Real Estate Trends

May 5, 2021

Landmarks approves scaled-down South Street Seaport mixed-use project

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to approve plans for a debated mixed-use project and a new museum in the South Street Seaport. The Howard Hughes Corporation presented a revised proposal for 250 Water Street that includes one 324-foot tower to be built on a parking lot instead of the two 470-foot structures originally proposed in January. The project also involves constructing a new building for the South Street Seaport Museum at 89 South Street.
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May 3, 2021

Luxury Jersey City rental The Beach has tons of outdoor space overlooking the skyline

Developer LeFrak began work on Newport, the 600-acre planned community on the Jersey City waterfront, in 1986, and today they're launching leasing at a new luxury rental within the neighborhood. The Beach is a 336-unit project that not only offers residences with views of the entire Manhattan skyline, but has several outdoor spaces including a landscaped waterfront courtyard with grilling stations and fire pits, an outdoor pool and sun deck overlooking Hudson Yards, and a sixth-floor roof deck with multiple seating areas. In addition, The Beach is located right next to Newport Green, the neighborhood’s four-acre park and playground complete with a sandy beach.
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April 28, 2021

Leasing launches at Long Island City’s latest waterfront rental, from $2,900/month

One of the latest residential towers to rise on the Long Island City waterfront has officially kicked off leasing for its 200 market-rate apartments. Developed by TF Cornerstone as part of the redevelopment of Hunter's Point South, 5241 Center Boulevard is one half of a two-building project designed by ODA, with SLCE as the architect of record. One- and two-bedroom apartments start at roughly $2,900/month and $3,525/month, respectively, with concessions included, according to current availability.
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April 23, 2021

$3.9M penthouse sold at NJ’s tallest tower sets record in Jersey City

A penthouse at New Jersey's tallest residential building has sold for $3.9 million, setting a record for the priciest condo closing in Jersey City's history. As CityRealty reported, the 2,473-square-foot home sits on the 75th floor of 99 Hudson, an 889-foot-tall tower designed by Perkins Eastman and located on the waterfront.
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April 22, 2021

New details for 100% affordable housing complex planned for historic hospital site in Brooklyn

New details and images of an affordable housing development planned for the site of an abandoned hospital in Brooklyn were released earlier this month, ahead of the project's expected public review. During an April 13 meeting, Hudson Companies and St. Nicks Alliance presented Brooklyn Community Board 1 with an updated proposal for Cooper Park Commons, a four-building 100 percent affordable complex that will be built at the long-vacant Greenpoint Hospital site at 288 Jackson Street in East Williamsburg.
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April 20, 2021

Plans revealed for 13-acre tech and medicine hub with 1,500+ apartments in Jersey City

In recent years, the downtown Jersey City skyline has expanded in ways no one could have imagined 20 years ago. And a new mega-development is planned for an area previously untouched, just west of Liberty State Park and the Liberty Landing Marina. Known as The Cove JC, the 13-acre, mixed-use project is envisioned as a global hub for life science, tech, and medicine. It will be comprised of 1.4 million square feet of lab/tech office space and 1.6 million square feet of residences, along with a waterfront park.
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April 19, 2021

Bette Midler sells palatial Upper East Side penthouse last listed for $50M

Bette Midler has sold her massive Upper East Side penthouse, which was last listed for $50 million. The entertainer and her husband, Martin von Haselberg, first bought the 14-room triplex at 1125 Fifth Avenue in the late 1990s, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale. Taking up the top three levels of the Emery Roth-designed co-op, the residence measures 7,000 square feet with an additional 3,000 square feet of outdoor terraces.
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April 14, 2021

Super Bowl champ Rob Gronkowski snags a $7M condo at 35 Hudson Yards

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski has scored a new home. As first reported by the New York Post, the Super Bowl champion bought a $7 million three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath luxury apartment at 35 Hudson Yards, the tallest building in the mega-development. Gronk's friend/teammate Tom Brady also owns a home in New York City, a pied-a-terre at 70 Vestry Street in Tribeca.
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April 13, 2021

New details for ODA’s curvy condo tower on the Lower East Side

In preparation for a spring sales launch, new details and a teaser website for the 12-floor residential building at 208 Delancey Street on the Lower East Side have been revealed. As first spotted by New York Yimby, fresh renderings of the ODA New York-designed project show a bright lobby with a natural color scheme and an impressive rooftop terrace with plantings and multi-use areas. In total, the building measures 85,000 square feet and contains 85 units, including two ground-floor townhouses.
Details here
April 12, 2021

Why now is the right time to move to New York City

In November 2020, Heather White decided it was time to move to Brooklyn and open her gym’s second location there. She founded Trillfit, a runaway fitness sensation, in Boston and was ready to expand. People in her life told her New York is not the place to be right now. Her response: New York is always the place. "When everybody goes left, we go right." It’s the best-kept secret among New Yorkers—now is the time to move to New York City.
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April 8, 2021

Condo sales relaunch at 200 Amsterdam after court delays

Sales have resumed at 200 Amsterdam Avenue, the 52-story Upper West Side tower that has faced a series of legal challenges since 2017. Developed in partnership by SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan, the building is 668 feet tall, the tallest in the neighborhood. The tower nearly lost that superlative after a judge in February 2020 ruled that as many as 20 floors may have to be chopped from the building for violating zoning rules. But last month, the New York State Appellate Court reversed that decision and declared the developer's permit valid.
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March 31, 2021

$950M South Bronx development Bankside set to open first residential tower this year

The most expensive private development in the Bronx continues to progress. Brookfield Properties announced this month that the final tower at the phase one site of Bankside, a seven-tower waterfront complex in Mott Haven, has topped out. The $950 million mixed-use project takes up two parcels on either side of the Third Avenue Bridge on the Harlem River. Third at Bankside, located at 2401 Third Avenue, has officially topped out and developers have broken ground at Lincoln at Bankside, located at 101 Lincoln Avenue.
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March 29, 2021

What will post-pandemic real estate look like in NYC? Experts weigh in

A year ago, there was so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and politics, which made real estate somewhat of a gamble, at least in hard-hit New York City. When it came to the headlines, it seemed all anyone could talk about was the mass exodus from the city. Home prices were soaring in the surrounding suburbs, with stories of lines around the block for open houses and bidding wars. But in the city, vacancies were at an unprecedented high. A year later, though, and a quarter of New Yorkers are vaccinated, and we're starting to see "normal" life resurface. To understand how the residential real estate market is rebounding, we spoke to experts in the field, including brokers, developers, and data gurus, to get their thoughts on timing, prices, the luxury market, surrounding suburbs, and more.
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March 18, 2021

Plan for massive towers and public beach in Williamsburg moves ahead with new looks

The proposal to construct two mixed-use skyscrapers and a public beach on the North Brooklyn waterfront is moving forward, although with an updated design, timeline, and name. As first reported by Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees Management is preparing to start the city's uniform land use review procedure (ULURP) in the coming weeks for its project "River Ring," which includes two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels with more than 1,000 units of housing, a YMCA, and an environmentally-conscious park with a cove and beach.
Details this way
March 16, 2021

New Hell’s Kitchen condo has an 8,000-square-foot elevated park and a Target

Occupying the full block of 10th Avenue between West 44th and 45th Streets, the new 92-unit condo Bloom on Forty Fifth at 500 West 45th Street has officially launched sales. Designed by Marvel, the eight-story building is in keeping with Hell's Kitchen's lower scale, but the geometric architecture mixing glass, concrete, and steel is modern and fresh. The most unique aspect of the residence its 8,000-square-foot elevated terrace between the north and south towers, and, very conveniently, there's a Target in the base. Units start at $750,000 for studios, $892,500 for one-bedrooms, $1,695,750 for two-bedrooms, and $2,875,000 for three bedrooms.
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March 15, 2021

Soaring terraces and a hotel-like feel are on offer at new Upper East Side condo The Leyton

Sales have launched at a new condo tower on the Upper East Side that offers large, light-filled residences and hotel-inspired amenities. The Leyton, located at 1059 Third Avenue in the Lenox Hill neighborhood, contains 38 luxury homes, priced from $2.1 million for a one-bedroom to $11.6 million for a four-bedroom, along with a duplex penthouse with the price available upon request. Designed by former Rafael Viñoly architect Manuel Glas, the glass and stone tower features an Art Deco-inspired exterior with chic interiors from Frampton Co and distinctive amenity space by Champalimaud Design.
Details here
March 9, 2021

Affordable, no-fee luxury rentals in Midtown West

With its rooftop garden and courtyard, luxury residences, and prime Hell's Kitchen location, Gotham West ticks off all the boxes. What makes the four-building complex truly stand out against other amenity-rich developments, other than its proximity to both Hudson River Park and the culinary darlings of the neighborhood, is its affordable housing. When it opened in 2013, Gotham West was the largest affordable project by a private developer at the time, with about 55 percent of the units restricted by income. Today, applications are being accepted for its no-fee rentals, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, which are designated for middle-income New Yorkers earning up to 135 percent and 165 percent of the area median income (AMI).
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February 24, 2021

Affordable units and height slashed at proposed Brooklyn Botanic Garden-bordering towers

The developers behind a controversial proposal to build a pair of high-rise towers in Crown Heights next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have put forth a revised plan that would slash the building height and the number of affordable units offered. As first reported by The City, Continuum Company and Lincoln Equities launched a new project website that describes a 17-story residential building at 960 Franklin Avenue as an alternative to the 34-story project currently under review by the city.
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February 23, 2021

$5.49M condo with private infinity pool is Jersey City’s most expensive penthouse ever listed

A condo in Jersey City has hit the market for $5.488 million, becoming the most expensive penthouse ever listed in the city. The Villa at the Oakman Condominiums at 160 First Street has four bedrooms, four and a half baths, and an incredible split-level outdoor terrace that measures 2,300 square feet and boasts a private heated infinity pool. Completed in 2016, Oakman rises 15 stories, contains 159 units, and is located just a few blocks from the Grove Street PATH station, making for an easy commute to Manhattan.
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February 17, 2021

See the new Long Island City condo tower anchored by Trader Joe’s

A new condo building in Long Island City is offering buyers a rare amenity in New York: private outdoor space. Located at 22-43 Jackson Avenue, The Prime contains 71 units, all of which boast balconies. And perhaps even more exciting for some, a Trader Joe's grocery store will open on the building's ground floor this year. Sales launched earlier this month at the building, developed by Circle F Capital and designed by Andres Escobar's Lemay+Escobar Architecture, with residences starting at $700,000.
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February 16, 2021

Candice Bergen buys $2M Upper East Side co-op

According to city property records, actress Candice Bergen spent $2,150,000 on an Upper East Side co-op at 825 Fifth Avenue. The apartment last sold in 2007 for $1,600,000; it had previously been owned by eccentric real estate developer and political figure Abraham Hirschfeld, who passed away in 2005. In December, Ms. Bergen put her Hamptons home on the market for $18 million.
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February 11, 2021

Details revealed for new Morris Adjmi-designed condo on 14th Street

When it comes to a prime downtown location, the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue is pretty darn good. On the northeast corner, the new 50-unit condo at 540 6th Avenue was designed inside and out by Morris Adjmi, replacing a lower-scale building that held a long-time dance studio (one home to Merce Cunningham) and an outpost of Moscot eyewear. The 12-story condo, which topped out this past November, has now launched a teaser site as it gears up to launch sales. It's also been dubbed Förena, the Swedish word for "unite," a nod to the building's location at the nexus of Greenwich Village, Union Square, and Chelsea.
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February 11, 2021

Take a look inside the penthouses at the High Line-straddling Lantern House

Thomas Heatherwick's unique condo project on the High Line is showing off its collection of penthouses ahead of the building's impending completion this year. Lantern House, located at 515 West 18th Street in Chelsea, consists of two towers that rise on either side of the High Line, one at 10 stories and the other at 22. Last October we got a peek inside the bubbled residences, and now new images have been released of a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath penthouse with a large outdoor terrace, currently listed for $12.975 million.
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February 10, 2021

NYC sees end-of-year residential sales surge, especially in Brooklyn and Queens

After three consecutive quarters of decline, the total residential sales volume and residential transactions in New York City during the final quarter of last year increased considerably. According to a new report released this week by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), total sales increased to $9 billion in Q4 2020 from $6.5 billion in Q3, a roughly 40 percent increase in sales volume. Notably, the outer boroughs drove the surge in sales, with a sales volume increase of 90 percent in Brooklyn and 69 percent in Queens during this period.
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January 20, 2021

How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

After Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, his immediate focus will be getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and providing direct relief to Americans. In addition to immediate actions related to COVID-19, Biden's Day 1 housing priorities include extending the federal nationwide moratorium on residential evictions through the end of September and sending an additional $25 billion in rental assistance to states. Down the road, Biden has proposed fewer developer-friendly policies than his predecessor, including a repeal of the 1031 exchange and reform of the Opportunity Zone tax program. But overall, there is optimism among New York City real estate industry experts who see a Biden Administration as a way to restore stability and consumer confidence. With a pledge to defeat COVID-19 and send federal support to New York City, there's hope on the horizon for the city's recovery.
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