Manhattan

We knew the name Nordstrom Tower wasn’t going to stick; the unofficial moniker came only from the fact that the building will have a Nordstrom department store at its base. And just a week after news hit that the supertall from Extell will be the country’s highest by roof height, we’ve learned the official name: Central Park […]

3 World Trade Center Gets Update to Better Complement Its Bjarke Ingels-Designed Neighbor

Original design of 3 WTC (L); Revised design without the roof masts (R)

June 23, 2015

3 World Trade Center Gets Update to Better Complement Its Bjarke Ingels-Designed Neighbor

Ever since starchitect Bjarke Ingels revealed renderings for 2 World Trade Center (after taking over the design from Norman Foster), the building has been the talk of the architecture world, especially since Ingels has been so generous about giving interviews to the press. The tower has now even influenced the architects of 3 World Trade Center (a.k.a. 175 Greenwich Street) to rethink their design. As Yimby reports, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners have amended their plan for the third-tallest building on the site to have a more streamlined roof, now void of its spires, to better complement 2 World Trade.
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Architecture And Design

June 23, 2015

$2.3M Tribeca Penthouse Boasts Angled Skylights and Huge Terrace

A unique two-bedroom penthouse lined with massive angled skylights is available at City Hall Tower in Tribeca, asking $2.3 million. But this premier pad is touting more then just greenhouse windows and multiple exposures. It also features a planted wraparound terrace surrounding it on three sides. So we're not just talking about a prime location, but a prime location with a lot of outdoor space. Winning!
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

June 23, 2015

Lofty Co-Op With Flexible Space Asks $1.5 Million in Greenwich Village

This one-bedroom at University Mews, a co-op building at 39 East 12th Street in Greenwich Village, is more than meets the eye. It's not a huge apartment, but smart design has allowed for some surprising extra space. That's no big shock, since the unit's previous owners were architects. So how much for a one bedroom that's located between the Village and Union Square, right in the heart of NYU? It has hit the market asking $1.595 million.
See inside

Distinctive Homes

June 22, 2015

Wood and Brick Dominate at This $20,000 a Month Little Italy Rental

This Little Italy loft apartment at 161 Mulberry Street is all wood and brick. You've got striking exposed ceiling beams in the open living and dining area and brick walls in pretty much every room of the apartment. The result is a boho-chic pad with a big price tag: $20,000 a month, to be exact. Think it's worth a stay in this sprawling apartment? We should mention that the price includes all the fancy furniture as well.
Tour the interior

Distinctive Homes

June 22, 2015

Preservation Groups Push for a Lower East Side Historic District

Of the city's many rapidly changing neighborhoods, the Lower East Side has for the most part maintained its historic architectural integrity. However, with looming projects like Essex Crossing and a slew of new condos set to rise along the area's most storied drags, the character of the neighborhood is starting to come under threat. As such, the Lo-Down reports that locals are now banding together in full force to curb development, with two neighborhood preservation groups asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate a Lower East Side Historic District.
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June 22, 2015

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen List Their Stylish Nolita Pad for $4.5M

By Annie Doge

Celebrity power couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are selling their Glory-ous Nolita pad, which appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest last year, reports The Real Deal. They bought the super-stylish apartment at 374 Broome Street (known as the Brewster Carriage House) in 2012 for $2.5 million, after selling their East Village condo at 52 East 4th Street for $2.7 million. They're now looking to make a nice profit, listing the property for $4.5 millon. The news comes from broker Jason Walker, who recently left Douglas Elliman after ten years and more than $1 billion in sales to head over to Compass. He's represented Legend in both of the aforementioned real estate transactions, as well as a previous $1 million buy for the Grammy-winner at 72 East 3rd Street. The latest sale comes on the heels of recent remarks from Teigen that she wants to start a family and have lots of kids, notes the Daily News.
See more of the stunning apartment

June 19, 2015

Queen Elizabeth Comes to NYC: Royal Family Picks up $8M Apartment at 50 UN Plaza

By Annie Doge

As The Real Deal reports, "Even the British royal family is getting into the business of pieds-a-terres in New York." Queen Elizabeth herself has picked up a $7.9 million apartment at 50 United Nations Plaza. City records released today list the buyer of the three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot residence as "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand."
More on the new royal pad

What’s the Meaning Behind Those Peculiar Red Frames Found in Union Square Station?

Images by This Hidden City

June 19, 2015

What’s the Meaning Behind Those Peculiar Red Frames Found in Union Square Station?

You've surely walked past these bright red frames beneath 14th Street-Union Square numerous times, but probably haven't given much thought to why they are there—or if you have, you've likely just assumed they were another one of the city's unfinished construction projects. But as it turns out, these seemingly simplistic outlines hold great significance, each piece pointing to a very special time in New York's transportation history.
Find out more here

June 19, 2015

Windows Galore at This Gramercy Loft, on the Market for $3.5 Million

There's nothing but light coming into this three-bedroom loft co-op at Ruggles House, a Gramercy Park building located at 112 East 19th Street. Ruggles House was built in 1913 as an industrial loft building with high ceilings and huge windows. When it was converted into a residential building, only two apartments were put on each of the 12 floors. The result at this particular unit is a sprawling floor plan with those old industrial interior details. It is currently on the market for $3.5 million.
See the interior

Distinctive Homes

June 19, 2015

Live in Singer Roberta Flack’s Dakota Apartment for $9.5M

The glory days of the Dakota definitely seem to be coming to an end...legendary singer Roberta Flack has listed her apartment in the famed Upper West Side building for $9.5 million, according to the Daily News. The residence was a celebrity playground at its height–Flack counted as her neighbors John Lennon, Yoko Ono (her next-door neighbor), Leonard Bernstein, and Lauren Bacall, whose apartment also recently hit the market for $26 million. Flack, the Grammy winner who produced such songs as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song," has lived in the Dakota for almost 40 years. So as the listing states, this is "a rare chance to acquire a historic residence, in a legendary building, from an Iconic Star."
More ahead

Photo by George Steinmetz via Gothamist

June 18, 2015

Lucky Family Lives in a Cabin with a Meadow…on the Roof of Their West Village Building

Most New Yorkers looking for a bit of suburban living move to areas of Brooklyn like Ditmas Park that offer free-standing houses with yards, or they abandon ship altogether and pack it in for Jersey or Westchester. But this lucky family fulfilled their country dreams–complete with a cottage and attached porch, green meadow, and stone garden walkway–without leaving the island of Manhattan. Located at 719 Greenwich Street, in the heart of the West Village, this bucolic dwelling isn't visible from the street. Instead, you'll need to take a helicopter ride to scope it out, which is exactly how photographer George Steinmetz discovered this one-of-a-kind rooftop paradise.
Get the scoop on this unusual home

Architecture And Design

June 18, 2015

Bright and Charming One-Bedroom in Alphabet City Is Surprisingly Affordable at $485k

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