In New York, time is money, and so is square footage. As a result, hotel rooms are some of the most expensive in the country, out of the reach of many. But a number of NYC hotels have begun to pack luxury design into tiny quarters, lowering the cost and making for some beautiful rooms.

At the forefront of this small space sensation? The YOTEL, located right in the heart of NYC, and hip kids’ haven, The Jane.

See more interior photos here

The Soho penthouse of artist Charles Ross closed for $25.58 million, falling just short of breaking the record for most expensive sale of a downtown co-op (the current record holder is 141 Prince Street’s penthouse, which sold for $27.5 million in April 2011). Located in a former cast-iron manufacturing building, the space originally went on the market in November 2013, listed for $32 million.

The 7,500-square-foot duplex unit includes four bedrooms and five full bathrooms. It also boasts a wine cellar that can hold 1,500 bottles, a media room, a massage room, original cast-iron columns, and a 4,200-square-foot roof terrace that has an outdoor kitchen and shower, a covered patio, and a manicured lawn.

Take a Look inside. Is it worthy of its hefty price tag?

We’re not sure if the new owners will be staging any sit-ins, but they’ll certainly have plenty of room to do so in this 5,700-square-foot Greenwich penthouse that they purchased for $8.3 million from Yoko Ono.

Ono bought the condo at 49 Downing Street in 1995 for her son Sean Lennon, but it’s sat empty since the first few years when he lived there (Ono famously still lives in the Dakota apartment she once shared with John Lennon). The home originally hit the market in July 2013, but was taken off shortly thereafter while Ono battled her co-op board in court, citing that they interfered with her plans to sell. It was listed again in November 2013 for $6.5 million, and earlier this month public records listed the final selling price at $8.3 million.

A closer look inside here

Want to live in a Pritzker prize winning architect-designed condo? Five units in the Shigeru Ban-designed Cast Iron House were placed on the market today, including the East penthouse.

Designs for the 67 Franklin Street structure were approved two years ago, accompanied by plenty of accolades from community members and architecture enthusiasts alike. And now that Ban has added ‘2014 Pritzker Prize Laureate‘ to his resume, we expect these beauties to fly off the shelves in the coming months (You have heard of the Pritzker Prize-effect, right?). As it stands, the 2,990-square-foot 3BR/3BA on the second floor has an asking price of $4.975 million, while the 3,809-square-foot 4BR with 1,531-square-foot terrace East penthouse, has been listed for a cool $13 million.

More photos and floor plans ahead

If convention-goers thought the Javits Center was hard to get to, wait until events start taking place at a Greenpoint exhibition complex set to open later this year.

Backed by controversial real estate developer Joshua Guttman, the sprawling Brooklyn Expo Center will be housed in the former Greenpoint Terminal Market (pictured here), which is accessible by only one subway line — the oft-complained about G train.

More on the new expo here

For nine decades the brick walls at 24-26 Alexander Street in Yonkers were known more for its portfolio of inmates than as a museum-like structure. But soon the classic two-story building will be liberated from its former life as a prison to house a collection of a very different kind.

As part of a concentrated effort by the City of Yonkers to continue the transformation of the area all along the Husdon River, Mayor Mike Spano was more than a little excited when art collector and dealer, Daniel Wolf, and his wife, the renowned artist and architect Maya Lin, expressed interest in the property.

pics of the prison here

Construction on the SHoP Architects-designed tower at 111 West 57th Street has finally begun! Yesterday evening, one of 6sqft’s reporters walked past the site and took a quick snap of the newly arrived construction vehicles and equipment.

The Manhattan giant, which will also be the world’s slenderest tower, will rise 1,300-feet high, above a floor plate of around 60-feet wide. The building will host three elevators and each floor will be its own 5,000-square-foot apartment with 15-foot ceilings. And for those worried how wind load will affect the 76-story structure, a huge steel weight will be suspended within the top of the building to keep it from swaying (yikes).

More on the tower

After nearly six months on the market, Jon Stryker’s luxurious Central Park West penthouse has finally found its buyer. The penthouse changed hands this week for $42 million, falling $6 million short of the ask.

Stryker originally purchased the historic Prasada triplex for $12.8 million in 2002, and he took to renovating the 5,600-square-foot space shortly after with the help of Shelton, Mindel & Associates (Stryker is a trained architect himself). Over the years, the updated design has garnered plenty of accolades, including a spread in Architectural Digest, and in 2010, it nabbed the coveted AIA award for ‘Interior Architecture’.

A look inside the luxurious penthouse here

One of our intrepid reports stopped by the Walker Tower earlier today to check out how things are coming along at the 212 West 18th Street landmark. The tower — which has drawn buyers ranging from Cameron Diaz to Mike Thorne (that guy who discovered the Sex Pistols) — had its scaffolding removed just seven months ago and has already set new sales records for Downtown Manhattan (this includes an impressive $50.9 million deal for the 6,000-square-foot 5BR/5.5BA penthouse).

The conversion of the former Verizon building into luxury condos has been underway since 2011, but word is that construction on the interior will be wrapped up in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look at what’s been completed so far.

More photos here

Say goodbye to the old wooden bungalows, and hello to a new, much more sustainable community. Ever since Hurricane Sandy devastated Far Rockaway, there have been plans to either rebuild it magnificently or leave it alone. The new design from LOT-EK (famous for their shipping container houses) makes it a beautiful community to rival to those in Manhattan.

Aptly dubbed DUNE CO-HABITAT, the 80+ acre plan involves building a community of houses on raised platforms, and using planted dunes as a natural flood defense.

More details on the distaster-proof design here