Real Estate Trends

One Vanderbilt gets the green light. The City Planning Commission gave unanimous approval (12-0; 1 recusal) to the controversial Midtown project slated to rise on a site adjacent to Grand Central Station. [6sqft inbox] More units at 432 Park are coming to the market. Nine new listings, including a $76.5 million penthouse, have been posted in the last seven […]

Real Estate Trends

Fly-Through Video of ODA’s 10 Jay Street Shows Crystalline Facade from Every Angle

Rendering via ODA

March 30, 2015

Fly-Through Video of ODA’s 10 Jay Street Shows Crystalline Facade from Every Angle

We've been seeing a lot of innovative work from ODA Architecture lately–from their Bushwick rental project that looks uncannily similar to a project by Bjarke Ingels in Denmark to their provocative ziggurat-like proposal for Gowanus. And last week, their design for the northern façade of 10 Jay Street in Dumbo won approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The site was formerly a sugar refinery, which inspired ODA's crystal-like design, and the warehouse will be turned into condos with ground-floor retail. We've now uncovered a fly-through video of the building, which shows the façade from every angle. The video description says: "When there is no wall to preserve and no façade to restore, contemporary architecture can tell a story about a sequence of historical events. The architect is a visual biographer writing a tale of one building from 1897 to 2015 arguably doing more for preservation than imitating reality."
Watch the video here

March 27, 2015

Norman Foster-Designed Residential Tower to Rise in Sutton Place; Peek Inside BIG’s West 57th Street Pyramid

Have a look inside construction at BIG’s pyramid at 625 West 57th Street. [Field Condition] A 269,000-square-foot tower designed by Foster + Partners will rise at 426-432 East 58th Street. The developer, Bauhouse, plans to raze four properties in Sutton Place to create the 95-unit building. [6sqft inbox] Manhattan condo inventory hit an historic low in February. [NYDN] The rise […]

Real Estate Trends

March 27, 2015

New Renderings Revealed for Tadao Ando’s ‘Glass Jewel Box’ Condo in Nolita

Over the summer we got a couple of teaser renderings for Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando's forthcoming Nolita condo at 152 Elizabeth Street. But now the Times has released the entire batch of starchitecture porn, including a full building shot and interior details. Ando's first-ever standalone building in New York is a seven-story condominium with just seven units, and its design is completely representative of his signature style. Described as a "glass jewel box" by the Times, it's made of in-situ concrete, galvanized steel and glass, combining to create a simplistic, modern esthetic that blends with the area's industrial character. The Japanese self-taught starchitect wanted to create "a space which no one has created before with a very common material which anyone is familiar with and has access to. Concrete can be made anywhere on earth."
Pricing info and renderings this way

NYC Will Get Richer and Denser, New Report Reveals

Bethesda Fountain Bethesda Fountain – Central Park via photopin (license)

March 27, 2015

NYC Will Get Richer and Denser, New Report Reveals

Think New York City is crowded now? You ain't seen nothing yet. According to census data and a new report by the Brookings Institute on job proximity, the city is on track for a population boom of professionals raking in big bucks. The city has by far the highest job density in the country, even when the national trend is for both people and jobs to move to the suburbs. Similarly, NYC tops the list of increase in population of college grads between 2007 and 2012 by a landslide. And as The Atlantic observes, this combination is creating a feedback loop that will make our already rich and crowded city even richer and more crowded. "The densest cities tend to be the most educated cities, which are also the richest cities, and often the biggest cities. They’re gobbling up a disproportionate share of college grads. And, as a result, they are becoming richer, denser, and more educated."
More details ahead

March 26, 2015

Woody Johnson’s Co-op Sale Still Sets Record, but Comes In Lower Than Expected at $77.5M

The real estate world was abuzz last fall when the news hit that Jets owner Woody Johnson had sold his Upper East Side apartment to billionaire Leonard Blavatnik for $80 million, setting the record for most expensive co-op sale ever. The official city documents have hit, though, and the sale price came in lower than expected at $77.5 million. But […]

Real Estate Trends

March 26, 2015

Former Home of Bernie Madoff’s Late Son Asking $9M; Long Island City’s Tallest Tower Moves Forward

The MTA has agreed to sell air rights to the developer of Long Island City’s tallest tower. The agency received $56 million for the deal. [DNA Info] On Greenpoint’s boom. [NYP] Palatial co-op at the Sherry Netherlander closes for $67.5 million, far less than its $85 million ask. [Acris] The city approved permits for 20,000 […]

Real Estate Trends

March 26, 2015

Mayor’s Affordable Housing Plan Flawed, More Likely to Harm Brooklyn’s Most Expensive Nabes

The revitalization of East New York is at the center of Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing plan, but like his ambitious Sunnyside Yards project, his ideas for the fallen areas of Brooklyn are apparently also filled with holes. According to a piece published by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, de Blasio's plan to re-zone 15 neighborhoods to allow for taller and denser housing won't do much good for affordable housing. The main reason? The rents are too low. In fact, housing experts believe that his plan is more likely to hurt the character of Brooklyn's most tony areas, including Park Slope, Fort Greene, and Crown Heights, amongst many others.
More on their findings here

March 26, 2015

Fashion Stylist Joe Zee Sells Chelsea Pad to Famed Designer Narciso Rodriguez for $2M

In a very fashion-friendly transaction, stylist and journalist Joe Zee–creative director of Elle for seven years and currently the editor-in-chief and executive creative officer of Yahoo Fashion and host of a fashion-based television show called “All on the Line”–has sold his Chelsea apartment at 300 West 23rd Street to clothing designer Narciso Rodriguez for $2 million, according to city […]

Bloom 62 Going for $80 Million; Inside the Model Unit of Flatiron’s Next Tallest Tower

Ben Shaoul is asking $80 million for his rental building Bloom 62. [EV Grieve] Have a look inside the sales office of 45 East 22nd Street—a.k.a. our 2014 Building of the Year winner, a.k.a the Flatiron’s future tallest tower. [Curbed] Robert Durst’s arrest is said to have brought a “tremendous sense of relief” to his family. [NYT] The MTA […]

Real Estate Trends

Rent Stabilization Demystified: Know the Rules, Your Rights, and if You’re Getting Cheated

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr

March 24, 2015

Rent Stabilization Demystified: Know the Rules, Your Rights, and if You’re Getting Cheated

By Michelle Cohen

In New York City there are currently about one million rent stabilized apartments–about 47 percent of the city’s rental units. So why is it so hard to snag one? What are the benefits of having one (other than affordable rent, of course)? According to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board nearly 250,000 rental units have lost the protections of rent regulation since 1994. Why are we "losing" so many of them?
Find out the facts and how they could affect you

March 24, 2015

Live in a Sprawling Queens Mansion; Things to Consider Before Subletting

Some very important things to take into account before subletting your apartment. [BU] A sprawling Jamaica Estates mansion in Queens has hit the market for $3.49M. [Brownstoner Queens] A 100-acre manufacturing area in northern Inwood is being eyed for rezoning for housing and tech. [Curbed] New $200 million, 14-mile bus route unveiled for Queens. [NYDN] Robert Durst linked to yet […]

Real Estate Trends

March 23, 2015

Two Best Friends Sell Their Massive Midtown Artists’ Loft for $4.83M

Remember this amazing loft we featured on 6sqft back in September? Well it looks like it's found a new owner to fill its cavernous spaces. According to city records, the two-loft combo at 361 West 36th Street sold today for $4.83 million. While when we last wrote about this cool apartment we were going gaga over its beautiful 4,800 square feet of sun-soaked spaces, it turns out the story of the two women–both artists–who once dwelled within its walls is far better anything else found inside.
Find out more here

Real Estate Trends

March 23, 2015

NYC Is the Worst State for Rich People; MTA Is Still Short $15B

With the state’s new fiscal year looming, there’s still no specific plan in place to close the MTA’s $15B funding gap. [NYDN] Sorry, but there won’t be an Andy Warhol Museum coming to Essex Crossing after all. [BB] The former historic church at 344 West 36th Street slated to come down for a new hotel. […]

Real Estate Trends

REVEALED: ODA’s New Bushwick Rental Project Looks a Lot Like BIG’s 8 Tallet in Copenhagen

ODA’s 10 Montieth Street (L); BIG’s 8 Tallet (R)

March 20, 2015

REVEALED: ODA’s New Bushwick Rental Project Looks a Lot Like BIG’s 8 Tallet in Copenhagen

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Bjarke Ingels should give himself a big pat on the back. A newly revealed residential design by architectural firm ODA for the Rheingold Brewery site in Bushwick looks a lot like Bjark Ingels Group's (BIG) 8 Tallet in Copenhagen. The Denmark building takes the shape of a figure 8 with a sloping ramp that runs from the base of the building to its roof, creating a large interior courtyard. Similarly, the 400-unit rental building planned for Bushwick at 10 Montieth Street has a subtle bow-tie shape with a sloping, zig-zagging green roof and amenity-laden courtyard. And just as 8 Tallet is the largest private development ever undertaken in Denmark, ODA's 400,000-square-foot building would be the largest residential building ever built in the area if completed.
More details on the proposed project

March 20, 2015

Tales of Teens Who Coax Parents into Buying Luxury Condos; Is Newark the Next Brooklyn?

Only in New York: A teen convinces his parents to buy a multi-millionaire dollar apartment at the Adlyn after hanging out with friends at the condo and announcing “We’re moving and this is the place we’re moving to.” Plus more terrifying tales. [NYT] Jonah Hill slashes the price of his Soho pad by $300K. The actor put […]

Real Estate Trends

March 20, 2015

In Case of Fire, Take the Elevator to Safety

If you work in a tall tower, throw everything you ever learned about fire safety out the window because the Fire, Buildings and City Planning Departments are re-writing the rules. In response to the supertalls popping up across Manhattan, the agencies are looking to create more occupant-evacuation elevators that can be used to move people down a tower in the event of an emergency. Because, really, can you imagine trying to flee down 90 flights of stairs?
READ MORE

March 19, 2015

The City’s Oldest $20M+ Listing Sells After Nine Years; Into the Wild of Hunter’s Point

Exploring the last remaining wild spaces on the East River in Hunter’s Point. [Curbed] NYC’s oldest $20M+ listing, a rooftop mansion at 60 Warren Street in Tribeca, has sold for $24.5M after sitting on the market for nine years. [NYO] Yet another rent-stabilized tenant has been sued for putting her apartment on Airbnb. [NYP] Construction […]

Real Estate Trends

March 19, 2015

NYC Rents Are So High Even Starbucks Can’t Afford Them

You know rent is too damn high when mega chains like Starbucks start looking for cheaper spaces. The Commercial Observer reports that the city's rising rents are actually driving the coffee giant to less popular side streets as many of the leases inked for stores opened up some 15–20 years ago are coming up for renewal. Starbucks is currently paying just a fraction of what the market is demanding on a chunk of their more than 200 Manhattan locales, and they could soon see an end to several of their most popular shops.
FInd out more

Real Estate Trends

March 19, 2015

Battery Park City, Harlem, and the Lower East Side Top the List of Child-Friendly Manhattan ‘Hoods

It's no secret that families are ditching Manhattan for Brooklyn or the Suburbs, where they can get more space for their money and maybe even a backyard, but a new report shows the shifting dynamics of those families who decide to stay in the big city. According to amNY, the analysis conducted by AddressReport.com shows that only 6 percent of households in Hell's Kitchen and the Financial District have a child under 18 living in them, and in neighborhoods like Midtown, Soho, the West Village, and Gramercy, most of which are often thought of as more family-friendly, only 7 percent of households have at least one youngster. To be expected, Battery Park City is ranked as the most child-friendly neighborhood, where 36 percent of households have a child. Another shoo-in is Tribeca at 26 percent. Surprisingly, East Harlem at 32 percent, Harlem at 29 percent, and the Lower East Side at 20 percent round out the top five, none considered traditionally family-oriented.
See the full map here

March 19, 2015

Sarah Jessica Parker Finally Sells Greenwich Village Townhouse for $20M

After quite a few price cuts and almost three years on the market, Sarah Jessica Parker has found a buyer for her Greenwich Village townhouse at 20 East 10th Street. Originally listed for $25 million in 2012, and most recently re-listed in September for $22 million, the 6,800-square-foot, five-bedroom home finally entered into contract for $20 million, according to the Daily News. Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick bought the townhouse in 2011 for $19 million. They completed a full renovation, but reportedly the family never actually lived there, using the home as a massive closet and residing in another Village townhouse.
Take a look around the house here

March 18, 2015

Move Over Brooklyn, Hoboken Is the Hipster Capital of America

Is Hoboken really America's most hipster city? According to a study conducted by "data-driven" blog FindtheBest, Hoboken out-hipsters us all with its souped up offer of 13 cafes and one yoga studio per 10,000 residents—the vast majority of whom are aged between 20 and 34 years old. FindTheBest looked at the top 19 municipalities with 50,000 or more inhabitants, evaluating both the locale and people against certain attributes they deemed characteristically hipster. Hilariously, the site defines a hipster as one who associates with a "subculture all about nonconformity and effortless nonchalance" and embodies an appearance that conjures up one “reading Proust over an overpriced cup of coffee.”
More on the study here

March 18, 2015

Construction Update: COOKFOX’s 855 Sixth Avenue Tops Off, Ties for City’s ‘Shortest Skyscraper’

By Ondel Hylton

In the shadow of the Empire State Building, the concrete frame of 855 Sixth Avenue has quietly risen to its full 500-foot height. Spanning the full western blockfront of Sixth Avenue between West 30th and 31st Streets, the 41-story mixed-use tower, designed by COOKFOX Architects and co-developed by the Durst Organization and Fetner Properties, is poised to bring 190,000 square feet of commercial space and 375 rentals to the southern fringe of Herald Square later this year. While unremarkable in design and imperceptible in the city's skyline, the building's small claim to fame may be that its 152-meter (slightly under 500 feet) height is sometimes regarded as the benchmark figure for defining a skyscraper. Therefore, statistically, 855 Sixth could be considered the shortest skyscraper in New York. Huzzah!
More details ahead

March 18, 2015

Orlando Bloom Sells Tribeca Loft in Less Than One Month