Manhattan

April 16, 2018

Despite a 30 percent drop in sales prices, Tribeca remains NYC’s most expensive neighborhood

Despite suffering from a 30 percent drop year-over-year in median sale prices, Tribeca still managed to rank first as New York City's most expensive neighborhood, followed closely by Soho. Property Shark released this week its list of the 50 priciest areas in the city in Q1 2018 and unsurprisingly, nine out of the top ten are located in Manhattan. Notably, the West Village witnessed an 88 percent year-over-year increase with a median sale price hovering $2.1 million. And the Flatiron District, which ranked as the most expensive neighborhood in the third quarter of 2017, fell to sixth place, with a median sale price of $1.85 million.
See the list
April 16, 2018

George and Amal Clooney’s Soho rental is operating as an illegal transient hotel

George and Amal Clooney's rental at 116 Sullivan Street has been operating as an illegal transient hotel, according to Page Six. Richard Fertig, the owner of the 19th-century, red brick building in Soho was hit last month by the city with four violations for illegally converting the basement apartment to "transient use." Authorities say the apartment does not have mandatory fire alarms, exits or a certificate of occupancy.
More details here
April 16, 2018

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos

Since 6sqft reported just over a year ago on the beginnings of the building formerly known as the Solar Carve tower by celebrated architect Jeanne Gang at 40 Tenth Avenue, the new High Line-hugging addition has been quietly rising. Now, the 10-story commercial tower has officially topped out, and we've got the construction photos and new renderings to prove it.
Renderings and photos this way
April 14, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): 606W57, One Hudson Yards, 70 Columbus and View 34 Special Offer on Luxury Rentals at One Hudson Yards; See New Listings 606W57 Luxury Rentals Launch from $2,795/Month; See New Photos + Floor Plans Rooftop with All the Views at VIEW 34, Luxury Rentals on the East River from $2,753/Month Renovated Homes + Ocean Views; Brooklyn's Shorecrest Towers Leasing from $1,900/Month Meet The Alexey, South Slope's Provocative Rubix-Cube-Like Rental Leasing from $2,200/Month Jersey City's 70 Columbus Rentals from $2,150/Month; 90 Columbus Set for Spring Launch
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April 13, 2018

Where I Work: Architecture firm Woods Bagot shows off their ‘raw’ FiDi studio

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the Financial District offices of architecture firm Woods Bagot, located on the seventh floor of the Continental Bank Building at 30 Broad Street. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Internationally acclaimed architecture firm Woods Bagot opened their first office in 1869 in Adelaide, Australia. 150 years, 15 offices, and 850 staff members later, they've designed projects from a master plan for Perth to a mixed-use tech center in Singapore to a rental tower right here in Brooklyn. After opening their first NYC office a decade ago in Midtown, the rapidly expanding firm decided it was time to design a work space for themselves. So last summer, they moved into a brand new 11,000-square-foot home in Lower Manhattan. The vision of Woods Bagot's head of global workplace interiors, Sarah Kay, and head of global hotels, Wade Little, the studio has done such an impeccable job creating a "raw" feel that guests often think it's the original interior. Using a simple color palette of black and white, along with industrial elements like raw columns, exposed pipes, and cracked, stained concrete floors, they've managed to infuse "New York City grit" into their modern space, complete with virtual reality technology, 3D printing, and, most importantly, an industrial-strength espresso machine. 6sqft recently visited Woods Bagot to see the space in-person and chat with Sarah Kay about how she approached the design, what a typical day in the office is like, and what we can expect to see in the near future from this incredible firm.
Go on the tour
April 13, 2018

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is renting at Midtown’s athlete-filled Sky

Not only do the Mets have a winning record on the field to star the season, but their star pitcher Noah Syndergaard is racking up the runs when it comes to real estate. Last year, he rented at Midtown's swanky MiMA tower, and now Curbed reports that he's spending this season just a few blocks west on 42nd Street at the pro athlete-filled Sky, the largest rental in NYC. Not only does fellow Mets pitcher A.J. Ramos live there, but so do Knicks stars Kristaps Porzingis and Sasha Vujacic. Plus, the building has a Carmelo Anthony-designed NBA regulation-sized basketball court and 70,000-square-foot recreation facility.
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April 12, 2018

For $3.2M, costume jewelry connoisseur Kenneth Jay Lane’s former Stanford White-designed duplex

The two-bedroom duplex owned by late designer Kenneth Jay Lane, best remembered for creating sought-after costume jewelry, hit the market for $3.2 million. The apartment, located at 23 Park Avenue in the James H. and Cornelia V. Robb House, was designed by legendary architect Stanford White. Constructed in 1891, the mansion boasts a beautiful Italian Renaissance Palazzo style. The co-op, where Lane passed away in 2007 at age 85, sits on the second and third floors of the landmarked building, as the New York Post reported.
See inside
April 12, 2018

ODA’s new Lower East Side project looks a lot like Zaha Hadid’s High Line condo

Not only does 520 West 28th Street lay claim to being Zaha Hadid's only New York City project, but its futuristic design, marked by the late starchitect's signature curvaceous forms, is unlike any other building in the city. But ODA Architects may be looking to change that, as a proposed rendering uncovered by CityRealty for a condo at 208 Delancey Street looks strikingly similar to Hadid's High Line-hugging residence. The Lower East Side project shares its inspiration's L-shape, squat massing, and, most importantly, curved glass corners and extending balconies.
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April 12, 2018

Upper East Side townhouse asks $30M in U.S. dollars or $45M in Bitcoin

Last month, New York City had its first cryptocurrency real estate closing. The next week, an owner of the Plaza floated the idea of selling a "Plaza Token" to a group of foreign investors. Now, hedge fund founder and tech investor Claudio Guazzoni de Zanett, the owner of the landmarked townhouse at 10 East 76th Street, is asking one price in US dollars and a higher value in digital currencies due to their volatility. He is willing to accept bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple. "I’m a true believer in these networks, but it’s very volatile," Zanett told the Wall Street Journal. "They could be down 60% in two weeks."
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April 11, 2018

Fashion designer Cynthia Rowley lists ‘loft-like mansion’ in the West Village for $17.5M

Fashion icon and long-time West Village inhabitant Cynthia Rowley is selling her three-story, 25-foot-wide townhouse on 16 Morton Street for $17.5 million. Rowley first picked up the West Village home for $10.99 million in 2014, according to the New York Post. In addition to its sheer size, the townhouse features amenities like a curb-cut garage and over 18-foot tall ceilings. The 6,000-square-foot space also comes with additional air rights.
See inside
April 11, 2018

Lottery for middle-income apartments in Harlem raises the question of affordability

Just hours ago, 6sqft published an article about how many middle-income New Yorkers forego affordable housing opportunities because the "affordable" units are actually more expensive than their current market-rate homes. And now here's a perfect example. Five units are available through the city's housing lottery in the heart of Harlem, at 10 West 132nd Street, but the two studios are $1,900/month and the three one-bedrooms are $2,270/month. For a two-person household earning between $ 77,829 and $ 108,550 annually, is a $2,300 monthly rent payment really affordable?
All the details ahead
April 11, 2018

See dizzying new renderings of 30 Hudson Yards’ outdoor observation deck, the highest in NYC

Renderings via Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group Construction commenced this week on the super-high outdoor observation deck at 30 Hudson Yards, developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group announced Tuesday. Soon to be the highest in the Western Hemisphere, the outdoor deck will sit 1,100 feet in the sky and be found on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards. The deck, made up of 15 primary sections of steel and glass, will extend 65 feet away from the building. And a pair of new renderings released on the developer's Instagram show just how dizzying this aerial adventure will be.
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April 10, 2018

First look at 3 World Trade Center’s huge outdoor terrace

Rendering via Silverstein Properties New renderings have been unveiled for an 11,000-square-foot outdoor terrace at 3 World Trade Center, expected to open when the skyscraper does so in June. Designed by Ken Smith Workshop, the space will be fully landscaped and feature a lush garden. As the first outdoor terrace on the World Trade Center campus, 3 WTC tenants will enjoy unbeatable views of 1 WTC and the WTC Transportation Hub. Another perk? A special operator will serve coffee to tenants in a furnished, canopied area on the terrace.
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April 10, 2018

With Pfizer as an anchor tenant, construction on Bjarke Ingels’ Spiral tower will begin in June

Rendering via Tishman Speyer With an anchor tenant and necessary financing secured, Tishman Speyer announced on Tuesday plans to officially begin construction this June on Bjarke Ingels' 65-story office tower planned for Hudson Yards, the Spiral. The developer has reached a deal with Pfizer, a biopharmaceutical company, for an 800,000 square-foot lease at the Spiral, and has secured funding for the $3.7 billion project. The Spiral will reach 1,031 feet high and boast a facade of cascading landscaped terraces and hanging gardens. The tower will spread an entire block, stretching from West 34th to West 35th Streets and 10th Avenue to the Hudson Park and Boulevard.
More this way
April 10, 2018

Construction kicks off for Handel Architects’ mixed-use tower at Essex Crossing

Construction of Handel Architects' mixed-use tower planned for the Lower East Side's Essex Crossing development has officially begun. Located at 180 Broome Street, the tower sits at the Manhattan entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge, the structure which influenced the oversized concrete frames in the building's design. The tower includes 263 apartments, retail at street level, office space on levels two through five and a section of the massive marketplace below ground, the Market Line. According to CityRealty, the start of construction at 180 Broome makes it the sixth site to begin building in the nine-site complex.
Take a peek
April 10, 2018

This $8.5K a month Seaport loft is a real ship house

Pun intended, this open-plan penthouse loft is certainly no slum–it sits atop a genuine restored 1840s ship house at 115 South Street in lower Manhattan's Seaport District. Asking $8,495 a month, the character-filled top-floor space is blessed with 14-foot-high ceilings, exposed timber joists, and whitewashed brick, with stunning views of the harbor and river. It's four flights up, says the listing, but "worth every step."
Take a look around
April 9, 2018

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

‘Tis the time of year for private school acceptance letters to arrive. Nervous teens and parents race to their inboxes and find out if they are given the honor of spending upwards of 50k a year on their children’s education, often at one of the Upper East Side's highly prestigious institutions. At the same time, the starting gun sounds on the race to find an Upper East Side home to move to near school. amNY reported that with the “private school bump,” not only do buildings see a jump in families moving their primary residences to the area but many see NYC residents buying “little studios for them and their kids for Monday through Friday just to be closer to the school so they don’t have to commute from Tribeca, the Lower East Side, or Chelsea.”
Hear from the pros
April 9, 2018

Trump once lobbied against legislation that required sprinklers in NYC high-rises

Following back-to-back fatal fires in 1998 at two New York City buildings that lacked working sprinklers, public officials advocated for new regulations requiring sprinklers in all buildings. Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration that year pushed for legislation to address the lack of sprinklers in high-rise towers. But real estate developers, including President Donald Trump, fought against the proposals, citing the high expense of retrofitting existing buildings with them, as the Washington Post reported. After fierce lobbying from developers, including Trump who personally called a dozen council members, the city enacted a law in 1999 that would require sprinklers in new construction but not existing buildings, exempting the president's Trump Tower. On Saturday, a fire ripped through a 50th-floor apartment at Trump Tower, killing a 67-year-old art dealer. Sprinklers were never installed at the Fifth Avenue property.
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April 9, 2018

Vornado says it reached a deal with Kushner Cos. to sell 666 Fifth Avenue stake

Update 4/9/18: Vornado announced on Friday that it reached a "handshake" deal to sell its stake at 666 Fifth Avenue back to the Kushner Cos, according to the New York Times. It remains unclear if the Kushners have found a new partner. Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado, in the filing, said the payment would cover the company's investment: "The existing loan will be repaid including payment to us of the portion of the debt we hold." Kushner Cos. said this week it is in talks to buy the remaining 49.5 percent stake in 666 Fifth Avenue from Vornado Realty Trust, furthering the drama at the 41-story Midtown Manhattan office building, according to the Wall Street Journal. The tower has remained one of Kushner Cos. most financially troubled projects. In addition to its debt and high rates of vacancy, the building has been mired in controversy, mostly due to Jared Kushner's role as a senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump. While Jared divested in the property to avoid conflicts of interest, investors have been reluctant from entering a deal with Kushner Cos.
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April 9, 2018

Richard Meier’s East side master plan moving ahead with three condos and biotech offices

Across the street from Richard Meier’s nearly-complete new black glassy-facaded condo/rental tower at 685 First Avenue (known as 685 First), between First Avenue and the East River, a boarded-up construction site has remained quiet for the better part of a decade. Now, Curbed reports, the site’s developer, Solow Building Company, headed by Sheldon H. Solow, 89, and son Stefan Soloviev, confirms the site's awakening and imminent transformation into three condominium buildings and a fourth building, to be a biotech office, using the 2012 master plan penned by Meier's architecture firm.
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April 6, 2018

Quirky Union Square artist’s loft with a massive skylight and floating library cube asks $4M

An enormous north-facing skylight is the focal point of this sprawling 3,000-square-foot loft at 60 West 15th Street on the border between Chelsea and the Flatiron District. Currently, the quirky artist's quarters is also home to a large studio area, which, along with 11-foot ceilings, exposed brick and beams, and a very cool floating library cube adds to the ultra-creative vibe of the co-op, which is asking $3.995 million.
There are some things we can't figure out here
April 6, 2018

An eco-conscious pavilion made of scaffolding and moss could bloom in Times Square

New York City has 280 miles of scaffolding, totaling more than 7,700 sidewalk sheds in front of 7,752 buildings. Described as pervasive eyesores and sunlight-blockers, scaffolding has an unflattering reputation in the city. Artist Sam Biroscak is looking to change the public perception of these sidewalk sheds, by highlighting it as an "under-appreciated" urban element in his conceptual design. Dubbed Mossgrove, Biroscak's project would create an architectural pavilion in Times Square made of two materials seen as nuisances: moss and scaffolding. The proposal calls for the installation be built during NYCxDESIGN, a nine-day event featuring interactive installations and talks. The theme of this year's Design Pavilion will be "From This Day Forward" (h/t Untapped Cities).
See the design
April 6, 2018

John Steinbeck’s former Upper East Side home, complete with his original writing desk, asks $5M

On the 34th floor at the Tower East on 72nd and 3rd Avenue is the former home of Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck. "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" author lived here with his third wife, Elaine Anderson Steinbeck, until his death in 1968. She stayed in the apartment until her death in 2003, after which time it was completely renovated with new windows, floors, plumbing, electric and an expanded entrance with the addition of an adjacent three-bedroom apartment. But the new owners left a few nods to the literary great, including keeping his study intact, complete with his original wooden desk, notes on the wall, and posters, according to the Post.
Take a look
April 5, 2018

Leather floors and a catwalk are just the beginning at this $7M Tribeca loft

The listing for this sprawling and spectacular loft at 44 Laight Street in Tribeca is loaded with hyperbole, but in this case we can pretty much see why. We're not sure if it's a "mysterious nexus of art, history, whimsy and amazing craftsmanship where to think of living there was to reduce the miraculous to the mundane," but as far as loft condos go, it's a pretty fly pad. Starting with a private entrance and private indoor parking space, the three bedrooms and remarkable living spaces in this landmarked Grabler Building home are definitely worth a look.
Prepare to be amazed
April 5, 2018

Renderings revealed for Annabelle Selldorf’s $160M Frick Collection expansion

The Frick Collection has unveiled its $160 million Selldorf Architects-designed upgrade and expansion, which will open up the private living quarters of Henry Clay Frick's original 1914 home to the public for the first time. As the New York Times explained, the renderings illustrate a plan to expand the existing building's second level, add two set-back stories above the music room, and an addition behind the library that will match its seven-story height. These will house a 220-seat underground auditorium, an education center with classrooms, in addition to a renovated lobby and larger museum shop.
More details and renderings ahead
April 4, 2018

Sting is reportedly renting at Zaha Hadid’s High Line-hugging condo

Just six months after selling his huge Central Park West penthouse for $50 million, Sting has reportedly moved on to an equally swanky residence. According to Page Six, he and wife Trudie Styler are "renting a large terraced apartment on a high floor" in Zaha Hadid's recently-completed, curvy, High Line-hugging condo at 520 West 28th Street in Chelsea. Though his former home was in a classic Robert A.M. Stern-designed building (he must really have a thing for starchitects), it was decked out in an uber-contemporary style, so it makes sense that he'd want to move over to one of the city's most futuristic buildings.
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April 4, 2018

David Adjaye’s first New York skyscraper begins its 800-foot rise in the Financial District

Four months after revealing renderings for his first NYC skyscraper, esteemed British architect David Adjaye is finally seeing the project get off the ground. CityRealty reports that construction at 130 William Street has reached street level, with a red kangaroo crane in the ready to begin its nearly 800-foot-tall rise. The Ghana-born architect, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and named one of TIME’s 2017 most influential people, has said the condo tower was inspired by the historic masonry architecture of the Financial District.
Find out more ahead