Real Estate Trends

New NY rulings say that your apartment might be rent-stabilized after all. Brick Underground has the details. [BU] Office rents being paid at 425 Park Avenue could be the highest in history at $300 per square foot. [Crain’s] Real estate experts are warning about a possible housing glut in Brooklyn. [WSJ] Here are some places where you […]

Real Estate Trends

New Renderings of Vinoly’s 125 Greenwich Street, Downtown’s Future Tallest Residential Skyscraper

Rendering by ArX Solutions

September 11, 2015

New Renderings of Vinoly’s 125 Greenwich Street, Downtown’s Future Tallest Residential Skyscraper

On the 14th anniversary of the day that caused the city to question our skyward building ambitions, we give you a new look at lower Manhattan's future tallest apartment tower, 125 Greenwich Street. Not only has the city regained its confidence in building high again, but it has now been feverishly erecting 1,000-plus-foot supertall towers at a faster rate than nearly any other global metropolis. This particular residential spire will soar 77 stories and roughly 1,100 feet high, some 200 feet taller than downtown's next tallest ground-up residential buildings, 30 Park Place (937 feet) and New York by Gehry (870 feet).
Find out more here

September 10, 2015

Bushwick Gets Cheaper; Interview With 9/11 Memorial Designer Michael Arad

By Ondel Hylton and Heather Cooper Vivares

Bushwick rents have dropped 16 percent as new apartments have been added to the market. [DNA Info] With retail rents rising across the city, shop owners are increasingly considering the second floor to sell their wares. [Crain’s] Four top NYC hotels are heading to the auction block. [NYDN] Meet the designer who dreamt up the National […]

Real Estate Trends

September 10, 2015

Jon Bon Jovi Scoops Up a 10-Room Village Condo for $12.9M

By Annie Doge

It looks like Jon Bon Jovi has no plans on leaving New York behind. After finally unloading his $34 million Soho penthouse earlier this year, according to the Observer, the rocker has just paid $12.88 million for a sprawling ten-room apartment at the brand new 150 Charles Street in the West Village. There are no photos of the […]

September 10, 2015

Construction Update: Related Companies’ Rental Tower at Hudson Yards’ Front Door Begins to Rise

Related Companies' new mixed-use rental tower at the front door of Hudson Yards is forging ahead. Located at 530 West 30th Street, just south of the towering Coach Tower (10 Hudson Yards) and west of the recently finished Abington House (also developed by Related), the 28-story building will bring 174 new rental homes to the rapidly evolving neighborhood. 530 West 30th shares its lot with 529 West 29th Street, an all-affordable, 126-unit building Related opened last year with apartments set aside for artists, seniors, and local residents of Community District 4.
More details

REVEALED: First Look at 1399 Park Avenue, 23-Story Tower Coming to East Harlem

Google Streetview of buildings that previously stood at the site (L); Rendering of the new building via Goldstein Hill & West Architects (R)

September 9, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at 1399 Park Avenue, 23-Story Tower Coming to East Harlem

Here's our first look at Heritage Real Estate Partners' 23-story, 108-unit residential building underway at 1399 Park Avenue in East Harlem. Designed by Goldstein Hill & West Architects (GHWA), the 253-foot tall, glass and cast-stone tower is expressed as a stack of variably-sized, staggered volumes creating numerous terraces that face north towards the East River and west towards Central Park. Fittingly, Heritage has filed permits under the alias "Heritage on the Park LLC," possibly hinting at the official name for the tower.
More details ahead

September 9, 2015

Norah Jones Is Buyer of $6.25M ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Carriage House in Cobble Hill

By Annie Doge

We knew in May that the famous Cobble Hill carriage house from the Julia Roberts movie "Eat, Pray, Love" had found a buyer at $6.25 million. But now the Daily News is reporting that this mystery buyer is Norah Jones, who purchased the historic home under an LLC. The singer is no stranger to the neighborhood; she also owns a house around the corner at 166 Amity Street, which she bought in 2009 for $4.9 million. Her new converted 1840s fire house comes complete with a magical secret garden, a glassy greenhouse, second-floor terrace, and giant exposed wood beams.
Take a tour of the unique home

September 8, 2015

Hedge Fund Tycoon May Be the Buyer of $200M Penthouse at 220 Central Park South

We first got wind of the potentially record-setting penthouse listing at 220 Central Park South back in March, when it was reported that the unit could sell for between $150 and $175 million. In June, sources said that a Qatari billionaire was looking to combine multiple apartments in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building to create a $250 million mega-penthouse. Then last month, the Post speculated that another high-profile buyer was Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge fun tycoon who is currently in the midst of a messy divorce from wife Anne Dias-Griffin (she's asking for $1 million a month in child support). Now the paper reveals that it's Griffin who's looking to snatch up the $200 million+ penthouse in what's being called the "billionaire's bunker."
More details this way

Real Estate Trends

September 8, 2015

The Nordstrom Tower Loses Its Spire; What Parents Should Consider When Buying or Renting in NYC

The Nordstrom Tower will no longer have a spire. Sans the architectural adornment, its height will now reach 1,550 feet. [Curbed] So you’ve decided that urban living is right for your family? Here are some things to consider when looking for a place to buy or rent. [BrickUnderground] A glass shortage is sending construction costs sky-high and causing […]

Real Estate Trends

Historic Brooklyn Heights Site May Be Redeveloped Into 40-Story Condominium

Concept studies by the design firm SRA Architecture + Engineering (SRAA+E) reveal that an existing five-story commercial building in Downtown Brooklyn may be redeveloped into a dramatic retail and condominium tower. The prominent 19,000-square-foot, triangular site at 205 Montague Street is located at the gateway of Brooklyn Heights and currently holds a 1960s-era marble and glass office-retail building that was picked up by Joseph Cayre's Midtown Equities back in 2010. In 2012, the development firm filed permits doubling the building's size, envisioning a 100-unit residence that would convert the structure's three upper levels into apartments and add another six stories above. The permits, also filed by SRAA+E, were never approved, but in 2012 an insider told the Brooklyn Eagle, “an awful lot more can be built than what's in the Buildings Department plans." Midtown Equities, who is also busy rebuilding the Empire Stores in Brooklyn Bridge Park, could not be reached for comment.
Find out more about this possible project

Rendering of the revamped Tin Building via SHoP Architects

September 8, 2015

New South Street Seaport Will Be the City’s Next Foodie Destination by 2017

By Ondel Hylton and Heather Cooper Vivares

Perhaps spearheaded by the Smorgasburg foodie culture, putting multiple local food vendors in one place has become a recipe for success in NYC development projects. There's the Hudson Eats food hall at office-filled Brookfield Place, the forthcoming food court by Anthony Bourdain at Pier 57, Danny Meyer's possible giant food hall at Hudson Yards, the 55-vendor Dekalb Market Hall planned for Downtown Brooklyn's City Point, and the food hall at Sunset Park's Industry City, to name just a few. So it comes as no surprise that the South Street Seaport redevelopment will boast not one, but two massive food halls. The Post reports that none other than three Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (ABC Kitchen, the Mercer Kitchen, and JoJo are just a few of his famed restaurants) will be spearheading the foodie revolution at the Howard Hughes Corporation's $1.5 billion mega-development. According to the paper, "The great chef and his business partner Phil Suarez have signed a lease/partnership contract with NYSE-listed Hughes to launch two major Seaport projects — a 40,000 square-foot, seafood-themed marketplace inside the Tin Building and a 10,000 square-foot restaurant in a rebuilt Pier 17." Both are expected to open in 2017.
Find out more right here

September 8, 2015

First Look at the Gibraltar, Newest Addition to the Greenpoint Waterfront

By Heather Cooper Vivares

Another residential building has been called to join the ranks of the Greenpoint waterfront. Located at 160 West Street, the six-story condo is known as the Gibraltar. Permits filed a year ago claimed 13 apartments and 16,198 square feet, but according to developer Saddle Rock Equities, it will house 14 apartments over 20,000 square feet. Designed by architect Joe Eisner, the bulky grey building stands out for its oversized balconies and abundance of rooftop space.
More on the development and new renderings

First Look at Rawlings Architects’ 20-Story Mixed-Use Murray Hill Building

Elevation of the new building (L); the current site (R)

September 6, 2015

First Look at Rawlings Architects’ 20-Story Mixed-Use Murray Hill Building

Charles Blaichman’s CB Developers have begun construction on a 20-story mixed-use building directly adjacent to their nearly finished rental tower the Frontier. Located at 210 East 39th Street, the building is designed by Rawlings Architects in conjunction with the grey metal and glass Frontier next door. The project is replacing a small townhouse owned by the Kingdom of Lesotho; the small African country contributed its property as a joint venture with the developers, and they will receive a commercial unit within the building's lower three floors to use as a mission.
More details ahead

September 3, 2015

Law & Order’s Christopher Meloni Sells Midtown Apartment; NY’s Top 10 Building Sales

Karim Rashid‘s former Chelsea townhouse is getting a glamorous update that involves no neon. [NYP] Law & Order star Chris Meloni has finally unloaded his Midtown apartment. The unit at the Park Imperial has been on the market for more than three years. [NYDN] The top ten NY buildings to fetch top dollar. [TRD] Forget […]

Real Estate Trends

Image via Field Condition

September 3, 2015

Leaks and Alignment Issues Plaguing Atlantic Yards’ B2 Tower Were More Severe Than Reported

When it was announced that Brooklyn would be host to the world's tallest prefab tower, many believed that a new era of construction was upon us. Called the B2 Tower, the building would rise as stacked 32-story structure, affording all the perks of a conventional edifice, but be quick and inexpensive to build. But as it has been well-documented, the project, announced way back in 2012, has been a major flop. Stricken with delays and countless lawsuits flying left and right, the building today has only reached about half of its height. So where did things go so wrong? A fascinating piece by the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report's Norman Oder on City Limits provides some incredible insight into the project that has failed to deliver on just about every promise put forward.
READ MORE

Village Green West, Alfa Development’s Chelsea Condominium, Nears Completion

Rendering via Alfa Development and Kutnicki Bernstein Architects (L); Current construction shot via CityRealty (R)

September 3, 2015

Village Green West, Alfa Development’s Chelsea Condominium, Nears Completion

The finishing touches are being applied to Alfa Development's environmentally sensitive and industrially evocative condominium Village Green West. According to CityRealty, only two if its 27 units are are currently up for grabs, with at least 18 already in contract. Alfa's 12-story mid-block building is centrally positioned at 245 West 14th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues at the crossroads of Chelsea, the West Village, and the Meatpacking District. The Michael Namer-led development team purchased the 5,200-square-foot development site in 2012 for $14.65 million.
More details on the project here

September 3, 2015

Four-Floor Stunner with a ‘Secret Garden’ Asks $11,000 a Month in Fort Greene

By Emily Nonko

Here is Brooklyn brownstone living at its finest. The historic 1880s townhouse at 139 South Oxford Street, located in the very brownstone-heavy neighborhood of Fort Greene, is a good blend of historic details and modern conveniences. It's got a very special landscaped backyard, a renovated kitchen, and a staircase to die for. It's split up as a two-family home, and the upper four floors are now on the rental market asking $11,000 a month. That's nearly 3,000 square feet of living space, with four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two half bathrooms and even additional basement storage! That's a lot of brownstone goodness right there.
See it all

Liza Minnelli Makes an $8.4M Sale on Her Upper East Side Apartment

Image courtesy of Tim Macdonald

September 2, 2015

Liza Minnelli Makes an $8.4M Sale on Her Upper East Side Apartment

And it is indeed all that jazz. Legendary actress and singer Liza Minnelli has just sold her co-op at the Imperial House at 150 East 69th Street, reports The Real Deal. City records filed yesterday afternoon show that the star struck an $8.372 million deal with New York socialites Robert Beyer and Loren Pack. The 21st floor showstopper was designed by Timothy Macdonald, who created a tranquil and versatile living environment for Minnelli that could easily be reconfigured for entertaining. The apartment's walls are also adorned with plenty of Broadway memorabilia and an incredible Andy Warhol tribute to her mother, Judy Garland.
more inside minnelli's home here

September 2, 2015

Andy Rooney’s Apartment Sells for $2.23M; Why Trump Is a Great Developer

Even if he doesn’t become president, Trump remains a great NY developer. [NYP] The late Andy Rooney’s UWS apartment has finally sold for $2.385M, below ask. [WSJ] New views of the South Street Seaport’s 60-story condo building. [Curbed] East Harlem residents put pressure on NYCHA to remove toxic mold at the Clinton Houses. [DNA Info] […]

Real Estate Trends

September 2, 2015

POLL: Would You Apply for an ‘Affordable’ $1,500/Month Studio in My Micro NY?

Yesterday, we reported that My Micro NY, the city’s first micro apartment complex, was accepting applications for its affordable units, which account for 22 of the building’s 55 studios. Located at 335 East 27th Street on the border of Gramercy and Kips Bay, the building has units that range in size from 260 to 360 square feet. One person […]

September 1, 2015

NYC’s First Micro Apartment Complex Now Accepting Applications, Units $950/Month

We knew this day was quickly approaching; just a couple of months ago, we reported that My Micro NY (also known as Carmel Place), the city's first micro apartment complex, was fully stacked, reaching its 120-foot height at 335 East 27th Street on the border of Gramercy and Kips Bay. Now, Brick Underground reports that the $17 million development began accepting applications this morning for its 260- to 360-square-foot affordable studios. According to the site, the available units are "11 $950/month studios for one person earning between $34,526 and $48,350, or two people making between $34,526 and $55,250; and three $1,492/month studios for one person making between $53,109 and $78,650, or two people making between $53,109 and $89,830."
Find out how to apply here

September 1, 2015

Modern Two-Bedroom in Williamsburg Comes With a Dreamy Outdoor Space

By Emily Nonko

If you're on the hunt for a modern condo unit (and aren't shopping on a strict budget), Williamsburg is one Brooklyn neighborhood that is full of them. Here's the top-floor unit at 317 South 4th Street, a boutique condo with four total units—a two-bedroom, two-bathroom on the market for $1.45 million. The floor-through apartment has all modern finishes, lots of glass, a private balcony and even a 700-square-foot roof garden.
See more of it

September 1, 2015

Live in the City’s First Crowdfunded Condo Tower; Staten Island Making Million Dollar Penthouse Sales

There’s a new app available that connects individuals with professional movers with half-empty trucks. [AT] Units at Manhattan’s first crowdfunded condo building will soon hit the market. [Bloomberg] Spike Lee officially unveiled Do The Right Thing Way in Bed-Stuy on Saturday. [BKPaper] Has Staten Island finally arrived? A slew of $1+ million sales reveal increasing interest […]

Real Estate Trends

September 1, 2015

Building Permits Decline by 90 Percent Following Changes to the 421-a Program