Real Estate Trends

May 2, 2014

Director Ken Burns Scoops Up a Condo in Richard Meier’s Prospect Heights Tower

It looks like documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is moving his family into Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Meier’s On Prospect Park. The Burns family dropped $2.75 million on the home, which is located in one of Brooklyn's most beautiful (and active) corners — just steps away from Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and the incredible Brooklyn Museum and Public Library. It's reported that the Mamma and Papa Burns spend most their time in New Hampshire, so it's likely that the 2,107-square-foot, 3BR/2.5BA modern abode will become the love nest of his daughter Lily (who was also listed on city records) and her fiance Tony Hernandez, both of whom are producers.
A look inside the on prospect park apartment here
May 2, 2014

Al Franken Sells His UWS Co-op for Just Over $4 Million

US senator Alan Stuart "Al" Franken, and his wife Franni, have just sold their 2,600-square-foot co-op at 90 Riverside Drive for $4.05 million. According to the listing held by Warburg Realty, the home features four bedrooms, hardwood floors, three dishwashers, and sunny southern exposures in a turn-of-the-century landmarked town home. From pictures, it looks quite quaint and charming, despite its multi-million dollar locale. City records show that the politico and former SNL star handed the keys to his UWS digs over to James Stone, a managing director at New Mountain Finance, and Lisa Kiell, international director at Jones Lang La Salle.
Peek inside the former Franken pad here
May 2, 2014

Fashion Designer Derek Lam’s Soho Loft Sells for $5.25 Million

After a long stint on the market, designer Derek Lam and his partner Jan-Hendrik Schlottmann are officially parting ways with their Soho loft. The pair put the two-story, 2,117 square-foot space on the market for $6 million last year, and they came in just a little short of their ask. The loft comes complete with a second story devoted entirely to the master suite, huge windows, and translucent panels that allow the home's inhabitants to reconfigure the kitchen and living room spaces as need be. They purchased the 3 BR/3 BA Mercer Greene apartment back in 2011 for $4.65 million. Another fun fact: Rihanna also once lived in the building.
Take a look inside the loft here
April 30, 2014

Modern Dance Legend Joan Miller’s Soho Loft Studio Sells for $1.5 Million

The late modern dance choreographer Joan Miller's Soho loft was just purchased for $1.5 million by film director Chiara Clemente and her partner Tyler John Thompson. The spacious, sun-filled loft is situated in a boutique, prewar, six-story co-op at the corner of Crosby and Grand Streets. The hip locale perfectly suits Clemente and Thompson's M.O. — the duo have been featured in all the coolest mags and sites, from Purple to W magazine to Opening Ceremony. Clemente has even worked with legendary photographer Bruce Weber.
Take a peek inside this stunning studio
April 30, 2014

White Glove Park Avenue Co-op Sells for $6.5 Million

Vestar Capital founder and co-president Robert Rosner and his interior designer wife have snapped up a 14th floor condo at 1095 Park Avenue. The couple was previously in the former Stanhope Hotel, a 1926 Rosario Candela jewel box at 995 Fifth Avenue opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that was converted into luxury condos. Their new abode features the same modern, streamlined aesthetic of their previous space — a style which Mrs. Rosner has once described as “a chic and sleek downtown sensibility in an iconic uptown setting.” Do you agree?
Get a closer look inside here
April 30, 2014

Tishman-Speyer Pays $438 Million for Multiple Hudson Yards Parcels

Manhattan-based owner/developer Sherwood Equities has sold multiple Hudson Yards parcels to Tishman-Speyer for $200 million, reports Jeffrey Katz, Sherwood president, in a press release today. The sites are situated at the southeast corner of West 34th Street and Hudson Yards Boulevard, and at West 35th Street and Tenth Avenue, and neighbors another parcel purchased by […]

April 29, 2014

Stunning 19th Century Washington Heights Townhouse Sells for $2.2 Million

Society pianist Peter Mintun, has just sold his stunning Washington Heights townhouse to Columbia Artists Music mogul Jean-Jacques Cesbron and his wife, for $2.2 million. The beautiful four-story, 5BR/3BA  home was designed by Henri Fouchaux and constructed in 1896. Located at 436 West 162 Street in the Jumel Terrace Historic District, it is considered one of the best preserved buildings of its type. Original wood and details like speaking tubes, skylights, pocket doors, a working dumb waiter, and seven tiled fireplaces are just some of the incredible features that can be found within. The home has even appeared in the scenes of several movies and documentaries, and is often highlighted on neighborhood tours.
See more photos of the interior
April 29, 2014

Christian de Portzamparc Unveils New Renderings of Riverside Center

Famed French architect, and Pritzker Prize winner, Christian de Portzamparc is causing quite a stir. Take a glance at his website and you’ll be met with a rendering of the new Riverside Center that would inspire hope in the most pessimistic NIMBY. After a disappointing official rendering of the first building cast some serious doubt on the fate of the much-anticipated development, de Portzamparc has unveiled a new vision, and fingers are crossed that it will be realized.
More on de Portzamparc's design here
April 28, 2014

George Stephanopoulos Snags Another Apartment in His Lennox Hill Co-op for $2.2 Million

According to property records filed with the city in Friday, it appears that George Stephanopoulos is moving on up in his 30 East 72nd Street co-op! The Good Morning America co-anchor and his comedian wife, Alexandra “Ali” Wentworth, purchased a sizeable 2BR/2BA apartment located on the 10th floor of their current building for $2.2 million. The pair already own a 3,300-square-foot, ninth-floor apartment at the same property, purchased for $6.5 million in 2010. Word is that the couple will merge the two apartments into one luxurious home.
More on the deal here
April 24, 2014

Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy Scoop Up Painter David Deutsch’s Turtle Bay Townhome for $13.5 Million

After nearly nine months on the market, painter David Deutsch's Turtle Bay Gardens townhouse has been sold. Property records filed today show that Mary-Kate Olsen and her beau, Olivier Sarkozy, are the lucky buyers to scoop up Deutsch's beauty, paying $13.5 million for the home located at 226-228 East 49th Street. Deutsch's offer came in $3 million short of his $16.5 million ask, but it's worth mentioning that he bought the townhouse for just $2.45 million in 1997.
See more photos here
April 24, 2014

Wall Street Bigwig Purchases Park Ave Co-op for $22 Million

Society couple Pamela Farkas and Andrew Paul have finally found a buyer for their co-op at 820 Park Avenue. The duo placed their property on the market last September, and it looks like Wall Street exec Matthew Cherwin, who was recently named co-head of JPMorgan’s Global Credit, Securitized Products and Public Finance, and his wife, Wendy Cherwin, handed over $22 million for the digs. The interiors of the duplex are definitively Upper East Side, and the residence boasts five bedrooms and 180-feet of Park Avenue frontage.
A look Inside the luxury home here
April 24, 2014

Artist Kara Walker’s Provocative New Exhibit Will Allow You to Tour the Domino Sugar Factory

Prolific artist, and Banksy-homage payee, Kara Walker will be kicking off her new show at the Domino Sugar refinery on Saturday, May 10th. Walker, who is best known for creating room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes that explore everything from race, gender, sexuality, and violence, will take over the 90,000-square-foot space for what’s to be her first large-scale public installation. […]

April 22, 2014

383 West Broadway Penthouse Sale Almost Breaks Real Estate Record

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?
April 22, 2014

Yoko Ono’s Greenwich Village Condo Sells for $8.3 Million

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
April 21, 2014

Brooklyn Expo Center to Open in Greenpoint This Fall

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
April 18, 2014

Maya Lin and Daniel Wolf to Turn a Former Yonkers Jail Into a Studio and Gallery

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
April 17, 2014

Billionaire Philanthropist Jon Stryker Sells His CPW Penthouse for $42 Million

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
April 2, 2014

Domino Sugar Factory Development Will Overburden Local Infrastructure, Says Zoning Comittee

Two Trees Management’s sweet deal with the city for the former Dominos Sugar factory site could cause a toothache for the City Council and local residents. The historic complex, with its charming yellow sign, has been part of Brooklyn’s landscape since 1882, when it opened as the largest sugary refinery in the world. Now plans for the 2.2 million-square-foot multi-use project, designed by SHoP Architects, are causing concern that it could house more people than the Brooklyn neighborhood can handle.
Home Sweet Home?