees Management was brought onboard during the economic downturn in 2008. Now officially known as 300 Ashland Place, the slab-shaped tower is a silvery 32-story icon that architecture critic Carter Horsley praises as a "gleaming, but mysterious steed" in the emerging Downtown Brooklyn skyline. It will house a smattering of public uses in addition to 379 apartments above. Earlier this July, leasing began on the 300 market-rate apartments that go for roughly $2,850/month for studios, $3,600/month for one-bedrooms and $5,750/month for two-bedrooms. And now, a housing lottery has launched for the 76 affordable units that include $889/month studios, $949/month one-bedrooms, and $1,087/month two-bedrooms.
Find out here if you qualify

July 22, 2016

What You Need to Know When Buying a Townhouse in New York City

By Diane Pham

Historic details, gardens, privacy, numerous bedrooms and bathrooms… In a crowded city like New York where quarters often come cramped, townhouse living is truly what real estate dreams are made of. However, while townhouses can offer far more space and flexibility than say an apartment in a glass tower, unlike buying into a condo or a co-op, they also come with a whole other […]

Real Estate Trends

July 22, 2016

Units at Trump’s 11 Manhattan Condo Buildings Are Still Selling at a Premium

By Dana Schulz

Historically, the Trump brand has boosted sales prices at Manhattan condos. Since 2005, units in the Donald's buildings have sold for an average of 31 percent more than other NYC condos. But with his beyond-contentious presidential run, it's been unclear if his real estate empire would take a hit in a city where 70 percent of registered voters are Democrats. New data brought to us by MarketWatch, however, shows that he's "still king of New York." According to an analysis by CityRealty.com of 2016 sales data at Trump's 11 Manhattan condos, these units sold for an average of $1,974 a square foot, compared with $1,873 for all other condos, a five percent advantage that was also echoed in 2015.
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Real Estate Trends

Local Pols Say Port Authority’s $10B Bus Terminal Plan Is a Hot Mess

By Michelle Cohen

A request to put the brakes on a $10 billion plan for a new West Side bus terminal and rethink the process with more input from local officials and the public was rebuffed by the Port Authority chairman, reports Crain’s. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer were joined by Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris, state Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assembly members Richard Gottfried and Linda Rosenthal and Councilman Corey Johnson in backing the effort to slow the Port Authority's call to move ahead with a design competition to get ideas for the West Side plan. The controversy emerged after a board meeting on Thursday. "We’re not going to defer the design and deliverability study,” was the reply from John Degnan, the New Jersey-appointed chairman, amid concerns that the new terminal will necessitate the seizure of private property using eminent domain, threaten area homes, small businesses and other organizations and belch more carbon from a larger fleet of buses into the air in an area that already "runs afoul of federal air-quality standards."
Find out what the fuss is all about

Real Estate Trends

Trendy, ‘Affordable’ Food Hall and Beer Garden Headed to the South Bronx

Image: View Grand Concourse via photopin (license)

July 21, 2016

Trendy, ‘Affordable’ Food Hall and Beer Garden Headed to the South Bronx

By Michelle Cohen

Controversial South Bronx Developer Keith Rubenstein of Somerset Partners has purchased a 16,000-square-foot warehouse (expandable to 30,000 square feet) at 9 Bruckner Boulevard for $7.5 million and intends to create a Gansevoort Market-style food hall called Bruckner Market, reports The Real Deal. According to the developer, who purchased two other South Bronx waterfront sites last year, the space will offer a fresh food market, kiosks and restaurants and may have a beer garden, though he made a point of addressing how the new addition will affect the community: “It will provide great food and beverage options at affordable prices for the existing community and new community.”
Find out more

July 20, 2016

New Photos of NYC’s First Residential Urban Farm at Urby Staten Island

By Dana Schulz

Urban farms are nothing new to NYC, but the first one at a residential building is taking shape at Staten Island's Urby. The $250 million, 900-unit rental development is located on the borough's North Shore waterfront, just minutes from the ferry, and is a collaboration between Ironstate Development and Dutch architecture and design firm Concrete. There will be 35,000 square feet of retail space, and though the units are quite nice and modern, it's the health-centric amenities that really set this LEED-certified project apart. Urby will offer an outdoor pool, a two-story fitness center, filtered communal well, landscaped courtyards with fire pits, a rooftop apiary with beehives, a 300-car garage with electric car chargers, and access to a waterfront esplanade. In the food department, there's one of the city's largest urban farms, which is employing New York's first farmer-in-residence, as well as an on-site bodega, cafe, and communal test kitchen.
Check it all out

July 20, 2016

MAP: NYC’s Rental Concessions on the Rise, See Where Landlords Are Offering Deals

By Katy Cornell

“There’s some crazy stuff going on in New York.” David Neithercut, President and CEO of Equity Residential, told Bloomberg in April during the company’s Q1 Earnings Call. COO David Santee sums up why: “We had to join the concession party to close deals.” Equity Residential is following a growing trend of many other New York City landlords, and is doing so out of necessity. They are under immense pressure to keep their buildings full in the face of increasing vacancy rates. According to the June 2016 Elliman Report, in Manhattan, “The vacancy rate rose from 2.07 percent to 2.3 percent when compared to the same month a year ago, and is the highest vacancy rate for June in four years.” The report also notes that the median rental price is up 2.2 percent since last June, and the number of new leases is up 33.5 percent as tenants continue to push back against increases applied at the time of renewal. Tenants were offered concessions on 9.7 percent of all new leases, up from 3.9 percent last June. While this has become a point of stress for landlords (Equity Residential alone gave an estimated $600,000 in concessions during the first quarter), as you may have guessed, this is great news for prospective renters.
Find out more here

Real Estate Trends

July 19, 2016

Pricing Revealed for Essex Crossing’s SHoP-Designed Condo Tower

By Dana Schulz

Though Essex Crossing will bring 1.65 million square feet of residential, community, and commercial space to the Lower East Side, only one of the 10 sites will offer condos--242 Broome Street. Located at Site One, the SHoP Architects-designed tower is currently getting its foundation poured, and along with this groundbreaking comes a sales website with new details on the project, reports CityRealty.com. The 14-story building will have a five-story base to house retail and commercial tenants and a bowling alley from Splitsville Luxury Lanes. On the fifth floor will be a cultural space (the Andy Warhol Museum previously planned to open an outpost here) and rooftop sculpture garden. Above will be 55 one- to three-bedroom condos, 11 of which will be affordable. Tentative pricing for the market-rate units ranges from $1,275,000 to $7,000,000, according to the latest edition of Elliman Magazine (the brokerage will be handling sales).
More details this way

Delivering a New Future to Bronx General Post Office While Honoring Its Past

Image courtesy of Studio V Architecture

July 19, 2016

Delivering a New Future to Bronx General Post Office While Honoring Its Past

By Stephanie Hoina

Blocks away from the Harlem River waterfront and the 15-acre Mill Pond Park, with easy access to public transportation and serving a vibrant community of college students, office and medical workers, and working-class families, sits the nearly 80-year old landmarked Bronx General Post Office. Acquired in 2014 by developer Young Woo & Associates and the Bristol Group as part of the postal service’s plan to pare down its real estate holdings, the building’s bold yet tasteful transformation promises to be a showcase for the borough’s long awaited rebirth. Though its glory years as the primary sorting, storage and processing hub for the majority of mail coming to and from the Bronx have long gone, the government was careful to ensure that its new life would be worthy of its storied history—and its neighborhood inhabitants. After a thoughtful and lengthy RFP process, developer Young Woo was selected to bring his vision—what he's described as "a crossroads for community, commerce and culture"—to the 175,00-square-foot facility, and he hired STUDIO V Architecture, a firm with extensive experience in adaptive reuse, to help achieve it.
Read more on their approach to this unique project here

Huge Tax Disparities Along Central Park Become Visuals in Architectural Art Installation

“Section 581” by SITU Studio, Photograph by Patrick Mandeville

July 18, 2016

Huge Tax Disparities Along Central Park Become Visuals in Architectural Art Installation

By Michelle Cohen

"Section 581" by SITU Studio, Photograph by Patrick Mandeville Billionaires get off nearly tax-free and billions go uncollected due to flaws in the way the city assesses property value. As part of a new exhibit at the Storefront for Art and Architecture in Soho, interdisciplinary architecture firm SITU Studio created visual representations of these inequities in one of their most glaring examples: the buildings along Central Park. New York City's property tax structure assigns higher real property taxes to renters than it does to the infamous absentee owners of the trophy condos on Billionaires’ Row, short-changing the city of millions in annual revenue, according to CityLab. The acrylic bands in the SITU models show the disparity between the taxed value of these properties and the sky-high amounts they’d actually sell for.
Find out how the state law is giving billionaires a free lunch

July 18, 2016

Should You Use FaceTime to Rent a NYC Apartment?

By Diane Pham

In New York City, scoring an apartment ahead of a move usually involves a bit of insider information (eg. you have a friend of a friend of a friend) or jumping into corporate or short-term living situations for a premium. While these options are great in a pinch, they more often than not fall short of ideal. But now, […]

July 18, 2016

Plans Filed for Condo/Cultural Building in West Chelsea by the Late Zaha Hadid

By Dana Schulz

At the beginning of June, 6sqft reported that the Moinian Group would be moving ahead with a project at 220 Eleventh Avenue in Chelsea that they had collaborated on over a year ago with the late Zaha Hadid. This is located just three blocks away from the starchitect's only other New York Commission at 520 West 28th Street along the High Line. At the time, the developer announced that the new building will be "a collection of signature loft-like condominium residences, a collection of penthouses and a cultural institution to establish itself as the hub of the world renowned art district that is West Chelsea." Yimby has now revealed that Moinian filed official permits for the 11-story structure, which will boast 40 large condos, a museum, and a restaurant.
More details right this way

July 16, 2016

First Look at Williamsburg’s Tallest Building Not Planned Along the Waterfront

By Ondel Hylton

"Avid church and factory convertor" Yoel Werzberger and Watermark Capital Group are building a 19-story, 230-foot residential building in the heart of Williamsburg at 321 Wythe Avenue, reports CityRealty.com, and it'll be the tallest tower in the neighborhood not along its waterfront. The site was formerly a parking lot and single-story church owned by the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, who also owns an acre of property on the block between Wythe and Berry Streets. The struggling church entered a long-term lease deal with Watermark last year that will allow them to erect a residential tower while making payments to the Parish that begin at $2.1 annually.
More info this way

July 15, 2016

Parker Posey Unloads Her $1.45M Greenwich Village Co-op in Less Than Two Months

By Annie Doge

Parker Posey caught people's attention when she posed in the listing photos for her Greenwich Village co-op at 30 Fifth Avenue. Take a look at the indie actress, who is currently celebrating the release of her new film "Café Society," lounging in her bedroom, reading Mary Louise Parker’s “Dear Mr. You” along with her Bichon Frise Gracie. Though unusual, the tactic must've worked, because the Observer reports that in less than two months the $1.45 million pad has gone into contract.
See the rest of the apartment

July 15, 2016

Looming L Train Shutdown Already Causing Williamsburg Condo Prices to Dip, Says Expert

By Diane Pham

Since word broke that the L Train would be shutting down for upwards of a year, many have been wondering just how this would affect real estate prices in the immediate term. Well it looks we may finally be getting a taste. As DNA Info first reports, The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) released their quarterly findings this week, and REBNY found that although the number of condos sales were up in Williamsburg by 43 percent this last quarter over the same time last year, the average sales price dropped a considerable 13 percent to $937,000. To put this further into perspective, for Brooklyn as a whole, REBNY recorded a nine percent rise to $923,000 over the same period; Manhattan condos by comparison grew by 21 percent to an average $2.843M.
is there anything really to this?

Real Estate Trends

July 14, 2016

Lottery Opens Tomorrow for 300 Affordable Rentals at Pacific Park Brooklyn

By Dana Schulz

It's been almost two years since architects COOKFOX were selected by developer Greenland Forest City Partners to design two residential buildings at their Pacific Park Brooklyn project, the 22-acre site anchored by the Barclays Center and containing eight million square feet of mixed-use development. COOKFOX took the helm for 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 275-unit condo, and 535 Carlton Avenue, a 298-unit affordable rental. A housing lottery for the latter will open tomorrow, according to a press release, offering low, moderate and middle-income residents the chance to apply for apartments ranging from $548/month studios to $3,716/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

July 14, 2016

FXFOWLE’s The Ashland Kicks Off Leasing With New Renderings of Apartments and Food Hall

By Ondel Hylton

At the crossroads of Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, and the BAM Cultural District, The Ashland rises. Next Tuesday, July 19, the 53-story, 586-unit tower will open its leasing office to prospective renters interested in its one-, two- and three-bedroom no-fee apartments, priced from $2,600/month for studios to $7,500/month for three-bedrooms. Previously, 282 apartments went online through the city's affordable housing lottery. To coincide with the grand opening, the Gotham Organization-developed and managed building has also launched its full website, providing us a bundle of new renderings of the exterior, the apartments, and the 17,000-square-foot marketplace that will open along its ground floor.
More details ahead

July 14, 2016

Tracing the Disappearance of New York City’s Live/Work Artists’ Lofts

By Cait Etherington

The New York City artist’s loft is arguably among the most romanticized and coveted living spaces in the world. It has been used as a backdrop for avant-garde films by Andy Warhol, the central scene of a musical (yes, we’re talking about Rent), and more recently, as the focus of several museum shows (for example, the […]

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