Real Estate Trends

Sources Say Saudi Billionaire Is Buyer of $95M Penthouse at 432 Park
May 29, 2015

Sources Say Saudi Billionaire Is Buyer of $95M Penthouse at 432 Park

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The Real Deal reports that Saudi billionaire and retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair is the buyer of the $95 million penthouse at 432 Park, the city's current tallest residential building. The unit went into contract in 2013 for roughly $11,500 per square foot, but sources are just now coming out with his identity. Al Hokair is the founder and chairman of Fawaz Alhokair Group, the most valuable retail and real estate company in Saudi Arabia. Forbes estimates the company is worth $22 billion, and that Al Hokair's net worth is $1.37 billion. When the deal closes it will be the second most expensive condo sale ever in the city, stealing the title from Bill Ackman's $91.5 million buy at One57 and following only behind the $100 million penthouse sale, also at One57.
More details, interior renderings, and a floorplan ahead
Commissioner of Baseball Robert Manfred Buys $5.6M UES Penthouse
May 28, 2015

Commissioner of Baseball Robert Manfred Buys $5.6M UES Penthouse

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Just in time for the height of MLB season, Robert Manfred, the freshly appointed Commissioner of Baseball who is a known Yankees fan, has scooped up an Upper East Side penthouse condo. He and his wife Colleen paid $5,575,000 for the full-floor, three-bedroom pad, according to city records released today. Located at 303 East 77th Street, the home also boasts 2,559 square feet of interior space and with 809 square feet of outdoor space comprised of three terraces and a balcony.
See the rest of Manfred's new digs here
REVEALED: 1 Park Lane Will Be the Next Supertall Central Park South Tower

Rendering via Witkoff

May 27, 2015

REVEALED: 1 Park Lane Will Be the Next Supertall Central Park South Tower

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Just a week after Manhattan's Community Board 5 called for a moratorium on shadow-casting Central Park skyscrapers taller than 600 feet, renderings have been revealed for the next supertall tower coming to the periphery of the park. New York Yimby first spotted the images for 1 Park Lane, the 1,210-foot-tall glassy condo that will replace the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel at 36 Central Park South and become the fourth-tallest residential building in the city.
More details ahead
One Vanderbilt Tower Receives Unanimous Approval from City Council
May 27, 2015

One Vanderbilt Tower Receives Unanimous Approval from City Council

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This afternoon, SL Green's One Vanderbilt tower received the ultimate green light from the New York City Council, as members voted unanimously in favor of both the construction of the new 1,501-foot tall office building and the rezoning of a five-block stretch of Vanderbilt Avenue (the Vanderbilt Corridor) that would bring with it significant infrastructural upgrades to the area's public transportation. The vote was the last hurdle for the development and is a critical step in the rezoning of a greater area of Midtown East.
Find out more here
What Skyline Is This? Why Investing in Trailer Parks Is a Good Bet
May 27, 2015

What Skyline Is This? Why Investing in Trailer Parks Is a Good Bet

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Can you identify all the world’s skylines? Take this quiz. [Washington Post] A handful of city council members are in favor of the Central Park supertall moratorium. [Crain’s] Parents living in cramped quarters are asking friends to forgo giving their kids unnecessary gifts at birthday parties. [NYDN] General Assembly co-founder and entrepreneur Adam Pritzker (whose […]

Musicians of Tribeca: The City’s Hottest ‘Hood for Pop Stars
May 26, 2015

Musicians of Tribeca: The City’s Hottest ‘Hood for Pop Stars

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Though Tribeca has long been considered a haven for artists, this tends to refer to those in the visual arts, thanks to the neighborhood's chill vibes and spacious loft apartments. But over the last two decades, some of the world's most famous pop musicians have been gobbling up real estate on its cobblestone streets. From Katy Perry and Taylor Swift to Chris Martin and Justin Timberlake, the hit makers can't get enough of Tribeca.
Take a celebrity musician tour of Tribeca
The Future NYC Skyline of 2030; Urban Blight in the West Village?
May 26, 2015

The Future NYC Skyline of 2030; Urban Blight in the West Village?

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Why are so many West Village storefronts shuttered? [The New Yorker] Here’s what the NYC skyline will look like in 2030. [Curbed] Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev’s $88M penthouse has been taken off the market. [NYP] Crown Heights residents saw their rents double last year. [Gothamist] Small biz Brooklyn owners are calling it quits as the borough sees property values […]

Rich NYC Buyers Now Requesting Luxury Panic Rooms
May 26, 2015

Rich NYC Buyers Now Requesting Luxury Panic Rooms

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Call it the problems of 0.002 percent, but the Times reports that wealthy buyers are now requesting that "safe rooms" be installed as part of their multi-million dollar buys. Although when most of us envision these spaces we immediately think of the movie "Panic Room" where Jodie Foster and her on-screen daughter are hunkered down in a dark and cold metal encasement with bad lighting, the wealthy by comparison have no interest of slumming it even when under siege. The paper reports that these individuals are now putting their panic rooms in full view, and they're just as cushy as the rest of their ultra-luxe digs.
More on the trend here
Paul McCartney Purchases a Fifth Avenue Penthouse for $15.5M
May 22, 2015

Paul McCartney Purchases a Fifth Avenue Penthouse for $15.5M

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Paul McCartney has just nabbed a $15.5 million penthouse at 1045 Fifth Avenue, the Post reports. Laid out as a duplex, the unit was previously owned by developer Manny Duell who made a living turning rentals into co-ops. This particular unit was one of Duell's creations, assembled as a gift for his wife who lived in the home until her death last year at the age of 92. Duell himself passed in 1977. With its roots in the Beatles era, McCartney should quickly feel at home here. The unit was previously described by the Times as a “glamorous 1960s time capsule with a dash of Hollywood.”
Have a look inside
Fully-Furnished Rentals Launch at One57
May 22, 2015

Fully-Furnished Rentals Launch at One57

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In the past when we've talked about the latest occupancies at billionaires' row blockbuster One57 we were referring to the record-breaking $100 million condo sale (the most expensive in the city ever) or Bill Ackman's $91.5 million flip attempt. But now those looking to get in on the city's most expensive condo building can do so without dropping seven figures in one fell swoop. Extell Development, after selling most of the condos at One57, has quietly listed 38 fully-furnished apartments for rent on the building's seven lower residential floors. But don't get too excited if you're not in the billionaires' club; asking prices range from $13,350/month for a one-bedroom unit to $50,366 for a three-bedroom.
More details ahead
‘Girls’ Star Zosia Mamet Buys Unimpressive Upper West Side Co-op for $1.2M
May 21, 2015

‘Girls’ Star Zosia Mamet Buys Unimpressive Upper West Side Co-op for $1.2M

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When we took a look at the real estate of the stars of "Girls," we said the characters "live in Greenpoint, not the Upper West Side." The same cannot be said for their real-life digs, as evidenced by Zosia Mamet's (she plays Shoshanna on the hit show) purchase of a pretty bland Upper West Side co-op. According to city records released today, she paid $1,225,000 for the two-bedroom apartment at 522 West End Avenue. We knew she was looking to relocate–she and her boyfriend listed their Bushwick house back in October, and it recently sold–but we can't deny that we're a little surprised by her choice.
See Zosia's new home here
The Price of History: Looking at NYC’s Biggest Landmark Condo Conversions
May 21, 2015

The Price of History: Looking at NYC’s Biggest Landmark Condo Conversions

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This year is full of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law, and in marking this milestone we tend to look at all of the historic buildings that have been perfectly preserved in their appearance and function. But what about those that retain their original character, yet have a new use? The folks over at CityRealty have taken a look at this group, focusing on city landmarks that have been converted from commercial spaces into condominiums. Zoning in on the five largest landmarks (by number of units), they found that owning a piece of history will cost you. In fact, the average unit price in these Manhattan landmarks was 45 percent higher than other condos; in Brooklyn, 26 percent.
Check out the full infographic here
Auction.com Allows Chinese Investors to Buy U.S. Real Estate from Home; NYC Remains the World’s Most Global City
May 21, 2015

Auction.com Allows Chinese Investors to Buy U.S. Real Estate from Home; NYC Remains the World’s Most Global City

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A Time exec has bought Million Dollar Listing star Fredrik Eklund’s West 27th Street pad. [NYP] Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital Group recently purchased one of the most expensive development sites ever sold in Manhattan, but he doesn’t plan on putting ultra-expensive condos up there—he’s opting for a small project instead. [Crain’s] Pierhouse blocked from being constructed […]

Developer Scott Resnick Takes Us Inside Norman Foster’s 551W21
May 18, 2015

Developer Scott Resnick Takes Us Inside Norman Foster’s 551W21

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How do you follow up managing the building of the city’s newest and most exciting museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art on the Hudson River waterfront in the West Village, that kicks off the city’s most popular architectural extravaganza, the High Line elevated park? You commission Sir Norman Foster, one of the world’s master architects to rise to the starchitect challenge of the High Line, the city’s seemingly overnight sensation that is a phenomenal explosion of really interesting designs in a city too long mired in architectural mediocrity and bogged down mightily by the burden of rampant NIMBYism, the well-intentioned but dreaded Not In My Back Yard syndrome. Scott Resnick, the head of SR Capital, has asked Foster to design a 19-story residential condominium building at 551 West 21st Street, half a block west of the High Line. “We’ve got the Hudson River,” Resnick retorts, casually destroying the real estate myth of “location, location, location.” This, of course, is the back story to the supertall onslaught of the south end of Central Park. How can mere 250-footers at best compete with the 1,000-foot-plus stompin’ boots of oligarchs in and around the city’s platinum core of double-height retailing, grand hoteling and horse-and-buggy bashing? Talk about 76 trombones! Still, in a metropolis of more than eight-million yarns, there is eternal hope for the spunky “little guys,” “da bums.”
Inside Foster's new building in progress this way
FAO Schwarz To Close Flagship Fifth Avenue Store Ahead of Rising Rent

Image: Gary Burke via flickr.

May 18, 2015

FAO Schwarz To Close Flagship Fifth Avenue Store Ahead of Rising Rent

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Beloved toy store FAO Schwarz has announced that it will shutter its midtown Manhattan store on July 15, citing rising rents, reports Bloomberg. Founded in 1862, the store, which is owned by toy chain Toys "R" Us, Inc., is the oldest toy store in the United States. The brand has long been known for its high-end dolls and life-sized stuffed animals and as the stuff of many a tiny tot's fantasies.
What does the future hold for the iconic toy store?
Artist Maya Lin Buys a Massive Bond Street Loft for $4.5M
May 18, 2015

Artist Maya Lin Buys a Massive Bond Street Loft for $4.5M

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Artist and architect Maya Lin, best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has just purchased a sprawling loft unit at 35 Bond Street in Noho, according to city records. Lin paid $4.5 million for the 3,260-square-foot space, which remains extremely raw, making for the perfect blank canvas workspace or renovation project for the multi-disciplinary creative who has also been known to dabble in interior design.
More photos of the interior here
VIDEO: Preview the Interiors of Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower Ahead of This Week’s Sales Launch

Image: Bloomberg

May 18, 2015

VIDEO: Preview the Interiors of Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower Ahead of This Week’s Sales Launch

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Since it started making news in 2006, the starchitect-designed condominium tower at 53 West 53rd Street, officially known as 53W53 along Manhattan's "Billionaire's Row," has progressed slowly, stalled until last September when developers were able to obtain 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church for $85.3 million and secure a $860 million construction loan. The Jean Nouvel-designed 1,050-foot asymmetrical tower, often called MoMA Tower, is adjacent to the museum and will occupy three of its lower floors. Now Bloomberg brings us a video interview with Nouvel and interior designer Thierry Despont from the building's sales gallery that opens the door on the building's interiors–or at least those of the building's furnished model unit, which is more than we've gotten so far. We also get to behold a sleek model of the tower's facade surrounded by its neighbors. The architect says that there are "...almost no two similar apartments in the building because on every floor the shape and the layouts are different."
Check out the interiors and the video this way
New Rendering Shows Isay Weinfeld’s Jardim High Line Condos 
May 15, 2015

New Rendering Shows Isay Weinfeld’s Jardim High Line Condos 

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As the construction boom along the High Line continues, new renderings have surfaced (via Curbed) for the condo development designed by highly acclaimed Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld. Developed by Harlan Berger’s Centaur Properties and Greyscale Development Group, the new project, called “Jardim” (Portuguese for garden), will occupy the site at 525 West 25th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.
Find out more about the project here
Extell Shoots for a $4.4B Sellout with the Nordstrom Tower, the Most Expensive Ever

Image: the Nordstrom Tower penthouse

May 14, 2015

Extell Shoots for a $4.4B Sellout with the Nordstrom Tower, the Most Expensive Ever

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Extell has plenty to brag about, from claiming fame to the city's top two most expensive sales to being credited with starting the whole superluxury supertall tower boom. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the development company's head honcho and mastermind Gary Barnett is vying for another record, aiming to make his next skyscraping creation, the Nordstrom Tower, the most expensive building ever sold at $4.4 billion.
more details here
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