Brooklyn

December's first days bring dozens of holiday gift markets whose aim is to find new homes for a wealth of shiny goodies and crafty gifts. We're all familiar with the big NYC markets, but some of the best scores–and the most fun–can be found at smaller, cooler pop-ups and local markets throughout the city. Some are only around for a weekend, others for the whole month or longer. In addition to locally-made jewelry and crafts, vintage finds, artfully curated fashions, home items and other things we didn't know we needed, these hip retail outposts offer up DJs, drinks, food, tarot readings, nail art, music, and family fun to keep shoppers' spirits bright.
Find out where to get the goods, this way

December 1, 2015

You Could Live in This Quirky Pixelated Brooklyn Loft for $5,200/Month

This loft comes from the the former Doehler Die Casting Factory, located at 505 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The building was constructed in 1913 and the loft was first renovated in the '80s, but since then it's been transformed into something really special. That's because it has undergone a top-to-bottom renovation by SABO Project, who stripped the entire space to reveal the building's historic details and then added a sleek, modern touch. The result is a stunning, airy and bright space that we've drooled over before. Now, it's on the rental market and you could live in the loft yourself for $5,200 a month.
Take a look here

November 30, 2015

Infographic: The 12 Most Expensive Condo Buildings Rising in NYC

By Diane Pham

While it seems like every block in the city is host to a construction site throwing up some luxury condo building or pricey rentals, not all of these developments are created equal. Following up on their last infographic which rounded up the city's top five most expensive new developments, the data gurus over at CityRealty have culled an even more extensive list which pinpoints the 12 priciest structures going up right now. While the number of zeros that follow their combined $20,000,000,000 sellout will make your head hurt, what's even more mind-boggling is that these 12 buildings alone will count for nearly HALF of the money that'll be generated by the 200+ condo projects underway in Manhattan.
All the details here

November 30, 2015

Brooklyn’s Sketchbook Project Has a Library of 34,000 Doodles You Can Browse

By Ondel Hylton and Heather Cooper Vivares

It claims to be the world's largest collection of doodles, and it's located right in Williamsburg (h/t Atlas Obscura). The Sketchbook Project is a "crowd-sourced library that features 33,903 artists' books contributed by creative people from 135+ countries." Located at a storefront space in the Brooklyn Art Library, the project encourages artists (or anyone with an artistic inkling) to order one of their blank sketchbooks, fill it up with their drawings, and send it back to be added to the physical and/or digital library for creatives from all over the world to view.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

November 25, 2015

New Renderings of Prospect Heights’ Hello Townhouses, Construction Reaches Street Level

Here's another look at Brooklyn's Hello Townhouses rising at 22-36 Underhill Avenue between Dean and Pacific Streets in Prospect Heights. Developed by Eli Karp's Hello Living, the townhouses will be in line with much of the company's brand of modern, clean and minimalist buildings, with muted exteriors of brown and gray, pattered by an alternating arrangement of large windows. The full-service real estate development firm was founded by Karp in 2005 and purchased the 8,000-square-foot parcel that previously held a one-story warehouse for $2.1 million in 2013. Now with foundation work wrapping up, parts of the development are emerging above street level. Ultimately, the buildings will climb 32 feet and the entire project will encompass 15,516 square feet of zoning floor area. Zambrano Architectural Design is serving as the architect of the record, while Brooklyn-based Loadingdock5 are the designers.
See all the renderings here

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter kicks off a nine-part series, “Skyline Wars,” which will examine the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. To start, Carter zooms in on the biggest developments shaping the southern corridor of Central Park.

November 25, 2015

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

By Carter B. Horsley

They did not come from outer space when they landed on our front yard while the NIMBY folk and the city’s planners and preservationists weren’t looking. Some are scrawny. Some are dressed like respectable oldsters. They’re the supertalls and they’re coming to a site near you.
read more here

November 24, 2015

This One-Bedroom Rental in Carroll Gardens Boasts the Loft Aesthetic

When it comes to square footage, this apartment falls short of a traditional loft, but it's certainly got the aesthetic down, with high ceilings, exposed brick and exposed wood. The one-bedroom unit–which the listing says could be converted to two bedrooms–is located in a brick townhouse at 282 Sackett Street in Carroll Gardens, a neighborhood known for its brownstones, not warehouse buildings. This is a railroad apartment, with the living room, kitchen and bedroom stacked on top of each other. And it is currently on the rental market for a grand total of $3,000 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

November 24, 2015

$4.25M Greenpoint Waterfront Penthouse Adds Up to 3,168 Square Feet of Historic Loft Perfection

If you want real loft living without many of the sacrifices (except the $4.25 million ask, of course) that often come with it, this stunning full-floor Greenpoint "historic penthouse" atop 190 West Street is your unicorn. Modern, stylish and well-crafted finishes, comforts like central air and radiant floor heat, windows and views that never quit, and a prime location add up to a dream loft. Wait, did we mention the 3,600 square feet of private outdoor space?
Check out pre-war historic loft perfection, this way

Distinctive Homes

November 19, 2015

Have a Picturesque Holiday Inside This Historic, Fully Furnished Park Slope Brownstone

What better way to enjoy the holidays than from a historic, beautifully-furnished brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn? This entire three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is now up for short-term rent, with a minimum stay of five nights. (To stay the month, it'll cost you $12,500.) There's plenty of room to host, with enough space to fit a six-person dining room table. It's also a good location from which to enjoy all of Brooklyn, as it's located two blocks away from Prospect Park and right between the main drags of 5th and 7th Avenues. Twelve-foot tin ceilings, a fancy chef's kitchen, plenty of bedrooms and a leafy Park Slope street–if that sounds like a vacation to you, keep reading.
See the rest of the house

Distinctive Homes

November 19, 2015

Live Like a Snowbird With Sunrise Views in This Williamsburg Rental for $3,450/Month

They call people who head to Florida for the winter “snowbirds,” flying off to southern climes to avoid the chilly season. This one-bedroom condo at 275 South First Street, on the rental market for $3,450 a month, resembles that seasonal roost in a subtropical spot, albeit with the substantial bonus of amazing Manhattan views and a prime Williamsburg location. Three sunny exposures and two terraces provide your imagination with a big boost in conjuring the beachfront experience and giving winter the brush-off.
See the whole place

Distinctive Homes

November 18, 2015

Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M

In the statuesque Art Deco-style Turner Towers co-op along what’s arguably the most picturesque stretch of the grand Olmsted and Vaux-designed boulevard in Prospect Heights, this sprawling four-bedroom residence at 135 Eastern Parkway has been a family home for 43 years. The current owner moved to–and fell in love with–the neighborhood in the early ‘70s, when it was on the cusp of far darker times. How she came to acquire the spacious 14th-floor apartment, with unobstructed views over the treetops, the park and to the Verrazano Bridge and beyond, for $7,600 (nope, that’s not a typo) is a classic New York story.
Read More on the brains, luck and community spirit of Brooklyn in the 70s

Distinctive Homes

November 17, 2015

Interactive Map Shows the NYC Skyline in 2020

"Before 2004, Manhattan was home to 28 skyscrapers 700 feet and taller. Since then, an additional 13 have been built, 15 are under construction, and 19 are proposed—47 more in all." Because of this supertall building boom, National Geographic has created an interactive map that lets users explore the NYC skyline in 2020 (h/t Untapped). The light blue buildings are those completed between 2004 and 2015; the orange are under construction; and the yellow proposed.
Get a look at the map here

New Developments

November 16, 2015

This Pretty Townhouse Duplex Overlooks a Bucolic Block of Park Slope

As the listing says, this upper duplex apartment overlooks "the leafy treetops of Park Slope." Located at 127 Park Place, a lovely brownstone and treelined block of the neighborhood, you do get a good view of Brooklyn from the windows. The interior isn't too bad either, with high and detailed ceilings, fireplaces, the original wood floors, and plenty of other original details. There's no outdoor space, but there is potential to build out a roof deck up top. So how much does it cost to buy up half a historic townhouse? For three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, the price tag comes in at $2.19 million. It's high, but not too far off given that full townhouses in the neighborhood can go for $4 million.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

November 16, 2015

$2.5M Brooklyn Waterfront Condo Has a Gorgeous Garden and a Wall Made of Shipping Containers

The loft-like apartments at 360 Furman Street–known as One Brooklyn Bridge Park–have made headlines in the past; the building was among the first wave of luxury conversions of its kind in the borough; it’s surrounded by one of the city’s favorite waterfront parks; it contains what was for a time the most expensive apartment listing in Brooklyn, and the list goes on. The building’s most alluring features are the stunning Manhattan and East River views from some of the apartments (others have less-stunning views of the BQE), luxury finishes, and convenience to the best of Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. Interiors tend to be sleek and contemporary; it's not the first place you’d expect to find a wall crafted from shipping containers. This spacious and versatile three-bedroom apartment, on the market for $2.5 million, feels more like a laid-back loft with high-end details than a sleek new condo, with creative custom additions and steel-framed walls of glass overlooking a verdant garden-filled 600-square-foot terrace.
Check out this lofty space

Distinctive Homes

November 13, 2015

This Park Slope Townhouse Is Just 12 Feet Wide!

By Rebecca Paul

This single-family home located on a street where Windsor Terrace meets Park Slope measures a very narrow twelve feet in width. However, a recent renovation of the skinny space by Redtop Architects makes up for the lack of stretching room with efficient planning and good design. Large windows and skylights are used to fill the home with natural light from all directions, in turn creating a sense of spaciousness that defies the structure's restricted width.
Tour the narrow house

November 13, 2015

This Sprawling Park Slope Classic Seven in ‘Brooklyn’s Flatiron Building’ Asks $2.59M

Believe it or not, there are still some cases where your money goes farther in Brooklyn. Take this four-bedroom classic seven at 47 Plaza Street West in north Park Slope, a sprawling elegant pre-war co-op in the 1928 Rosario Candela-designed building sometimes referred to as “Brooklyn’s Flatiron” due to it's pizza-slice form–which gives the home's interior a unique, er, angle. The 2,350-square-foot apartment has been recently renovated, making it comparable to the size of a modest suburban house. It’s one of those co-ops where just looking at the floor plan makes you long for a time when tiny apartments weren't a thing (Yes, there’s a separate servants’ entrance as is often the case in these co-ops). And while the ask of $2.59 million might seem like a lot, a comparable Manhattan residence might easily be twice that much, if not more.
Tour this glamorous parkside pad

Distinctive Homes

November 12, 2015

This 1890 Park Slope Townhouse Screams ‘Ultra Modern’ Inside and Out

You don't seem 'em like this everyday in Park Slope! This townhouse at 473 11th Street may not look it, but it was built back in 1890. It's undergone a major transformation, both inside and out, by the architecture firm Redtop Architects. The project added extra square feet, brought in lots more light, dramatically opened up the floor plan, and modernized each room. Simply put: It looks nothing like its 1890s past. It's no surprise that historic Park Slope townhouses command some of the highest prices in Brooklyn, but what about the super modern ones? This property will cost you just as much as its older counterparts, with a price tag of $4 million.
See more

Distinctive Homes

November 12, 2015

POLL: Will Brooklyn Soon Have a Tower as Tall as Manhattan?

Earlier this week, 6sqft published the official renderings for Brooklyn’s first 1,000-foot tower, making it the tallest building in the outer boroughs. Prior to this, rumors were circulating that the SHoP-designed structure could actually rise higher than the 1,250-foot Empire State Building. To some, this may seem a little far-fetched, but others think it’s just a matter […]

Architecture And Design

November 11, 2015

432 Park in Numbers: New Renderings and Superlatives Will Blow You Away

By Ondel Hylton

Now that Macklowe Properties'/CIM Group's 432 Park Avenue is nearing completion, with occupancy slated to begin in mid-2016 and 70 percent of units reportedly in contract, the development's marketing and branding agency DBOX has released a bevy of never-before-seen images of our skyline's newest icon. Being the tower of superlatives it is, it comes as no surprise that it boasts a marketing campaign to match. Employing sky-cams, drone photography, a million-dollar film, and breath-taking renderings and photography, 432 Park has perhaps the most elaborate promotional campaign ever conceived for a Manhattan condominium. With dozens of spectacular images to choose from, we hand picked a few to recap the development of this monumental supertower. We've also put together a timeline in numbers–from its record breaking height to its 1,200-pound marble sinks–to illustrate the extraordinary undertaking that has paved the way for the tower to become the most successful and desirable condominium ever erected in the city (sorry One57).
See it all right here

November 10, 2015

Developers Chop 432 Park’s Full-Floor Apartments Into Smaller, Cheaper Units

By Diane Pham

Is the city's tallest residential tower seeing a slowdown in sales? Crain's reports that 432 Park developers CIM and Harry Macklowe have begun splitting full-floor apartments at the 1,396-foot-tall tower into two with the hopes of attracting smaller ticket buyers who can't swing $80 million for a posh pad—but wouldn't be opposed to shelling out $40 million. The paper adds that the move "may signal a slowdown in sales for $50 million-plus apartments," particularly as the market gets inundated with ultra-luxe developments. "There is some concern that there aren't enough buyers who can afford apartments priced in the tens of millions of dollars—an increasingly common figure for the latest crop of ultra-luxury condos."
find out more here

November 10, 2015

A Modern Reno Inside This Modest Clinton Hill Townhouse, Asking $1.8 Million

This Clinton Hill townhouse is looking to stand out— it even has its very own website. Although it's got a modest, albeit historic, three-story facade, a renovation has left its imprint on seemingly every room of the house. The floorplan has been opened up, the staircase rebuilt, and the fixtures replaced by materials imported from Italy. Pretty much everything has a modern touch while the exterior remains well preserved. If you're a townhouse purist it may not be your cup of tea, but you'll have to admit it's unique. It's currently on the market with a price tag of $1.795 million.
See more of it here

Distinctive Homes

November 9, 2015

Rendering Revealed for Brooklyn’s First 1,000-Foot Tower

News broke back in August that Brooklyn's first tower over 1,000 feet might rise in Downtown Brooklyn as the result of the $90 million acquisition of Brooklyn’s landmarked Dime Savings Bank building by JDS Development. Previously, they bought the site next door for $43 million, and combined with the bank's 300,000 square feet of development rights, they acquired the means to build a tower of nearly 600,000 square feet at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. 6sqft got a taste of what's to come when we revealed a video that showed the insane views from the top of the could-be tower, but now Yimby has unveiled the official renderings and specs for the project, which come courtesy of starchitects SHoP. As previously speculated, it will reach 1,000 feet, making it the tallest building in the outer boroughs. The 90-story, vaguely Art Deco tower will have 466,000 square feet of residential space, amounting to 550 condo units, as well as 140,000 square feet of commercial space.
More on the development ahead

November 9, 2015

Seven Floors of One57 Hit the Market for $250 Million

By Diane Pham

It may not be the penultimate $100 million penthouse, but an investor with enough dough can still make headlines buying into the city's most expensive condo tower. According to the Journal, Extell is selling a block of 38 rentals in its blockbuster One57 for $250 million. The paper writes that unloading the units will bring the developer $3,800 a square foot, or an average of more than $6.5 million per apartment—more than double the $1,800 average of Manhattan condos sold during the third quarter.
FInd out more

November 9, 2015

Noroof Architects Transformed This $1.6M Historic Bed-Stuy Home With Modern Appeal

No matter how lavish, developer and flipper renovations rarely hold a candle to the custom designs executed by architects for their clients' homes–even more so when the architects are the clients and the homes are their own. This unassuming townhouse at 702 Monroe Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the market for $1.635 million, is a prime example. In this case, the innovative pair behind architecture firm noroof (they received national recognition for their "Slot House" and specialize in designing small spaces) worked their creative and practical magic on a comparatively compact historic Brooklyn townhouse with a unique front porch and a lot of potential charm. Based on love and respect for the porch as a gathering, sheltering and enhancing element, they've named the resulting project "porchouse," an elegantly-designed home with a clean, modern interior that's perfect for family living–with plenty of curb appeal.
See how the magic happened

November 8, 2015

Morris Adjmi’s 465 Pacific Street Now 50 Percent in Contract

By Ondel Hylton

Just one month after kicking off sales, Boerum Hill's hottest new condominium development, 465 Pacific Street has already signed half of its 30 units into contract. Even more impressive is that the $55 million development is slated for completion some 18-months from now, with foundation pouring just commencing last month. The project is conceived by a partnership between Avery Hall Investments and ARIA Development Group who paid $18 million ($373 per buildable square foot) for the L-shaped lot in May 2013, a record for a large Brooklyn parcel according to Crain's New York.
more on the project

November 6, 2015

Did You Know Brooklyn Has Its Own Saint?