Real Estate Trends

The chance to reimagine one of the most loathed buildings in Manhattan certainly must be appealing to designers, so it's likely the Port Authority will receive a lot of submissions for their newly announced international competition to replace the current bus terminal. Crain's reports that "The operator of the nation's busiest bus terminal approved a plan Thursday to move ahead toward replacing the overcrowded, dilapidated 65-year-old facility, with a goal of deciding on a final design by [September 2016]." It's expected that the project will cost between $7 and $10 billion and take several years to complete.
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Real Estate Trends

October 23, 2015

A Closer Look at How XOCO 325’s Oh-So-Cool Melting Facade Was Created

Earlier, we gave you a look at DDG's rough-cut, bluestone facade at 12 Warren Street in Tribeca, and now, just a few blocks north within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, the team has de-shrouded the skeletal exterior of their upcoming condominium XOCO 325. Rising from a through-block site at 325 West Broadway, the 48,000 square foot development will house 21 light-filled residences upon its completion early next year. DDG picked up the site for $38.5 million in 2012, and in typical fashion, souped up the design with organic and environmentally inspired elements that charmed the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
more this way

October 23, 2015

DDG’s Bluestone Beauty at 12 Warren Street Finally Shows Some Skin

Fully-integrated design and build firm DDG has raised the curtain on their highly anticipated condo development 12 Warren Street. Designed by their in-house architect Peter Guthrie, its facade of roughly-hewn Pennsylvania bluestone is meant to evoke the natural uneven stacking of the material. In what must have taken quite the effort to detail, variously dimensioned slabs, ranging from standard-sized bricks to large lintel blocks, protrude from the exterior at varying depths. While more commonly seen underfoot as sidewalk pavement, here the brittle stone's soothing tone softens the building's ogreish form, whose still-shrouded cliff-like top will incorporate a wild display of projecting volumes and terraces. As simply stated by architecture critic Carter Horsely, "DDG continues its elegant campaign to make New Yorkers lust after bluestone rather than brownstone."
Find out more details about the development

October 23, 2015

Dramatically Angular West Village Penthouse Rental Wants $18K a Month

By Michelle Cohen

Whether Rogers Marvel Architects, designer of the dramatically-angled building atop which this 3,000-square-foot pad is perched, were inspired by the convergent lines of the Flatiron Building, had some tricky space issues to navigate, or just wanted to make a point, this triangular triplex at 1 Seventh Avenue South does its best to avoid looking like a contemporary interpretation of a ‘50s corner diner, and to some degree, succeeds. To be fair, the building conforms perfectly to its similarly-angled lot, undoubtedly no small feat. This high-floor haven offers three bedrooms, multi-floor terraces, a host of modern amenities (smart wiring, multi-zone heating and central air, to name a few) and the kind of big views–and neighborhood–that command big rents, so the $18K a month is no surprise. Though much of the apartment's decor and furnishings seem out of place for a glass-walled Downtown penthouse, as they say, there’s no accounting for taste. We don’t know if the rental is available furnished or mercifully emptied of its late-20th century Z Gallerie closeout haul, but with three floors and lots of outdoors, there's plenty of room, literally, for improvement.
Let's point out some highlights

October 22, 2015

City Subsidies Have Been Focused on Wealthy Neighborhoods; New Construction in Crown Heights Draws in Buyers

A new report from the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development shows that city subsidies have historically gone to the neighborhoods that need it the least. [Crain’s] Why it was faster to build subways back in 1900. [Atlas Obscura] New condos in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights account for 20 percent of the borough’s sales. [DNA Info] […]

Real Estate Trends

October 21, 2015

A Behind the Scenes Look at How SHoP’s Stunning Facade at 111 West 57th Street Will Come to Life

Last month, JDS Development wowed us with an image showing a visual curtain wall mockup of their super-tower underway at 111 West 57th Street. Now the Michael Stern-led development team in partnership with Property Markets Group has released a new video and a handful of images to keep our mouths watering for what is poised to become New York's most daring skyscraper in generations. Designed by the local talents at ShoP Architects, the tower has already nervously impressed us with its extraordinary height of 1,438 feet and its jaw-dropping slenderness (a ratio of 1:24). Now that its engineers, the WSP Group, and the Times have thoroughly convinced us that the building will not fall over, we can focus our attention on the tower's elegantly detailed facade, composed of a feathery mix of terra-cotta, bronze, and glass. A recent video posted by JDS provides us with more glimpses of the cladding, a time-lapse video of how the facade will transform throughout the day, as well as some behind-the-scenes insight of the extraordinary undertaking involved to sheath this future landmark.
Watch the video and get more details

October 21, 2015

Wall Street’s First Black Millionaire; Pier 40’s Renewal Plan Will Add 1,500 Apartments

A newly announced plan for Pier 40 will see the former cargo terminal transformed into 1,500 West Village apartments. [NYT] “Jeremiah Hamilton made white clients do his bidding…And in 1875, he died the richest black American.” [The Atlantic] What real estate pros are reading. [TRD] Why pricing your apartment lower can get you more money. […]

Real Estate Trends

October 21, 2015

POLL: Will the Sale of Stuy Town to Blackstone Make It a More or Less Desirable Place to Live?

The hot topic right now in the real estate world is undoubtedly the $5.3 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town to the Blackstone Group and Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge. Aside from the huge sum and the fact that the apartment complex has been long-plagued, what makes this deal so huge is that the new owners agreed to […]

October 20, 2015

SHoP’s Essex Crossing Mega-Market Will Be One of Largest in the Nation

The $1.1 billion Essex Crossing project will be a 1.65 million-square-foot, mixed-use mega-development anchored by 1,000 residential units and a mix of cultural, community, and retail facilities. Of course, a project of this magnitude is not without controversy, and perhaps the biggest debate was over the loss of the 75-year-old Essex Street Market. But new details have emerged on how the market will actually be expanded and transformed into one of the five biggest markets in the country, according to Curbed. Known as the Market Line, the bi-level space designed by SHoP Architects will cover 150,000 square feet and connect three sites along Broome Street. It will be a foodie/retail promenade with a floating garden, beer hall, galleries, tech incubators, and, according to renderings, an outpost of Smorgasburg.
More details ahead

Kids Compare NYC to L.A. In This Hilarious Jimmy Kimmel Clip

Kids in LA and NYC sound off about what they think about people in their rival city. [NYDN] Why we should look to Hunter’s Point as a precedent for affordable housing. [NY Mag] NY cop charged with stealing a Bed-Stuy townhouse. [TRD] The world’s tallest dorm at 33 Beekman at Pace University has opened. [6sqft inbox]

Real Estate Trends

October 20, 2015

Blackstone Buys Stuy Town for $5.3 Billion, Will Preserve Affordable Housing

The saga of Stuyvesant Town continues. The Real Deal reports that the Blackstone Group has partnered with Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge to buy Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village for $5.3 billion, just slightly under 2006's $5.4 billion sale. Currently, more than half of the 11,200 apartments in the long-plagued complex (which was built under Robert Moses as affordable housing for veterans returning from WWII) are market rate. And as TRD notes, "As part of the new agreement with the city, Blackstone will reserve 4,500 units at the complex for middle-income families for the next 20 years... An additional 500 units will be slated for low-income families, and Blackstone will not attempt a condominium conversion at the complex." In order to keep the affordable units, the city will provide $225 million in funding; give Blackstone a $144 million low-interest loan through the Housing Development Corporation; and waive $77 million in taxes.
Find out more about the deal

October 19, 2015

Subway Inn Site May Get a 1,000+ Foot Supertall Tower

It was almost two years ago that rumors starting circulating that beloved dive bar the Subway Inn would be forced out of its 77-year home in the wake of being purchased by the World Wide Group as one of six parcels on 60th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues. The bar did close in August 2014, but relocated to a new space around the corner on Second Avenue. This past summer, Cushman & Wakefield worked with World Wide to market/sell the assemblage, using renderings of a glassy supertall tower and talk of nearby Billionaires Row to sweeten the deal. Now, the Commerical Observer reports that Chinese developer Kuafu Properties bought the 19,685-square-foot plot for $300 million, getting one step closer to bringing the 1,000+ foot-tall condo to reality.
More details and renderings ahead

October 16, 2015

New Renderings of Handel Architects’ Torqued 43-Story Rental Underway Near Grand Central

Groundwork on BLDG Management's 43-story rental tower at 222 East 44th Street is quickly moving forward now that the large block-through parking garage that occupied the site has been removed. The 441,000-square-foot development situated midblock between Second and Third Avenues will house 429 residential units, 87 of which will be deemed affordable. East 44th Street is among the most densely built streetscapes in the city, and will be more so once three other high-rises projects on the stretch are complete. But as 6sqft reported in August, the 556-foot-tall, Handel Architects-designed development employs a unique massing where its elevations are torqued away from the street wall, granting additional light and air to residents.
This way for more details and renderings

October 16, 2015

Billionaire Art Collector in Contract to Buy Andy Warhol’s $85M Former Montauk Compound

By Annie Doge

"I knew Andy in the early 1980s as a very young man, and I’m a collector of his work . . . I’m very lucky to have this opportunity to live out this dream. It’s a work of art." This is what billionaire art collector and Upper East Side gallery owner Adam Lindemann told the Post regarding going into contract on Andy Warhol's $85 million former Montauk estate and equestrian farm. Warhol bought the 30-acre compound, known as "Eothen," in 1972 along with filmmaker friend Paul Morrissey for a mere $225,000, putting Montauk on the map as an A-list retreat on par with the East End. As 6sqft reported when the listing hit the market in June, "For years, the artist used the compound as a city retreat, entertaining friends and luminaries that included Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and John Lennon. Back then, guests of Warhol enjoyed 600 feet of private oceanfront and 24 acres on the bluffs overlooking the ocean." And now Lindemann, whose fortune comes from his father George Lindemann's success in pharmaceuticals and pipeline companies, can try to relive these glory days.
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October 16, 2015

Williamsburg’s New Soda Factory Lofts Bottle Industrial Architecture but Add Modern Style

Leasing has launched at the former Williamsburg manufacturing plant of the Brooklyn Bottling Company and Dr. Brown's Soda. The new development at 60 Berry Street is aptly called the Soda Factory Lofts, and the 40 units are an attractive mix of industrial architecture and modern style. There are currently 12 apartments on the market, ranging from a $3,300/month one-bedroom to a $5,500/month two bedroom.
Check them out

October 15, 2015

First Full Look at Extell’s 80-Story One Manhattan Square, 800 Condos Aimed at Asian Buyers

Bloomberg News reported yesterday that the restless developer Gary Barnett will soon begin marketing the 800 condominiums of his upcoming One Manhattan Square development to Asian buyers first. Apparently not satisfied with erecting two of the tallest and priciest residential buildings in the city, One57 and the Central Park Tower, the Extell Development Company founder and CEO is busy laying the groundwork for one of the largest condominium towers in the city at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Going by the address 252 South Street, the bipartite tower is being designed by Adamson Associates Architects (AAI) and will soar 80 stories tall, roughly to the same height as the Comcast Building (former GE/RCA Building) in Midtown. At nearly 850 feet, the tower will be the tallest skyscraper on the island between Midtown and downtown, and by far the tallest building directly along the waterfront. Its staggering 800 units will fall just short of the city's largest individual condo-tower, the 816-unit Corinthian in Murray Hill.
More details on the development

October 15, 2015

Beastie Boy Mike D Gets $5.5M for Fun and Funky Cobble Hill Townhouse

By Annie Doge

The Post reports that Beastie Boy Mike D (Michael Diamond) has sold his fun and funky Cobble Hill townhouse for $5.5 million, just $150,000 under the asking price. He and his wife Tamra Davis (a cookbook author, online cooking show host, and music video director) bought the four story, five-bedroom home back in 2011 for $3.1 million and then undertook a quirky yet modern renovation. Thanks to custom design details like Brooklyn toile wallpaper, sculptural hanging kitchen shelves, a giant mirrored swing in the bedroom, and an enormous master bath, the Italianate home was featured in several publications, including a New York Times house tour titled “Licensed to Grill.” And now, all of Mike D's hard work has paid off with a pretty nice profit.
Take the full tour

October 15, 2015

NYC Leads the Global Real Estate Investment Market; Be Ethan Hawke’s Neighbor in Boerum Hill

The townhouse that neighbors actor Ethan Hawke’s Boerum Hill pad is on the market for $3.4M. [NYP] New York City has launched a neighborhood-specific website the lets people find out more on what’s happening locally. [neighborhoods.nyc] Urban B&Bs are on the rise. [CityLab] Investment in real estate is at its highest level since 2007 and […]

Real Estate Trends

October 14, 2015

Art Titan Larry Gagosian Sells His Upper East Side Carriage House for $18M

Art mogul Larry Gagosian has just closed a deal on the sale of his Lenox Hill mansion at 147 East 69th Street, according to property records just released. Gagosian sold the sprawling home to fellow art buff Sasha Bauer, chairman of the SculptureCenter in Long Island City, for an impressive $18 million. Gagosian purchased the property back in 1988, transforming the former carriage house (of a late 19th century millionaire, nonetheless) into a single family residence called "House for a Bachelor." The renovation, which was completed by architect Francois de Menil, made way for Gagosian's multi-million dollar collection of artworks that included pieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Picasso. The redesign of the property even won a 2000 AIA New York Design Award for interior architecture.
See inside the stunning home here

October 14, 2015

$100M Penthouse Listing at City Spire Is No More; Williamsburg’s Futuristic Hotel Tops Out

The owner of City Spire’s $100M penthouse listing has removed it from the market. [NYP] Williamsburg’s architecturally-forward William Vale Hotel has topped out. [Brownstoner] Five of the U.S.’ coolest tiny homes. [NYP] Airbnb can push rents up by as much as $69 a month in neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint, a study has found. [TRD]

Real Estate Trends

October 14, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at GDC Properties’ Townhouses Coming to Long Island City

After the record snatch-up of Red Hook's King and Sullivan Townhomes last month, another not-so-Brownstoney neighborhood is joining in on the townhouse craze. Westchester County-based GDC Properties is slated to bring eighteen two-family townhouses to Long Island City, and here we have a first look at what the ensemble's 11th Street frontage will look like.
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October 14, 2015

REVEALED: Karl Fischer Pens Another Bottom-Line Design for East Williamsburg

Here's our first unfortunate look at a 12-story residential building slated to rise within a rapidly gentrifying corner of East Williamsburg. The block-through parcel at 46 Cook Street, between Graham and Humboldt Streets, will give way to a 34,000-square-foot mixed-use development designed by Karl Fischer Architect and Brooklyn-based developer Joel Braver, under the LLC Cook Properties. The project replaces a one-story brick warehouse building and is located just two blocks from the Flushing Avenue J/M subway station.
More info ahead

October 14, 2015

Robert A.M. Stern’s 520 Park Avenue Finally Reaches Street Level, $130M Penthouse on Its Way

Two years since its groundbreaking, Zeckendorf Development's tower o' opulence at 520 Park Avenue has finally emerged from its cavernous trench. Set for completion in 2018, the Billionaires' Row building will climb 54 floors and 780 feet into the Manhattan skyline, becoming the tallest and likely the most prestigious building on the Upper East Side. Envisioned by William Lie and Arthur Zeckendorf, 520 Park Avenue inherits the classically-inspired taste of the real estate dynasty's prior projects. In the '80s, their father William Zeckendorf Jr. erected some of the city's largest post-modern apartment complexes such as Worldwide Plaza, Zeckendorf Towers, and the Park Belvedere. Here, the developers commissioned the esteemed architect/historian and dean of the Yale School of Architecture Robert A.M. Stern as the designer and SLCE as the architects of record. This team also collaborated together on 18 Gramercy Park South and 15 Central Park West, which shattered apartment records when it opened in 2008. Intent on replicating its west side counterpart's success, the Zeckendorfs again gathered the now-not-so-secret ingredients: a powerful address, palatial apartments, and most importantly, the coveted Central Park view, all of which will culminate in a jaw-dropping $130 million penthouse.
More on the project's status

October 13, 2015

Why NY Apartments Are Priced $999,999; The Development Story of the Central Park Tower