Manhattan

Another forward-looking project may be coming to the banks of the High Line, this time for a T-shaped lot near the corner of Tenth Avenue and West 17th Street. While still in its conceptual stage, the design of 455 West 17th Street is being handled by architecture and project management firm Chelsea Atelier. The two-wing project consists of a four-story Tenth Avenue wing, to contain a small hotel or offices, and a larger 11-story wing that would house residential condominiums. Amir Shouri, senior designer at Chelsea Atelier, says the design seeks to create viewing decks to capture glimpses of the High Line and the Hudson River. The blurred boundaries between inside and out will ceaselessly showcase the "live urban activity of the High Line during the day and motivate inhabitants to go out an enjoy the area's many amenities."
More details this way

October 9, 2015

William Randolph Hearst’s Stunning Central Park West Penthouse Sells for $18M

After nearly a year on the market, and a deal with Giorgio Armani that ultimately fell through, the ornate penthouse that previously belonged to publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst has finally sold. As reported by The Real Deal, the buyer of the magnificent home is John Legere, a T-Mobile CEO who entered contract to buy the pad back in July. Originally listed for $27.5 million, the home saw numerous price cuts over the last few months, ultimately settling on a $18 million price tag with Legere. While the penthouse is not nearly as large as Hearst's other former top floor spread (that one had an incredible 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space!), this 1,600-square foot beauty maintains many spectacular details, including a wood-burning fireplace, herringbone floors, hand-carved wood doors, stained glass windows and a private terrace encompassing the entire frontage of its 91 Central Park West address.
Go inside the home

October 9, 2015

1970s Documentary Shows Tribeca Skybridge and Vintage Subway Cars

By Dana Schulz

"News from Home" is a 1976 documentary by filmmaker Chantal Akerman that uses New York City as a backdrop while she reads aloud letters her mother had written her while she was living in the city. The film wasn't groundbreaking by any stretch, but 40 years later, it provides a glimpse into a bygone era in New York. Tribeca Citizen unearthed a digital version of the documentary on Hulu and took some great stills, including those of vintage subway cars and Tribeca's Staple Street skybridge. The latter (which is actually where the film begins) has made headlines recently as it's one of Manhattan's last skybridges and the two residences on either side of it (one a townhouse, one an apartment) are currently for sale for $30 million, meaning one lucky buyer can claim the historic structure as part of their home.
See more of 1970s NYC

History

Turkish Consulate’s New Tower Across From UN Finally Moves Ahead, Offices and Apartments Planned

Concept design by Chelsea Atelier

October 9, 2015

Turkish Consulate’s New Tower Across From UN Finally Moves Ahead, Offices and Apartments Planned

After more than three years on the drawing board, the replacement tower for Turkey’s Consulate General and Permanent Mission to the United States at 821 First Avenue is finally moving forward. First announced in 2012, the proposed project, known as the Turkevi Center, has commissioned Perkins Eastman as the architects of record. The building will house new offices for the consulate, and diplomatic residences for permanent staff and visitors above.
Find out more here

Starchitect Rafael Viñoly Will Donate Services to Design Science Center at Tribeca’s Pier 26

Pier 26 image via Curbed

October 9, 2015

Starchitect Rafael Viñoly Will Donate Services to Design Science Center at Tribeca’s Pier 26

By Dana Schulz

When he's not designing the city's tallest towers, starchitect Rafael Viñoly has a philanthropic side. The New York Times reported that he'll be donating his services to the Hudson River Park Trust to design the long-planned science education and research center on Pier 26 in Tribeca (famous for serving as the location of the Village People's 1978 "Y.M.C.A" video). Known as an estuarium, the project is part of a larger redevelopment of the pier, which will include a new park by landscape architects OLIN, the current free kayaking program and dog runs, and a City Vineyard restaurant, according to Curbed.
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Architecture And Design

October 9, 2015

Construction and Sales Begin on SCDA’s Billionaires’ Row Tower, 118 East 59th Street

Construction and sales have commenced on a glass-encased, 500-foot-tall condominium tower at 118 East 59th Street developed by Euro Properties and designed by Soo K. Chan of SCDA Architects. Situated mid block between Park and Lexington Avenues, the tower is surrounded by the crème de la crème of New York real estate, positioned within the nexus of several high-value locales: The Plaza District, home to the GM Building, commands the city's top office rents; nearby shopping stretches of Fifth and Madison Avenues hold the world's most coveted retail corners; and a one-mile long, super-luxury residential corridor, nicknamed Billionaires' Row, straddles the southern bounds of Central Park and is set to reshape the city skyline into a trophy shelf of wealth.
More details ahead

October 8, 2015

There’s an Historic English Muffin Oven Hiding Underneath This Chelsea Co-op

Although the popular song would have you believe that the muffin man lives on Drury Lane, he actually has digs right here in Chelsea on West 20th Street. 337 West 20th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, is a nondescript, four-story brick building that is officially known as "The Muffin House." Looking at the building from outside, you wouldn't think there's anything special to it. But underground, preserved below what is now a modest co-op complex, there's a massive bakery oven. And not just any old oven, although that discovery is unique in and of itself. This is the oven once operated by a very well-known baker, the one responsible for introducing English muffins to the United States.
His name was Samuel Bath Thomas

October 8, 2015

Corner Loft in NoHo, Asking $4.25 Million, Is All About Its Windows

If you've got something going for you, flaunt it. That's the case with this apartment at 644 Broadway, a NoHo co-op building, and its windows. These glorious windows are from an impressive building, formerly known as the Manhattan Savings Institution Bank Building. It was constructed in 1890 by architect Stephen Decatur Hatch as a mixture of Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles with sandstone, terracotta, brick, copper and cast iron on the facade. It was converted to a co-op in the 1980s, and the grand facade still remains well preserved. And from this two-bedroom co-op, now priced at $4.25 million, you certainly benefit from the extravagant design. The rest of the apartment, however, has been thoroughly modernized.
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Distinctive Homes

October 8, 2015

Brooklyn Home Prices Set Record, Manhattan Rents So High Studios Command $2,431/Month

By Diane Pham

The latest round of real estate reports have arrived and needless to say prices continue to hover completely out of reach of us normal folk. A new Elliman report compiled by Jonathan Miller found that Brooklyn now boasts a median sales price of $676,250, 15 percent higher than just one year ago this time, and 25 percent higher than the record set before the 2008 financial collapse—this makes it the only borough to exceed the pre-recession high. Miller attributes the boost to Brooklyn's change in identity, which has over the years gone from a cheap alternative to Manhattan to a first choice destination for buyers, renters and proprietors. That's not to say Manhattan saw a slump, the median sales price rose to an impressive $998,000, the highest level since the financial crisis.
More numbers this way

Real Estate Trends

October 7, 2015

This $635K Washington Heights Co-op Is a Ground Floor Opportunity With Lofty Ambitions

By Michelle Cohen

At first glance, the price of this 1,245-square-foot well-configured and loft-like co-op in Washington Heights looks like a pretty good deal. The same spot in the parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn where one usually finds sprawling industrial-chic lofts would undoubtedly be several times more than the $635,000 ask. Upon further inspection, it becomes evident that this apartment at 447 Fort Washington Avenue occupies the building's basement. We're assuming it's been excavated enough to be legal, but even the listing prepares us for the fact that "...this lower first floor garden apartment is sublimely peaceful with no neighbors above, below or beside." It's certainly a nice-looking lower first floor garden apartment, though. In addition to the no-neighbors-because-it's-the-basement thing, keep in mind that the neighborhood is known as a no-longer-secret spot to find relatively reasonable real estate in NYC; the Times called it "affordable Manhattan," pointing out that the median price for apartments in Washington Heights was less than $500,000 in Q1 of 2015. On the other hand, a similarly-outfitted, though much larger, Cobble Hill duplex condo loft consisting of a ground floor and basement is listed for $2.85 million. So perhaps this lofty lower lair in upper Manhattan deserves further investigation after all.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

October 6, 2015

Union Square Bachelor Pad With Indian Decor Has Its Very Own Coffee Bar

By Rebecca Paul

Getting settled in Manhattan can be challenging, but with help from the designers at Peti Lau Inc. this bachelor from Bangalore, India created a place to call home with an epic interior inspired by his love for travel, all things vintage, and coffee. Located in Union Square, this 1,800-square-foot one-bedroom apartment boasts a variety of noteworthy design details, including a cafe-inspired kitchen and tchotchkes and rugs gathered from the owner's trips to Africa, Morocco and India.
Take a look around

October 6, 2015

Academy Award-Nominated Director Jason Reitman Sells His Classy Chelsea Home for $3M

The fate of Jason Reitman's Chelsea pad is no longer up in the air. After just 32 days on the market, the director/producer/screenwriter, best known for the beloved indie flick "Juno," as well as well as the aforementioned pun starring George Clooney, has sold for $3.05 million. As noted by the Observer, the 1,600-square-foot space at 434 West 20th Street was purchased by Reitman with his then-wife Michelle Lee back in 2011 for $2.15 million, with the pair said to be drawn in by the home's prewar detailing and its location just across from the New York Seminary's gorgeous gardens.
More photos inside the beautiful apartment

October 6, 2015

$4M Chelsea Loft Boasts Tons of Stylish Space Inside and Out

This Chelsea co-op, located at 139 West 19th Street, has got lots of things going for it: it's super stylish, has some great interior details, there's an expansive living room along with two full bedrooms and bathrooms, and it has a huge backyard that will incite envy. It's also located in a charming central location on 19th Street between 6th and 7th avenues. The cost for all this good stuff comes in at $3.895 million.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Watch New York City Get Blown Up With the ‘Every Demolition in Manhattan’ Map

A animated sample of the Every Demolition in Manhattan map, click ahead for a more detailed view

October 5, 2015

Watch New York City Get Blown Up With the ‘Every Demolition in Manhattan’ Map

By Diane Pham

You’ve surely realized by now that New York is in the midst of a building boom, but if all the cranes and scaffolding rising from the ground aren't enough convince you that you're living in a pretty historic moment, look no further than this incredible map to put all that construction in perspective. Called Every Demolition in Manhattan, this animated survey tracks every demolition that's taken place in the city from 2003 through 2014.
find out more here

October 5, 2015

$20M Tribeca Penthouse Has a 25-Foot Skylight, a Heavenly Terrace and an Industrial Past

By Michelle Cohen

Designed in 1887 for a wrapping paper manufacturer by architect Albert Wagner, who also designed the iconic Puck Building, 140 Franklin Street was converted to a 12-unit boutique residential condominium at the turn of the 21st century. Considered one of the city's most handsome Romanesque Revival-style buildings, it's a study in enviable contrasts; apartments have original cast iron columns, for example, and the building boasts a state-of-the-art water filtration system. Notable neighbors: J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler has an apartment on the fifth floor that he put on the market earlier this year for $35 million. To help put this super-fancy loft–and its fancy price of $19.95 million–in context: Penthouse A was designed for the building conversion's developer; it's on the market for the first time since the building was converted. There are 5,000 square feet of interior space on two floors, plus a spectacular 2,200 square-foot roof terrace. The unit is listed as having only seven rooms, but many of them are the kind of oversized loft space to which the term "room" almost doesn't apply.
More penthouse this way

Distinctive Homes

October 5, 2015

Tradition Is Redefined in This Lovely Downtown Loft by J and G Design

By Rebecca Paul

The gorgeous interior of this downtown loft was made possible by the budding design team from J and G Design. Recently named “Five Under 30” and “Next Big Names” by Lonny Magazine, this dynamic duo describes their aesthetic as traditional design but strive to make each project equal parts tailored and eclectic, glamorous and relaxed, and bold and subtle. And as we move from room to room inside this particular loft interior, we can see how their selection of textures, colors and patterns have allowed them to be successful in achieving their goals.
see more inside

Distinctive Homes

October 5, 2015

$4.15M West Village Co-op Full of Brick Fireplaces Tries to Be a Townhouse

This apartment comes from the West Village co-op building 838 Greenwich Street, but it looks like it could be a townhouse. That's because it's a triplex–rare for a co-op–with seven rooms total, including two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The space even comes with its own private garden, and plenty of exposed brick to go around. The asking price for all that co-op space in one of the most charming neighborhoods on Manhattan is $4.15 million.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

October 5, 2015

You Can Live in Daniel Radcliffe’s Soho Apartment for $19,000 a Month

He's certainly come a long way since his "Harry Potter" days; there are no wands or wizards in sight at Daniel Radcliffe's Soho apartment, currently on the market for $19,000 a month, according to Curbed. The actor bought the two-bedroom condo at 40 Mercer Street in 2007 for $4.3 million, but has been using it mainly as a rental ever since, living instead at his townhouse at 339 West 12th Street in the West Village, which he bought in 2009 for $5.65 million. He also owns a three-bedroom apartment at 1 Morton Square, a celebrity hot spot that was once home to Amy Poehler and Will Arnett and is currently home to the Olson Twins.
See what it's like to live in this wizarding world

October 3, 2015

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Bjarke Ingels’ Epic Pyramid, VIA 57 West

Applications are now being accepted for the 142 affordable apartments in Bjarke Ingels' tetrahedron-shaped rental building dubbed VIA 57 West, aka "the Pyramid Building." By downloading applications here, you and 141 other lucky families may have the chance to live in a future landmark that is already turning out to be the most audacious rental building ever built in the city. The massive, half-block-long development will contain a total of 709 units, of which 20 percent will be deemed affordable. Subsidized rents range from $565/month studios for single-person households making between $19,222 - $24,200 annually, to three-bedroom apartments going for $1,067/month for three- to six-person households.
More construction shots and the full pricing breakdown

October 2, 2015

Zaha Hadid Launches Sales at Her High Line Condos, Talks the Evolution of NY Architecture

Related Companies has officially launched sales for their highly-anticipated upcoming condominium, 520 West 28th Street. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect and artist Zaha Hadid, the eleven-story building will be Hadid's first ground-up structure in New York and will offer 39 distinctive two- to five-bedroom homes priced from $4,950,000 to $50 million for the largest penthouse. The under construction building, now five-stories up, rises alongside the High Line elevated park from an L-shaped parcel between West 27th and 28th Streets in the center of West Chelsea's art gallery district. Related Companies purchased the site for $65 million in 2012 and soon after commissioned the Iraqi-British designer, who beat out the likes of fellow Brit, Norman Foster. Yesterday, at the development's launch, Hadid said she has "always been fascinated by the High Line and its possibilities for the city. "
More from the event here

October 2, 2015

Olson Kundig Architects Turn an Upper East Side Water Tower Into a Fantasy Penthouse

By Rebecca Paul

By U.S. standards New York is a pretty old city, and over the years New Yorkers have been pretty diligent about preserving its historic architecture. As we head into the future, we're seeing more and more old industrial buildings being transformed into beautiful homes. A great example is this Upper East Side penthouse built inside a water tower that is not only awesome in concept, but is also stunning to look at. Lili and Lee Siegelson, the couple who own the immaculate home, worked with Olson Kundig Architects, and together they transformed two floors of the building into an apartment big enough for their happy family.
Go inside this stunning penthouse

October 2, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: John Philis Serves Up Luncheonette History at Lexington Candy Shop

By Susan Cohen

On the corner of 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue sits a luncheonette with a lot of history. Lexington Candy Shop was opened in 1925 by third-generation owner John Philis’ grandfather, and for nine decades the shop has served American classics to Upper East Siders. In a city that was once full of luncheonettes, this is believed to be the only one left in Manhattan. Perhaps it's because John is carrying on two traditions–keeping a family business alive and preserving a piece of American culture. He takes great pride in Lexington Candy Shop’s rich personal and national histories, especially since 2015 marked the shop's 90th year in business. We recently spoke with John to learn about the shop’s history and find out how the local gem mixes the past and present in every milkshake.
Get John's story this way

October 2, 2015

Unleash Your Inner Iron Chef at Bobby Flay’s $8M Chelsea Duplex

After a very public divorce from "Law & Order: SVU" star Stephanie March, famed chef and television personality Bobby Flay is unloading his duplex at the Chelsea Mercantile, which very appropriately has a Whole Foods in the building (you might remember Katie Holmes getting her own private entrance to the store when she lived here). As Curbed notes, the $7.95 million sprawling duplex's listing touts its "spectacular open kitchen designed with and for a PROFESSIONAL CHEF." Flay reportedly got the apartment, as well as the former couple's Amangansett home, as part of the divorce settlement, but now it's time for another chef to sharpen their knives in the pad.
Look around the place here

October 2, 2015

A Major Renovation Brought This Soho Loft From a Cheesy Bachelor Pad to an Historic Chic Crib