All articles by Ondel Hylton

Ondel is 6sqft's Market News Editor and the Digital Content Manager for CityRealty. He’s a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city’s dynamic urban landscape. Ondel is an alumnus of Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture, and is a LEED accredited professional. Beginning his career as a Junior Architect at DaSILVA Architects, Ondel moved to the public sector as an Analyst Architect for the New York City Office of Management and Budget. Aside from CityRealty and 6sqft, he is a volunteer at the Skyscraper Museum, a docent for the Municipal Arts Society, and leads architectural tours around the city.

Massive Maya Lin-Designed Tribeca Townhouse Gets Thumbs Up From Landmarks

June 22, 2016

Massive Maya Lin-Designed Tribeca Townhouse Gets Thumbs Up From Landmarks

By Ondel Hylton

While better known for its manufacturing buildings converted to retreats of discreet loft living, Tribeca is ushering in a mini-Gilded Age of mega-modern townhouses that are rising from the neighborhood's modicum of narrow lots. Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Maya Lin Studio's design of a five-story, 20,000-square-foot single-family mansion at 11 Hubert Street that will use the structural bones of an existing three-floor commercial building and add more than 6,000 square feet of floor area throughout. The nondescript commercial structure is a vestige of a never-finished 1980's residential project that Lin, in collaboration with architects Bialosky + Partners, hope to rectify.
More details this way

Leasing Launches at Luna LIC, Offering Free Month Rent With Units Starting at $1,962

June 18, 2016

Leasing Launches at Luna LIC, Offering Free Month Rent With Units Starting at $1,962

By Ondel Hylton

Luna LIC has kicked off leasing on its 124 rental homes priced a fraction less than similar units in Manhattan. Situated one subway stop from Midtown at 42-15 Crescent Street within the Queens Plaza section of Long Island City, the leasing team for a limited time is offering a month's free rent and no broker's fee for incoming lease signors. Current availabilities specify net effective rents beginning at $1,962/month for studios, $2,399 for one-bedrooms and $3,599 for two-bedrooms.
Find out what these prices get you

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Shigeru Ban’s Cast Iron House Tops Out, Raises the Bar for Tribeca Penthouses

June 17, 2016

Shigeru Ban’s Cast Iron House Tops Out, Raises the Bar for Tribeca Penthouses

By Ondel Hylton

Few intersections of New York come close to perfection, but the corner of Shigeru Ban's latest New York endeavor at Franklin and Broadway sure comes close. Long anchored by the exquisite 134-year-old James White Building at 361 Broadway, one would assume that a modern penthouse addition could only diminish the neo-Grecian beauty. Not so here. A rehabilitation, conversion, and enlargement spearheaded by Knightsbridge Properties seeks to produce an end sum that will at least be neutral and surely harmonious. Named Cast Iron House by Ban himself, the 13-unit condominium development is a marriage of old, new and timeless, and it reminds us of the incredible sophistication and beauty our city can possess when the bottom line fades. As a sequel to his Metal Shutter Houses in West Chelsea, Ban and design partner Dean Maltz carve eleven airy residences within the sumptuously detailed and impeccably restored 1882 Tribeca cast iron building and float a pair of glass and steel penthouses above.
Get a look inside these magnificent penthouses

Construction Kicks Off on a Pair of Condo Buildings in the Columbia Street Waterfront District

June 15, 2016

Construction Kicks Off on a Pair of Condo Buildings in the Columbia Street Waterfront District

By Ondel Hylton

Avery Hall Investments and co-developer OTL Enterprises are forging ahead with the development of pair of understated five-story condominium buildings at 161-163 Columbia Street in Cobble Hill's Columbia Street Waterfront District. The team picked up the lots in 2014 through a unique deal with the nonprofit Carroll Gardens Association where proceeds of the sale would be used to preserve below-market rate rents for 28 units on the street and possibly develop 70 more affordable units in nearby Red Hook.
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First Look at BKSK Architect’s Upcoming Condo Tower Planned For 200 East 21st Street

June 15, 2016

First Look at BKSK Architect’s Upcoming Condo Tower Planned For 200 East 21st Street

By Ondel Hylton

It seems every major intersection in Gramercy between East 20th and 23rd Streets is being redeveloped these days. Last fall, 6sqft reported that a humble set of walk-up buildings at the southeast corner of East 21st Street and Third Avenue were hitting the chopping block. Since then, a new building application has been filed to construct a 20-story condominium designed by BKSK Architects with Alfa Development at the helm. A new rendering of the structure, addressed officially as 200 East 21st Street, was published on the project's EB-5 investors page and shows a two-tiered metal and glass building. There will be 29 one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedrooms, seven three-bedrooms, and three four-bedrooms, for a total of 63 apartments spread across 80,000 square feet. The ground level will host retail spaces and a shortlist of residential amenities includes a 24-hour doorman, concierge, tenants' storage, a bike room, fitness center, and residents' lounge.
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Landmarks Approves ODA’s Wall Replacement for Former DUMBO Sugar Factory Building

June 14, 2016

Landmarks Approves ODA’s Wall Replacement for Former DUMBO Sugar Factory Building

By Ondel Hylton

Last summer, the Landmark Preservation Commission approved ODA Architecture's sugar crystal-inspired vision for a DUMBO commercial loft building at 10 Jay Street. Today the team went back before the LPC and received approvals to replace the building's deteriorated east wall that has been covered in stucco since the 1970s and is in dire need of structural repair. Developer Glacier Global Partners previously fancied condos for the 19th century sugar factory building, but the robust Brooklyn office market led the developers to a change of heart, envisioning 200,000 square feet of class-A office space instead.
Get all the details right here

EŌS, The City’s Shortest Skyscraper, Now Renting From $4,705/Month in Midtown West

June 14, 2016

EŌS, The City’s Shortest Skyscraper, Now Renting From $4,705/Month in Midtown West

By Ondel Hylton

EŌS, the mixed-use tower in Midtown West that 6sqft knighted as the shortest skyscraper in the city, is approaching its construction finish line and after a decade in the making, its 300 rental units are coming online. Countering our superlative, the fully launched website leads with an image of a bath-robed woman perched high above the city looking to the east - the building is named after the Greek winged goddess of the dawn afterall. The site also publishes new renderings of apartment interiors, some of the building's many amenities, and its far-reaching views across the city. The 500-foot-tall sleek glass slab was designed by COOKFOX Architects and developed by the Durst Organization. Though quite anonymous from the outside, across its 47 stories are an array of uses that include 122,000 square feet of commercial space that Nike is reportedly anchoring, 70,000 square feet of retail, and 375 residential units above (20 percent of which are designated as affordable).
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Archilier Architects Design Empire State Building-Sized Tower for Former Subway Inn Site

June 10, 2016

Archilier Architects Design Empire State Building-Sized Tower for Former Subway Inn Site

By Ondel Hylton

Earlier this year, 6sqft showed you new renderings of Archilier Architects' "Hudson Rise" mixed-use skyscraper planned for Manhattan's west side. Now the design firm has published their vision for a soaring, super-thin supertall at the former site of beloved dive bar Subway Inn at 151 East 60th Street. Kuafu Properties owns the 28,619-square-foot, six-building assemblage at 143-161 East 60th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, which they acquired from the World Wide Group last year for $300 million, according to The Real Deal. Kuafu is one of the developers behind the Archilier-designed Hudson Rise development, thus these released renderings may indeed be working images of the planned project. The slender tower shown would encompass 411,700 gross square feet of area and rise 1,240 feet high, just 10 feet shy of the Empire State Building's height of 1,250 feet, despite containing just one-fifth of the floor space. The tower would technically be the tallest building on the Upper East Side (by far), but would be 158 feet shorter than nearby 432 Park Avenue in Midtown.
More details ahead

Apply for 20 Affordable Apartments on East 165th Street, Starting at $690/Month

June 10, 2016

Apply for 20 Affordable Apartments on East 165th Street, Starting at $690/Month

By Ondel Hylton

Applications are now being accepted for 20 brand new affordable homes at 491 East 165th Street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. The 10-story building will house eight studio apartments priced at $690 per month for qualified applicants earning between $24,995 and $38,100 annually. Six one-bedroom units are priced at $775/month and are available to one- or two-family households earning between $27,943 and $43,500 per year, and six two-bedroom units will go for $950/month for two- to four-person households earning between $33,943 and $54,360 per year.
Get more info right here

Micro-Apartments at Carmel Place Starting from $2,570 and Offering a Month Free

June 9, 2016

Micro-Apartments at Carmel Place Starting from $2,570 and Offering a Month Free

By Ondel Hylton

For you minimalist gurus who also relish on-site amenities, there is a now a building for you. Earlier this spring, leasing kicked off for the city's first micro-housing development, Carmel Place (formerly known as My Micro NY) at 335 East 27th Street. Developed by Monadnock Development and designed by nARCHITECTS, the newly finished no-fee building is a prototype meant to test compact and efficient living arrangements within the city's tight housing market, as well as accommodate the city’s growing population of one- and two-person households. Thee leasing team led by Citi-Habitats is offering one month free on all 12- and 24-month leases. According to CityRealty, there are seven micro-studios available ranging from 265 to 360 square feet. Though the units are nearly half the size of typical studio apartments, monthly rents are not analogously micro with current asking prices ranging from $2,570 to $2,920 per month. That's an average of $110 per square foot, significantly more than $83 per square foot median studio price in Murray Hill and $60 per square foot in Gramercy.
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Popular Articles

Art-Deco Masterpiece 70 Pine Street Opens, Offering Two Months Free Rent

June 5, 2016

Art-Deco Masterpiece 70 Pine Street Opens, Offering Two Months Free Rent

By Ondel Hylton

It's not everyday that one has the chance to live in one of the world's finest skyscrapers. Details of The Pinnacle at The Woolworth Tower Residences have yet to be revealed, but for those of us still saving to buy a piece of history, the rentals at 70 Pine Street await. Soaring to a cloud-popping height of 66 stories and 952 feet, the building is essentially downtown's Empire State Building and was the world's third tallest building upon completion in 1932. Designed by Clinton & Russell, Holton & George for the utilities conglomerate Cities Service company (later known as CITGO), the tower was sold to the American International Group (AIG) in 1976, where they held their offices until the last recession. Breathing new life into the landmarked building, Rose Associates is re-conceiving the commercial icon into 644 rental apartments, a 137-room extended stay hotel, and 35,000 square feet of retail space. And for a limited time, Rose is offering two months free rent or one month free rent and paid broker's fee for newly-signed leases. The homes are divided into the city, tower, and penthouse collections and as we await construction to fully wrap up, 17 apartments are currently available throughout its mid-level city collection floors.
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45 East 22nd Street Tops Out, Officially Tallest Skyscraper Between Midtown and Downtown

June 3, 2016

45 East 22nd Street Tops Out, Officially Tallest Skyscraper Between Midtown and Downtown

By Ondel Hylton

Who would have thought the most alluring residential skyscraper addition to the city's post-recession boom would not rise in Midtown, near its overly-discussed Billionaires' Row, or near the city's historical skyscraper center, the Financial District, but rather smack dab between the two at 45 East 22nd Street in the Flatiron. Overlooking Madison Square Park and its turn-of-the-century engineering marvels--the Flatiron Building and Metropolitan Life Building--the svelte glass spire has fully ascended to its full 65-story, 777-foot peak. A malnourished baby on the world stage, the building's height is less than a third of the world's tallest building and will contain a paltry 83 condominium units priced from $2.5 million for a one-bedroom to $38 million for one of its two penthouses.
More on the building this way

Revealed: Morris Adjmi Pens Coffered Facade For Condos Next to Bowlmor Lanes Site

June 3, 2016

Revealed: Morris Adjmi Pens Coffered Facade For Condos Next to Bowlmor Lanes Site

By Ondel Hylton

Here's our first look at the Morris Adjmi-designed condos slated for the southwest corner of West 13th Street and University Place in Greenwich Village. The project, tentatively addressed 34 East 13th Street, rubs shoulders with Annabelle Selldorf's 21 East 12th Street condo development, which replaced the large building that held Bowlmor Lanes. Last year, NYREJ reported that Ranger Properties and Sagamore Capital purchased the three-building corner assemblage for $22 million or $1,100 per square foot, one of the most expensive residential development transactions ever downtown.
More details ahead

First Full Look at Nolita’s 75 Kenmare Street, Will Have Lenny Kravitz-Designed Condos

Rendering via the Rinaldi Group

June 2, 2016

First Full Look at Nolita’s 75 Kenmare Street, Will Have Lenny Kravitz-Designed Condos

By Ondel Hylton

After getting a peek of its entryway facade in March and announcing that rocker/actor Lenny Kravitz will mold its interior residences, we now have our first full look at DHA Capital's 35-unit condominium 75 Kenmare Street. Situated at the corner of Mulberry Street in Nolita, the upcoming seven-story development converts and expands upon a parking garage which DHA, in partnership with AMS Acquisitions and First Atlantic Capital, purchased for $50 million last year. Manhattan-based architect Andre Kikoski designed a sumptuous masonry skin composed of "richly textured and finely scaled" cast-formed concrete, and the apartments are expected to go from $1.7 million to more than $12 million.
Find out more

Emmut Properties Plans Another Faux-Loft Building in the Bowery’s Shrinking Lighting District

June 2, 2016

Emmut Properties Plans Another Faux-Loft Building in the Bowery’s Shrinking Lighting District

By Ondel Hylton

The future of the Bowery's "lighting district" continues to dim as Emmut Properties plans a second mixed-use building along the former Skid Row still home to more than a dozen lighting stores. Emmut's latest Lower East Side foray is planned at 331 Broome Street. According to the developer's website, the new building will ascend eight floors and feature ground level retail, hotel suites and apartments above.
More details this way

POLL: Could China’s Street-Straddling Bus System Work in New York?

June 1, 2016

POLL: Could China’s Street-Straddling Bus System Work in New York?

By Ondel Hylton

At the 19th annual Beijing International High-Tech Expo, China flexed some of its public transportation prowess by debuting a model of a proposed bus system that would hover over vehicular road traffic, straddling existing highways. Dubbed the "Transit Elevated Bus," the radical idea has been kicked around for several years, but now the WSJ reports that China will be building a trial run of the system in its Hibei province later this year. While here in the U.S., we are still scavenging for mass transit dollars and desperately trying to convince politicians that adding more lanes to highways does not actually relieve congestion, China may literally leap above and beyond U.S transport planning if these "air buses" come to fruition. The engineers claim each bus could hold more than 1,200 commuters at a time and travel up to 40 miles per hour. Additionally, construction would be one-fifth the cost of a subway line and could be completed in a single year.
Should we consider a similar plan for NYC?

Leasing Begins at The Giovanni in Downtown Brooklyn, Rents From $2,379 Plus a Month Free

June 1, 2016

Leasing Begins at The Giovanni in Downtown Brooklyn, Rents From $2,379 Plus a Month Free

By Ondel Hylton

John Catsimatidis' Big Apple Group has kicked-off leasing for The Giovanni, the latest addition to a quartet of rental buildings ushering in more than 1,000 units along a once underutilized section of Myrtle Avenue. Located at 81 Fleet Place within the crossroads of bucolic Fort Greene and thriving Downtown Brooklyn, the recently finished 15-floor building is comprised of 205 no-fee apartments with retail space along its lower levels. Like its sister buildings, the Andrea and the Margo, Dattner is the building's architect and the firm has configured a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, many featuring balconies or roof terraces.
more on what's available here

Two Bridges Rental Offers Family-Sized Homes with East River Views for Under $5,000/Month

May 30, 2016

Two Bridges Rental Offers Family-Sized Homes with East River Views for Under $5,000/Month

By Ondel Hylton

The Two Bridges waterfront is one of the last bastions of affordability in lower Manhattan, but lately it seems word is getting out about its scenic waterfront locale that overlooks the rejuvenated East River shoreline and turn-of-the-century suspension bridges. Recently, two of the city's top high-end builders, Extell and JDS Development have penned soaring towers for the down-to-earth corner of the Lower East Side. Adjacent to those developments, sits the rental building 275 South Street, which is currently undergoing a dramatic overhaul that will renovate its exterior, makeover many of its capacious apartments, and debut a brand-new package of amenities.
Pricing this way

Uncategorized

60 Affordable Studios Now Up For Grabs at the Boston Road Apartments in the Bronx

May 29, 2016

60 Affordable Studios Now Up For Grabs at the Boston Road Apartments in the Bronx

By Ondel Hylton

Applications are now being accepted for 60 newly constructed rental apartments at 1191 Boston Road in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. The 90,000-square-foot development is situated between East 167th and 168th Streets and will exclusively house studio apartments priced at a monthly rent of $550/month. The building is geared for low-income individuals and formerly homeless single adults. To qualify for an apartment, applicants must fall within annual income ranges of $18,000 to $35,280 per year.
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All Engines SHVO at Three New Manhattan Condo Developments

May 27, 2016

All Engines SHVO at Three New Manhattan Condo Developments

By Ondel Hylton

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal profiled broker-turned-developer Michael Shvo and revealed his development company SHVO now has more than $4 billion dollars worth of projects in the works for the city. While many are still in planning stages and have yet to be released to the public, construction is moving ahead on a trio of condominium developments along Manhattan's western spine -- the Getty, 125 Greenwich Street, and 565 Broome SoHo (as a development partner). While varied in neighborhood and scale, they all enlist high-caliber architects and will bring Shvo's characteristic high level of attention to detail and "pursuit of perfection."
Get the rundown on all three developments

Angular Skyscraper One Sixty Madison Offering Two Months Free Rent

May 27, 2016

Angular Skyscraper One Sixty Madison Offering Two Months Free Rent

By Ondel Hylton

Soaring nearly 500 feet into the Manhattan skyline, One Sixty Madison is a shimmering 45-floor rental tower at the boundary of the Murray Hill and Nomad neighborhoods. Developed by J.D. Carlisle Development and designed by SLCE Architects, with interiors by Philip Koether Architects, the uniquely massed building is rotated 45 degrees from its Madison Avenue and 33rd Street frontages, guaranteeing homes an abundance of light and air and stunning skyline views. For a limited time, the leasing team is offering incoming renters two months free on two-year leases and one month free on one-year leases, both with paid OP (broker fees). Current availabilities include an 11th floor studio with a net effective price of $3,263/month, one bedrooms starting from $4,412/month, and two-bedrooms beginning at $6,692/month.
Find out more about the building

C3D Architecture’s 232 Seventh Avenue Begins Its 17-Floor Climb in Chelsea

May 26, 2016

C3D Architecture’s 232 Seventh Avenue Begins Its 17-Floor Climb in Chelsea

By Ondel Hylton

Near Chelsea's raggle-taggle intersection of Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street, a new residential building has begun its 17-floor rise skyward. The 53,135-square-foot tower designed by C3D Architecture will boast 50 rental apartments with first and cellar levels dedicated to commercial and retail uses. Floors two through 11 will be configured with four apartments per floor and floors 12-16 just two apartments apiece. According to C3D, the exterior will be clad in a subdued mix of limestone and metal panels with full-height glass windows wedged in between. The second floor will be provided a large rear terrace and all levels above will have west-facing balconies. The twelfth floor is setback and the uppermost four levels will be outfitted with street-facing balconies.
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Tribeca’s Iconic Pearl Paint Buildings Are Going Residential

May 25, 2016

Tribeca’s Iconic Pearl Paint Buildings Are Going Residential

By Ondel Hylton

Back in 2014, New Yorkers lamented the shuttering of Pearl Paint, the legendary 80-year-old art retailer that had been located on the border of Tribeca and Chinatown since 1933. Any self-respecting artist, architect, or designer will surely remember trudging up the six flights of creaking floor boards and hunting down bargain-priced supplies, but this will soon become an even more distant memory as just yesterday, Trans World Equities filed permits to convert one of Pearl Paint's former buildings into eight residential units and build a two-story addition above the 150-year-old structure at 308 Canal Street.
All the details this way

New Developments

Landmarks Rejects Skinny Fort Greene House Because It ‘Looks Like Sing Sing Prison’

May 24, 2016

Landmarks Rejects Skinny Fort Greene House Because It ‘Looks Like Sing Sing Prison’

By Ondel Hylton

When talking townhouses, width matters. Aside from location and condition, width is usually the salient factor determining a home's desirability and pricing. While a 20-foot wide house is the coveted standard, the adored building type comes in an assortment of sizes, ranging from this narrow 12-foot wide townhouse in Park Slope upwards to the enviable 30-foot wide homes dotting Brooklyn Heights. On the tighter end of the spectrum, along a tree- and brownstone-lined block in the Fort Greene Historic District, R.A.Max Studio is seeking to secure the Landmarks Preservation Commission's approval to build a 12-foot wide, environmentally-conscious, two-family house at 39 South Elliott Place. Hemmed in on a vacant lot measuring just 1,200 square feet in area, the developer, Fort Greene Properties LLC, envisions building a four-story, 3,200-square-foot structure similar in scale to a previous house that stood at the site some sixty years ago, but with a more modern exterior. But this scheme did not go over so well at today's LPC hearing.
The full story, right this way

For a Limited Time, Related Offering One Month Free in New Upper East Side Rental The Easton

May 23, 2016

For a Limited Time, Related Offering One Month Free in New Upper East Side Rental The Easton

By Ondel Hylton

Not quite ready to buy a condo, but still want to feel like you're living in one? For a limited time, the Related Companies is offering one month free at their newest upscale rental The Easton, located at 205 East 92nd Street. The 36-story development is located at the boundary of the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods on the Upper East Side and is loaded with all the amenities, thoughtful layouts, and meticulous craftsmanship typical of many new high-end condominiums.
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