Manhattan

Work is moving along at the waterfront development that is rehabilitating and revitalizing Pier 57, Manhattan's new "SuperPier;" newly-installed, canted glass panels can be seen along the pier’s rows of exterior columns, CityRealty reports. The $350 million transformation of the former freight terminal, a joint venture by Young Woo & Associates and RXR will include 250,000 square feet of offices for Google, a 170,000-square-foot food market curated by Anthony Bourdain and provide an elevated two-acre park with a rooftop movie and performance amphitheater. The project's design is being handled by Handel Architects and !Melk Landscape Architecture and Urban Design.
Check out new construction photos

January 24, 2017

Jon Bon Jovi’s former Soho penthouse returns for $38M

A year and a half after Austrian-American businessman and investor Gerhard Andlinger scooped up Jon Bon Jovi's Soho penthouse, he's put it back on the market. The rocker bought the sprawling duplex at 158 Mercer Street in 2007 for $24 million, then listed it in 2013 for $42 million. After several price cuts, and some interest from supermodel Heidi Klum, Andlinger paid $34 million for the home in June 2015, but it looks like he's ready to "Runaway," as LL NYC tells us that it's re-listed for $38 million.
Take a look around

January 23, 2017

Driving Barron Trump to school won’t leave NYC in total traffic chaos

It appears the Secret Service and NYPD are indeed taking measures to minimize the disruption caused by Melania and Barron staying put in NYC. TMZ writes that instead of implementing full street closures any time the young Trump moves to and from school, streets will be blocked off in a rolling pattern to accommodate the boy's armed motorcade.
more on the plan set out here

January 23, 2017

Central Park South co-op of the late Doris Roberts lists for $3.3M

Emmy-winning actress and animal-rights activist Doris Roberts (you probably know her best as Marie Barone from "Everybody Loves Raymond") passed away in April at the age of 90, and her estate has now put her classic duplex co-op on the market for $3,295,000 (h/t NY Post). The five-bedroom apartment at 200 Central Park South boasts a marble foyer, two terraces with partial park views, and oversized windows.
READ MORE

January 23, 2017

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh sells stylish Chelsea pad for $4.8M

All the way back in August 2014, 6sqft featured the $5 million listing for this stylish co-op at 147 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, pointing out its trendy features such as a retractable garage-style glass door, massive open living space with wall-to-wall windows, and uber-contemporary kitchen. And as it turns out, the full-floor spread belonged to producer and director Steven Soderbergh, who's best known for his work directing "Erin Brockovich," "Traffic" (for which he won the Oscar), and "Ocean's 11." The Real Deal reports that he's now finally found a buyer for the apartment, selling it for $4.8 million.
Take a look around

January 23, 2017

Socialite Georgette Mosbacher lists luxurious full-floor, Fifth Avenue co-op for $29.5M

This grand Fifth Avenue co-op belongs to the socialite and political fundraiser Georgette Mosbacher, who has hosted everyone from King Juan Carlos I of Spain to Tom Hanks to Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump at her apartment. It occupies the entire fifth floor of 1020 Fifth Avenue, a prestigious limestone cooperative, and it's now asking $29.5 million. Mosbacher, who has lived here since 1992, told the New York Times, "It’s come to a point where I want to make a change in my life, and it won’t happen unless I shake it up." So now the palatial pad could be yours.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

January 20, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

Midtown Rental Skyscraper ‘Tower 31‘ Offering One Month Free or One Month OP on Select Leases [link] Leasing Launches at 531 Myrtle Avenue; First to Open for New Clinton Hill Rental Duo ‘Myrtle & Steuben’ [link] Month of Free Rent at The Giovanni, 81 Fleet Place in Downtown Brooklyn [link] SLCE-Designed Downtown High Rise, The […]

Real Estate Trends

January 20, 2017

‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ screenwriter lists Chelsea townhouse with a private yoga studio for $7.1M

Built in the 1830s when this quiet, tree-lined residential block was home to well-to-do families, the four-story, 3,600 square-foot Greek Revival townhouse at 240 West 21st Street has seen a lot of change through the years. From its beginnings as an impressive residence for a successful engraver (h/t Daytonian), the home has been a boarding house, apartments and, in more recent years, the well-designed and thoroughly updated home of screenwriter/directors Leora Barish and Henry Bean (Barish wrote the screenplay for the cult favorite Madonna film "Desperately Seeking Susan" and the more recent "Basic Instinct 2;" Bean wrote and directed the award-winning film "The Believer"). The Chelsea townhouse, on the market for $7.1 million, is once again a comfortable single-family home boasting several terraces and a big, bright garden-facing yoga studio.
Come on in, there's plenty of room

January 19, 2017

Curl up by the fire in this cozy East Side one-bedroom for only $495K

On the ninth floor of Stewart Hall at 10 Mitchell Place, this sunny one-bedroom co-op definitely says "home" more than "investment property." Maybe it's pre-war details like an original mantlepiece, beamed ceilings and hardwood floors, or maybe it's the wood-burning fireplace, many closets and open sky views, or the almost-secret storybook Manhattan enclave near the East River and elegant Beekman Place. Given the apartment's size, layout and location, the ask is definitely welcoming at $495,000.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

January 18, 2017

There’s a room for every color of the rainbow in this $5M Upper East Side co-op

In New York City's interior landscape of neutral hues and fifty shades of white, it's rare to see bright colors, especially in a classic pre-war co-op on the Upper East Side. But the current residents of this apartment at 129 East 69th Street, who undertook a two-year renovation, clearly favored the brighter side of the crayon box. The best thing about it is that with eight spacious rooms, colors, patterns and fun decorating ideas never have to clash.
READ MORE

Distinctive Homes

January 18, 2017

Tennis great Novak Djokovic buys two units in Renzo Piano’s 565 Broome SoHo

When he's not busy winning titles as the second-best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic is apparently quite the architecture aficionado. The Serbian athlete told the Wall Street Journal that he's a big fan of Renzo Piano; earlier this year he bought a unit in Piano's Miami beach project Eighty Seven Park, and he's now gone into contract for two condos in the starchitect's under-construction NYC venture 565 Broome SoHo, where sales launched this past September.
The full scoop

January 18, 2017

POLL: Will construction begin on a new Port Authority bus terminal by 2021?

After stalling repeatedly over design disagreements, budget woes, and funding squabbles, NJ.com reports that The Port Authority said it hopes to have a new midtown Manhattan bus terminal built in New York by 2030, shovels in the ground by 2021 and be "well underway" by 2026. Though some lawmakers expressed doubt about the ambitious schedule, Steven P. Plate, Port Authority chief of major projects, said at a Legislative Oversight Committee joint hearing about the agency's $32 billion revised capital plan, "We will have full environmental approval, permits in place and construction well underway" according to that timeline.
Think it will happen?

Transit

January 18, 2017

Governors Island to open a month early on May 1st with new oyster garden

A springtime 2017 opening date will extend the park's season from 120 to 146 days, give the public a longer season to enjoy the island's bounty of arts programming and outdoor activities–and give us yet another reason to look forward to spring. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news release, “An extra month on Governors Island means more arts, culture and outdoor time for New York families...a May Day opening stands as a symbol of changes as we create a more livable and affordable city.”
More of what's new on Governors Island

City Living

January 18, 2017

Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow lists Tribeca condo for $2.9M

In March 2015, Kathryn Bigelow (who in 2010 became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for her work on "The Hurt Locker" and subsequently gained more acclaim for "Zero Dark Thirty") bought a $3.03 million condo in Tribeca, but she's now decided to part ways with it. The Observer reports that Bigelow just listed the full-floor spread at 449 Washington Street for $2,895,000, meaning she'll likely take a slight loss on the property.
Take a look around

January 18, 2017

Insane roof deck tops this $2.65M Tribeca penthouse

The next buyer of this Tribeca penthouse will not have a hard time impressing anyone with its sprawling private roof deck and three-story interior space. It's located at the condo loft 356 Broadway, a prewar building constructed in 1864 and converted to 18 apartments in 1984. This top-floor residence is the only unit in the building now on the market, asking $2.65 million.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

January 17, 2017

UWS one bedroom asking $3,950/month is loaded with prewar charm

In this Upper West Side cooperative at 245 West 74th Street, you can rent an apartment that embodies all that prewar co-op charm. This one bedroom comes with a formal foyer and details like a fireplace, decorative mantle and high-beamed ceilings. A formal living room, dining room and kitchen also make for a classic floorplan that's hard to beat. It's just been listed for rent asking $3,950 a month.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

January 17, 2017

CNN’s Don Lemon sells Harlem condo for small profit

Emmy Award-winning CNN news anchor Don Lemon picked up a somewhat modest condo a little over two years ago in Harlem‘s 2280FDB (2280 Frederick Douglas Blvd.). He paid $867,780 for unit 11A, right next door to 11B that he already owned. 6sqft speculated that he was planning to combine the condos, but according to city records released today, Lemon's sold off 11A for $969,000.
READ MORE

A look back at the lost Grand Centrals of the late 19th century

Grand Central Station in the early 1900s

January 17, 2017

A look back at the lost Grand Centrals of the late 19th century

By Dana Schulz

Historic photos of the original Penn Station are almost as common as images of the current site, since its demolition in 1963 is often credited with spearheading the modern preservation movement (and because its grandeur is a startling reminder of how loathed the current station is). Conversely, Grand Central is typically celebrated as a preservation victory. In 1978, the courts ruled in favor of the Landmarks Preservation Commission when Penn Central Railroad sued them to build a huge tower atop the terminal and demolish one of its facades. But believe it or not, the 1913 Beaux-Arts building was not the first Grand Central, and photos of these grand earlier structures are rarely shared.
See them here and get the full history

History

January 16, 2017

In the historic West Village Bank Building, a $3.45M condo boasts a 17-foot window

This unique condo was designed by and for the renowned international designer Tui Pranich. As the listing says, his principle was that "good design takes into account not only the aesthetics, but how life within that space will actually be lived." Pranich had a lot to work with: the two-bedroom apartment occupies the historic Bank Building at 300 West 14th Street in the West Village and is decorated by one of the building's original arched windows that soars nearly 17 feet tall. It's now hit the market for $3.45 million.
See the rest of the impressive interior

Distinctive Homes

January 13, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

Renovated Apartments on West 30th Street Near Hudson Yards Offering One Month Free [link] Free Rent & Special Offers at Spencer Street Apartments in Bed-Stuy [link] Name Revealed for New Clinton Hill Rental, Leasing Site Launched for 5-Story ‘Myrtle & Steuben‘ [link] Stonehenge 57, Midtown East High-Rise in Sutton Place, Offering One Month Free [link] […]

Real Estate Trends

January 13, 2017

Pieces of Thomas Heatherwick’s massive, climbable ‘Vessel’ arrive at Hudson Yards site

Back in September, Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross finally unveiled the large-scale artwork that would anchor the central public space within Hudson Yards. As Ross revealed, Thomas Heatherwick was chosen to design the piece, and it would cost an incredible $150 million to build. Dubbed "The Vessel,” the climbable sculpture would rise 16-stories—150 feet tall, 50 feet wide at its base and 150 feet wide at the top—and consist of a web of 154 concrete and steel staircases with 2,500 steps, 80 landings and an elevator; the piece, in fact, so massive that it could comfortably accommodate 1,000 visitors at a time. The sculpture was to be constructed in Monfalcone, Italy before being shipped to its home on the Hudson River. And now CityRealty reports that parts of what Ross once called "New York's Eiffel Tower" have officially arrived at the site and await assembly.
More photos this way

January 12, 2017

Opulent $4.5M Hotel des Artistes duplex features Smithsonian-restored ceiling mural

By Hannah Frishberg

Located at 1 West 67th Street, the Upper West Side's landmarked Hotel des Artistes co-op, this apartment abounds in original details, most notably a Smithsonian conservator-restored ceiling mural above a carved staircase and a carved stone fireplace in the living room. Central Park is visible from the living room and one of the bedrooms, and the beamed ceilings soar to almost 20 feet, dwarfing even the 14-foot windows. And it can all be yours for $4.5 million.
See it all

Distinctive Homes

January 12, 2017

After seven years on the market, Keira Knightley’s former Tribeca loft finds a buyer

This massive, duplex loft at 16 Jay Street in Tribeca has been trying to sell since April 2011. Its owner, textile designer, painter, and sculptor Gianluca Berardi, bought the pad in 2002 for $2.2 million, then undertook a lengthy overhaul that included adding the "sweeping cast-iron and mahogany staircase that was welded together inside the home in the shape of a double ellipsis," as 6sqft previously reported. She first listed it in 2009 for $8.4 million, then reduced it to $8 million in 2012, and in 2014, re-listed it as a $45,000/month rental. The following year, actress Keira Knightly rented the apartment, as did Rangers player Eric Staal. It then came back on the market for $6.6 million this past March, and now, after seven long years, it's finally found a buyer for the reduced price of $6 million, reports the Post.
See the entire space

January 12, 2017

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith lists upscale Greenwich Village condo for $5M

Shepard Smith has been bestowed with the dubious title of "most likeable anchor on Fox News," and the popular breaking news chief won even more points for defending competitor CNN against PEOTUS ranting. But he's also looking to get some real estate points by selling his Greenwich Village apartment at 65 West 13th Street for $4.9 million (h/t Luxury Listings). Smith bought the 2,341-square-foot condo in 2004 for $1.875 million, briefly listing it for $4 mil in 2011.
Take a peek

January 12, 2017

Video: Zaha Hadid speaks about what influenced 520 West 28th Street’s design