Real Estate Trends

The Brooklyn Navy Yard and the area surrounding it continues to expand and live up to predictions calling it the city's new creative hotspot. Just a few months after the Navy Yard and developers broke ground on a nine-story mixed-use creative and manufacturing project at 399 Sands Street, RXR Realty has announced plans to renovate a 10-building, 650,000-square-foot block-long complex at the site of the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company printing press factory, across from the Yard. The refurbished complex will be home to industrial, design, and office space, with ground-floor retail, and restaurant tenants.
More renderings of the new creative space, this way

WeWork is officially Manhattan’s largest private office tenant

Photo via WeWork

September 18, 2018

WeWork is officially Manhattan’s largest private office tenant

With 5.3 million square feet of office space, WeWork is officially Manhattan's largest private office tenant. Last month, we reported that the co-working giant needed just 74,000 more square feet to take the title from JPMorgan Chase & Co., and with their new, 258,344-square-foot location at 21 Penn Plaza, their 50th in the borough (they have 60 in NYC total), they've now surpassed them. The news comes via a blog post by WeWork exec Granit Gjonbalaj, who credits the company's "expertise" and the team's "holistic nature" that has allowed them to "identify, build, and deliver new locations better and more quickly than a typical developer."
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Real Estate Trends

With most approved residential units in NYC, the Bronx building boom continues

Via Nelson Mejia Jr. on Flickr

September 17, 2018

With most approved residential units in NYC, the Bronx building boom continues

Out of the 20 New York City neighborhoods with the most residential units approved within the past year, seven of them are in the Bronx, more than any other borough. According to a new report from Localize.city, a group that analyzes data related to housing, 13 percent of all approved apartments between 2010 and 2015 were in the Bronx. In the first half of 2018, the Bronx had 27 percent of the city's share of approved new units. While a majority of new buildings in the borough are affordable, increasing land prices could mean more market-rate projects are on the horizon, the New York Times reported.
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Real Estate Trends

The Second Avenue Subway’s second act: How the Q train has impacted real estate in Yorkville

Photo via Flickr cc

September 17, 2018

The Second Avenue Subway’s second act: How the Q train has impacted real estate in Yorkville

By Cait Etherington

For over a decade, a large swath of the Upper East Side was under construction, but for many residents, it felt more like being under attack. As the Q Line was being built—after a century-long wait—the neighborhood not only had to tolerate restricted traffic along Second Avenue above ground but also more dramatic interruptions. Indeed, at one point in the subway line’s construction, underground explosions even shattered the windows of several local businesses. But with the noise, traffic, and disarray of the Second Avenue Subway in the past, the surrounding neighborhood has already quickly bounced back. As per predictions, since the completion of the line, real estate values, volume of sales, and rental prices in Yorkville have experienced an upswing.
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FREE RENT: This week’s NYC rental roundup includes 3 months free rent on the Williamsburg waterfront

Images (L to R): LEVEL BK, BKLYN AIR, Synergy Chelsea and Denizen Bshwk

September 15, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s NYC rental roundup includes 3 months free rent on the Williamsburg waterfront

Images (L to R): LEVEL BK, BKLYN AIR, Synergy Chelsea and Denizen Bshwk Williamsburg Waterfront Rental LEVEL BK Offers 3 Months Free on 2-Year Leases + Free Car Share [link] BKLYN AIR Offering Half-Month Free for Leases Starting Before Sept. 30th [link] New High-Tech Corporate Residences Coming Soon to Synergy Chelsea at 232 7th Avenue […]

Real Estate Trends

Trump-run Wollman Rink via subherwal on Flickr

September 12, 2018

Trump-run attractions in NYC suffer from declining revenue

Although President Donald Trump continues to profit from his family-run business while serving in office, the New York-native is seeing a drop in revenue in his hometown. At four concessions in New York City run by the Trump Organization, sales have dropped or have been flat since Trump became president, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Even as tourism is on the rise and the city's economy is bustling, business is not booming for two Trump-affiliated ice rinks, a Bronx golf course, and a carousel in Central Park.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

Rafael Viñoly reveals new photos and video of Three Waterline Square

Image courtesy of CityRealty.

September 12, 2018

Rafael Viñoly reveals new photos and video of Three Waterline Square

Catching up with the rise of Waterline Square has been a pastime of skyline watchers since the project was announced. Now, CityRealty shares a recent Instagram post by designer Rafael Viñoly revealing the newly-installed final piece of the façade at Three Waterline Square, completing its multi-faceted crystal-planed exterior. On the inside, Three Waterline Square’s carefully expressed corners and gently sloping walls allow stunning panoramic river, park, and skyline views.
New images and video this way

Dawn of a new Downtown: The transformation of Lower Manhattan since 9/11

Image courtesy of Michael Vadon’s Flickr

September 11, 2018

Dawn of a new Downtown: The transformation of Lower Manhattan since 9/11

By Cait Etherington

In 2010, Lower Manhattan was still deeply scarred by the attacks of 9-11. With much of the neighborhood under construction, a high vacancy rate, and few full-time residents, walking around the area, especially outside business hours, often felt like walking through a ghost town. It was, in many respects, a neighborhood in waiting. Since 2011, which marked the opening of the 9/11 Memorial—and the symbolic end of the neighborhood’s long period of recovery from the 9/11 attacks—Lower Manhattan has undergone a transformation that is difficult to ignore. New businesses have opened, new residential developments have launched, the vacancy rate has drastically declined, and in many respects, an entirely new neighborhood has taken shape.
The dawn of a new Downtown

Real Estate Trends

Images (L to R): The Lewis, The Parkline, House39 and Twenty Broad

September 8, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): The Lewis, The Parkline, House39 and Twenty Broad Midtown West’s The Lewis: Sleek, Stylish + Modern Rentals Leasing with Two Months Free [link] One Month Free at The Parkline in Prospect Lefferts Gardens; Studios from $1,995/Month [link] Midtown’s House39 Offers Luxury Residences with 1 Month Free; Generous Layouts + 360 Degree […]

Real Estate Trends

The most expensive development site in the Bronx will be 30 percent affordable

The most expensive transaction on record for a development in the Bronx officially closed Wednesday, after Brookfield Property Partners picked up the two sites for $165 million from Somerset Partners and Chetrit Group. Originally, Somerset and Chetrit planned for all of the development's 849 residential units to be market rate, and while Brookfield intends to keep the same number of apartments, they are designating 30 percent of them affordable, according to the Real Deal.
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Sales to begin at super-skinny supertall 111 West 57th Street; priciest units are $57M

Image: Hayes Davidson

September 7, 2018

Sales to begin at super-skinny supertall 111 West 57th Street; priciest units are $57M

Despite a long history of financial and legal woes, Property Markets Group, Spruce Capital Partners and JDS Development’s tall and slender tower at 111 West 57th Street is gearing up to begin sales (for real this time) according to the New York Times. After years of lawsuit threats, reports that construction had stalled over budget overruns and a potential foreclosure, the 1,428-foot, 86-story tower will kick off sales, to be handled by Douglas Elliman, on September 13.
Pricing and more, this way

September 6, 2018

Historic Bed-Stuy mansion smashes neighborhood record with $6.3M sale

Bedford-Stuyvesant's most expensive home has sold for $6.3 million, setting a record price for the neighborhood and sending a message that rising property prices are making their way further into Brooklyn, according to the Wall Street Journal. At nearly twice the previous record sale of $3.3 million in 2017, the Renaissance Revival-style John C. Kelley mansion at 247 Hancock Street is the most expensive single-family house ever sold in Bed-Stuy. The 8,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom townhouse was built in 1887 for water-meter magnate John Kelley, designed by noted architect Montrose Morris and modeled after a Gilded Age Vanderbilt mansion along Fifth Avenue.
Take a look inside this incredible mansion

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

Rendering via the Governor’s office

September 6, 2018

Cuomo reveals new LIRR entrance and public plaza at Penn Station

Rendering via the Governor's office At a well-timed press event this morning, Governor Cuomo touted the state's $100 billion building program, the largest in the nation, and said if elected for another term, he'd increase that commitment to $150 billion. Among the many airport redesigns and the subway emergency plan, perhaps no project is more dear to Cuomo's heart than that of Penn Station. And after a tour of the Moynihan Train Hall, on budget and on track to open by the end of 2020, the Governor announced that the dire safety, security, and circulation situation at Penn Station cannot wait two more years. While construction wraps up at the LIRR and Amtrak's future home, the state will build a new LIRR facility in the existing Penn Station. The proposal will double access to the trains with new entrances and an enlarged concourse and will create a permanent public plaza at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.
All the renderings and details ahead

PHOTOS: Get an up-close look at Moynihan Train Hall’s massive new skylights

Via Governor Cuomo’s office on Flickr

September 6, 2018

PHOTOS: Get an up-close look at Moynihan Train Hall’s massive new skylights

At a construction tour of Moynihan Train Hall this morning, 6sqft had the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the massive skylights that will crown this new concourse. The transformation of the historic James A. Farley Post Office into a bright, modern transportation hub is on time and on budget for its late 2020 opening, at which time it will increase the footprint of Penn Station by 50 percent, providing a new home for the LIRR and Amtrak. To date, 800 people working every day have logged more than one million hours of labor, and the four, massive skylights are perhaps the most stunning example of their efforts.
See all the views

Images (L to R): Atelier Apartments, The Drake, 223 Fourth Avenue and 125 Borinquen Place

September 1, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): Atelier Apartments, The Drake, 223 Fourth Avenue and 125 Borinquen Place Live at Atelier Apartments in Williamsburg: No Fee Rentals from $2,485/Month with $1,000 Deposits [link] Leasing Launches at No. 223; Park Slope’s Newest Rentals Start at $2,521/Month [link] Live in Rego Park at The Drake’s Spacious No Fee Renovated Rentals […]

Real Estate Trends

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland

August 25, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland The Top 10 Rental Concessions of August 2018 [link] Leasing Launches at The Rheingold; Bushwick Rentals Offer 9 Months Free Amenity Access [link] Live at The Colorado: No-Fee Upper East Side Rentals with 1 Month Free [link] Live at Gotham West: New […]

Real Estate Trends

WeWork on track to become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan

Image via WeWork

August 24, 2018

WeWork on track to become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan

If WeWork leases just 74,000 square feet of office space, the co-working space company will become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan, the blog recode reported Thursday. This means WeWork would bypass JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the largest private office tenant in the borough. WeWork currently has 57 locations in NYC and represents a little under three percent of office space in the city, but is expected to grow to represent between five and 10 percent over the next decade. How are they securing all of this square footage? Offering brokers 100 percent commissions and huge rental discounts for tenants.
More here

Real Estate Trends

August 24, 2018

After five years and a $20M discount, outrageous Mill Basin mansion finds a buyer

Apparently, 257 feet of waterfront, two boat slips, a 1,000-square-foot pool, a “circular meditation room,” and an outdoor pavilion/kitchen with seating for 40 was not enough to make this over-the-top Mill Basin mansion a hot seller. We'll blame it on the Miami Vice-meets-Star Strek design. But for one daring buyer, this made for quite the deal, as The Real Deal reports that after five years on the market, the home at 2458 National Drive has sold for $10, a whopping $20 million less than its original asking price.
Get a look around

Despite drop in average rent, Battery Park City is still the most expensive zip code in the U.S.

Via Wiki Commons

August 24, 2018

Despite drop in average rent, Battery Park City is still the most expensive zip code in the U.S.

Despite a year-over-year decrease in its average rent, Battery Park City ranks as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, according to a RentCafe report. In 2017, the average rent in this downtown neighborhood was roughly $6,000/month. And while it experienced a nearly two percent decrease this year, with average rent falling to $5,657/month, Battery Park City is still the not-so-winning winner. Not surprising but still bleak, 26 out of the 50 zip codes with the most expensive average rents in the U.S. are located in Manhattan.
See the list

Real Estate Trends

Image: Wikimedia Commons

August 20, 2018

NYC pet laws and the legal loophole that may let your furry friend stay despite a ‘no pets’ rule

As long as Fido’s not a ferret, of course. You may not know this, but you could be able to keep a pet in a “no pets” apartment–legally. New York City's Pet Law, established in 1983, may actually override your landlord’s kibosh on your kitty or pup, as long as certain criteria are met. Your pet can't be one of the many, many critters on the city's "banned" list, which includes the aforementioned ferrets, pot-bellied pigs, most snakes, hedgehogs, and squirrels.
So how can I keep Fluffy in my no-pets condo?

Images (L to R): The Addition, Yorkshire Towers, The Crescendo and 555Ten

August 18, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): The Addition, Yorkshire Towers, The Crescendo and 555Ten Rockrose’s Eagle Lofts Launches with 1 Month Free; Long Island City Rentals from $2,557/Month [link] Take a Tour of The Crescendo, The Bronx’s Revolutionary New Rental Building [link] Greenpoint Landing’s One Blue Slip Launches Leasing; 90% of Apartments Have Water Views [link] Elegant […]

Real Estate Trends

August 15, 2018

$10K per month rent seems fitting for this photo-ready Tribeca loft

From the wide-plank oak floors to the sleek contemporary kitchen and exposed brick walls, this two-bedroom loft in a former textile merchant's building at 40 Walker Street looks like it could be the perfect bachelor pad, as long as the smooth operator in residence is willing to fork over $9,995 a month for the Tribeca condo.
Check it out

August 14, 2018

Private seven-acre Connecticut island with a garden wonderland sells for $21.5M

A private island in Long Island Sound known as Rogers Island just got a new owner, who paid $21.5 million for the seven-acre property off the Connecticut coast. The sellers, a couple of "island collectors" by the name of Christine and Edmund Stoecklein, are bound for the West Coast, according to Mansion Global, unloading their gorgeously landscaped land mass and even lovelier Tudor mansion for less than the $22.3 million they paid for it in 2003, to an anonymous buyer.
Take the cross-island tour

Real Estate Trends

RENTING IN NYC: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): 500 Metropolitan Avenue, Alvista Towers, 38 Sixth Avenue and Revetment House

August 11, 2018

RENTING IN NYC: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news