Real Estate Trends

Leasing Begins at Downtown Brooklyn’s One Duffield, No-Fee Units Begin at $2,400/Month
May 12, 2016

Leasing Begins at Downtown Brooklyn’s One Duffield, No-Fee Units Begin at $2,400/Month

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Within the human-scaled oasis between the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE, a 57,000-square-foot church conversion has wrapped up construction, releasing 84 brand-new no-fee rental apartments to the Downtown Brooklyn market. Named One Duffield, for its address at the corner of Gold and Duffield streets, the five-story building uses some of the structural bones of a prior two-story church and completely re-imagines its aesthetic into a varied composition of brown and orange brick, metal siding, and large square windows. Nataliya Donskoy of ND Architecture and Design P.C. is the designer of the building and "The Bridge Building LLC" is listed as the developer in permits.
Get pricing and see inside
NYC Must Produce 20,000 New Housing Units a Year to Keep Up With Exploding Population
May 11, 2016

NYC Must Produce 20,000 New Housing Units a Year to Keep Up With Exploding Population

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The 2015 census puts New York City's population at a record high of 8.6 million. This is a 375,000-person increase from 2010, the biggest spike since the 1920s. The rise is attributed to the nearly 250,000 jobs that were created in 2014 and 2015, the $7.3 billion in venture capital present in the city in 2015 (the second-highest level ever), and record-breaking tourism that's created a boom in the hospitality industry. And of course, with more people comes the need for more places to put them, and Commercial Observer estimates that the city "needs to produce at least 20,000 new housing units each year just to keep pace with demand and population growth."
What does this mean for NYC's housing stock?
400-Bed Designer Dorm Headed for Williamsburg
May 10, 2016

400-Bed Designer Dorm Headed for Williamsburg

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When you spend your student years living in an architect-designed former car radio button factory in the ultra-hip Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg, face it, you’re just going to be a little spoiled for everything else. And it should come as no surprise that, thanks to a developer specializing in student living, students in de facto hipster sister city Williamsburg will be getting a similar opportunity to live in architectural bliss rather than institutional semi-squalor. New York City-based real estate development company Macro Sea piloted the design-friendly dorm—outfitted with found furniture and slatted ladder-style stairs–in Berlin's Kreuzberg district last year. FastCompany quotes company principal David Belt: "Most people build student housing and they want to build it as cheaply as possible and the furniture to be as rugged as possible, because they think that students will wreck it." Diverging from this idea, Belt's company "sought to create an environment that treats students as savvy global citizens rather than wards of an institution."
Student housing or co-living for adults, what's the difference?
Williamsburg Unsurprisingly Tops List of NYC’s 15 Fastest Gentrifying Neighborhoods
May 9, 2016

Williamsburg Unsurprisingly Tops List of NYC’s 15 Fastest Gentrifying Neighborhoods

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Williamsburg has become the poster child for the hipsterfication of Brooklyn and NYC gentrification in general, but behind the beards and beet smoothies are actual facts to back it up. NYU's Furman Center released a report that identifies the city's 15 gentrifying neighborhoods, out of 55 total, and finds that Williamsburg/Greenpoint comes in at number one (h/t DNAinfo). Of course, it's difficult to define gentrification, but the study looks at areas that were relatively low-income in 1990 (among the bottom 40% in the city), but experienced higher rent growth over the past 20 years than other neighborhoods, a trend that the Furman Center feels is of "greatest concern in lower-income neighborhoods." Williamsburg and Greenpoint had a startling 78.7 percent jump in rent over this time period, followed by Central Harlem at 53.2 percent and Chinatown/Lower East Side at 50.3 percent.
See the full list here
A Look at Architect Rosaria Candela’s Influence on Today’s New York
May 8, 2016

A Look at Architect Rosaria Candela’s Influence on Today’s New York

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The open floor plan has dominated new constructions over the last several decades, first popularized in the 1950s by Frank Lloyd Wright with his Usonian designs. But as architectural trends wax and wane, the pendulum is swinging back to the classics, and more and more architects are looking to the early 20th century works of Rosario Candela for an “updated” living […]

Leasing Begins at Neo-Brutalist Rental Tower in Midtown East
May 7, 2016

Leasing Begins at Neo-Brutalist Rental Tower in Midtown East

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Leasing has begun at Midtown East's newest rental building at 235 East 44th Street. Developed by CMSJ Development, the 70,000-square-foot, ground-up building contains 67 units across its 19 floors. For current availabilities, monthly prices start at $3,300 for studios, $4,500 for one-bedrooms, $6,105 for two-bedrooms, and $8,100 for three-bedrooms. Designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects, it's is situated mid-block along a dense urban canyon just two blocks east of Grand Central Terminal and one block west of the United Nations. Its street-facing exterior is finished in GKV's trademark aesthetic of exposed cast-in-place concrete, reminiscent of the Brutalist movement of the 1950s and '60s. The tower's glass walls and concrete floor slabs undulate in opposite directions, softening the raw materials and adding fluidity to the building's form.
Interior apartment details this way
Live in Extell’s Hudson Yards Skyscraper 555Ten for $910/Month
May 5, 2016

Live in Extell’s Hudson Yards Skyscraper 555Ten for $910/Month

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Last September, 6sqft reported the topping out of Extell Development's 610-foot-tall, mixed-use tower quietly rising at 555 Tenth Avenue and 41st Street. Now fully sheathed in glass, the development team kicked off its housing lottery for the building's 120 below-market rate units, priced from $910 per month for studios up to to $1,315 for three-bedrooms. Designed by SLCE Architects, the 53-story, 725,000-square-foot structure rises one block west of the Port Authority Bus Terminal and two avenues west of the 42nd Street A/C/E train station with its connection to Times Square. The building is within the emerging Hudson Yards area, which over the next decade will usher in thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of new office space. Across from the tower, an additional 7-train subway station may be constructed to meet the increasing number of residents in the area.
Find out if you qualify here
Jonah Hill Picks Up $9.16M Apartment at Noho’s Schumacher Condo Conversion
May 5, 2016

Jonah Hill Picks Up $9.16M Apartment at Noho’s Schumacher Condo Conversion

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A tipster told 6sqft back in December that Jonah Hill was seen taking photos outside The Schumacher, the then-newly unveiled Noho condo conversion at 36 Bleecker Street. As it turns out, just two months prior he bought a unit in the building for $9.16 million, according to the Post. The unit, which was originally listed at $9.5 million, is a 3,280-square-foot, four-bedroom spread. It features the signature elements of the residence, including exposed brick vaulted ceilings, massive arched windows, restored original columns and beams, and views down to the building's vine-covered courtyard.
Take a look around
Ashley Olsen Buying a $7M Luxe Greenwich Village Condo
May 5, 2016

Ashley Olsen Buying a $7M Luxe Greenwich Village Condo

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The Olsen twins have long been fans of the Village, from attending NYU to naming their fashion line the Row after the famous brick townhouse along Washington Square North. Now single sister Ashely is setting up a permanent home in the 'hood, as the Wall Street Journal reports that she's in contract to buy a two-bedroom spread at 37 East 12th Street that was last listed for $7.1 million. The 19th century building with a Beaux-Arts cast-iron facade is being converted to six, full-floor boutique condos, and listing agent Jared Seligman of Douglas Elliman said this privacy is what Olsen liked.
See the full spread
Related Launches Hudson Yards Living Website With New Renderings
May 4, 2016

Related Launches Hudson Yards Living Website With New Renderings

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On the heels of the news that Hudson Yards will add $18.9 billion to the city's GDP and the reconfirmation that the developers will build an iconic $200 million sculpture at the center of the plan's plaza, Related quietly launched a new Hudson Yards Living website, providing general information for prospective residents and a few new images of the $20 billion master plan.
More details and renderings this way
432 Park Avenue Reveals Glowing White Cube for Retail Space
May 4, 2016

432 Park Avenue Reveals Glowing White Cube for Retail Space

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While most of the news surrounding Rafael Viñoly's iconic 432 Park Avenue has been about big ticket closings at the Billionaire's Row blockbuster with a $3.1 billion projected sellout, developer Macklowe has revealed more about what the news-making skyscraper's 130,000 square feet of retail and office space, divided over several floors, will look like. Adding an even more attention-getting element to the tower, a portion of the building's retail space will be located in a two-story white glass cube at the corner of East 57th Street and Park Avenue.
Find out more
Stuff You Should Know: How Eminent Domain Works

The Atlantic Yards (now known as Pacific Park) in Brooklyn where eminent domain was used to take property. Image via Atlantic Yards Report

May 4, 2016

Stuff You Should Know: How Eminent Domain Works

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It has been called the most coercive public policy after the draft. It has also been said that without it, construction in major cities would come to a shuddering stop. What is this powerful, controversial tool? Can both statements be true? Eminent domain is the policy by which a governmental agency can acquire or "take" property from an owner unwilling to sell in order to build something else there, and it has been around for centuries. Some say it derives from the medieval concept of the divine right of kings, empowered by God the Almighty to be sovereign over all. And by inference, that includes the land, which individual owners occupy and trade at the king's sufferance. When he wants it back, it is his right to take it. So under eminent domain, all land theoretically belongs to the state, which can assume control at any time.
more on eminent domain here
Affordable Luxury Hits the Upper East Side Market at 389 East 89th Street
May 4, 2016

Affordable Luxury Hits the Upper East Side Market at 389 East 89th Street

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At First Avenue and 89th Street on the Upper East Side, 31 floors of spacious, light-filled homes have been reintroduced to the market. In a building previously known as the Post Toscana, 199 rental apartments have been upgraded and enlarged into 156  one- to three-bedroom residences fashioned by acclaimed interior designer Paris Forino. Now dubbed 389 E 89, the tower is the latest in a flurry of top-shelf rental buildings re-branded as affordable condos with high-end finishes.
All the info ahead
The Whole Foods Effect: Does the Green Grocery Increase Home Values?
May 3, 2016

The Whole Foods Effect: Does the Green Grocery Increase Home Values?

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Fairway Market, considered by many the quintessential New York City supermarket, filed for bankruptcy yesterday, citing competition from "natural, organic and prepared food rivals" and "online ordering and home delivery services," according to the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps their biggest threats are Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which both seem to be in a very different boat. Yahoo! Finance looked at data of four million homes in the U.S. that are located in a zip code with either one of these stores, "finding that average property values in a ZIP code with Trader Joe's appreciated by about 40 percent since they were purchased, while homes with a Whole Foods in the ZIP code appreciated by nearly 34 percent." The reasoning is quite simple -- people will pay a premium for the convenience of being near their favorite stores. And proximity to a store like Whole Foods, often thought of as more high-end than other grocery stores, adds an air of prestige to a neighborhood. But the science behind it is a bit of a chicken or the egg situation -- does a retailer directly affect home values, or are these companies able to identify locations where they'll generate the most interest?
Find out this way
Extell Files to Demolish Two More Fifth Avenue Buildings For Its Mega-Midtown Assemblage
May 3, 2016

Extell Files to Demolish Two More Fifth Avenue Buildings For Its Mega-Midtown Assemblage

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Back in January, 6sqft reported that the busybodies at Extell Development filed permits to demolish a string of six tumble-turned walk-up buildings between 3 and 13 West 46th Street in Midtown. Now, as expected, the Gary Barnett-led firm has filed permits to demolish the Warren & Wetmore-designed corner building at 562 Fifth Avenue and a somewhat incongruous Tudor-style building at 564 Fifth Avenue. While none of the condemned buildings are extraordinary in design, 562 Fifth Avenue is perhaps a more tasteful affair than much of the schlock going up these days. Designed by the same architects as Grand Central Terminal, the slivery 13-story commercial building was once known as the I. Miller Building and features intricately ornamented spandrel areas, a pedimented roofline, and an unoriginal albeit charming Fifth Avenue storefront.
More on Extell's plans and the history of the soon-to-be-razed buildings
Skyline Wars: New Jersey’s Waterfront Transforms With a Tall Tower Boom
May 3, 2016

Skyline Wars: New Jersey’s Waterfront Transforms With a Tall Tower Boom

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Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Here, Carter brings us his seventh installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the new New Jersey skyline. The hulking, 781-foot-high Goldman Sachs tower at 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City is like the Rock of Gilbraltar to Lower Manhattan’s famed skyline: massive and impressive. To some, perhaps, it conjures a Monty Python catapult or a very steep cliff on which to mount the Guns of Navarone for an assault on Lower Manhattan. It dominates the Jersey City skyline, which is a bit Spartan, especially in comparison with Brooklyn’s. Most of the skyscrapers in Brooklyn, however, are not directly on the waterfront and the Goldman tower is very much “in your face” on the water. Furthermore, all of a relative sudden, Jersey City is about to explode with three taller towers, which I can only describe as delirious, dancing, shimmy-shimmy-shake buildings with drop-dead vistas of Manhattan and the Hudson.
read more from carter here
172 Madison Tops Out and Reveals Renderings for Incredible Penthouse with Two Pools
May 3, 2016

172 Madison Tops Out and Reveals Renderings for Incredible Penthouse with Two Pools

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Within the Empire State Building's five o'clock shadow, an eruption of glossy residential high-rises are nipping at the dame's feet. Embracing a thoroughfare most familiar for its commercial connotations, the latest tower to ascend is a 33-story condo simply known by its address, 172 Madison Avenue. The 130,000-square-foot skyscraper is being developed by Tessler Developments and is among a half-dozen residential buildings planned for a central, yet undefined neighborhood that is almost Murray Hill, but not quite NoMad. Its topped off concrete frame rises nearly 450 feet above its East 33rd street corner, which was previously occupied by a ubiquitous clump of commercial, low-slung masonry structures. Now with its debut pegged for early next year, the symmetrically-massed tower designed by Karl Fischer Architects is being dressed in its sparkly coat of reflective glass that is accentuated by robust onyx-colored frames. And along with this debut, comes new renderings of the triplex penthouse dubbed the SkyHouse, which is a massive marble palace with two outdoor pools.
All the details and renderings ahead
Average Condo Sale in Manhattan Reaches $2.9M, Setting New Record
May 3, 2016

Average Condo Sale in Manhattan Reaches $2.9M, Setting New Record

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For the second quarter in a row, average condo sales prices in Manhattan are breaking records. The first three months of 2016 saw $4.59 billion in aggregate sales, breaking the previous record of $4.57 billion that was set last quarter, according to data from CityRealty. The average sales price topped out at $2.9 million, also significantly higher than last quarter's $2.5 million. These figures aren't surprising considering 24 percent of all condo sales during the beginning of this year were at or above $10 million, with new luxury developments like 432 Park Avenue, The Greenwich Lane, and 150 Charles Street accounting for the uptick.
More stats this way
Hedge Funder Daniel Nir’s $52M Co-op Sale Is This Year’s Biggest
May 2, 2016

Hedge Funder Daniel Nir’s $52M Co-op Sale Is This Year’s Biggest

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When Daniel Nir, founder and CEO of hedge fund Gracie Capital, and his wife, philanthropist Jill Braufman, listed their sprawling Upper East Side co-op for $48 million a year ago, it certainly caught raised a few eyebrows. But the 16-room home at 4 East 66th Street has actually sold over ask for $52 million, making it this year's biggest co-op sale and the seventh biggest co-op sale to date. It's also the first time this pre-war building has cracked the top-ten list. The couple bought the home in 2007 from hotelier Robert H. Burns for $29 million, leaving them with a nice chunk of change.
See what all the fuss is about
Interactive Map Shows How Your Neighborhood Has Recovered From the Housing Market Crash
May 2, 2016

Interactive Map Shows How Your Neighborhood Has Recovered From the Housing Market Crash

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Most Americans are finally starting to feel a bit of relief that the economy is getting back on its feet, but when it comes to the housing market, it's not as cut and dry as we might think. Analyzing data from Black Knight Financial Services from 2004 to 2015 (the bubble, burst, and recovery), the Washington Post asserts that the country's housing arc has only worsened inequality. "It also helps explain why the economic recovery feels incomplete, especially in neighborhoods where the value of housing — often the biggest family asset — has recovered little, if at all," they explain. For example, an average single-family home gained less than 14 percent in value over the past 11 years, but homes in the nation's priciest neighborhoods have gained 21 percent. And interestingly, in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, an area that saw a huge gentrification push during this time period, single-family home values have tripled and risen by 194 percent -- the largest increase of any metro area in the country. The Post has taken the data and compiled it into an interactive map that lets users simply input a zipcode to see how the area has fared.
More national and local trends ahead
Study: Hudson Yards Will Add $18.9 Billion to the City’s GDP
May 2, 2016

Study: Hudson Yards Will Add $18.9 Billion to the City’s GDP

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According to a recent study, economic activity at the $20 billion Hudson Yards West Side development–the nation's largest construction site–will contribute $18.9 billion to the city–more than the gross domestic product of Iceland ($15.3 billion), Crains reports. The study, commissioned by the project's developer, Related Cos., predicts that the companies projected to occupy the massive project that will stretch between West 30th Street and West 34th Street along the Hudson River will generate economic activty in the form of, among other things, salaries for new jobs and money paid to the MTA by the developer both during the 14-year construction period and once the development is complete in 2025.
Read more
New Renderings of West Chelsea’s SkyBox Development and Art Gallery
May 2, 2016

New Renderings of West Chelsea’s SkyBox Development and Art Gallery

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A unique mixed-use development in West Chelsea may be the paradigm of what new development in Manhattan could aspire to. Combining new construction and rehabilitation, and marrying ostentatious high-end condos with affordable rentals and an art museum/gallery, the project dubbed Chelsea SkyBox will satiate a wide spectrum of urbanites. The 250-foot tower will rise directly south of Annabelle Selldorf's metal-face condo 200 Eleventh Avenue (aka the "Sky garage") and will host ten full-floor apartments plus a spectacular five-story penthouse that developer Jonathan Leitersdorf told the Journal he will ultimately occupy. The project also will rehabilitate the corner SRO building next door known as the Chelsea Highline Hotel. The ground floors of both buildings will be shared, and there will be 15,000-square- feet of commercial space that will have 30-foot-high ceilings and accommodate an art museum and a private gallery to contain works by Picasso, Keith Haring, Kandinsky, and Anish Kapoor.
Lots more renderings ahead
The Upper West Side Readies For Two Synagogue-Replacing Condo Skyscrapers
April 30, 2016

The Upper West Side Readies For Two Synagogue-Replacing Condo Skyscrapers

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The Upper West Side has proven to be one of the most difficult areas to build, with a growing amount of land area contained in historic districts and much of the remainder constrained by tight zoning regulations. Over the years, its protective residents have been involved in the city's most memorable development battles: fighting tooth and nail to reduce the scale of the Riverside South master plan; lessen shadows caused by the redevelopment of the New York Coliseum site (Time Warner Center); and more recently spearheading the downzoning of a 51-block swath of Broadway due to grievances caused by Extell's Ariel East and West towers. For the most part, the defensive strategy has allowed the neighborhood to retain much of its pre-war charms and human-scaled side streets. However, along its southern edge, where the buildings around Lincoln Center scale upwards to Midtown, zoning allowances are more generous. Two as-of-right towers are sure to ruffle some preservationists' feathers and are poised to be the neighborhood's biggest yet.
Get the scoop on the towers here
JDS and SHoP Architects Unveil Plan for 900-Foot Lower East Side Tower
April 28, 2016

JDS and SHoP Architects Unveil Plan for 900-Foot Lower East Side Tower

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There's a new tallest tower taking over the Lower East Side, and unsurprisingly it comes to us via the supertall super-team of JDS Development and SHoP Architects, the same duo responsible for the 1,438-foot-tall 111 West 57th Street and 9 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn's first 1,000+ foot tower. Their latest record-setter is a 900-foot, 77-story rental building planned for 247 Cherry Street, reports The Lo-Down. It will rise directly next to Extell's One Manhattan Square, which made waves for its 850-foot height in the low-scale Two Bridges area. The newest tallest tower between Midtown and Downtown will have a 10,000-square-foot retail base with 600 rental apartments above, about 150 of which will be made permanently affordable. Though the design isn't finalized, SHoP says it will likely be terracotta brick and glass and feature outdoor terraces in the middle. There will also be a top-floor amenity space for all residents, and SCAPE Landscape Architecture has been tapped to create a publicly accessible plaza surrounding the structure.
More details this way
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