Manhattan

The Village is on fire right now with celebrities coming and going. Heidi Klum is renting in the 'hood for the summer; Topher Grace is renting out his loft; Francis Ford Coppola is moving into the same building as De Niro; and just this morning we learned that Julia Roberts is selling her apartment. Now, Hilary Swank is the latest star on the list. The Observer reports that she's renting out her stylish apartment at 400 West 12th Street (the Superior Ink building) for $20,000 a month. Swank bought the 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in 2009 for $3.64 million. She then enlisted designer Mark Zeff to "create a place that would give her a sense of grace and harmony." The space was photographed for Elle Decor in 2011, where the neutral palette, clean-lines, and serene decor were featured prominently, as was the living room wall made out of reclaimed barn wood. But now that the actress is spending more time on the West coast, she's looking to rent out her West Village home.
Take a look around the apartment

July 20, 2015

Pepsodent, Camel, and Yashica: The Ads and Architecture of Old Times Square

By Jason Carpenter

Everyone has an opinion on the ways Times Square has changed over the decades, but the basic look has been a different variation on the same theme since the late 19th century: Classic architecture covered in gigantic advertisements. Take a trip back in time with us through some pictures ahead—you might be surprised by what kinds of things used to be displayed in this Midtown hub.
See the ads of Old Times Square this way

July 17, 2015

Renderings Revealed of Helpern Architects’ Times Square Hotel for ‘Fashion-Alert Urban Millennials’

Here's our first look at a four-star, 290-room hotel set to rise just south of Times Square at 252 West 40th Street. Developed by OTO Development, the 20-story, 147,000-square-foot hotel will be the South Carolina-based company's third venture in the city. The 230-foot-tall midrise will be designed by Helpern Architects. According to their website, "the project is targeted to cosmopolitan, fashion-alert urban millennials and is expected to set a new standard and trend for the independent business traveler."
More details this way

First Look at the Interiors of Nomad’s 212 Fifth Avenue

*** Update via the development team: Interior renderings from ASJNY are only conceptual and do not represent the actual project moving forward.

July 17, 2015

First Look at the Interiors of Nomad’s 212 Fifth Avenue

Here's our first look at what the residences of a highly anticipated condo conversion at 212 Fifth Avenue could look like. In March we revealed a set of whimsical renderings for a conceptual design whipped up by the visualization artists ASJNY. The actual plan going forward, approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission this past April, calls for a more sensitive touch. In addition to carving out 48 homes, the 1913 neo-gothic building's ground-level storefronts will be renovated, its parapets reconstructed, and the tower's stately limestone, terra-cotta and brick exterior will be restored, which may entail creating some additional windows.
More details ahead

July 17, 2015

Francis Ford Coppola Buys $2.5M Apartment in the Same West Village Building as Robert De Niro

Famed director Francis Ford Coppola, responsible for “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” has picked up a $2.5 million apartment at 32 Morton Street, according to The Real Deal. The West Village address is the same building where Robert De Niro and his stepdaughter Drena bought a $2.8 million penthouse back in December. Coppola’s new loft has two […]

July 17, 2015

Cute Pad with Cozy Fireplace in the Heart of Chelsea Asks $650,000

Here's a cheery, sunny pad at 333 West 21st Street, on one of Chelsea's best blocks. This 575-square-foot one-bedroom apartment has prewar details, high quality finishes and a prime location right by the High Line. It last sold two years ago for roughly $525,000, and now it's back on the market, asking $650,000.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 16, 2015

Famed Photographer David LaChapelle Lists His Stunning Chelsea Home for $2.5M

By Diane Pham

Photographer David LaChapelle, best known for shooting everyone from Madonna to Michael Jackson to Leonardo Dicaprio and Lady Gaga in some seriously weird situations, has just listed his West Chelsea co-op at 427 West 21st Street for $2.469 million. Surprisingly, unlike the artist's audacious pop-surreal works, his apartment is far more subdued, sporting a very classic look with pops of color and patterns selectively emerging throughout the home's historic interiors.
Have a closer look inside here

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Weekend, 7/16-7/19

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top end of week picks for 6sqft readers!

July 16, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Weekend, 7/16-7/19

By Lori Zimmer

With the wonderful warm weather we're experiencing right now, there's really no excuse for not getting out of the house (and especially the office) and enjoying a night on the town. This week I've rounded up a flurry of indoor and outdoor events that will satiate your art sensibilities, film fancies, your need to groove, and your stomach! Start the week's end off right tonight by heading to two shows featuring work from art world up-and-comers and photos zooming in on our dystopian future. Then follow that up by chowing down on barbecue at Adam Shopkorn's new food and art cultural hub—which happens to have found a fascinating home in an 1849 Greek Revival row house. On Friday, take in some bites, beverages and movie at the newly revamped South Street Seaport. On Saturday, put your dancing shoes on for an epic party at MoMA PS1 under the COSMO pavilion. And then use Sunday to chill out by fixing your gaze on Annika Connor's lush, romantic paintings, or by taking the fam and some friends over to the Rubin Museum's annual block party.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

July 16, 2015

SCDA’s Switchback Skyscraper Launches Teaser Site and Clears Its Midtown East Lot

Last November, 6sqft brought you news that a 29-unit boutique condominium would rise at the edge of Billionaires' Row, in that somewhat ambiguous zone occupied by Bloomingdale's and Bloomberg LLP. Now, the high-end development's teaser site has launched, which showcases a handful of images of the tower's common spaces, and we took a trip to the site to get a first look at the construction progress. Just last month, the two 4- and 6-story office buildings occupying the site at 116-118 East 59th Street were cleared, and recent Department of Buildings filings reveal that the envisioned $330 million tower will stand exactly 500 feet tall, making it spot-on-the-mark of what we (and other bean-counters) officially deem a skyscraper.
More details and renderings ahead

July 16, 2015

New Initiative Rethinks Lower Manhattan Streetscape to Clear Tourists and Congestion

If you've ever attempted to go shopping at Century 21 on a weekend or take a selfie with the Charging Bull, you know very well the perils of tourist-laden lower Manhattan. The confusing street layout, lack of open gathering spaces, and non-pedestrian-and-cyclist-friendly thoroughfares make the historic neighborhood a bit of a jumble, especially as it's currently undergoing a huge development boom and both residential population and tourism have more than doubled since September 11th. But a new initiative called Make Way for Lower Manhattan hopes to change all this. As DNAinfo reports, the plan's goal is to "highlight tourist areas, like the Seaport, the 9/11 Memorial, The Battery, Wall Street, and connect the dots better for tourists — giving them a means to find their way, stay and spend money without completely congesting the neighborhood." The group presented at this week's Community Board 1 meeting, unveiling ideas like creating a more accessible entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge that also connects people to the nearby South Street Seaport and moving the bull across from the New York Stock Exchange, its original home and much less congested site.
Find out more right here

July 16, 2015

This Peaceful Pad in the Mark Twain Wows with a 70-Foot Wraparound Yard

It's time to zen out in a three-bedroom Greenwich Village pad with tranquil vibes and an impressive "outdoor sanctuary." This Mark Twain residence features two existing bedrooms, pocket doors, a home-office and a sunroom/napping room overlooking a wraparound yard. And it can be yours for $2.95 million.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 15, 2015

$900,000 East Village Co-op Comes with the Perfect Terrace for a BBQ

If you live in the East Village, it's a given that your friends are going to turn to you for the latest restaurant and late-night recommendations. But all that responsibility can get a little overwhelming. That's why this charming co-op is such a great option–it's right in the middle of all the trendy neighborhood action, but it also offers an outdoor terrace perfect for a barbecue, as well as a flexible layout for when you want to bring the party indoors. The completely renovated one- or two-bedroom co-op at 315 East 12th Street is available for $899,000.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 15, 2015

‘Sex and the City’ Writer Candace Bushnell Puts Village Co-op Back on the Market for $2.6M

If we had to assign this Greenwich Village apartment to one of the "Sex and the City" gals it would have to be Charlotte for its classic and elegant design. But, in reality, it's home to Candace Bushnell, the woman who wrote the newspaper column and book that inspired the world-famous show. The one-bedroom co-op at 45 East 9th Street was featured in Elle Decor in 2010 as a much more colorful and playful home. Two years later–following her divorce from New York City Ballet dancer Charles Askegard–she listed the place for $2.8 million and then as an $8,000/month rental. Now, three years later, the Observer reports that the listing is back with a very slight slight price chop to $2 million and its new formal look.
READ MORE

July 15, 2015

POLL: Are You For or Against Extell’s 800-Foot Tower at 250 South Street?

Extell’s 800-foot tower at 250 South Street has been controversial since day one. As we recounted on Friday, “The building was first reported to be 68 stories, then 71 stories, then 56 stories, and now the latest filing with the Department of Buildings has a revised height pinned again at 68 stories, or 800 feet […]

New Developments

July 15, 2015

One57 Received $66M in Tax Breaks in Exchange for Just 66 Units of Affordable Housing

By Diane Pham

If you need more proof that there are some serious flaws with the 421-a program, once again, look no further than One57. As reported by the Journal, the super-luxe tower was the beneficiary of a whopping $65.6 million tax cut, an abatement granted in exchange for a paltry $5.9 million contribution to help cover the cost of 66 affordable apartments in the Bronx. That means your tax dollars subsidized apartments at nearly $1 million per unit—the highest known subsidy under the program—when affordable units on average cost a mere $179,000 apiece. It's estimated that the generous cut could have provided for 367 affordable apartments. The findings came from the latest review by the city’s Independent Budget Office (IBO).
FInd out more here

Affordable Housing

July 15, 2015

From Clipper Ships to Condos: Construction Begins on 161 Maiden Lane at the Seaport

Site excavation has begun on a sleek condominium tower set to erupt into the forefront of one of Manhattan's most iconic and historical vistas. Developed by Brooklyn-based Fortis Property Group, a 5,000-square-foot site at 161 Maiden Lane is slated to give way to a 150,000 square-foot tower positioned to become downtown's first residential skyscraper directly fronting the East River. Earlier this month, Curbed (via Fredrik Ecklund's Instagram) revealed the project's official name of "One Seaport" and that it will rise 60 stories. Whether that number reflects actual floors or phantom Trump floors remains to be seen, but permits filed with the Department of Buildings last summer detail a 51-story, 640-foot glass prism designed by Goldstein Hill & West Architects (GHWA). Either way, given the project's location, small lot size and lack of height limitations, One Seaport promises to be a new marker in the downtown skyline that will provide its lucky residents with spectacular views of the bridges, Brooklyn, and beyond.
Click here for the past, present, and future of 161 Maiden Lane

190 Bowery Is Already Back on the Market, Aby Rosen Attempts a Flip

EDITOR’S NOTE: An RFR Realty representative reached out to Curbed to say that 190 Bowery is NOT for sale. The listing is not current and will be removed from Cushman & Wakefield’s site.

July 15, 2015

190 Bowery Is Already Back on the Market, Aby Rosen Attempts a Flip

It seems like the saga of 190 Bowery is never going to be over. As you'll recall, photographer Jay Maisel turned the former Germania Bank Building into his own private mansion and lived there from 1966 until February of this year, at which time he sold it to developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for $55 million. Like we previously said, "Since that time, it’s been all eyes on Rosen. Is he removing or preserving that iconic graffiti? What the heck happened with that 'public' art show inside the building?" And though the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans in May for a restoration and conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail, it now seems that Rosen may be getting cold feet. Curbed reports that he's taking offers for 190 Bowery in what looks like a very high-profile flip attempt.
See what the listing has to say

July 14, 2015

For the Price of One Soho Apartment, You Can Buy 38 Homes in Memphis

We learned last week that the average sales price in Manhattan has skyrocketed to $1.8 million, and while this figure is definitely newsworthy, it's even more shocking when we look at the average price of an apartment in certain neighborhoods. Take tourist-friendly Soho, for example, where it costs an average of almost $3 million ($2,912,792 to be exact) for a residence. Many New Yorkers may be unfazed by this number–it seems that every day now we're being presented with seven-digit statistics. So the folks over at CityLab, decided to put it in perspective, mapping how many homes in cities across the country that $3 million price tag can buy.
See the breakdown here

Real Estate Trends

July 14, 2015

A Bright Beauty in Yoko Ono’s Former Village Co-op Wants $2M

This flexible one-bedroom duplex at 49 Downing Street has two claims to fame: the Greenwich Village stable house in which it resides is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Yoko Ono once called the penthouse home. This unit's current owner has lived in the space since 2006, and now it's on the market for $1.975 million.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 14, 2015

Upper East Side Townhouse With Chanel-Inspired Bathroom Asks $26 Million

By Emily Nonko

Where to begin with this Upper East Side townhouse at 18 East 69th Street? There's the Chanel-inspired bathrooms, an impressive variety of wallpaper, and a bathtub in a bedroom. There's the sheer size of the property, which holds a two-story retail space, a penthouse apartment, and another duplex. Then, of course, there's the price, which comes in at $26 million. It's hard to keep track of everything going on at this property, but one thing's for sure–we've never seen anything like it before.
See the interior

Distinctive Homes

July 13, 2015

New Video Reveals How SHoP’s 626 First Avenue Will Dance into Midtown’s East River Skyline

SHoP Architects' copper-clad fraternal pair of towers is finally rising along the East River, and a handful of newly uncovered images and a fly-through video reassure us that this dancing couple will be the boldest addition to the East River skyline in decades. Developed by Michael Stern's JDS Development Group, the nearly one-million-square-foot project, now known by its address 626 First Avenue, will contain a whopping 800 rental units, placing it in the league of other recent mega-rental developments such as Two Trees' Mercedes House (864 units), Silverstein's River Place (921 rentals), and Moinian's Sky (1,175 units). Like these others, JDS is promising to provide an extravagant amenity package that they claim "will set a new benchmark for rental developments."
Watch the video and find out everything 626 First Avenue will offer

July 13, 2015

New York’s First-Ever Penthouse: A 54-Room Upper East Side Mansion Built for a Cereal Heiress

By Lauren Price

There’s nothing like owning thousands of square feet of living space inside a penthouse, particularly in a town where power is measured by the size of one’s apartment. Ever wonder when the very first penthouse was built in Manhattan? It was in 1925, when George Fuller Construction Company decided to develop a 14-story apartment house at 1107 Fifth Avenue between 91st and 92nd Streets.
The rest of the story this way

July 13, 2015

Charming Loft in the Dietz Lantern Building Asks $12,500/Month

Here's a cool Tribeca loft rental in the Dietz Lantern Building, boasting original details like barrel-vaulted ceilings and exposed brick. This 2,100-square-foot two-bedroom has an interesting layout with access to the second bedroom from the master, and it's available for $12,500 a month.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

July 13, 2015

West Chelsea’s Tallest Tower Rises and Finally Reveals Itself

Residential construction along the High Line continues at full steam as a rash of activity along the park's northern extents rises higher and larger than earlier developments farther south. To provide a gradual transition from mid-rise West Chelsea to the enormous skyscrapers planned for the Far West Side, the Bloomberg administration in 2005 allowed more generous zoning between West 28th and 30th streets along Tenth and Eleventh avenues. Earlier this week Curbed, via ILNY's Flickr photostream, gave us our first look at West Chelsea's future tallest structure, a 425-foot rental tower at 319 Tenth Avenue that is part of a trio of buildings being developed by Long Island-based Lalezarian Properties.
Take a look at this new tower and learn more about it

July 10, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Doug Steinberg Keeps the Doors Open at 110-Year-Old New York Central Art Supply

By Susan Cohen

In 1905, Benjamin Steinberg opened up a store on Third Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets. Little did he know then that one day artists like Willem de Kooning would walk through its doors. For the last 110 years, New York Central Art Supply has served the needs of New York's amateur and professional artists. Three generations of the Steinberg family have supplied paper, paints, brushes, and canvases to everyone from first-year art students to Keith Haring. And over the last year, Doug Steinberg, Benjamin's great-grandson, has taken a more active role at New York Central, planning for the store's future. While Doug never formally joined the family business (he currently owns and runs his own company), New York Central has been a constant in his life. He says he's worked there "on and off since I was born," and has a deep appreciation for what his great-grandfather started and his father Steve grew in the '60s and '70s. We recently spoke with Doug to learn about New York Central's rich history, why so many well-known artists purchased and continue to purchase supplies here, and how the store is preparing for its 21st century evolution.
Read the interview right here

July 10, 2015

James Gandolfini’s Former Village Apartment Listed for $21,000/Month