Manhattan

President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to remain in his Manhattan HQ is causing concern among businesses in the area. Business leaders and local officials spoke out Tuesday at a City Council hearing on the threat that blocked sidewalks and traffic snarls are posing to jobs, tax revenues, tourist appeal and “global reputation,” reports Crain’s. Local merchants claim they’ve taken a significant hit, and that many are considering not renewing their leases or moving elsewhere. Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District president Tom Cusack estimated that local businesses have lost $40 million in revenue since Election Day due to the security maze that the area surrounding Trump Tower has become.
Business leaders call for 'extraordinary action'

Celebrities

January 11, 2017

First look at the $30M penthouse at Robert A.M. Stern’s 30 Park Place

The top-floor units at Robert A.M. Stern's 930-foot 30 Park Place have a way of making headlines. The 82nd floor penthouse, for instance, boasts the highest private outdoor space in the city, and the building's own developer, Larry Silverstein, recently snatched up the massive 80th floor spread for $34 million. But below these units are two duplex penthouses that span the 78th and 79th floors, notable for their double-height loggias that, as Curbed notes, have become a fixture in classic Stern buildings like 15 Central Park West and 520 Park Avenue. Curbed also got their hands on new photos of penthouse 78B, on the market for $29.5 million, which not only showcase the incredible views from the terrace, but new looks at the interiors.
More looks ahead

January 11, 2017

Rent a triplex in the townhouse where Jack Kerouac wrote ‘On the Road’ for $12.5K a month

The loft-like, rustic-modern interiors in this renovated triplex could be straight out of a hip Brooklyn brownstone–except they can be found on a serene Seminary block amid the galleries and condos of prime West Chelsea. But the townhouse at 454 West 20th Street has some cool cred beyond its on-trend finishes: Original hipster Jack Kerouac reportedly composed his seminal novel "On the Road" in 1951 while in residence here.
Find out more, take the tour

Distinctive Homes

January 11, 2017

Norman Foster’s 50 Hudson Yards gets $195M in tax breaks from the city

When completed, Related Companies‘ and Oxford Properties Group’s 50 Hudson Yards will be the city's most expensive office building, coming in at $3.94 billion. To make starchitect Norman Foster's pricey vision a reality, the developers had filed an application with the New York City Industrial Development Agency to take advantage of financial incentives that were enacted in 2006 to encourage development in Hudson Yards. And according to a new report in Crain's, the agency has approved $195 million in such tax breaks, which include making fixed payments towards the 985-foot tower's development costs instead of paying property taxes that vary from year to year, as well as receiving a discount on the mortgage recording taxes.
Find out more right here

January 11, 2017

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

By Ondel Hylton

The Eugene, Midtown’s Tallest Rental Skyscraper, Gears Up for Early 2017 Leasing [link] Grand Opening: Leasing Begins at 681 Franklin in Crown Heights [link] Grand Opening: Leasing Begins on No Fee Bed-Stuy Apartments at 766 Lafayette Avenue [link] One Month Free on Select Units at Brodsky’s Midtown West High-Rise, One Columbus Place [link] One Month […]

Real Estate Trends

January 10, 2017

5th Avenue needs pedestrian lanes to accommodate Trump, says transit expert Janette Sadik-Khan

By Hannah Frishberg

Reserving three of 5th Avenue's five traffic lanes for pedestrians will ease the traffic paralysis that President-elect Donald Trump's continued residence in his 56th Street tower has caused, former NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan argues. In an op-ed for the New York Times yesterday Sadik-Khan, a principal with Bloomberg Associates and a key player in the introduction of the Times Square Pedestrian Plaza, angled 5th Avenue's traffic problem as a bipartisan issue that requires change to get better. With the President-elect saying he plans on visiting his Manhattan home frequently even once he has moved to the White House, it is clear New York will need to adapt or risk forever needing to budget an extra three hours to get through Midtown.
Without big changes, the chaos isn't going to improve

January 10, 2017

Christian Slater gets $1M for modest Hell’s Kitchen condo

Christian Slater made headlines Sunday night with his obviously baffled reaction to Tom Hiddleston's Golden Globes acceptance speech, but now that we've seen Slater's rather mundane Midtown condo, we're the ones a bit confused. LL NYC reports that the "Mr. Robot" actor has sold his two-bedroom Hell's Kitchen apartment for $1.1 million; he bought it for $882,500 in 2005. But as LL notes, the sparse listing photos seem to imply that he didn't spend much time there.
See the rest

January 10, 2017

Construction update: FXFOWLE’s Circa Central Park nears the finish line

Last we heard from Circa Central Park, the circle-hugging Central Park north condo from architects FXFOWLE and developers Artimus, the lottery had launched for 10 affordable units in the building. Seven months later, with occupancy slated for this year and nearly all apartments sold, CityRealty stopped by the Harlem site to check on construction. They've shared some great views of the nearly-completed glass, metal, and brick facade, which utilizes "a brise soleil system of horizontal louvers and vertical fins" to reduce solar gain and add depth to the structure by highlighting them in bright colors.
More details ahead

January 10, 2017

Gorgeously sophisticated loft in Soho artists’ building seeks $1.9M

We're seeing a lot of downtown live/work lofts on the market lately, and we can't help but wonder whether longtime artist-inhabitants are moving on to better things, but we're guessing they're cashing in on the cachet of loft living. And if you've ever drooled over these huge and versatile spaces, this 1,200 square-foot co-op at 138 Grand Street will definitely put stars in your eyes.
See more details

Distinctive Homes

January 9, 2017

Built in Poland and shipped in pieces, NYC’s biggest modular hotel project is 55 percent complete

The 20-story, 300-room project at 185 Bowery was constructed in Poland and shipped to New York in 210 pieces. Owned by Dutch hotel developer/operator Citizen M with Brack Capital Real Estate, the high-rise hotel at 185 Bowery is more than half done, reports the Wall Street Journal. It will be the largest permanent modular hotel project ever in NYC. Modular construction is more common in Europe; the developer already has nine hotels up and running and 14 in the works. They’ve used the technique of stacking sealed, factory-made units containing finished hotel rooms on the majority of those projects.
Check out photos of the sealed hotel pods arriving

January 9, 2017

Exposed brick dominates at this $979K duplex on the Upper West Side

By Emily Nonko

This two-bedroom apartment occupies two floors of an Upper West Side brownstone at 171 West 73rd Street. Renovated by an architect, the interior is chock full of exposed brick and hardwood floors while rooms were smartly laid out to maximize space. After last selling in 2010 for $750,000, it's now on the market for $979,900.
Take a peek inside

Distinctive Homes

January 9, 2017

There’s enough room for all of your startup dreams in this $5M live-work Soho loft

While lofts are often vast and cavernous by their very nature–most are former warehouses and factories after all–at 5,200 square feet this sprawling space at 514 Broadway in Soho–currently on the market for $4.995 million–is large even by those big-shouldered standards. We're guessing two units were combined at some point, and since you're officially allowed to do business here, we can imagine a buzzing hive of innovation, with more than enough room left over for leaving work behind. According to records, former Tiananmen Square activist and student leader during the 1989 protests and current tech mogul Shen Tong purchased the loft for $2.9 million in 2004, which is also when he founded software company VFinity. The avid art collector's office is listed at this address, and we're guessing he's lived here with his wife and three children during that time.
Check out the possibilities

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2017

High, dramatic ceilings grace this $3.5M Greenwich Village loft

By Emily Nonko

What's a loft apartment without towering ceilings above? This lofty prewar building, at 30 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, was converted to co-op in 1978 and holds 24 units. This one, now on the market for $3.5 million, is a sprawling three bedroom with dramatic beamed ceilings in the open living and dining room. This last sold in $2.3 million in 2004 and has been on and off the market since 2015, when it was first asking $3.95 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

SOM reveals official rendering for American Bible Society-replacing condo-rental tower

The former American Bible Society building (L); SOM’s new design for 1865 Broadway (R)

January 6, 2017

SOM reveals official rendering for American Bible Society-replacing condo-rental tower

In the fall of 2015, the American Bible Society moved from their long-time home at Broadway and 61st Street to Philadelphia. Their Columbus Circle/Lincoln Center headquarters was built in 1965 by architects Roy O. Allen Jr. and Donald C. Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who created a 12-story Brutalist structure that was the first in the city constructed with load-bearing, pre-cast concrete exterior walls. But with the institution's recent departure came the sale of the building at 1865 Broadway for $300 million to AvalonBay Communities. The developer returned to the original architectural firm to create a new condo-rental tower at the site, and CityRealty has now uncovered SOM's first official rendering of what will replace their former work, which, interestingly enough, harkens back to the Brutalist aesthetic.
Find out more this way

January 6, 2017

Go for baroque in this $18M Upper East Side townhouse with a three-tiered garden, two kitchens and gym

For anyone who can't decide between an Italian palazzo and a townhouse on the Upper East Side, this 6,800-square-foot "slice of Manhattan" might be just the answer. Rising six stories (five plus a gym/laundry/storage enhanced-cellar) at 115 East 79th Street just off Park Avenue and two blocks from Central Park, this beyond-opulent single-family home was built in 1903 but was far more recently renovated with just about every move-in ready modern upgrade you can think of. There are two kitchens, four outdoor spaces and seven wood-burning fireplaces–all accessible by an elevator or stairs.
Tour this opulent uptown mansion

Distinctive Homes

January 5, 2017

Mike Myers drops $14.65M on Tribeca condo at super-luxe 443 Greenwich

The red-brick, former warehouse building at 443 Greenwich Street in Tribeca was converted to boutique condos by CetraRuddy Architects and developer Metro Loft Management in 2014, and since then it's been attracting quite a bit of high-profile interest thanks to its low-profile location, luxurious lofts, and wealth of amenities. The latest celeb to cash in here is Mike Myers; the Observer reports that he and wife Kelly Tisdale have dropped $14.65 million on a four-bedroom spread (more than the $14.25 million list price). The funnyman has been trying to sell his Soho penthouse since April 2015, and though there's no word that it's found a buyer, that could very well be the reason for the move.
More on Myers' new abode

January 5, 2017

Ousted ‘Today’ show anchor Billy Bush finally sells Chelsea townhouse

Disgraced "Today" show anchor Billy Bush had bought the townhouse at 224 West 22nd Street in Chelsea in December 2015 in preparation for his new gig with NBC, but after video hit of his "locker room" chat with Donald Trump, the network gave him the boot. He had listed the residence seven months earlier, but when he lost his job he chopped the price from $8,995,000 to $8,250,000 this past October. His quick getaway plan proved mostly successful, as the Wall Street Journal reports that it's now in contract.
Find out more

January 5, 2017

Port Authority’s ‘quid pro quo capital plan’ for NY and NJ stifles infrastructure improvements

By Diane Pham

Yesterday, 6sqft revealed Governor Cuomo's plan to give JFK Airport a long overdue overhaul, an endeavor that would cost nearly $10 billion, funded just over two-thirds in part by the private sector with another $2 billion provided by the government. Given that most of New York and New Jersey's regional transportation infrastructure (including bridges, tunnels and airports) falls within the joint jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey will as a result receive similar funding for a project of their own—and that's a problem according to The Record reporter Paul Berger. Yesterday, Berger published a confidential document obtained from the Port Authority that details how $30 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next 10 years. While the purpose of the Port Authority is to divvy up cash across the region based on need, as Berger writes, the document simply shows how "interstate jealousies over funding" have led to a "quid pro quo capital plan" that completely bucks this objective.
more details here

Transit

January 5, 2017

NYC documents dating back to 1674 will get a new home after gathering dust for centuries

While paper might be becoming a thing of the past, it's often the one thing that remains of our recorded history. And while it was often our sole means of recording that history, paper is among the most difficult media to preserve. To that end, New York City's painstakingly stacked, filed and boxed New York Supreme Court records, part of an immense collection of official documents dating back as far as 1674, are being moved from the archival homes they’ve occupied for, in some cases, centuries. The New York Times reports on a heroic effort by dedicated archivists to round up the these city records in order to preserve them for posterity and make them more accessible to researchers.
From early immigration papers to Aaron Burr's divorce

History

January 5, 2017

Mark Ruffalo checks out a $10M renovated Upper West Side brownstone

After a tough stretch of protesting at Standing Rock, Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian Mark Ruffalo may be treating himself to some pricey NYC real estate. The Post reports that he and wife Sunrise Coigney toured a large, renovated brownstone on the Upper West Side. Listed for $9.99 million, the five-story home at 161 West 91st Street boasts high-end offerings like a six-stop elevator, a roof deck, and a glassy rear extension that on the ground floor opens completely to a private garden.
Tour the home

January 5, 2017

$8M Tribeca loft is artist-owned and comes with a spacious studio and sculptor neighbor

The interiors at this jumbo Tribeca loft are a work of art even at first glance; that's likely because the 4,223 square foot home at 173 Duane Street is currently owned by artist Merrill Steiger, who bought it in 2008 for $3.85 million. Incidentally, the two-bedroom loft co-op is also in the building where sculptor Richard Serra has lived and worked since the 1990s. Serra, who is known for his large-scale site-specific works, has at various times purchased the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the classic early 20th-century cast iron building with his wife, Clara. The sprawling second floor apartment with a separate art studio is currently listed by Steiger for $7.95 million.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

January 4, 2017

$3.2M Carnegie Hill condo at the Gatsby lives up to its elegant pre-war namesake

The classic seven: That increasingly rare breed of New York City apartment, almost non-existent among condos, was much more often seen in the pre-war era, before building owners felt the need to pack as many people as possible into every square inch. This particular specimen in The Gatsby at 65 East 96th Street can be found on the market for $3.195 million in its most likely habitat, the Upper East Side, and it's a beauty. Everything has been perfectly updated for 21st-century living and gorgeous pre-war details are at their best. There are even building amenities, plus the freedom of condo ownership, but mostly it's the kind of apartment that only needs to show its floor plan.
Tour this gracious seven-room home

Distinctive Homes

January 4, 2017

Norman Foster’s 50 Hudson Yards will be city’s most expensive office building at $4B

It's been less than a month since it was revealed that starchitect Norman Foster would be designing the Related Companies' and Oxford Properties Group's 50 Hudson Yards commercial tower, but the developers have already pegged the cost of the project at $3.94 billion, which will make it the city's most expensive office building, reports The Real Deal. The 985-foot tower, where BlackRock has already signed a 20-year lease for 15 floors, will surpass One Vanderbilt's projected $3.14 billion price tag and Bjarke Ingels' planned $3 billion+ High Line tower known as The Spiral, as well as One World Trade Center's current record of $3.8 billion.
Find out more

January 4, 2017

New details for controversial Midtown East rezoning revealed, plan moves forward with land use review

Plans to rezone Midtown East are few steps closer to reality with the start of the new year. The Department of City Planning has certified a rezoning proposal for the area surrounding Grand Central, and the city kicked off its official land-use review process Tuesday. The next step for the rezoning plans will be the seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which includes review by community boards 5 and 6, the Manhattan borough president, the City Planning Commission and the City Council. The zoning proposal could add 6.5 million square feet of commercial space to the 73-block district in the form of 16 larger, more modern buildings that would replace old ones, breathing new life into the office zone that New York Post real estate columnist Steve Cuozzo recently referred to as “iconic but declining.”
Find out more

Policy

January 4, 2017

Emma Stone’s former Chelsea townhouse returns for $19.75M