Manhattan

This $8.5 million townhouse at 19 Sutton Place boasts an interesting backstory dating to the 1920s. The home--like most others in the area--was built as an unassuming brownstone in the late 1800s. In 1920, the wealthy literary agent Elisabeth Marbury, with her partner Elsie de Wolfe, a well-known decorator, moved to the block and hired an architect to transform a nearby townhouse into a neo-Georgian townhouse. Millionaires followed suit, moving in and redesigning the homes of Sutton Place. At 19 Sutton, banker B. Stafford Mantz transformed the brownstone into a "provincial Louis XVI townhouse of grey and brown brick" according to Daytonian in Manhattan. And today, the interior boasts elegant spaces with high ceilings, five wood-burning fireplaces, and its own elevator.
Take a look around

May 15, 2017

NYCxDesign 2017: The 6sqft guide to finding the best design events this month

NYCxDesign 2017, New York City’s official turn to celebrate all things design, hits town from May 3 – May 24. NYC is among the world’s design capitals and home to more designers than any other U.S. metro area. NYCxDesign spotlights the city’s diverse design community and its contributions to our economy and everyday life, and increases awareness of and appreciation for design with a collaborative mix of cultural, professional, educational and commercial offerings. This year’s celebration is the longest-running one to date. You can head in any direction and you'll stumble into a design-related event, but we've compiled a guide to a few of the top collaborative efforts and highlighted some of our picks.
Check out our NYCxD picks, this way

Rosario Dawson’s family wants to buy low-income housing units in the East Village

544 West 13th Street under construction in January, via Paul A. Castrucci Architect (L)

May 15, 2017

Rosario Dawson’s family wants to buy low-income housing units in the East Village

Actress Rosario Dawson’s family hopes to buy low-income apartments in a newly renovated building as part of a city program that converts abandoned homes into affordable units. Rosario grew up in an East Village squatter’s den and her family continues to live in the East 13th Street co-op, even after the actress became famous and amassed a net worth of more than $16 million. According to the New York Post, long-time tenants of the building say the Dawson family bullied their way into controlling a third of the 14-unit residence over the last 20 years.
Get the full scoop

May 15, 2017

Rent Jennifer Lawrence’s Tribeca pad for $27.5K a month

After a fairly lengthy house hunt, Jennifer Lawrence dropped $9 million on a sprawling Tribeca loft in January. The apartment is at 443 Greenwich Street, which has become a celeb hot spot due to its "paparazzi-proof" amenities such as a below-grade parking and a private interior courtyard. But now that she's in London filming "Red Sparrow," Lawrence has put the home on the rental market, first listing it in February for $30,000 a month and now dropping the price to $27,500 (h/t TRD). Whoever inks the lease will be able to call Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and Harry Styles their neighbors.
More ahead

May 13, 2017

Brick archways and timber beams decorate this $2M Tribeca co-op

This apartment comes from the gorgeous Tribeca co-op building 165 Duane Street, also known as the Duane Park Lofts. The Romanesque Revival-style, 11-story warehouse was designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch in 1880 and converted in 1980 to 36 co-ops. This one bedroom is all exposed brick, with some timber beams, and it's now asking $2.15 million. Large eastern windows look out over Tribeca's rooftops and other great buildings, like the landmarked Western Union Building and FiDi skyscrapers to the south.
See the inside

Distinctive Homes

May 12, 2017

If you’re trying on every NYC neighborhood, start with this $13K/month pre-war Village co-op in ‘large’

It's often said that if you're not sure which neighborhood you'd like, renting is the best way to get to know a few before you make the commitment of buying. And while Greenwich Village is often a top choice, it's an expensive commitment. This $13,000 a month rental in a classic pre-war co-op at 61 West 10th Street is pricey, but you're starting at the top, with a view, on downtown Manhattan's "Gold Coast" in the aptly named Windsor Arms. And there's plenty of room at the top in the form of two big bedrooms with room for more.
Take the tour

Score an affordable apartment in Harlem’s Sugar Hill from $747/ month

Photo of Sugar Hill row houses via Wikipedia

May 12, 2017

Score an affordable apartment in Harlem’s Sugar Hill from $747/ month

Located in the historic Sugar Hill district in Hamilton Heights, 16 newly renovated affordable units are available to rent at 369 Edgecombe Avenue and 801 St. Nicholas Avenue. The neighborhood is chock full of Queen Anne- and Romanesque Revival-style homes, and it has easy access to Jackie Robinson park, which includes a recreation center, baseball fields, and a swimming pool. The buildings featured in the city's housing lottery are open to New Yorkers earning 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, with units ranging from $747/month one-bedrooms to $1,196/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 12, 2017

The Urban Lens: Travel back to the gritty Meatpacking District of the ’80s and ’90s

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation shares archival images of the gritty Meatpacking District from the 1980s to early 2000s. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "Few parts of New York City have transformed as dramatically in the last decade or so as the Meatpacking District. Changes in the area are physical as well as spiritual. What was once a deserted ghost town by day, nightlife, sex club, and prostitution hub by night, and bustling workaday center of the Meatpacking industry from early morning to noon is now a glitzy, glamorized center of shopping, dining, tourism, strolling, and arts consumption," says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The organization recently released a collection of archival photos of the neighborhood's post-industrial grit, "before the Whitney, before the High Line, before Apple and Diane von Furstenberg, even before Sex and the City discovered the neighborhood." Ahead, 6sqft shares these images, from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, which document the major transformation that's taken place in just the past decade.
See all the photos here

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

Images (L to R): House39, The Dean, 101 West End Avenue and Haven

May 12, 2017

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

By Ondel Hylton

Heated Indoor Pool + More Fun Amenities at Greenpoint Rental Leasing with 1 Month Free [link] Striking Crown Heights Rental ‘The Dean’ Debuts; Loft-Inspired Homes from $2,605/Month [link] HOUSE39; Midtown’s “Best in Class” Tower Now Offering 2 Months Free [link] Haven at 875 Dekalb Avenue, Bed-Stuy Rentals with 1 Month Free & 1-Bedrooms from $2,249/Month […]

Real Estate Trends

May 11, 2017

Robert Redford’s former Upper East Side pied-a-terre hits the market for $1.35M

Award-winning actor Robert Redford's former Lenox Hill pied-a-terre has hit the market for $1.35 million, reports the Post. The one-bedroom duplex co-op is located in a limestone mansion at 47 East 67th Street, between Madison and Park Avenues. Redford owned the newly renovated pad in the 1980s, and it now boasts plenty of space with a chef's kitchen, double-height ceilings with massive windows, and a woodburning fireplace.
Take a tour

May 11, 2017

Ryan Seacrest is renting a posh Lenox Hill townhouse for $75K/month

Welcome to New York, Ryan Seacrest. The former American Idol emcee and now Kelly Ripa’s co-host on ABC’s morning show “Live,” moved to the city and recently landed luxurious new digs on the Upper East Side. Seacrest’s rental is at 34 East 68th Street in Lenox Hill and runs him $75,000 per month. The architects of the townhouse, Michael Chen Architects, rebuilt an entirely new structure inside of a 19th-century mansion, preserving its historic character while adding cool modern touches such as a 30-foot-tall vertical living garden, elevator, and sculptural staircase. As reported by the Daily Mail, the 11,000-square-foot home features 15 rooms with six bedrooms and five+-plus bathrooms.
See inside his new digs

Celebrities

May 11, 2017

East Village micro-maisonette has all the quirks and loads of charm for $500K

Lovers of half-legal, barely livable but totally adorable East Village boltholes, step right this way. This two-story hideaway at 121 East 10th Street, tucked into the Saint Mark's Historic District, is a short walk from all of your favorite things to do, and also in a pretty building–one that's apparently filled with adorable East Village boho duplex caves–on an absolutely gorgeous street. It's basically a duplex studio with its lower half seriously below-grade–but it sure looks cozy down there.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

Finance firms in talks to move to Vornado’s proposed Hotel Pennsylvania-replacing supertall

A rendering of the Pelli Clarke Pelli design for 15 Penn Plaza, courtesy of Vornado

May 10, 2017

Finance firms in talks to move to Vornado’s proposed Hotel Pennsylvania-replacing supertall

Plans to replace the century-old Hotel Pennsylvania with a 1,216-foot office building have surfaced again. Financial firms Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are reportedly contemplating a move to Vornado Realty Trust’s planned supertall skyscraper, 15 Penn Plaza, according to the Post. Vornado first won the city’s approval in 2007 to build a supertall at the location of Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue and nearly signed a deal with Merrill Lynch to be a tenant until the financial crisis dissolved the agreement. This design, by Pelli Clarke Pelli, is being presented to the firms along with new options says a source.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

The history of New York’s Newspaper Row, the epicenter of 19th century news

Image via Library of Congress

May 10, 2017

The history of New York’s Newspaper Row, the epicenter of 19th century news

By Michelle Young

While the news industry today continues to shift from bustling offices to laptops in coffee shops, it may be hard to imagine that the publishing industry was at the epicenter of some of the world's most important architectural feats. But this was the case in late 19th century New York City, when the daily newspaper industry was centered at Park Row, near City Hall. Such institutions included The New York Times, The New York Tribune and The New York World.
Take a trip back in time with us and explore Newspaper Row

Demo permits filed for South Street Seaport site of proposed 1,436-foot supertall

Diagram of 80 South Street proposal, via Oceanwide Holdings

May 10, 2017

Demo permits filed for South Street Seaport site of proposed 1,436-foot supertall

After a long-planned but never executed plan to develop buildings at 80 South Street and 163 Front Street in the South Street Seaport, the site’s owner has officially filed demolition permits at both buildings, Curbed learned. As 6sqft previously covered, the Howard Hughes Corporation sold 80 South Street to China Oceanwide Holdings for $390 million last March. Although the developer hasn't released construction plans yet, the building is expected to be 113 stories tall, reaching an impressive 1,436 feet (to give you an idea of just how tall this is, 432 Park is 1,396 feet tall, and One World Trade Center is 1,368 feet tall by roof height).
More details ahead

New Developments

May 10, 2017

Starchitect César Pelli lists 5,000-square-foot San Remo apartment with gorgeous views for $26M

Internationally renowned architect César Pelli, founder of the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, just listed his San Remo apartment at 145 Central Park West for $26 million (h/t LLNYC). Pelli and his wife, landscape architect and urban design scholar Diana Balmori, who died last year, purchased the five-bedroom co-op for $17.5 million in 2015 from John Leguizamo's mother-in-law, Rona Maurer. Pelli is known for skyscrapers like Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers and, closer to home, Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, and he's now hoping to make quite the profit on this incredible spread.
View more of this Central Park West classic

Lottery opens for affordable senior housing building at East Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital site

Draper Hall, rendering via Dattner Architects

May 10, 2017

Lottery opens for affordable senior housing building at East Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital site

By Dana Schulz

In March of 2015, East Harlem's Metropolitan Hospital Center filed plans to horizontally expand and add a new facade to their former nurses' dormitory known as Draper Hall. Located at 1918 First Avenue, the 14-story building had been vacant since Hurricane Sandy, and after Dattner Architects' renovation, it's been reborn as affordable senior housing, containing 203 subsidized units. Those age 62 and older who earn between $0 and $38,200 annually are now eligible to apply for 51 of these one-bedroom residences, for which they will pay 30 percent of their income.
Get all the info

Affordable Housing

May 9, 2017

New renderings of Hudson Yards’ retail and restaurant spaces

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday, it was announced that celebrity chef José Andrés, credited with bringing the small-plate concept to the U.S., will be opening a massive Spanish food hall at Hudson Yards, closing a deal for the 35,000-square-foot space at 10 Hudson Yards that Shake Shack guru Danny Meyer had previously been in talks for. On the heels of the news, developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group released new renderings of the retail and restaurant spaces coming to the mega-development (h/t Curbed), most of which will be located in the "Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards," a seven-story building that will hold the majority of the 25 restaurants and anchor tenant Neiman Marcus.
More renderings and details ahead

May 9, 2017

Resolution: 4 Architecture designed this ‘white, bright, light, and tight’ duplex for a young family

This 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom duplex loft was totally transformed by Resolution: 4 Architecture, who sums up their Manhattan project as "white, bright, light, and tight." To house a young family of four, the firm renovated the upper level into a communal space, lined with hidden storage and centered by a sculptural spiral staircase that leads to the bedrooms below. The striking, modern interiors may not necessarily look family friendly, but the firm says "the home was designed with family, play, and the production of art in mind."
Take a look at the stunning space

May 9, 2017

Apply for a middle-income apartment in East Harlem’s amenity-rich Tapestry building, from $1,927/month

Applications are currently being accepted for middle-income units at the Tapestry in East Harlem. Located at 245 East 124th Street, the 12-story, 185-unit rental building sits near the base of the Triborough Bridge. It was built in 2010 to the designs of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and MHG Architects and features amenities like a concierge, garage, spacious green roofs and landscaped terraces, bike storage, fitness center, and a media and entertainment lounge. The middle-income homes available range from $1,927/month studios to $2,611/month two-bedrooms set aside for New Yorkers making between $67,406-$158,500 annually.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 9, 2017

First look at the amazing amenities at Waterline Square

As 6sqft previously reported, a trio of glassy residential towers known as Waterline Square is rising on a five-acre waterfront site between West 59th and 61st Streets. Aside from the megaproject's size, its roster of starchitects–Richard Meier and Partners, Rafael Viñoly Architects, and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates–has been most impressive. But now a head-spinning host of perks joins the wow-factor, as Curbed reports that the Rockwell Group has revealed renderings of a three-story amenity space to be dubbed The Waterline Club, divided among all three buildings. Among the offerings are a three-lane pool; 4,600-square-foot kids' playroom; gardening, art, and music studios; and indoor tennis court, basketball court, soccer field, and skate park.
Moreamazing amenities this way

May 8, 2017

Raad Studio gut renovated this sleek Tribeca condo, now asking $3.7M

Raad Studio left its touch on this two-bedroom Tribeca condo, from the 1920s building 39 White Street. A gut renovation from the New York design firm, which has stunning projects all over the city and is behind the Lowline proposal, left this lofty apartment with both custom design elements and 19th-century details intact. From a 300-bottle wine rack to a customized floor-to-ceiling door to the master suite, this $3.7 million apartment is worth gawking over.
So take the interior tour

Distinctive Homes

May 8, 2017

Jon Stewart’s former Tribeca penthouse hits the market for $20M

Located in the heart of Tribeca, a stylish duplex at 161 Hudson Street is for sale at an asking price of $20 million. The spacious five-bedroom penthouse was formerly owned by comedian Jon Stewart, who sold the home in 2014 for $17.5 million, as LLNYC learned. The home boasts 6,280 square feet, which includes a large living room, media room, library and access to a rooftop that has incredible views of Downtown Manhattan.
See the beautiful home

May 5, 2017

Interview: Developer Ben Shaoul on 196 Orchard Street, his Lower East Side condo rising next to Katz’s

By 6sqft

Ben Shaoul founded Magnum Real Estate Group in 1999, focused on renovating small, rundown rental apartments. After growing its portfolio extensively over the past five years to includeretail properties, condos, and even a dormitory, the firm is now one of the city’s leading ground-up development companies. Their impressive portfolio includes 389 East 89th Street on the Upper […]

1932 map illustrates a vibrant nightlife during the Harlem Renaissance

Map courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

May 5, 2017

1932 map illustrates a vibrant nightlife during the Harlem Renaissance