Manhattan

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.
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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.
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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

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

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Policy

January 4, 2017

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

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Glenn Close, Courtney Love, Olivier Sarkozy--all of these celebs have called the landmarked townhouse at 436 West 20th Street home. But as Curbed notes, this A-list roster isn't helping the 1835 Greek Revival beauty find a buyer, which may have to do with the fact that it's currently chopped up into five units. "It first hit the market in 2010 for $21 million, returned in 2012 for $19 million, and returned yet again in 2015 for $22.5 million," they explain, and it's now hoping 2017 will be its lucky year, as it's just returned for $19.75 million.
Look around the celebrity hotbed

January 3, 2017

Two bright, lofted co-ops in the West Village hit the market together for $1.599M

Sunlight is a good look for these two apartments at the West Village cooperative 79 Barrow Street. Both pads—which hold a large floor-to-ceiling window and a lofted bedroom—are being offered together with an opportunity to combine them into a bigger, even brighter, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. Located right in the heart of the neighborhood, directly west of Washington Square Park, there's lots of design potential for the buyer who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty and combining two apartments into one.
Get a look at both places

Distinctive Homes

January 3, 2017

New renderings and details for Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich Street

Construction at Rafael Viñoly’s slender skyscraper 125 Greenwich Street has reached street level, but as CityRealty uncovered, the tower that was slated to be taller than 1,000 feet over the summer (and previously 1,400 feet), is back down to 898 feet. Though this now makes it shorter than Fumihiko Maki’s 977-foot 4 World Trade Center one block north, fresh renderings show that the 88-story condo will still offer sweeping views of the city and harbor, which are shown for the first time from interior shots.
More views and details ahead

January 3, 2017

510-foot Rafael Viñoly-designed tower coming to East 62nd Street

By Diane Pham

Lenox Hill will see the addition of a new 510-foot tower at 249 East 62nd Street, designed by none other than 432 Park starchitect Rafael Viñoly. CityRealty reports that plans for the mixed-use skyscraper were filed in the last days of December by Chance Gordy of Florida-based Real Estate Inverlad, who is also developing another condo tower nearby called The Clare. The Viñoly design will join a slew of new Upper East Side constructions prompted by the opening of the Second Avenue Subway line, which is located just a few minutes walk away.
more details this way

New Developments

January 3, 2017

Look out over your $5.9M West Village loft from the crow’s nest in the living room

This 3,400 square-foot loft in an 1890s warehouse at 68 Jane Street not only has 17-foot ceilings, but a cool rounded, windowed loft from which to gaze out at the room below. Currently asking $5,875 million, this sprawling duplex on one of the West Village's prettiest streets has all the important loft attributes like exposed brick and beamed ceilings, plus three bedrooms and a private street entrance.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

January 1, 2017

Nearly 100 years later, the Second Avenue Subway officially opens!

By Diane Pham

Today history is made, as January 1, 2017 marks the official public opening of the long-awaited Second Avenue Subway. The New York City transit endeavor has been in the works for nearly a century, and finally after countless delays and an eye-popping $4 billion bill, straphangers on the far Upper East Side will have access to three brand new stations at 72nd, 86th and 96th Streets. Just before midnight yesterday evening, Governor Cuomo, MTA CEO Thomas F. Prendergast, city and state pols, members of President Obama’s Cabinet, local community members, and many of the workers who helped build the new line’s massive underground tunnels and stations, took the line's inaugural ride.
photos this way

Transit

December 30, 2016

Gamma Real Estate files plans for 850-foot tower at long-stalled Sutton Place site

When Gamma Real Estate's $98 million bid won the debt-beleaguered site at 3 Sutton Place just a couple weeks ago at a bankruptcy auction, 6sqft noted that the firm could either re-sell, bring the original plan for a 900-foot condo tower by starchitect Norman Foster to fruition, take on a joint-venture partner, or move forward with a plan of its own. The Real Deal now tells us that Gamma filed plans with the Department of Buildings for an 844-foot, 67-story tower with 389 apartments. However, he says this is to "safeguard the property" while the firms weighs all the aforementioned options.
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New Developments

December 29, 2016

Bright one-bedroom pad off Union Square asks $4,900/month