Manhattan

What's better than 19-foot, wood-beamed ceilings? Those same ceilings lined with two giant skylights. This apartment, also decorated with red brick walls and a wood-burning fireplace, is located within the 16-unit Greenwich Village co-op 66 West 11th Street. The co-op is a collection of 1853 Italianate townhouses with apartments that've been uniquely renovated. This two- bedroom, two-bathroom pad (in which the bedrooms and a bathroom also boast skylights) occupies the entire top floor of one of the townhouses.
See more of the interior

Distinctive Homes

September 20, 2016

Sales begin at Annabelle Selldorf’s 42 Crosby Street, Soho condo with $1M parking spots

Sales officially launched today at 42 Crosby Street, Atlas Capital Group's 50,000-square-foot Soho condominium designed by Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects. Nine three-bedroom residences and a penthouse at the seven-story luxury residence will start at $8,250,000 (the penthouse is going for $25 million). According to the press release, the building's design offers "a contemporary interpretation of the Soho neighborhood’s cast iron architecture," and of course, there's those $1 million parking spots.
Find out more and see renderings

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

Lowline Lab via 6sqft

September 20, 2016

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

Just a couple months ago, the NYC Economic Development Corporation granted preliminary approvals to the Lowline, the world's first underground park. This came after the city put out a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) late last year for the 60,000-square-foot abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street. The Lowline proposal was the only one received, and initially the 154-page document was only to be publicly available through a Freedom of Information Law request, but the group worked with the EDC to release it to the community. The Lo-Down got a look at the document, which reveals everything from the projected cost of the project ($83 million) and operating hours (6am to 9pm, five days a week) to specific design elements like a "ramble" and 1,600-square-foot cafe/bar.
Lots more details this way

The ‘empty mansions’ of Huguette Clark: Luxury and mystery of an era past

Photo courtesy of Emptymansionsbook.com.

September 19, 2016

The ‘empty mansions’ of Huguette Clark: Luxury and mystery of an era past

Reclusive copper heiress Huguette M. Clark died in 2011 at the age of 104; in the years preceding and after her demise, obsessive followers of her story puzzled over her decision to remain in a small hospital room for the last 20 years of her life after having rarely left her apartment in the decades before. In this day of heiresses who run fashion companies and give house tours, Huguette Clark’s wealth and her retreat from the public eye—despite being by all accounts entirely lucid—have made her the target of endless fascination. But almost as fascinating are the storybook-grand properties that still stand as remnants of a gilded age long past and what remains of one of its biggest fortunes, barely touched and preserved as if in aspic until their recent acquisition by a new generation of magnates and heirs.
See more of Huguette Clark's abandoned Gilded Age opulence

UES residents not happy about plan to turn their playground into high-end housing

Google Street View of the Holmes Towers with the playground in question in the foreground

September 19, 2016

UES residents not happy about plan to turn their playground into high-end housing

This past spring, the de Blasio administration revealed plans to lease "empty" NYCHA land--parking lots and grassy areas--for the creation of market-rate housing, which certainly ruffled the feathers of affordable housing advocates. Though the proposal hasn't been set into motion city-wide, it is taking shape at one housing project on the Upper East Side, the Holmes Towers on 92nd to 93rd Streets and 1st to York Avenues. As the Daily News reports, NYCHA recently "described tenant support for the plan to let a developer build 300 units — half market rate, half affordable — where the Holmes playground now sits." But this "tenant stakeholder committee" says they feel very differently.
READ MORE

September 19, 2016

Video: Visit designer Kate Spade in her art-filled, unfussy Upper East Side home

Ultra-popular clothing and accessories designer Kate Valentine Spade invites us into the Upper East Side apartment she shares with her husband/business partner Andy Spade and young daughter, courtesy of People magazine. She's managed to snatch a free moment away from her new accessories line Frances Valentine to give us a whirlwind tour of her two favorite rooms.
Step inside and have a look

September 18, 2016

$900K brownstone condo is proof that your money still goes a little farther in Harlem

While the $899,000 ask on this two-bedroom, floor-through apartment at 30 West 126th Street in Harlem may not be a total steal, an apartment of this size with well-designed custom renovations, central heat and air, closet space, and a cozy balcony would likely be much more costly in many other Manhattan neighborhoods. And certainly a pretty brownstone block steps from shopping (a Whole Foods is on the way) and subways would up the price even more. Yet this brick-lined, light-filled home has every bit as much townhouse appeal as its West Village counterparts.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

September 16, 2016

Free People art director lists boho-chic loft in Greenwich Village for $999K

This gorgeous loft at 77 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village has undergone a big renovation and hit the market for a hair under $1 million. The seller is Lauren Cohan, an art director at Free People, who purchased it in 2015 for $635,000. Post reno, the space has a decidedly Free People vibe, with quirky interior design complimented by lofty features like high ceilings and exposed brick.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

September 16, 2016

Skyline blights: New York’s ugliest building finally gets its glassy update

By Diane Pham

The former Verizon Building at 375 Pearl Street has long been considered one of New York City's ugliest buildings. The oppressive structure was erected in 1975 and climbs 540 feet into the sky. While the height is almost negligible compared to some of the supertalls rising today, the tower's prime skyline positioning amongst some of the world's most celebrated architectural creations has done nothing to help shroud its banal facade. In fact, when the telephone switching center opened its doors for the first time more than 40 years ago, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger described it as the Verizon's "most disturbing" addition to the city (though in defense of the architects Rose, Beaton & Rose, it was built to withstand severe weather and attacks and protect the critical telecommunications infrastructure within). But all of that is changing now, as the building's fortress-like facade is in the midst of receiving a long due makeover.
More photos of the progress that's been made here

September 16, 2016

One World Trade Center not for sale after all (at least not yet)

Last week, 6sqft reported that the Port Authority would sell One World Trade Center for up to $5 billion due in part to vacancy issues and the fact that the tower only brought in $13 million in revenue last year, a mere 0.35 percent return on the agency's investment. But Authority chairman John Degnan said yesterday to Politico that "It’s certainly not on the block. We’re not talking to any brokers about it." This doesn't however, mean that the agency has changed its stance that it will one day "divest and monetize in non-transportation-related holdings."
Find out more

Uncategorized

September 16, 2016

Saudi billionaire seals the deal on the city’s highest home for record $88M

The most expensive apartment closing in New York City this year and one of the priciest sales ever is finally a done deal, reports The Real Deal. The apartment, the top penthouse at Rafael Viñoly-designed billionaire’s bunker 432 Park Avenue, is the priciest unit in the big-ticket building as well as being literally the city’s highest. As 6sqft previously reported, the buyer is Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair. The sale price was $87.7 million—a skyscraping $10,623 per square foot.
More jumbo numbers, this way

Real Estate Trends

September 15, 2016

‘Humans of New York’ creator picks up $2.45M Chelsea duplex

By Annie Doge

You may not know Brandon Stanton by name, but you certainly know his photo-journalism project "Humans of New York." Launched six years ago, the social media sensation features interviews with thousands of people on the streets of New York, with special series focusing on groups like Syrian refugees and veterans, and it's now spread internationally. Stanton has encountered wild success, even authoring a book that spent 29 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and he's now scored a lovely Chelsea co-op, reports the Observer. He and fiancée Erin O’Sullivan dropped $2.45 million on the lovely duplex at 440 West 23rd Street, which features a two-level backyard garden.
See the whole place

September 15, 2016

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber buys second condo at Trump International for $7.6M

By Annie Doge

Though we're not sure about composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's political leanings in this country (he's a Conservative in Britain), he sure does seem to love some Donald Trump real estate. The Observer reports that the British musical theater impresario has dropped $7.6 million on a two-bedroom 35th-floor unit at Trump International in an off-market deal. He and his wife Madeleine already own another adjacent unit on the same floor in the Central Park West tower, which they bought in 2012 for $5.8 million after selling a Trump Tower duplex for $16.5 million in 2010.
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September 14, 2016

REVEALED: Thomas Heatherwick’s $150M climbable Hudson Yards sculpture ‘The Vessel’

It was nearly three years ago that Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross boasted that Hudson Yards' public art piece would be "New York’s Eiffel Tower," and after an unveiling today of the massive sculpture that will anchor the central public space, it seems he might not have been too far off.
More details and renderings this way

September 14, 2016

Interview: Time Equities’ Francis Greenburger, a Renaissance man in NYC

By 6sqft

Francis Greenburger is the definition of a Renaissance man. Beyond running the full-service real estate firm Time Equities, Inc., he also helms the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, he serves as Chairman of the literary agency Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc., and he is also deeply involved with the OMI International Arts Center—and this is on top of the numerous non-profits […]

September 14, 2016

Look inside Karim Rashid’s futuristic HAP Five condo rising in East Harlem

The Karim Rashid-designed eight-story, 75-foot residential building at 329 Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem has started to take shape after addressing a gauntlet of public outcry, reports CityRealty.com. Renderings of the condominium building from HAP Investment Developers were met with resistance from the community for their original turquoise and magenta color scheme–a typical Rashid design element–which, it was feared, would clash with the the neighborhood's century-old buildings. As 6sqft previously repoted, HAP toned down the color scheme, and it now features white balconies bordered with a gradually-fading shade of pink .
See more progress and interior renderings this way

September 14, 2016

City’s new, five-year transportation plan looks to bike lanes in wake of L train shutdown

The city's newly released, five-year transportation plan is all about the bikes. As part of his larger Vision Zero initiative, the Mayor announced yesterday that he'll roll out 75 miles of new bike lanes by the end of this year, which includes 18 miles of protected lanes, reports Gothamist. They'll be dispersed throughout the five boroughs, but centered in areas where the highest number of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities occur.
Find out more

Transit

September 13, 2016

Judge orders Sean Lennon to remove tree that’s damaging Marisa Tomei’s parents’ house

By Annie Doge

After 19 months of finger pointing and contentious legal battles, Sean Lennon (son of John and Yoko) has been ordered by a Manhattan judge to remove a tree on his Greenwich Village property at 153 West 13th Street after being sued by neighbors Gary and Addie Tomei (parents of actress Marisa Tomei). As 6sqft previously recounted, the Tomeis claimed the tree had spread its roots onto their property, cracking the stoop, breaking the railings, and coming through the basement floor of their townhouse. Though they also asked for $10 million in damages, it looks like the judge didn't move on that part of the suit, though she did quote Beatles lyrics in her ruling.
What'd she say?

Celebrities

My 860sqft: Ashley Davis of CITYROW opens up her mid century-meets-contemporary Yorkville pad

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to a fitness studio COO’s Yorkville one-bedroom, infused with mid-century-modern furniture and contemporary decor. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

September 13, 2016

My 860sqft: Ashley Davis of CITYROW opens up her mid century-meets-contemporary Yorkville pad

Ashley Davis moved to New York City after graduating from college in 2004. She thought it would just be for a couple years, but, like so many of us, she never left. She's been living on the Upper East Side since 2007 and has been in her current Yorkville apartment for three-and-a-half years. After making a career shift from the advertising/tech world to joining her friend and former colleague Helaine Knapp at CITYROW (Ashley is the fitness studio's chief operating officer), as well as very recently welcoming her boyfriend into her apartment, Ashley has created an inviting home that's a mix of mid-century-modern furniture, contemporary decor, lots of textures, and a sophisticated color palette.
Take the tour

September 13, 2016

$1.25M UWS co-op is part loft, part townhouse and part palazzo

Maybe you’ve noticed some of those unusual historic townhouses nestled between much larger buildings that are scattered about New York City, and the geometric gem of a limestone townhouse at 35 Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side is one of those. Within, an equally out-of-the-ordinary co-op is now on the market for $1.25 million. With a barrel-and-zigzag facade punctuated in places by cylindrical columns that might look right at home on a Roman palazzo, a triangular sleeping loft and a lovely shaded wood-clad deck off the bedroom, there’s plenty to behold in this one-bedroom, third-floor aerie. Views of Riverside Park (right across the street) and the Hudson River add up to a home that's definitely “not your cookie cutter apartment,” as the listing says.
Check out more of this unique unit

Distinctive Homes

September 13, 2016

$1B expansion of the Javits Center will commence this year

By Diane Pham

One of Governor Cuomo's biggest NYC projects will kick off construction by the end of this year. Per a press release released yesterday, the Cuomo administration has put out a request for proposals (RFP) for the first phase of the Jacob K. Javits Center's $1 billion expansion. The chosen firm will be responsible for the design and construction of a three-story building that will hold transformers, back-up generators, and other electrical equipment for the updated complex. This initial work will prepare the massive site for the larger expansion project that will increase the size of the events facility by 1.2 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to a hefty 3.3 million square feet.
more on the announcement here

Real Estate Trends

September 12, 2016

New views of curvaceous 15 Hudson Yards ahead of this week’s sales launch

15 Hudson Yards, the first of two residential towers that Related Companies and Oxford Properties have planned for the massive complex, started its climb into the far west side skyline back in March, and now, seven months later, it's readying for a sales launch this week. According to a press release, condos will start at about $2 million for one-bedrooms and go up to $30 million for the penthouses. To coincide with the 285 market-rate condos hitting the market (there will also be 106 affordable rentals, for which details have yet to be released), YIMBY has gotten its hands on new renderings of the 910-foot building, which, as 6sqft previously described, has been dubbed the "Morph Tower" for its "curvaceous and feminine design" from Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Rockwell Group. The images provide new views of the bundled quad of cylinders that make up its body, as well as its rectilinear base that will abut the Shed.
More renderings and details ahead

September 12, 2016

Waitlist re-opens for affordable rentals in Kips Bay mid-rise, units from $952/month

By Diane Pham

NYC's Housing Connect has announced today that it will re-open its waiting list for Henry Phipps Plaza South, an affordable residence located at 330 East 26th Street in the heart of Kips Bay. The 14-story post-war building boasts a total of 407 units and was developed under the Federal housing financing program. As such, 290 of the units have been reserved for New Yorkers earning less than 50 percent of the area median income, and residents of this building will pay no more than 30 percent of their adjusted income on rent.
Income requirements and offers this way

Affordable Housing

September 12, 2016

24 massive windows line this $5.5M Flatiron loft

It's hard to argue with Flatiron views out of 24 oversized windows and under 14-foot ceilings. Those are some of the attributes of this three-bedroom co-op, which spans 160 feet across the entire second floor of 140 Fifth Avenue. Now on the market for $5.5 million, this former artist studio is now an upscale, palatial pad.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

September 11, 2016

23-foot entertainment space and large roof terrace impress at this $4.8M Soho loft