Manhattan

Leasing has begun at Midtown East's newest rental building at 235 East 44th Street. Developed by CMSJ Development, the 70,000-square-foot, ground-up building contains 67 units across its 19 floors. For current availabilities, monthly prices start at $3,300 for studios, $4,500 for one-bedrooms, $6,105 for two-bedrooms, and $8,100 for three-bedrooms. Designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects, it's is situated mid-block along a dense urban canyon just two blocks east of Grand Central Terminal and one block west of the United Nations. Its street-facing exterior is finished in GKV's trademark aesthetic of exposed cast-in-place concrete, reminiscent of the Brutalist movement of the 1950s and '60s. The tower's glass walls and concrete floor slabs undulate in opposite directions, softening the raw materials and adding fluidity to the building's form.
Interior apartment details this way

May 6, 2016

Spotlight: Alex Gregg Is the Upper East Side’s Go-To Comic Book and Sports Card Guy

By Susan Cohen

At a time when Batman and Captain America are all over the big screens and sports culture is becoming increasingly digital, one might think superheroes' and athletes' presence on paper is waning. But collecting cards and comics is alive and well in Yorkville, where Alex's MVP Cards and Comics has everything an X-Men-, Archie-, or sport-loving aficionado could want. Alex Gregg first opened a store on the Upper East Side 27 years ago. The business grew out of his own personal collection and interest and is now the place to locate that latest rookie card, newest comic, or buy a piece of memorabilia. Alex certainly knows a great deal about history - particularly New York history - having worked for 22 years as a bartender at the famed (and now closed) establishment Elaine’s. 6sqft recently spoke with Alex about how cards and comics have both changed and remained the same and about his days at Elaine’s.
Read the interview with Alex

May 6, 2016

Five-Star ‘Lazar Hotel’ Coming to Midtown, Will Meld Modern With Late-1700s Baroque

West 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues is home to some of the city's most elite hotels, such as the Royalton, Sofitel and Algonquin, and also to esteemed institutions like the Harvard Club, Penn Club and New York Yacht Club. Near the stretch's Fifth Avenue corner, a new 20-story, 96-key hotel tower is in the works at 7 West 44th Street, and it will be festooned in Baroque stylings, Juliet balconies, twisted columns, cast-iron railings, and a grand lobby staircase.
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May 6, 2016

Rare and Spectacular Light-Filled Penthouse Overlooking Gramercy Park Asks $2.5M

From the outside, the Gramercy Park townhouse at 132 East 19th Street is immediately impressive. According to this Streetscapes column, it was a brownstone completely redesigned in 1908 by the innovative architect Frederick Sterner. Now the facade boasts a light stucco and huge windows that lend to lovely, bright apartments. The building's penthouse unit has hit the market and is showing off massive floor-to-ceiling clerestory windows, under 14-foot ceilings, that offer a view over the other landmarked townhouses of Gramercy Park.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

May 5, 2016

$250M Penthouse at 220 Central Park South Will Officially Be NYC’s Most Expensive Apartment

By Dana Schulz

For over a year, it's been a guessing game with just how expensive 220 Central Park South's penthouse will actually be. Initial murmurings put the price at $175 million, but later reports that claimed hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin was the buyer upped it to $200 million. The guessing is over, though, as The Real Deal has obtained an amended offering plan filed with the New York Attorney General, which shows that the 23,000-square-foot, four-floor "billionaire's bunker" will cost a mind-boggling $250 million (or $11,000 per square foot), making it by far the city's most expensive apartment.
Check out the insane floorplans

Uncategorized

May 5, 2016

Live in Extell’s Hudson Yards Skyscraper 555Ten for $910/Month

Last September, 6sqft reported the topping out of Extell Development's 610-foot-tall, mixed-use tower quietly rising at 555 Tenth Avenue and 41st Street. Now fully sheathed in glass, the development team kicked off its housing lottery for the building's 120 below-market rate units, priced from $910 per month for studios up to to $1,315 for three-bedrooms. Designed by SLCE Architects, the 53-story, 725,000-square-foot structure rises one block west of the Port Authority Bus Terminal and two avenues west of the 42nd Street A/C/E train station with its connection to Times Square. The building is within the emerging Hudson Yards area, which over the next decade will usher in thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of new office space. Across from the tower, an additional 7-train subway station may be constructed to meet the increasing number of residents in the area.
Find out if you qualify here

Norman Foster Still in the Running to Design 2 World Trade Center

Foster’s original design

May 5, 2016

Norman Foster Still in the Running to Design 2 World Trade Center

By Diane Pham

Nearly one year ago it was revealed that starchitect Bjarke Ingels would be taking over the design of 2 World Trade Center from Norman Foster as developer Silverstein Properties was in talks with Fox and News Corp. to make the tower their new headquarters. However, plans fell through in January when the media companies opted to remain at their Midtown headquarters at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue. Now without a tenant and two different designs in hand, Chairman Larry Silverstein is said to be weighing both options. “[The top of] Two was a distinguishing feature of Norman Foster’s design,” Silverstein told The Post. “Opposed to what Bjarke Ingels proposed. We can go in either direction. Which way, we are not sure yet.” But he did add that they were leaning towards Ingels' design in discussions being had with prospective anchor tenants, which include BlackRock and JPMorganChase.
Find out more here

Architecture And Design

May 5, 2016

Jonah Hill Picks Up $9.16M Apartment at Noho’s Schumacher Condo Conversion

By Annie Doge

A tipster told 6sqft back in December that Jonah Hill was seen taking photos outside The Schumacher, the then-newly unveiled Noho condo conversion at 36 Bleecker Street. As it turns out, just two months prior he bought a unit in the building for $9.16 million, according to the Post. The unit, which was originally listed at $9.5 million, is a 3,280-square-foot, four-bedroom spread. It features the signature elements of the residence, including exposed brick vaulted ceilings, massive arched windows, restored original columns and beams, and views down to the building's vine-covered courtyard.
Take a look around

May 5, 2016

Hula-Hoop Master Lists Colorful and Quirky Financial District Condo for $2.2M

In the midst of New York's gray and rainy weather, this apartment is sure to brighten your day. Located at 111 Fulton Street in the Financial District, it belongs to Stefan Pildes, a hula-hoop instructor and the president of Groovehoops, a performance troupe of hula-hoop entertainers. (He bought it in 2009 for a little over $1 million.) The 1,738-square-foot apartment already has good bones -- eight-foot windows, 11-foot ceilings -- but it's been completely decked out with wallpaper, colorful furniture and art, and custom lighting.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

May 5, 2016

A Quiet Oasis on the West Village’s ‘Sex and the City’ Block for $720K

Home to movie stars, models, moguls, designers and plenty of lucky mortals in possession of a small fortune (at the very least), the West Village is one of New York's most sought-after neighborhoods. This one-bedroom co-op at 77 Perry Street on the famed "Sex and the City" block is all sunbeams and charm when the afternoon sun shows off its exposed brick walls, 10-foot ceilings and beautifully restored original hardwood floors. Its ask of $720,000 definitely reflects the neighborhood's cachet, but anything with even a memory of six figures in this neighborhood could be considered a find.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

May 5, 2016

Ashley Olsen Buying a $7M Luxe Greenwich Village Condo

By Annie Doge

The Olsen twins have long been fans of the Village, from attending NYU to naming their fashion line the Row after the famous brick townhouse along Washington Square North. Now single sister Ashely is setting up a permanent home in the 'hood, as the Wall Street Journal reports that she's in contract to buy a two-bedroom spread at 37 East 12th Street that was last listed for $7.1 million. The 19th century building with a Beaux-Arts cast-iron facade is being converted to six, full-floor boutique condos, and listing agent Jared Seligman of Douglas Elliman said this privacy is what Olsen liked.
See the full spread

May 4, 2016

East River Skyway Proposal Gains Steam, Would Only Cost Riders $25/Month

By Dana Schulz

With public meetings about the impending L train shutdown beginning this week, much of the conversation is centered around alternate ways to shuttle people between downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. One solution is the East River Skyway, an aerial gondola system that would run along the Brooklyn waterfront and into Manhattan, bringing commuters over the river in just 3.5 minutes. The proposal from Dan Levy, president and CEO of CityRealty*, first surfaced in 2014, then referencing the Brooklyn development boom that will bring tens of thousands of new residential units to the borough in the coming years. But now with a possible years-long shutdown of the L, along with skyrocketing subway ridership, the Skyway is drumming up support from investors, DNA Info reports. Levy told 6sqft, "We've completed some preliminary engineering and design work around the cars and the stations and how they could meld with their respective locations — and more broadly the city skyline. Given their high visibility we want to be context sensitive." He also revealed that, although the project would cost up to $134 million (per estimate from engineers), an unlimited monthly pass would cost only $25.
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May 4, 2016

Related Launches Hudson Yards Living Website With New Renderings

On the heels of the news that Hudson Yards will add $18.9 billion to the city's GDP and the reconfirmation that the developers will build an iconic $200 million sculpture at the center of the plan's plaza, Related quietly launched a new Hudson Yards Living website, providing general information for prospective residents and a few new images of the $20 billion master plan.
More details and renderings this way

May 4, 2016

432 Park Avenue Reveals Glowing White Cube for Retail Space

While most of the news surrounding Rafael Viñoly's iconic 432 Park Avenue has been about big ticket closings at the Billionaire's Row blockbuster with a $3.1 billion projected sellout, developer Macklowe has revealed more about what the news-making skyscraper's 130,000 square feet of retail and office space, divided over several floors, will look like. Adding an even more attention-getting element to the tower, a portion of the building's retail space will be located in a two-story white glass cube at the corner of East 57th Street and Park Avenue.
Find out more

May 4, 2016

An Option to Buy or Rent a Historic Renwick Triangle Townhouse in the East Village

Just because the East Village isn't known for its townhouse stock doesn't mean there aren't wonderful, historic (and expensive) houses to move into there. Take this one, at 114 East 10th Street, which is part of the Renwick Triangle in the St. Marks Historic District. The triangle gets its name from architect James Renwick Jr., who designed it with rows of Anglo-Italianate single-family homes. This house was on the market two years back asking $7.5 million and it sold for $7.606 million. Now you can either buy or rent it, for $9.85 million or $50K a month.
See the historic interior details

May 4, 2016

Affordable Luxury Hits the Upper East Side Market at 389 East 89th Street

At First Avenue and 89th Street on the Upper East Side, 31 floors of spacious, light-filled homes have been reintroduced to the market. In a building previously known as the Post Toscana, 199 rental apartments have been upgraded and enlarged into 156 one- to three-bedroom residences fashioned by acclaimed interior designer Paris Forino. Now dubbed 389 E 89, the tower is the latest in a flurry of top-shelf rental buildings re-branded as affordable condos with high-end finishes.
All the info ahead

May 4, 2016

$14M Gilded Age Mansion in Murray Hill Was the Home of J.P. Morgan’s Attorney

Most of New York City's grand and historic homes have been altered for modern-day use as apartments, libraries, hotels, diplomatic buildings and the like. And when it comes to those that have remained as opulent single- or multi-family homes, most have changed hands so many times that we don't know much about their history. That is not the case for this massive 9,300-square-foot townhouse across the street from the Morgan Library. The home was originally the residence of J.P. Morgan's attorney John Trevor, Sr. and is currently in use as a 10-unit apartment building–albeit a rather special one with some unique spaces like a private office and a gorgeous rear parlor with symphony-ready acoustics and 13-foot ceilings. Whoever purchases the home, on the market for $14 million, could create a vast five-story mansion (there's already an elevator), or any number of alternate configurations–but they'll still have great sound in that back parlor.
The neighborhood blows up, then the lawyers move in

May 3, 2016

Extell Files to Demolish Two More Fifth Avenue Buildings For Its Mega-Midtown Assemblage

Back in January, 6sqft reported that the busybodies at Extell Development filed permits to demolish a string of six tumble-turned walk-up buildings between 3 and 13 West 46th Street in Midtown. Now, as expected, the Gary Barnett-led firm has filed permits to demolish the Warren & Wetmore-designed corner building at 562 Fifth Avenue and a somewhat incongruous Tudor-style building at 564 Fifth Avenue. While none of the condemned buildings are extraordinary in design, 562 Fifth Avenue is perhaps a more tasteful affair than much of the schlock going up these days. Designed by the same architects as Grand Central Terminal, the slivery 13-story commercial building was once known as the I. Miller Building and features intricately ornamented spandrel areas, a pedimented roofline, and an unoriginal albeit charming Fifth Avenue storefront.
More on Extell's plans and the history of the soon-to-be-razed buildings

May 3, 2016

Three Floors, Three Amazing Terraces at This $6.4M Tribeca Penthouse Loft

If you couldn't afford the penthouse unit at 153 Chambers Street in Tribeca the first time it hit the market, now it's back with a nearly $1 million price chop. Last year, the impressive pad hit the market asking $7.25 million and now it's down to $6.4 million. Most notable about this triplex space are the three different terraces, decked out with a hot tub, hidden outdoor shower, landscaping and impressive views of the Freedom Tower. With summer approaching, these are some of the most envy-inducing terraces we've ever seen...
Check them out

Distinctive Homes

May 3, 2016

172 Madison Tops Out and Reveals Renderings for Incredible Penthouse with Two Pools

Within the Empire State Building's five o'clock shadow, an eruption of glossy residential high-rises are nipping at the dame's feet. Embracing a thoroughfare most familiar for its commercial connotations, the latest tower to ascend is a 33-story condo simply known by its address, 172 Madison Avenue. The 130,000-square-foot skyscraper is being developed by Tessler Developments and is among a half-dozen residential buildings planned for a central, yet undefined neighborhood that is almost Murray Hill, but not quite NoMad. Its topped off concrete frame rises nearly 450 feet above its East 33rd street corner, which was previously occupied by a ubiquitous clump of commercial, low-slung masonry structures. Now with its debut pegged for early next year, the symmetrically-massed tower designed by Karl Fischer Architects is being dressed in its sparkly coat of reflective glass that is accentuated by robust onyx-colored frames. And along with this debut, comes new renderings of the triplex penthouse dubbed the SkyHouse, which is a massive marble palace with two outdoor pools.
All the details and renderings ahead

May 3, 2016

Late Portrait Artist Aaron Shikler’s UWS Co-op in the Iconic Studio Building Asks $7.8M

Late portraitist Aaron Shikler is best known for his classically gorgeous paintings of the American elite, most notably an official White House portrait of Jacqueline (then) Kennedy as First Lady and (posthumously) President John F. Kennedy as well as paintings of notables like Lady Bird Johnson, the Duchess of Windsor and the portrait of Ronald Reagan that appeared on Time magazine’s Man of the Year cover in January 1981. The Brooklyn-born artist and his wife, who died in 1998, lived at the standout Studio Building cooperative at 44 West 77th Street overlooking Central Park for over 50 years with their family. Shikler passed away last year at 93, and since ownership appears to have been transferred to the couple's two children in 2013, we'll assume they're the ones who have just put this classically grand three-bedroom Upper West Side co-op on the market for $7.795 million. Among the most thrilling of its many assets is the light-filled, enormous art studio where Shikler worked. The artist's fascinating paintings are visible throughout the apartment (though we doubt they're part of the deal).
Take a look around this creative co-op

May 2, 2016

Hedge Funder Daniel Nir’s $52M Co-op Sale Is This Year’s Biggest

By Dana Schulz

When Daniel Nir, founder and CEO of hedge fund Gracie Capital, and his wife, philanthropist Jill Braufman, listed their sprawling Upper East Side co-op for $48 million a year ago, it certainly caught raised a few eyebrows. But the 16-room home at 4 East 66th Street has actually sold over ask for $52 million, making it this year's biggest co-op sale and the seventh biggest co-op sale to date. It's also the first time this pre-war building has cracked the top-ten list. The couple bought the home in 2007 from hotelier Robert H. Burns for $29 million, leaving them with a nice chunk of change.
See what all the fuss is about

Real Estate Trends

May 2, 2016

Study: Hudson Yards Will Add $18.9 Billion to the City’s GDP

According to a recent study, economic activity at the $20 billion Hudson Yards West Side development–the nation's largest construction site–will contribute $18.9 billion to the city–more than the gross domestic product of Iceland ($15.3 billion), Crains reports. The study, commissioned by the project's developer, Related Cos., predicts that the companies projected to occupy the massive project that will stretch between West 30th Street and West 34th Street along the Hudson River will generate economic activty in the form of, among other things, salaries for new jobs and money paid to the MTA by the developer both during the 14-year construction period and once the development is complete in 2025.
Read more

Real Estate Trends

May 2, 2016

New Renderings of West Chelsea’s SkyBox Development and Art Gallery

A unique mixed-use development in West Chelsea may be the paradigm of what new development in Manhattan could aspire to. Combining new construction and rehabilitation, and marrying ostentatious high-end condos with affordable rentals and an art museum/gallery, the project dubbed Chelsea SkyBox will satiate a wide spectrum of urbanites. The 250-foot tower will rise directly south of Annabelle Selldorf's metal-face condo 200 Eleventh Avenue (aka the "Sky garage") and will host ten full-floor apartments plus a spectacular five-story penthouse that developer Jonathan Leitersdorf told the Journal he will ultimately occupy. The project also will rehabilitate the corner SRO building next door known as the Chelsea Highline Hotel. The ground floors of both buildings will be shared, and there will be 15,000-square- feet of commercial space that will have 30-foot-high ceilings and accommodate an art museum and a private gallery to contain works by Picasso, Keith Haring, Kandinsky, and Anish Kapoor.
Lots more renderings ahead

May 2, 2016

This $7,600/Month West Chelsea Duplex Has a Secret Garden and a Hidden Bedroom Bar