Manhattan

Are you sitting down? Good, because today is your lucky day. There's a one-bedroom apartment available between Avenues B and C in the East Village, just blocks from the L train, asking only $485,000. This south-facing apartment features high ceilings, well-maintained wood finishes and full city views. Plus the quiet unit is walking distance from all the action.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

June 18, 2015

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis Make a Sale on Their Meatpacking Apartment

By Annie Doge

A mere five months after putting their Meatpacking District pad on the market, Olivia Wilde and husband Jason Sudeikis have made a sale. The unit at 66 Ninth Avenue was originally listed for $3.995 million in January, selling at a slight discount at $3.8 million according to the Post. The condo is a pretty simple construction with two bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, big windows, hardwood floors and new appliances—a great "starter home" the pair probably called it. Wilde and Sudeikis, who have a baby boy, high-tailed it to Clinton Hill earlier this year in search of more greenery, more space and far fewer folks stumbling drunk across their streets in stiletto heels and Italian loafers.
Have a look inside what they unloaded

June 18, 2015

Little Italy Townhouse Designed by the Novogratz Duo Is Looking for a New Bachelor

When millionaire private investor and socialite Bradley Zipper bought this Little Italy townhouse in 2004, he wanted a massive bachelor pad where he could host celebrity soirees and lavish business events for up to 400 people. After dropping $3,385,000 on the property, he hired Cortney and Robert Novogratz, the famous husband-and-wife design team, to deck it out. The result is certainly A-list worthy, with its 900-bottle wine cellar that's a replica of one in a Meatpacking District club, a 14-foot mahogany and pewter bar shipped over from Paris, and a vintage 1940s pool table surrounded by graphite walls. But despite this intense personalization, Zipper started trying to unload the house two years ago, first for $15 million, then $13 million, next as a $35,000/month rental, and now it's back for $15.5 million.
See what else this party pad has to offer

June 17, 2015

$3.6M Flatiron Loft Is Flooded With Light, Unique Details

A Flatiron loft at 141-145 West 17th Street in the Old Warren House apartment building has hit the market asking $3.625 million. Formerly a printing factory, the building now holds 12 upscale co-ops that still have features remaining from the building's factory days. This particular unit is a bright floor-through apartment with plenty of space and light. And as the Daily News reports, the current owner is Ernest Alexander Sabine, "the fashion design guru credited with reinventing the man bag."
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

June 17, 2015

‘Contemporary Panache’ Goes on Display at This Riverside Drive Renovation by Raad Studio

The design firm raad studio is no stranger to bold interiors that push the envelope—the firm designed an inhabitable blob for this Gowanus townhouse, and a stunning wooden ceiling dome for an apartment in the former police headquarters at 240 Centre Street. For this project at 440 Riverside Drive, they took an approach that "boldly marries prewar details and contemporary design," according to raad studio founder James Ramsey. The result, he said, is infused "with contemporary panache."
See more of the interior

Distinctive Homes

June 17, 2015

Opulent Trump Park Avenue Penthouse Hangs onto $35M Price Tag

It looks like Trump Park Avenue's Penthouse 31/32 is still looking for a buyer, a year and a half after a chopping $10 million off of its $45 million asking price. This 6,278-square-foot duplex has such a storied past on the market, you practically need an ESPN commentator to narrate it Kentucky Derby style. It made its first showing in 2007, asking $45 million. It raised the price to $51 million in 2008, after renovations. It returned in 2009, after another hiatus, asking a much lower $31 million. Then it disappeared for a few years before reappearing in 2013 with its original price tag of $45 million. Three months later it slashed $10 million off the price, landing at $35 million. Will this lavish home ever find the perfect owner with the perfect wallet?
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

June 16, 2015

New Rendering of Renzo Piano’s Soho Condos Shows a Curvy Glass Construction

Last month it was revealed that Renzo Piano would be following up his new Whitney Museum with a 290-foot residential tower at 555 Broome Steet (previously pinned as 100 Varick Street) in Hudson Square right on the border of Soho. While at the time details on the project were scarce with just one rendering making the rounds, NY Yimby has a new image of the starchitect-designed building which reveal a far softer and curvier glass form than previously depicted.
more details here

June 16, 2015

Extell’s Nordstrom Tower Will Be the Country’s Tallest by Roof Height

The Nordstrom Tower may not become the overall tallest building to ever rise NYC, besting One World Trade Center as previously reported and then rebuffed, but new filings unearthed by NY Yimby show that the supertall will still carry a very worthy, head-craning title. Documents show that the 95-story building will become not only the tallest building by roof height in NYC, but also in the country at 1,522.83 feet.
get the scoop here

New Rendering Reveals What Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich FiDi Tower Will Look Like

Rendering via NY Yimby via Shvo

June 15, 2015

New Rendering Reveals What Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich FiDi Tower Will Look Like

It's been a while since we've heard anything on Rafael Viñoly's tower slated to rise in the Financial District, but it looks like the starchitect's next supertall is inching closer to a full reveal. Ground was broken at the building's 125 Greenwich Street site about four months ago, and now this newly uncovered rendering via NY Yimby gives us a much better idea of its height, its look, and how it fits in with the downtown skyline. Previous renderings had shown a stark, tall and slim rectangle—very much a glass version of Viñoly's 432 Park—while this new and sweeping depiction highlights a structure that will taper slightly as it rises, and feature a stacked crown of what appear to be residences and sky-high terraces.
Find out more here

June 15, 2015

Chloe Sevigny’s Former East Village Pad Is Back on the Market with a New Look

The former home of indie film star and "Big Love" actress Chloë Sevigny is back on the market. Sevigny sold the garden-level abode located at 119 East 10th Street back in 2013 for $1.76 million to tech power couple Halle Tecco and Jeffrey Hammerbacher. The couple then turned around and gave the 1,250-square-foot pad a nine-month overhaul that was featured in Apartment Therapy. Now, it's back on the market, sporting a modern new look, a slightly modified floor plan, and a $2.2 million price tag.
More pics inside

June 12, 2015

Opponents of the Pier 55 Floating Park Slap Barry Diller with a Lawsuit

As with any major project ready to make waves in NYC, we were just counting the days until Barry Diller's plan for a futuristic floating park would run into legal trouble. Today, the Times reports that opponents of the $130 million project have joined together to sue Diller and The Hudson River Park Trust (who approved the plans to build) in order to stop construction. The civic group, known as City Club of New York, are saying that the parties have failed to throughly evaluate the environmental impact of the park, and they want Pier 55 to undergo a new environmental review while also obtaining approval from the State Legislature.
More on the lawsuit here

Architecture And Design

June 12, 2015

Former Tribeca Mansion Now Holds Spectacular Triplex Penthouse Asking $85,000 a Month

144 Duane Street in Tribeca has an interesting history behind it. The 150-year-old limestone building was originally used as a shoe factory and was later transformed into an insane single-family mansion. The 23,000-square-foot home was outfitted with a basketball court in the basement, a landscaped roof deck, and a crazy glass staircase. It hit the market in 2011, asking $45 million, and when a buyer never turned up it hit the rental market, asking $100,000 a month. It eventually sold in 2013 for $43 million, according to public records. The owner then converted the mansion into four rental apartments asking between $12,500 and $85,000 a month. Are you keeping track? This unit, a triplex penthouse, is the one asking $85,000, and it's just as insane as you'd expect it to be, with a massive 10,829-square-foot footprint, five bedrooms, and a crystal-like glass topper.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

June 11, 2015

98 Percent of Manhattan Rentals Are Occupied, Rents Keep Rising Everywhere

Looking to change apartments? Well apparently so is everyone else in the city as they get slammed with rent hikes. According to Douglas Elliman's latest rental report prepared by real estate guru Jonathan Miller, there was an 85.1 percent increase in new leases signed last month with units lingering on the market an average of only 41 days before being scooped up by a new tenant. Landlord concessions have also pretty much disappeared, they report, and the city's vacancy was a mere 1.65 percent in May. The takeaway: Even in the face of insane, and ever-rising rents—we're now talking a median $3,380 in the city (up for the 15th consecutive month)—Manhattan's is still full of crazy people (including us) willing to pour their paychecks into one-bedroom apartments with no views. Brooklyn, of course, was no better, with median rents also climbing to $2,961.
more here

Real Estate Trends

Two World Trade Center rendering via Silverstein Properties

June 11, 2015

Bjarke Ingels Talks About His Design for 2 World Trade Center

If you were still itching for more after Tuesday's reveal of Bjarke Ingels' design for Two World Trade Center, you're in luck. The starchitect himself chatted with NY Yimby about his design process and inspirations behind the tower. He also revealed an interesting tidbit of information when asked when asked when he started the design process. "Let's say in December," he responded. Keep in mind, though, that word only broke about him replacing Norman Foster in April. Controversy aside, Ingels has a lot to say about this world-famous project, including why he thinks Foster's plan was scrapped for his.
More revealing details right this way

June 11, 2015

Photographer Bob Estremera Shows Us That Greenwich Village Is Still Full of Character

When we talk about the allure of Greenwich Village, we're often referring to it in past tense, reminiscing about the good old days of folk music, ridiculously cheap apartments for artists, and the free-spirited bohemians that transformed the enclave into a cultural hub. And when we do talk about the Village in present tense, it's often because we're examining gentrification, whining about those pesky NYU students, or looking at the ever-rising rents. But if we stop feeling bitter about the fact that we can't get a $600/month studio there anymore, the Village still has plenty of charming and quirky storefronts, buildings, and characters. Photographer Bob Estremera captured this essence of the neighborhood in an impromptu rainy-day photo shoot that reminds us to take the time to look around and appreciate the small things.
See all the amazing black-and-white photos here

Places

June 10, 2015

$120M UES Townhouses-to-Mansion Combo Officially Hits the Market

On Monday, news broke that the three Upper East Side townhouses owned by the billionaire Safra family were being quietly marketed as a $120 million combination to be turned into one giant mega-mansion. Today, the listing at 12-16 East 62nd Street has officially hit the market, and there's some pretty impressive floorplans to give prospective buyers an idea of how their palatial home could look. Also up for grabs is the brownstone next door to the trifecta at 18 East 62nd Street. This wouldn't combine as easily as the other three, as their cornices, ceilings, and floors all line up, but it could make a pretty spectacular guest house.
Ogle the floorplans here

Distinctive Homes

June 10, 2015

Winston Marshall, Banjoist for Mumford & Sons, Buys $3.2M Nolita Pad

By Annie Doge

Fresh off the release of their third album, and in the midst of a national tour, Mumford & Sons has laid down some roots in NYC. Banjoist for the band Winston A. Marshall has picked up an impressive Nolita apartment at 237 Lafayette Street for $3.2 million, according to city records released today. The sprawling, 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom co-op definitely has room for the entire band to crash, and its charming downtown loft vibe will certainly impress any love interests (ahem, Katy Perry).
Take a look around the musician's new digs

June 10, 2015

POLL: Do You Like Bjarke Ingels’ Design for 2 World Trade Center?

Yesterday, it was huge news when the renderings were revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ redesign of 2 World Trade Center, taking over from architect Norman Foster. Now that the immediate buzz has subsided, and we’ve all had a chance to study the design and considers Ingels’ motives for its stepped design and stacked-volume height, we want […]

Architecture And Design

June 9, 2015

REVEALED: Bjarke Ingels Design for 2 World Trade Center

Last week it was made official that starchitect Bjarke Ingels would replace Norman Foster as the designer of 2 World Trade Center, as News Corp. and 21st Century Fox closed in on a decision to move into the downtown tower. Now, without delay, Wired has revealed exclusive renderings of the Ingels redesign for the site, which will top out at 1,340 feet, just 28 feet shy of One World Trade Center. The glass tower is defined by its striking setbacks that retract from the spot of the 9/11 attacks. Bjarke said in a statement, "To complete this urban reunification (the) tower will feel equally at home in Tribeca and the World Trade Center. From Tribeca, the home of lofts and roof gardens, it will appear like a vertical village of singular buildings stacked on top of each other...From the World Trade Center, the individual towers will appear unified, completing the colonnade of towers framing the 9/11 Memorial. Horizontal meets vertical. Diversity becomes unity."
Watch a video of the architect discussing his new design

Architecture And Design

June 9, 2015

You’ll Spend All Your Time on the Terrace of This $775K West End Avenue Penthouse

Something about this West End penthouse feels like a Florida vacation home. It's surrounded by a fully planted wraparound terrace on three sides, and there's plenty of light from large windows and oversized glass doors. Plus, it has some high-end finishes that make this $775,000 unit (yup, a penthouse for well under $1 million) really stand out.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

June 9, 2015

Jil Sander CEO’s 5th Avenue Apartment Gets an Ultra Minimalist Renovation by Thomas Phifer

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Jil Sander's CEO, Constance Darrow, and her husband, Angelo Lombardi, are constantly traveling between Milan and New York. But when they stay in the Big Apple they have a stunning, ultra contemporary space to rest their heads. Located in a prewar building on Fifth Avenue, the couple's love nest is a modern renovation by Thomas Phifer and Partners that opts for the scant over the ostentatious. Though living in such sparse quarters would make many feel uncomfortable, this space embodies a very powerful air by having almost nothing in it.
Learn more about this ultra minimal Fifth Avenue Apartment

Distinctive Homes

June 9, 2015

Karim Rashid Asks Facebook Followers to Choose the Facade of His Next Building

With all the controversy currently swirling around Karim Rashid's colorful design of a residential building in a historic Harlem neighborhood, it looks like the designer is looking to avoid any additional headache with the public as he moves forward with a brand new project in Soho. Rashid recently took to Facebook, asking his more than 419,000 followers to vote for one of four facades being considered for a building slated to rise at 30 Thompson Street. "It is a great opportunity to get feedback for my work," he said. "I believe we live in the age of 'the empowerment of the individual' where we all have a voice in the digital age."
Find out more here

June 9, 2015

Luxury Parisian Hotel May Be Coming to Chetrit’s Sony Building Conversion

It's definitely been a big number game at Chetrit's Sony Building conversion–from the 96 luxury condos they'll add to floors 14 to 33 of the 37-story tower, to the planned $1.8 billion sellout, to the $150 million triplex penthouse, which, if sold, would be both the city's priciest unit in history (if not eclipsed by the $175 million unit at 220 Central Park South) as well as the largest at 21,504 square feet. And now the Post reports that Chetrit is going to up the ante at 550 Madison Avenue by turning part of the commercial space on the lower floors into a luxury Parisian hotel.
Get the scoop

June 9, 2015

Former Tribeca Commercial Space Is Now an Extravagant Modern Loft Asking $8.2 Million

This Tribeca loft is really something. It's located at 88 Franklin Street, a former textile factory turned commercial space. The New York Times profiled the current owner who decided to buy the commercial space and work to convert it himself into a residential loft apartment. The result, after a thorough renovation, is a modern pad with big windows and unique bathrooms.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

Three UES Townhouses List for $120M, Could Be Single-Family Mansion

12-16 East 62nd Street via NYDN

June 8, 2015

Three UES Townhouses List for $120M, Could Be Single-Family Mansion

Most of us can only dream of owning a townhouse on the Upper East Side, so the idea of having three of them seems downright silly. But that's exactly what's for sale on East 62nd Street–three adjacent townhouses that are being sold as a package deal for their potential to be combined into one giant, 30,000-square-foot mansion. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the $120 million listing, and the Daily News revealed that the billionaire Safra family, of Brazilian banking fame, is behind the company listed as the seller. Currently, the three limestone, six-story homes at 12, 14, and 16 East 62nd Street are divided into 13 apartments with one doorman, though they can be delivered vacant. Together they boast 23 fireplaces, 11 terraces, and two roof decks. What makes the trifecta perfect for a combination is the fact that the homes are pretty much identical, with their cornices, ceilings, and floors all lining up.
More details ahead

Distinctive Homes

June 8, 2015

No One Will Dare Challenge Your Throne in This $29M Palatial Pad