Real Estate Trends

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

November 30, 2015

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

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

"Elite Emissions: How the Homes of the Wealthiest New Yorkers Help Drive Climate Change" is a new report from Climate Works for All, a project of advocacy group ALIGN. As 6sqft has previously reported, New York City is expected to be hotter, rainier, and severely underwater in the future, and this new study points to luxury buildings as one of the main culprits. As first explained by Curbed, "The group looked at the Forbes Billionaire List, then Business Insider's 20 Most Expensive Buildings in New York City list, and cross-referenced this information with the city's Energy Benchmarking data." They then drew up a list of the top ten offenders, all of which received an F for energy efficiency. Leading the pack is 838 Fifth Avenue, followed by 101 Warren Street, Trump Park Avenue, and Trump Tower, respectively.
More details and the full list

November 18, 2015

MoMA Files Plans for American Folk Art Museum Expansion; Fifth Avenue Has the Highest Retail Rents in the World

The Diller Scofidio + Renfro expansion design for the American Folk Art Museum appears to finally be moving forward. [Curbed] This new tool helps you find a bank that invests locally. [Next City] Fifth Avenue is the world’s most expensive place for retail. [Crain’s] New construction photos of Zaha Hadid’s High Line-hugging condo building. [Tectonic] […]

Real Estate Trends

November 18, 2015

POLL: Can the Last Seven Downtown Meatpackers Survive in the Meatpacking District?

Earlier this week, Crain’s put out an in-depth article about the last seven meatpackers in the Meatpacking District, all of whom reside in an 80,000-square-foot warehouse with 120 employees. While this may seem like a lot since we often talk about the industry’s mass exodus to Hunt’s Point in the ’90s, at its peak in the 1950s […]

Real Estate Trends

November 17, 2015

The High Line Park in 1995; Williamsburg Dumpster Apartment Rental a Fake

Here’s what the High Line below 14th Street looked like back in 1995. [reddit/flickr] The historic LES home of Streit’s Matzo Factory will be partially razed to make way for new residences. [BB] The Climate Works for All Coalition wants the city to enact regulations that would require luxury buildings to cut down on their energy […]

Real Estate Trends

VIDEOS: Jeremiah Moss’ Shuttered Storefronts and Alicia Glen’s Opposition to Retail Rent Control

Courtesy of James and Karla Murray authors/photographers of “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York“

November 17, 2015

VIDEOS: Jeremiah Moss’ Shuttered Storefronts and Alicia Glen’s Opposition to Retail Rent Control

By Emrys Fitzgerald

“The evidence of disease is everywhere,” claims Jeremiah Moss. No, he’s not talking about New Yorkers’ health; this is something he believes is even more merciless: hyper-gentrification. Moss, the pseudonymic chief editor behind the "bitterly nostalgic" blog Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and the founder of the anti-gentrification movement #SaveNYC, and James and Karla Murray, authors and photographers of "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York" submitted a short film to last month's Municipal Arts Society Summit 2015. The ten-minute clip opens with a sinister assertion that “the soul of New York is dying,” and plays as a visual obituary of the small businesses we have lost over the past two decades. Shortly after Jeremiah's melancholic melodrama, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen was asked whether New York should adopt commercial rent control policies. Unconvinced this is an applicable solution, she instead emphasized that a "healthy and vibrant mix of businesses" is important and "bad" businesses must be allowed to fail. Nor is Glen convinced of the plight of the mom and pop, calling it a Manhattan-centric argument. While she acknowledges certain neighborhoods are changing rapidly, she says independent businesses are thriving in other boroughs.
Watch Jeremiah's video and hear more of Glen's argument

November 16, 2015

New Renderings of SuperPier: Google’s New NYC Digs + Bourdain Food Market To Arrive in 2018

Last month at the Municipal Arts Society's (MAS) 2015 Summit for NYC, Seth Pinsky, executive vice president at RXR Realty, shared a presentation regarding the development of the long-planned rehabilitation and conversion of Pier 57 aka "SuperPier." In addition to some new looks at the project, he revealed that the developers have largely secured financing and are finalizing talks with the Hudson River Park Trust. RXR are co-developing the project with Young Woo & Associates, and Handel Architects and !Melk Landscape Architecture and Urban Design are the commissioned designers. According to Pinsky, the 450,000-square-foot development will invest $350 million of private capital to redevelop the structure, and in return create hundreds of jobs, generate millions of dollars of revenue for the Hudson River Park Trust, and create a new destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike. The former NYCEDC head confirmed that the project will include 250,000 square feet of office space for a major technology company [Google], a 170,000-square-foot food and retail market [Anthony Bourdain], and an elevated park with an outdoor movie and performance amphitheater on the roof to be used for screenings for the Tribeca Film Festival. He also noted construction will begin during the first half of next year, with completion aimed for early 2018.
Lots more renderings and details ahead

November 16, 2015

REVEALED: Inside Bjarke Ingels’ Spectacular 57th Street Tetrahedron

Those moving into Bjarke Ingels epic pyramid VIA 57 West next year will have a lot to look forward to. New renderings of the hotly-anticipated construction sited along West 57th Street have just been released (h/t Curbed) alongside a new teaser website inviting visitors "to a special preview" of the building. The new images, which come courtesy of The Durst Organization, reveal bright modern interiors with expansive river views, floor-to-ceiling doors and windows, varying room shapes, individual balconies, and lots of luxe fixtures, finishes and amenities.
Take a tour here

November 16, 2015

Starting Prices for Herzog & de Meuron’s Village Condos; Mansions for Under $1M