Real Estate Trends

Donald Trump is estimated to be worth $2.9 billion by new accounts. Trump previously claimed $10 billion. [Bloomberg] Here are the Brooklyn equivalents of all the states. [Huff Po] Hockey Star Sean Avery lists his Hamptons house. [Curbed] After 40 years, the iconic Trash Vaudeville is leaving its St. Marks locale for a new space on 7th Street. […]

Real Estate Trends

July 28, 2015

Donald Trump Gets $21M for Trump Park Avenue Penthouse

When you have $1.4 billion in assets, $21 million is a drop in the bucket, but the Wall Street Journal reports that's what Donald Trump just got for the sale of his penthouse in his namesake building Trump Park Avenue. The apartment is not too exciting, but it does boast 6,200 square feet, ten-foot ceilings, five bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, and a private elevator. Trump bought the full-floor penthouse in 2002, when his company converted the Upper East Side building to condos, but never lived there. It first hit the market back in 2013 for $35 million and most recently got a price chop to $24.99 million.
Look around the whole place here

July 27, 2015

NIMBYs Are Shaping NYC’s New Developments; William Randolph Hearst Penthouse Sells

NIMBYs have become power players in New York’s real estate game. Here’s a closer look at the playbook they use to take new developments down. [Crain’s] Aby Rosen has found a new restaurant to replace the iconic Four Seasons in the Seagram building. [NYP] The MTA is kicking gardeners out of their greenspace beneath the […]

Real Estate Trends

Roman Abramovich; View of the three townhouses — 11, 13, 15 (from L to R)

July 24, 2015

Roman Abramovich Closes on Third UES Townhouse for His $80M Makeshift Mansion

At the beginning of the year, news broke that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich had secretly bought a townhouse at 11 East 75th Street for $29.7 million, which followed his purchase of a townhouse two doors down for $18.3 million a month earlier. So, of course, we all assumed that he would snatch up the townhouse wedged in between to create his very own makeshift mansion. And now it's official, as the Daily News reports today that Abramovich has closed on the townhouse at 13 East 75th Street for $30 million, bringing his total up to nearly $80 million.
Find out more here

July 24, 2015

Construction Update: Tribeca’s ‘Jenga Tower’ 56 Leonard Tops Out

By Heather Cooper Vivares

Last January, 6sqft reported on the the progress of Alexico Group /Hines' project 56 Leonard: The concrete structure was around 700 feet tall with little more than 100 feet to rise. Now, alas, the 821-foot Tribeca tower, playfully known as "the Jenga building" and designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, has finally topped out! With a delivery date expected sometime next year, all that remains for its wacky floor plate configurations and erratic cantilevered projections is the remainder of its exterior cladding, which we hear will now also progress from the top down, and the interior fit-out of its 145 residences.
More details this way

July 24, 2015

The Likelihood You’ll Be Poor at Some Point; Harlem’s Oldest Townhouse Sells for $3.6M

By age 60, “nearly four in five people experience some kind of economic hardship.” A look at the odds that you’ll be poor at some time in your life. [Wonkblog] How to make the best of a small one-bedroom apartment. [NYT] Harlem’s oldest townhouse has sold for $3.6M to a new owner who plans to turn it into a […]

Real Estate Trends

July 24, 2015

$51M Time Warner Center Penthouse Sale Sets a Record for the Building

Maybe it's the location near Lincoln Center and lots of shopping, or maybe it's the unobstructed views of Central Park, or maybe it's the ease of planting tons of one's foreign cash without worry within its walls, whatever the case may be, the ultra-luxe Time Warner Center has just drawn in a record $50.92 million sale. The owner, Russian billionaire Andrey Vavilov, listed the sprawling 14-room penthouse for $75 million early last year, then dropping the price to $68 million in November, finally landing on $51 million with a buyer known only as "Columbus Family LLC," according to city documents filed today. As CityRealty reveals, the transaction is the highest ever recorded at the building; the runner-up, incidentally, the same unit, which traded hands last in 2009 between Vavilov and Austrian investor Gerhard Andlinger for $37.5 million.
Have a closer look inside

Real Estate Trends

July 24, 2015

Tribeca’s 45 Park Place Site Cleared to Make Way for Slender 660-Foot Skyscraper

The site of a SOMA Architects-designed Tribeca skyscraper has finally been cleared, signaling that groundwork and construction of the slender 38-story tower may soon be before us. The 12,000-square-foot lot at 45 Park Place owned by El Gamal's SoHo Properties, was formerly three battered pre-war buildings, two of which were a downtown outpost of Burlington Coat Factory. The upcoming as-of-right project will total approximately 135,000 gross square feet and contain 50 condominiums, a public plaza, and a museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. A 2010 iteration of the project involving an Islamic cultural center became encircled in controversy due its proximity the World Trade Center site. But now with legal hurdles cleared, the site fully assembled, and city approvals in place, the glass and steel skyscraper is poised to move forward.
Get the scoop here

July 23, 2015

Construction Begins on John Catsimatidis’ Curvy Rental Tower at 86 Fleet Place in Fort Greene

Construction has begun on the final building of the four-tower development on the western edge of Fort Greene. The 32-story tower at 86 Fleet Place will house 440 rental units and will be the culmination of a 15-year redevelopment of a low-slung, Robert Moses-era retail strip along Myrtle Avenue. The developer of 86 Fleet, and three other sibling buildings to the east, is Red Apple Group's CEO and owner John Catsimatidis, who we might better remember as the billionaire Republican candidate in the last mayoral election and the owner of the oft-maligned Gristedes grocery store chain. According to the Wall Street Journal, Red Apple picked up the 2.5-acre, four-block site for $500,000 from Long Island University in 1982. The site spans 900 feet along the southern frontage of Myrtle Avenue, between Flatbush Avenue Extension and Ashland Place, and shares its blocks with the Toren condominium to the west and the Fred Trump-built University Towers complex to the south.
More details on the development

Roosevelt Island’s Increasing Allure; Community Board Applauds 2 WTC

BIG’s 2 WTC gets rave reviews from the Community Board 1. [Downtown Express] Focusing in on Roosevelt Island’s evolution into a place people actually want to live. [NYP] 200-square-foot mobile studios are now available to NYC artists and entrepreneurs. [Inhabitat NYC] Here are 10 NYC homes with their very own private pools. [Curbed] Images: Roosevelt […]

Real Estate Trends

July 22, 2015

How You Can Live in a Billionaire’s Row Condo for Free AND Make Six Figures

Get a job as one of their building managers. As DNA Info reports, if you're just a regular Joe or Jane looking to take up residence in one of the city's priciest towers, you don't need to be a billionaire—or even a millionaire for that matter. The resident managers at four headline-stealing, ultra-luxury towers will live rent-free, in very large apartments, while also earning respectable six-figure salaries for their services.
Find out more here

July 22, 2015

Lauren Bacall’s $23.5M Dakota Apartment Finds a Buyer

Ever since Lauren Bacall passed away last summer, it's been all eyes on her longtime Dakota apartment. First, in November, we learned that the actress's Central Park West home would list for a jaw-dropping $26 million. Then, less than two weeks later, the listing hit, a bit disappointing to many as the photos were the newly-staged versions. But this past March, interior photos of how the place looked when the movie star resided there for more than 50 years were dug up, revealing a treasure trove of antiques and artwork and showcasing beautifully intact original details like fireplaces with carved mantles, huge mahogany doors, and crown molding. In April, the price was reduced by $2.5 million, but now, the Daily News reports that Bacall's wood-paneled apartment has been purchased by a mystery buyer.
See inside the legendary apartment here

July 22, 2015

Another Supertall Opponent Emerges on the City Council; Extell’s LES Project Still Causing Street to Sink

The Hudson Yards will be home to 28,000 plants when complete. [NYT] City Councilman Ben Kallos is leading a forum to block supertall, shadow-casting towers tomorrow night. [DNA Info] The Healthy Buildings Lab is working to help New Yorkers understand if toxic building materials have been used in their homes. [DNA Info] Donald Trump has […]

Real Estate Trends

July 22, 2015

POLL: Are Private Pools the Next Must-Have Amenity?

This morning we revealed renderings of Six Sigma’s upcoming condo at 435 West 19th Street, which offers private pools as one of its amenities (along with a sky garage). We first saw this perk pop up at SCDA’s Soori High Line a few blocks north on 29th Street, where 16 of its 27 units will feature heating […]

July 22, 2015

New Renderings of 435 West 19th Street, Condo with Private Pools and a Sky Garage

Work has begun on on Six Sigma's upcoming condo at 435 West 19th Street, and the head-to-toe renovation/addition of the 1924 building seems intent on housing all the most outrageous frills of recent West Chelsea builds under a single roof. Boutique design-and-build firm Six Sigma acquired the 20,000-square-foot office building, once home to the photography studios and sound-stages of CityStage, for $21 million in August 2014. According to the developer's website, Pei Partnership, a firm founded by the sons of renowned Chinese architect I.M. Pei, is crafting the design. Pei Partnership, not to be confused with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was also the designers of The Centurion, the Midtown condo lavishly clad in a cascade of Burgundy limestone.
Find out more about this project

July 21, 2015

Buyers of Luxury Condos Can No Longer Hide Behind Shell Companies

Earlier this year the Times made waves in the real estate industry with a lengthy exposé zooming in on the growing trend of foreigners—many the subject of government inquiries ranging from environmental violations to financial fraud—using LLCs as a way to scoop up luxury properties and stash their cash while avoiding taxes. Now the paper reports that the De Blasio administration has imposed new disclosure requirements on those who intend to use shell companies as a vehicle to buy and sell property in the city. Under the new rules, these shell companies must now provide to the city both the names and tax IDs of all members involved in a transaction.
Find out more here

July 21, 2015

Why So Many Americans Support Donald Trump; 7 Train Extension Slated to Open in September

If all goes as planned, the 7 train extension, which brings the line to 34th Street and 7th Avenue, should open by September 13th. [NYDN] Why do so many Americans support Donald Trump’s run for president? Here’s the one reason why he’s the GOP frontrunner. [WSJ] Low income co-ops are having trouble paying their tax […]

Real Estate Trends

July 20, 2015

Bed-Stuy Prices Up Over 20 Percent; The Community Bookstore in Brooklyn Cashes In

Mariah Carey has a shoe closet bigger than your apartment. [NYP] Bed-Stuy prices have spiked. Homes sales have gone up 20 percent, says a new report. [DNA Info] After rumors of a New Jersey move, Streit’s Matzo Factory has confirmed that they will move operations to Rockland County. [BB] Court Street’s beloved book-mess, The Community […]

Real Estate Trends

July 17, 2015

Inside the First Model Unit at 10 Bond; Scaffolding Goes Up Around 190 Bowery

More mysterious happenings for 190 Bowery: scaffolding has just gone up around the building. [Bowery Boogie] The first model unit at architect Annabelle Selldorf’s 10 Bond has been completed. It will be asking $7.1 million. [6sqft inbox; listings] The city plans to spend $2.8 million to beef up patrol on illegal Airbnb listings. [NYP] Annotating the corner of Mulberry […]

Real Estate Trends

First Look at the Interiors of Nomad’s 212 Fifth Avenue

*** Update via the development team: Interior renderings from ASJNY are only conceptual and do not represent the actual project moving forward.

July 17, 2015

First Look at the Interiors of Nomad’s 212 Fifth Avenue

Here's our first look at what the residences of a highly anticipated condo conversion at 212 Fifth Avenue could look like. In March we revealed a set of whimsical renderings for a conceptual design whipped up by the visualization artists ASJNY. The actual plan going forward, approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission this past April, calls for a more sensitive touch. In addition to carving out 48 homes, the 1913 neo-gothic building's ground-level storefronts will be renovated, its parapets reconstructed, and the tower's stately limestone, terra-cotta and brick exterior will be restored, which may entail creating some additional windows.
More details ahead

July 17, 2015

Francis Ford Coppola Buys $2.5M Apartment in the Same West Village Building as Robert De Niro

By Annie Doge

Famed director Francis Ford Coppola, responsible for “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” has picked up a $2.5 million apartment at 32 Morton Street, according to The Real Deal. The West Village address is the same building where Robert De Niro and his stepdaughter Drena bought a $2.8 million penthouse back in December. Coppola’s new loft has two […]

July 16, 2015

SCDA’s Switchback Skyscraper Launches Teaser Site and Clears Its Midtown East Lot

Last November, 6sqft brought you news that a 29-unit boutique condominium would rise at the edge of Billionaires' Row, in that somewhat ambiguous zone occupied by Bloomingdale's and Bloomberg LLP. Now, the high-end development's teaser site has launched, which showcases a handful of images of the tower's common spaces, and we took a trip to the site to get a first look at the construction progress. Just last month, the two 4- and 6-story office buildings occupying the site at 116-118 East 59th Street were cleared, and recent Department of Buildings filings reveal that the envisioned $330 million tower will stand exactly 500 feet tall, making it spot-on-the-mark of what we (and other bean-counters) officially deem a skyscraper.
More details and renderings ahead

July 16, 2015

New Map Shows Where More Than 50,000 Rent Stabilized Apartments Have Been Lost