Real Estate Trends

A Lendlease-Turner Construction partnership has been chosen to coordinate and build the planned 1.2 million-square-foot expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Manhattan's far west side. Commercial Observer reports that the New York Convention Center Development Corporation, the entity that controls the state-owned venue, announced Tuesday that they had approved the team for the project, which is expected to cost $1.55 billion. Atlanta-based architecture firm tvsdesign is also part of the Lendlease-Turner consortium. According to the announcement, the winning proposal offered, "significant design, logistical and operational benefits, including increased atrium space, integrated public and support spaces and a commitment to maintaining current operations during all phases of construction."
Find out more and see new renderings

Real Estate Trends

January 31, 2017

Extell buying former Carnegie Deli site

Yesterday, workers removed the iconic neon sign outside Carnegie Deli, but the final nail in the coffin comes from the news that mega-developer Extell is buying the pastrami mecca's former home on a block where they already own two other sites. The Post got word that Gary Barnett's firm will close on a deal as soon as today for the six-story building at 854 Seventh Avenue. The 79-year-old deli closed on December 31st, but in 2015, Extell paid $9.1 million to owner Marian Harper Levine for their air rights.
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Real Estate Trends

January 30, 2017

With Ben Carson as HUD Secretary, how will NYC housing and development be affected?

By Cait Etherington

Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and failed Republican nominee, has now been cleared to serve as Secretary of Housing for the next four years. For many, his appointment remains perplexing. Carson has no political experience and no obvious knowledge of housing and development issues. At least some concerns about Carson’s fitness for the job […]

Karim Rashid’s East Harlem HAP Five gets its bright pink trim

Final rendering of HAP FIVE (l), Construction progress as of January 27; CityRealty

January 30, 2017

Karim Rashid’s East Harlem HAP Five gets its bright pink trim

Construction is progressing at the very Karim Rashid-esque HAP Five residential project at 329 Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem, CityRealty reports. The building's frame has been enclosed in glass and its balconies are getting the hot-pink trim chosen by neighborhood residents after a bolder color scheme was nixed. HAP Investment Developers has specified that the project will be rental apartments instead of condos; the 21,500-square-foot, eight-story new project will offer 20 apartments including studios and one- and two-bedroom units created by the award-winning designer, all of which will have open kitchens and offer access to either a balcony, terrace or backyard.
New construction photos, this way

January 27, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

No Security Deposit + One Month Free for Full-Floor Apartments on Lower East Side [link] Glenwood Offering Free Rent at Lincoln Square High-Rise, Hawthorn Park [link] One Month Free on All Units at Luxury High Rise LINC LIC; Studios from $2,395 [link] Now 95% Leased, 180 Franklin Avenue in Clinton Hill Offers Two Months Free […]

Real Estate Trends

January 27, 2017

SL Green says One Vanderbilt will bring in $200M a year

SL Green Realty CEO Marc Holliday said Thursday that the midtown office tower One Vanderbilt is expected to pull in as much as $198 million a year in net operating income when complete in 2020 and fully leased, The Real Deal reports. That figure, in 2028 dollars, likely includes $42 million in admission fees for the building's planned observation deck and is based on the assumption that the tower will be leased out at an average of $155 per square foot. If realized, that figure would put the 1.7-million-square-foot, 1,401-foot-tall tower in a league with some of the the city's significantly larger trophy properties.
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January 26, 2017

Rem Koolhaas’ Gramercy condo reveals interior renderings, launches sales

Right before the new year, the highly anticipated condo from Toll Brothers City Living at 121 East 22nd Street in Gramercy reached its full height, providing the first real views of its glassy facade and chiseled corner that resembles a giant crystal. And what makes the structure even more special is the fact that it's the first NYC project from Pritzker Prize-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas's firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).CityRealty now tells us that sales have officially begun, currently ranging from $1.5 million, 761-square-foot one-bedrooms to $4.7 million,2,402-square-foot three-bedrooms, and along with the launch comes the first set of interior renderings and some fresh looks at the exterior and amenity spaces.
More details and all the renderings

Are co-living communities the future of NYC real estate?

Photo: Bess Adler

January 26, 2017

Are co-living communities the future of NYC real estate?

By Metro New York

In the 1960s, groups of hippies fled from cities to live on communes in the country. Now there’s a growing movement of communal living right here in New York City. “I feel the biggest challenge in our world today is we’re not speaking to each other,” said Ryan Fix, who started 25 communal living sites […]

Real Estate Trends

January 26, 2017

Bjarke Ingels’ ‘bold yet graceful’ High Line towers get new website and flashy signage

When HFZ Capital Group chairman Ziel Feldman needed a bold design for what will be Chelsea's largest development in more than a decade, he knew the very-visible, block-long site wanted nothing short of an architectural icon to house the future 950,000-square-foot mix of parking, retail and office space, a 137-room Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spa and 240 condominium apartments. So it should come as no surprise that Bjarke Ingels' BIG was chosen to design what would be the firm's second Hudson River-front tower (after Via 57 West). Straddling the High Line and offering sunset river views, the two towers penned by the Danish wunderkind sit atop a four-floor base at 76 Eleventh Avenue, rising to 28 and 38 floors, respectively. CityRealty now brings us a collection of new views and a concept development slideshow of the $1.9 billion project recently published by BIG on their website.
See new images from the slideshow and some scintillating site prep

Live in John Catsimatidis’ curvy Downtown Brooklyn rental tower from $833/month

Way back in 1982, the CEO and owner of Red Apple Group, John Catsimatidis (you may know him better as the billionaire owner of Gristedes or for his failed Republican run in the last mayoral election) paid $500,000 for a 2.5-acre, four-block site in Downtown Brooklyn, on the western edge of Fort Greene. Thirty-five years later, construction is wrapping up on the final, and by far the tallest, of the four-tower development. The curving glass building at 86 Fleet Place was designed by Goldstein, Hill & West and will rise 32 stories/350 feet and house 440 rentals, 29 of which are set aside as affordable and have just come online through the city's affordable housing lottery. They range from $833/month studios to $1,247/month three-bedrooms and are available for those earning 45 to 60 percent of the area media income.
Find out if you qualify here

January 25, 2017

Extell’s One Manhattan Square reaches halfway point and gets its glassy skin

Despite the rapid influx of new development that's popping up in the controversial Two Bridges area, the Chinatown-meets-Lower East Side neighborhood's first project, One Manhattan Square, still reigns as the tallest. In fact, when it reaches its full 823-foot height, Extell's 80-story condo at 252 South Street will have the highest rooftop between downtown and Midtown Manhattan. Now that sales have commenced, CityRealty paid the construction site a visit, noticing that the double-slab tower is already more than 30 stories tall and has begun to receive its reflective glass skin.
More views ahead

January 25, 2017

Designer Zac Posen snags an elegant Upper East Side penthouse for $3.5M

By Diane Pham

Zac Posen may love taking fashion risks, but when it comes to real estate, it's all about the classics. The designer and "Project Runway" judge has just poured $3.5 million into an elegant Upper East Side penthouse, LL NYC shares. The duplex spread sits atop an Emory Roth-designed prewar at 210 East 73rd Street and comes steeped in ornate details like hand-painted ceilings, an iron staircase and a Chesney marble mantle. While the current decor is most certainly in need of a modern facelift, Posen will have plenty of space to flex his creative prowess. The penthouse is a classic six with two bedrooms, two and a half baths and a large 1,800-square-foot wrap terrace. And did we mention there are seven custom closets? Four of them are walk-in!
See more here

Construction update: Google’s Pier 57 expansion gets glassed

Pier 57 now showing some skin; Photo: CityRealty

January 24, 2017

Construction update: Google’s Pier 57 expansion gets glassed

Work is moving along at the waterfront development that is rehabilitating and revitalizing Pier 57, Manhattan's new "SuperPier;" newly-installed, canted glass panels can be seen along the pier’s rows of exterior columns, CityRealty reports. The $350 million transformation of the former freight terminal, a joint venture by Young Woo & Associates and RXR will include 250,000 square feet of offices for Google, a 170,000-square-foot food market curated by Anthony Bourdain and provide an elevated two-acre park with a rooftop movie and performance amphitheater. The project's design is being handled by Handel Architects and !Melk Landscape Architecture and Urban Design.
Check out new construction photos

January 23, 2017

Map: Here’s where you can afford to live in NYC in 2018

For New York home buyers, a lot can change in a year. A neighborhood that was considered affordable can all of a sudden become out of reach, whether it be from new developments like a subway or good old fashioned gentrification. For this reason, Fast Forward Labs created an interactive map that predicts the price of real estate in 2018. As Google Maps Mania explains, "The map allows you to input a housing budget and see how likely it is that you will be able to afford to buy a property in different New York neighborhoods during different future time periods."
More on the map here

Real Estate Trends

January 23, 2017

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh sells stylish Chelsea pad for $4.8M

All the way back in August 2014, 6sqft featured the $5 million listing for this stylish co-op at 147 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, pointing out its trendy features such as a retractable garage-style glass door, massive open living space with wall-to-wall windows, and uber-contemporary kitchen. And as it turns out, the full-floor spread belonged to producer and director Steven Soderbergh, who's best known for his work directing "Erin Brockovich," "Traffic" (for which he won the Oscar), and "Ocean's 11." The Real Deal reports that he's now finally found a buyer for the apartment, selling it for $4.8 million.
Take a look around

January 20, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

Midtown Rental Skyscraper ‘Tower 31‘ Offering One Month Free or One Month OP on Select Leases [link] Leasing Launches at 531 Myrtle Avenue; First to Open for New Clinton Hill Rental Duo ‘Myrtle & Steuben’ [link] Month of Free Rent at The Giovanni, 81 Fleet Place in Downtown Brooklyn [link] SLCE-Designed Downtown High Rise, The […]

Real Estate Trends

January 18, 2017

Tennis great Novak Djokovic buys two units in Renzo Piano’s 565 Broome SoHo

When he's not busy winning titles as the second-best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic is apparently quite the architecture aficionado. The Serbian athlete told the Wall Street Journal that he's a big fan of Renzo Piano; earlier this year he bought a unit in Piano's Miami beach project Eighty Seven Park, and he's now gone into contract for two condos in the starchitect's under-construction NYC venture 565 Broome SoHo, where sales launched this past September.
The full scoop

January 17, 2017

CNN’s Don Lemon sells Harlem condo for small profit

Emmy Award-winning CNN news anchor Don Lemon picked up a somewhat modest condo a little over two years ago in Harlem‘s 2280FDB (2280 Frederick Douglas Blvd.). He paid $867,780 for unit 11A, right next door to 11B that he already owned. 6sqft speculated that he was planning to combine the condos, but according to city records released today, Lemon's sold off 11A for $969,000.
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January 13, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

Renovated Apartments on West 30th Street Near Hudson Yards Offering One Month Free [link] Free Rent & Special Offers at Spencer Street Apartments in Bed-Stuy [link] Name Revealed for New Clinton Hill Rental, Leasing Site Launched for 5-Story ‘Myrtle & Steuben‘ [link] Stonehenge 57, Midtown East High-Rise in Sutton Place, Offering One Month Free [link] […]

Real Estate Trends

January 13, 2017

Third lottery opens at Pacific Park Brooklyn, apply for 303 affordable units from $532/month

Last spring, the first housing lottery opened at Pacific Park Brooklyn when 181 affordable units at SHoP's 461 Dean Street (the world's tallest modular tower) came online. It was followed a few months later by 298 openings at 535 Carlton Avenue, COOKFOX's entirely affordable building, and now the third set of apartments for low- to middle-income New Yorkers is open. SHoP Architects also designed an all-affordable building at 38 Sixth Avenue, adjacent to the Barclays Center, and as of today these 303 residences are up for grabs, ranging from $532/month studios to $3,695/month three-bedrooms. Households earning between 101 and 165 percent of the area media income (or up to $173,415 annually) are eligible for 198 of the units, while 105 units are set aside for those earning between 30 and 100 percent (as low as $20,126 a year).
More details and the whole qualification breakdown

January 13, 2017

Pieces of Thomas Heatherwick’s massive, climbable ‘Vessel’ arrive at Hudson Yards site

Back in September, Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross finally unveiled the large-scale artwork that would anchor the central public space within Hudson Yards. As Ross revealed, Thomas Heatherwick was chosen to design the piece, and it would cost an incredible $150 million to build. Dubbed "The Vessel,” the climbable sculpture would rise 16-stories—150 feet tall, 50 feet wide at its base and 150 feet wide at the top—and consist of a web of 154 concrete and steel staircases with 2,500 steps, 80 landings and an elevator; the piece, in fact, so massive that it could comfortably accommodate 1,000 visitors at a time. The sculpture was to be constructed in Monfalcone, Italy before being shipped to its home on the Hudson River. And now CityRealty reports that parts of what Ross once called "New York's Eiffel Tower" have officially arrived at the site and await assembly.
More photos this way

January 12, 2017

After seven years on the market, Keira Knightley’s former Tribeca loft finds a buyer

This massive, duplex loft at 16 Jay Street in Tribeca has been trying to sell since April 2011. Its owner, textile designer, painter, and sculptor Gianluca Berardi, bought the pad in 2002 for $2.2 million, then undertook a lengthy overhaul that included adding the "sweeping cast-iron and mahogany staircase that was welded together inside the home in the shape of a double ellipsis," as 6sqft previously reported. She first listed it in 2009 for $8.4 million, then reduced it to $8 million in 2012, and in 2014, re-listed it as a $45,000/month rental. The following year, actress Keira Knightly rented the apartment, as did Rangers player Eric Staal. It then came back on the market for $6.6 million this past March, and now, after seven long years, it's finally found a buyer for the reduced price of $6 million, reports the Post.
See the entire space

January 11, 2017

First look at the $30M penthouse at Robert A.M. Stern’s 30 Park Place