Real Estate Trends

Extell hasn't been making many friends with its new tower currently on the rise at 250 South Street, right next to the Manhattan Bridge. But even with hordes of locals cursing the mega-sized 80-story tower, Extell seems unfazed by the hate. Not only have they been unwavering about the development's 850-foot out-of-context height (the Manhattan Bridge is only 330 feet tall, mind you), the developer also has little interest in selling any units to anyone stateside, instead marketing their condos first to Asian buyers. Now, The Lo-Down has gotten their hands on the brochure that's being sent to Asia's wealthiest, an 88-pager revealing fancy apartment interiors and all of the "over-the-top" amenities that will fill the building, including things like a 70-seat movie theater, a tree house, a tea pavilion, a putting green, a sunken tranquility garden, a bowling alley, 75-foot indoor pool, a dog spa, a cellar bar...As written in the packet: "One Manhattan Square will redefine downtown luxury living."
Images inside the the tower here

December 2, 2015

Living Near a Subway May Be Good for Your Mental Health; The Majority of NY Airbnbs Are Probably Illegal

According to a new study, it is likely that more than half of Airbnb’s NYC rentals violate short-term leasing laws. [NYP] Here are the best NYC neighborhoods for freshly graduated young professionals. [BI] A new study suggests that living close to public transportation “could contribute to reduced risk of depression.” [CityLab] Digesting Mayor de Blasio’s plan […]

Real Estate Trends

Sony Tower Conversion to Get 113 Robert A.M. Stern-Designed Condos

550 Madison rendering via Dbox

December 2, 2015

Sony Tower Conversion to Get 113 Robert A.M. Stern-Designed Condos

Curbed spotted the freshly launched teaser site for the Chetrit Group's Sony Tower conversion, now going by the name 550 Madison, which revealed several new details about the project. The most notable is that Robert A.M. Stern will be designing the "opulent" condos, and we assume this includes the $150 million triplex penthouse. Interestingly, Stern was once a student of Philip Johnson, who is responsible for the ground-breaking Sony Building. In all, there will be 113 condo units on floors 21-43, up from the previously reported 96, as well as a 170-key luxury Parisian hotel and high-end ground-floor retail.
More details this way

December 1, 2015

NYC Dominates the Country in $10 Million-Plus Sales, See Them All on 6sqft’s Interactive Map

In October, Coldwell Banker Previews International released their semi-annual report tracking the real estate trends and market activity in U.S. cities that attract the largest share of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Unsurprisingly, New York City leads the lists of most closings recorded and listings on the market priced above $1 million, $5 million, and $10 million between the one-year period of July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. More astounding, however, is that the number of closings recorded in the city above the $10 million price point is more than the sum of all deals in the next 19 cities on the list combined. According to the study, NYC raked in 217 residential closings of $10 million or more, followed by Beverly Hills and Los Angeles with 34 each. New York again leads the way with 367 listings priced at $10 million or more, followed by Miami Beach, Aspen, and Los Angeles. Regarding New York City, historical data from CityRealty tallies up a slightly higher number of $10 million+ closings over the same time period, totaling 241 such deals. The recently crowned most expensive building in the city, One57, garnered the greatest number of $10M-plus sales for a single building with a remarkable 30 deals -- which by itself is more than all cities in the country aside from the top three. The supertall tower was then followed by a three-way tie between 15 Central Park West, One Madison, and the Walker Tower.
Explore the $10M+ closings and listings on 6sqft's interactive map

Real Estate Trends

December 1, 2015

You Could Live in This Quirky Pixelated Brooklyn Loft for $5,200/Month

By Emily Nonko

This loft comes from the the former Doehler Die Casting Factory, located at 505 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The building was constructed in 1913 and the loft was first renovated in the '80s, but since then it's been transformed into something really special. That's because it has undergone a top-to-bottom renovation by SABO Project, who stripped the entire space to reveal the building's historic details and then added a sleek, modern touch. The result is a stunning, airy and bright space that we've drooled over before. Now, it's on the rental market and you could live in the loft yourself for $5,200 a month.
Take a look here

December 1, 2015

More Apartments Coming to Brooklyn Than Any Other U.S. City; Demo Permits Make Way for New 900-Foot Tower

There’s no denying the Brooklyn boom. The borough is constructing more new apartments than any other U.S. city. [Forbes] A 900-foot Norman Foster design will soon be coming to Sutton Place. The Bauhouse Group has received permits to demo several buildings at 426-432 East 58th Street to make way for the new development. [Crain’s] A failed flip at […]

Real Estate Trends

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Related’s Yorkville Rental Tower at 205 East 92nd Street

Photographs from mid-October of 205 East 92nd Street by the photoblogger Field Condition.

December 1, 2015

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Related’s Yorkville Rental Tower at 205 East 92nd Street

Related Companies' playground-pouncing rental tower at 205 East 92nd Street has launched its housing lottery that provides below-market rents for 47 of the building's 231 units. The 36-story tower is in its home stretch of construction, prepping for occupancy in early 2016. Vested in the city's and state's Inclusionary Housing /421-a programs, 20 percent of the units will be reserved for low-income tenants. Fifty percent of the subsidized units will be reserved for residents of Manhattan Community Board 8 (covering the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island) and an additional 5 percent for municipal employees. Selected applicants will be provided apartments at a tremendous discount when compared to the neighborhood's market-rate rents. According to CityRealty, the median rental price for a one-bedroom in Yorkville stands at $3,210; and $5,398 for two-bedroom apartments. Affordable one-bedrooms at 205 East 92nd will start at $607 and two-bedrooms at $736.
More details and pricing

December 1, 2015

Museum Architect-Renovated Tribeca Townhouse With Subterranean Vault Sells for $13.8M

By Annie Doge

A red-brick townhouse with some legit architect cred behind it has just sold for a very discounted $13.8 million, much lower than its original $18 million ask. The property at at 148 Reade Street was constructed in the 1990s by Guenther Petrarca, and later renovated by famed museum architect Richard Gluckman (his clients include the Whitney and the Gagosian Gallery). The glass and stone mansion boasts 6,800 square feet of space to stretch out in, which includes a media room, a playroom, an elevator, a private garage on the ground floor, and a 500-plus-square-foot duplex terrace with 360-degree views and a waterfall wall. There's also a pretty cool 23- by 24-foot vault that sits below the sidewalk, a feature that harkens back to site's 19th century roots when subterranean vaults were the norm.
have a closer look inside

November 30, 2015

Infographic: The 12 Most Expensive Condo Buildings Rising in NYC

While it seems like every block in the city is host to a construction site throwing up some luxury condo building or pricey rentals, not all of these developments are created equal. Following up on their last infographic which rounded up the city's top five most expensive new developments, the data gurus over at CityRealty have culled an even more extensive list which pinpoints the 12 priciest structures going up right now. While the number of zeros that follow their combined $20,000,000,000 sellout will make your head hurt, what's even more mind-boggling is that these 12 buildings alone will count for nearly HALF of the money that'll be generated by the 200+ condo projects underway in Manhattan.
All the details here

What Is ULURP?; Couple Spends a Year in NYC Living in Airbnbs

Why New Yorkers are so enamored with cabin living. [NYP] Why do we need the ULURP? [Brownstoner] This new fancy Noho condo has an alley main entrance. [NYT] From East Harlem to Gowanus to the East Village and West, this couple went neighborhood hopping for a year using Airbnb. [NYT] A luxe Williamsburg building at […]

Real Estate Trends

November 30, 2015

NYC Building Boom Yields Rise in Construction Deaths

All you have to do is look up to see that New York City is in the midst of a building boom; but this surge in development comes with a price. The New York Times reports that construction-related deaths and injuries over the past two years, most of which affect undocumented immigrant laborers, "far exceeds the rate of new construction over the same period," a testament to the inadequate safety systems at job sites. City records show that there were ten construction-related fatalities in the most recent fiscal year (July 2014 - July 2015), nearly twice the annual average. This time period also saw a 53 percent spike in injuries, up to 324 instances, and a 52 percent rise in accidents, up to 314.
Find out more ahead

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter kicks off a nine-part series, “Skyline Wars,” which will examine the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. To start, Carter zooms in on the biggest developments shaping the southern corridor of Central Park.

November 25, 2015

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

By Carter B. Horsley

They did not come from outer space when they landed on our front yard while the NIMBY folk and the city’s planners and preservationists weren’t looking. Some are scrawny. Some are dressed like respectable oldsters. They’re the supertalls and they’re coming to a site near you.
read more here

The City’s Prettiest Food Emporium, Famous for Its Guastavino Tiles, Is Closing

Photo by missvancamp on Flickr

November 24, 2015

The City’s Prettiest Food Emporium, Famous for Its Guastavino Tiles, Is Closing

Guastavino tiles–a design technique for thin-tile structural vaulting brought to New York at the end of the 19th century by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino and his son Rafael Jr.–can be seen at 250 locations throughout the city. Most of these spots have grand public purposes, such as Grand Central, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, or the Municipal Building. But one locale has gained famed for its very un-grand function as the home of a grocery store. The Food Emporium underneath the Queensboro Bridge has occupied one half of the Guastavino-tiled arcade known as Bridgemarket since 1999. This Saturday at 5:00 p.m., though, it will close its doors for good, according to Bloomberg, which leaves the fate of the historic interior up in the air.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

November 24, 2015

Central Park in 1862; Cuomo Says NYC Has Gotten Enough Housing Aid

Lauren Bacall’s apartment sold for a discounted $21M. [NYO] This is what (an unfinished) Central Park looked like in 1862. [Ephemeral] Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that NYC has received more in housing aid than the law permits. [Politico] A Wagamama ramen house is coming to Nomad! [NYP] The MoMA store is sticking around Soho after all. […]

Real Estate Trends

November 24, 2015

Revealed: Zambrano Architectural Design’s Striking Yellow-Brick Rental in Central Harlem

Here's our first look at Dabar Development's eight-story, mixed-use project set to rise at 400 Lenox Avenue in central Harlem. The 40,000-square-foot development will anchor the southeast corner of West 130th Street and Lenox Avenue and will house 30 rental units, 2,000 square feet of retail at the ground level, and a second-floor community space for Pentacostal Faith Church, the owner of the project site. The design provided by Zambrano Architectural Design rises flush with the street wall and sports a distinctive yellow-brick cladding of "elongated artisanal bricks." According to Dawanna Williams, managing principal at Dabar, "the facade is inspired by the historical masonry context of the surrounding blocks of Harlem." The two uppermost levels are cutaway from the corner resulting in a large recreational terrace for residents. As per plans filed with the DOB this past summer, floors 2-6 will contain six apartments each, while floors 7 and 8 will provide four units apiece.
More on the project

November 23, 2015

REVEALED: SHoP Architects’ Long Island City Waterfront Development

Here's our first peek at Simon Baron Development, Quadrum Global and CRE Development's three-tower Long Island City development slated to rise alongside the former Paragon Paint factory building at 45-40 Vernon Boulevard. Permits for the first tower were filed with the DOB back in June and detail a 28-story, 296-unit rental tower designed by SHoP Architects. The tower is part of a larger master plan that will revamp the eastern extents of the Anable Basin inlet with a waterfront esplanade and bring an additional 14-story residential tower at 45-24 Vernon Boulevard and an eight story building along 45th Road. As per the renderings provided by SHoP, the design of the two lower towers is consistent with many of the firm's recent New York City projects and feature copper-clad, orderly bases yielding to playful facades of angled projecting windows. The central tower partially rises from within the rear section of the Paragon Paint factory building and its form will be a sheer 300-foot glass prism creased along each elevation to better capture sweeping views of the East River and Manhattan skyline.
More details ahead

November 23, 2015

A Soho Loft With a Secret Cat Tunnel; Penthouse at the Lowell Going for $300K/Month

Luxury real estate for cat ladies: this $23 million Soho loft has a secret cat tunnel that leads from the kitchen to a litter box in the pantry. [WSJ] Tips for hosting Thanksgiving in a tiny apartment. [Curbed] 10 tips for renovating an old house. [Brownstoner] It’s not the $500,000/month suite at the Pierre Hotel, […]

Real Estate Trends

November 23, 2015

Listings Go Live Today for NYC’s First Micro Apartment Complex

Carmel Place (formerly known as My Micro NY), the city's much-talked-about first micro apartment complex, began accepting applications for its affordable studios back in September (since then, 60,000 people have applied). And now, a press release from developer Monadnock has announced that listings for 12 of the market-rate units will go live today in anticipation of the February opening date. Along with the launch comes news of Ollie, "an innovative housing model that delivers an all-inclusive living experience." The nine-story modular development will have 55 studios ranging from 260 to 360 square feet, 22 of which will be affordable (of these, 8 will be set aside for formerly homeless veterans) and go for between $950 and $1,500 a month depending on family size and income. The remaining 33 will see prices ranging from $2,540 for a 265-square-foot, furnished, third-floor unit to $2,910 for a 335-square-foot, furnished, second-floor unit.
Find out more

November 22, 2015

Revealed: Boutique Condos Coming to 231 West 26th Street in Chelsea

Here's our first look at a seven-unit boutique condominium slated for a mid-block site at 231 West 26th Street in northern Chelsea. The developer is the New York-based Azimuth Development Group who plans to supersize the existing four-story building between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Permits were filed and approved earlier this year and DOB signs have already been posted on the doorway. The 24-foot addition will blot out a few floors of lot-line windows of the adjacent co-op 233 West 26th Street, where a three-bedroom home is on the market for $4.5 million, a price that will likely be similar to its new neighbor.
More details ahead

REX Revealed as the Architects Redesigning the World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex

Image pointing to the site of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. Rendering by DBOX

November 20, 2015

REX Revealed as the Architects Redesigning the World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex

Ever since Frank Gehry and his design for the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PACWTC) site got the boot last year, many have been eager to know who would be taking the helm in his place. Since July, the PACWTC has been working with an anonymous architectural firm to hash out a new concept, and now, nearly five months later, the board has finally released the name of the lead architect: Brooklyn-based studio REX led by Joshua Prince-Ramus, a former protégé of starchitect Rem Koolhaas. PACWTC chairman John Zucotti said in a statement, "The selection of REX and the Lower Manhattan District Council’s renewed commitment are critical milestones in our collective effort to create a vibrant new cultural and community anchor for all of Lower Manhattan. We are now two important steps closer to completing the World Trade Center and fully realizing our vision of Lower Manhattan as the world’s most dynamic, 24/7 urban community."
more details on the design here

November 20, 2015

Construction Update: 100 Barrow Street Rises Above Street Level From St. Luke’s Churchyard

By Heather Cooper Vivares

With the foundation finally laid, Toll Brothers' 100 Barrow Street has made its way above ground and will bring 35 brand new apartments to the West Village. The tower is being built on the site of a pre-existing parking lot on the full-block grounds of the Church of St. Luke in the Fields. While no demolition of existing structures or reduction of green space was necessary, the site does lie at the western edge of the Greenwich Village Historic District and across from the Archives Building, which is an individual landmark. Proceeds from the development will be used to fund the church's own new buildings, which include an expansion of its existing private school and the construction of a new mission where L.G.B.T.Q. homeless youth and under-served individuals can receive meals and shelter. The latter will also serve as a 24/7 drop-in center where people will be able to get a change of clothes and take showers.
More details and renderings this way

November 19, 2015

Inside a Queens Shanghai-Meets-Hollywood Studio; What X-mas in Bryant Park Looked Like 11 Years Ago

Inside a beautiful Queens studio that mashes up the best of Shanghai and Hollywood styles. [NY Mag] The former Time & Life building is getting a $325 million update. [WSJ] Why is it taking so long to construct the Second Avenue Subway? [Crain’s] Christmas in Bryant Park, 2004 vs. 2014. [reddit] 190 Bowery gets new windows. […]

Real Estate Trends

November 19, 2015

Permits Filed to Demolish a String of Buildings Near Gramercy Park for New Condo

Alfa Development has filed plans with the Department of Buildings to demolish a string of low-rise buildings huddled near the northeast corner of East 21st Street and Third Avenue. The development team led by Michael Namer is known for its environmentally conscious downtown condo towers, which include Chelsea Green, Village Green, and Village Green West. Now, Alfa appears set on sprinkling some of their sustainable magic on a corner-site in Gramercy that could hold a tower of more than 90,000 square feet and rise up to 210 feet tall. Last month, Alfa purchased the the four-building development site from Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group and Apex Investments for $69.6 million. The previous owners had planned to build a 25-unit affordable housing building to generate 40,000 square feet of bonus square footage for an undisclosed luxury development, but instead chose to sell the site to focus on other projects.
More details ahead

November 18, 2015

Luxury Buildings Help Drive Climate Change, Says New Study