Turtle Bay

Photo: Rendering of 685 First Avenue designed by architect Richard Meier for developer Sheldon Solow VIZE/RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS

May 19, 2016

Richard Meier Flips Favored Palette from Ivory to Ebony for Developer Pal’s Turtle Bay Tower

By Michelle Cohen

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier has long been known for his modestly-scaled building designs with exteriors on the whiter side of pale. But for developer Sheldon Solow's new 42-story 556-unit residential building, currently under construction at East 39th Street and First Avenue on Manhattan's East Side, the New York Five starchitect will be designing a tower of black glass. The developer will be unveiling a residential tower, Meier's tallest and largest in New York City, according to the Wall Street Journal, that will consist of a rectangular slab with a recessed niche above the midsection, "a polished specimen of neo-Modernist simplicty" in typical Meier fashion–except it will be clad in glassy black. The mix seems to perfectly represent a collaboration between old friends and East Hampton near-neighbors Meier and Solow, who has pointed out that "All my buildings are black."
Find out more about the new rental, condo and commercial project

May 7, 2016

Leasing Begins at Neo-Brutalist Rental Tower in Midtown East

By Ondel Hylton

Leasing has begun at Midtown East's newest rental building at 235 East 44th Street. Developed by CMSJ Development, the 70,000-square-foot, ground-up building contains 67 units across its 19 floors. For current availabilities, monthly prices start at $3,300 for studios, $4,500 for one-bedrooms, $6,105 for two-bedrooms, and $8,100 for three-bedrooms. Designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects, it's is situated mid-block along a dense urban canyon just two blocks east of Grand Central Terminal and one block west of the United Nations. Its street-facing exterior is finished in GKV's trademark aesthetic of exposed cast-in-place concrete, reminiscent of the Brutalist movement of the 1950s and '60s. The tower's glass walls and concrete floor slabs undulate in opposite directions, softening the raw materials and adding fluidity to the building's form.
Interior apartment details this way

April 11, 2016

One of Manhattan’s Last Wood Frame Homes Is Up For Rent Asking $13K/Month

By Emily Nonko

There are very few wood frame homes remaining in Manhattan -- with some sprinkled throughout neighborhoods like the Upper East Side and the Village -- but here's one at 312 East 53rd Street, in Turtle Bay. It was constructed in 1866, right before the city prohibited further construction of wooden buildings due to the fire hazard. Since then, this home, and its wood-framed neighbor next door, amazingly still stand. Residents of both homes can be traced all the way back to 1866 -- No. 312 was once occupied by Lincoln Kirstein, who would go on to found the New York City Ballet. Its latest owners are Jessica and Robert Nacheman, a principal at the engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti, who bought it back in 2012 for $2.275 million and put it up for rent.
See more of the interior

March 30, 2016

Richard Meier-Designed Tower Finally Begins Construction at Turtle Bay South Complex

By Ondel Hylton

Construction has finally begun on the westernmost lot of Sheldon Solow's Turtle Bay South master plan, 16 years after the developer purchased the site. Excavators are picking away at the 30,000-square-foot site at 685 First Avenue that has long held a surface parking lot and is just a small portion of a larger, long-planned development straddling First Avenue between East 35th and 41st Streets. Last August, plans were filed for 685 First, which will be a girthy 42-story residential tower with 555 rental units and 800,000 square feet of gross floor area. The tower is being designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, a surprising choice given the American architect is best known for his modest-scaled projects and white exteriors, while Solow is best known for their monolithic towers sheathed in black glass curtain walls. Nevertheless, when complete, the tower will be Meier's largest ever project in New York and will be just one of four residential towers and a pavilion he is scheduled to design for the billionaire developer.
More details and renderings ahead

March 8, 2016

Renderings Revealed of Turkey’s Shiny, New 32-Story Consulate Tower

By Dana Schulz

Though Perkins Eastman's design of Turkey's forthcoming 32-story consulate tower was inspired by a Turkish crescent (a large, ornate, gilded instrument), the firm took a very streamlined approach to their vision, using swooping curves and geometric patterns to "evoke Islamic themes and Turkish art and culture," as 6sqft previously described. The Turkevi Center will rise along Consulate Row, at 821 United Nations Plaza, the corner of 46th Street and First Avenue. According to a press release first spotted by Curbed, it will "feature prominent loggias along the upper floors of the south and east faces, and be stacked atop a podium wrapped in perforated metal paneling." The project had been on the drawing board for more than three years, but Perkins Eastman have now received the green light to move ahead with the building that will house new consulate offices, passport and visa branch offices, conference rooms, a multi-purpose prayer room, fitness center, auditorium, underground parking, and residential space for staff and visitors.
Additional details and renderings ahead

March 4, 2016

Why Micro-Apartments in Carmel Place Are So Expensive

By Michelle Cohen

We’ve been hearing a lot recently about the city’s new micro-apartments. As 6sqft has reported, NYC’s first micro-apartment complex Carmel Place (formerly My Micro NY) at 335 East 27th Street began leasing at the end of last year. The nine-story modular development in Kips Bay has 55 studios that are 260 to 360 square feet. Of these, 22 are affordable and they’ll go from $950 to $1,500 a month. Market-rate units on the other end range from $2,540 to $2,910. According to CityRealty, the average rental price per square foot for New York City apartments overall is $51, while Carmel Place units ring in at $98 per square foot. The idea of micro-housing was presented, in part, to address the need for more affordable apartments. So why is it that the result is what a recent New Yorker article calls “micro-luxury" housing?
Small Is Beautiful–but Not Affordable

January 29, 2016

Donald Trump’s United Nations Tower Is the City’s Most Valuable Condo

By Dana Schulz

He may have taken a hit last night with his anti-debate veterans rally, but Donald Trump has come out on top here in the city. The Real Deal analyzed the Department of Finance’s preliminary tax rolls and found that his Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza is the most valuable condo building in New York City based on tax collection purposes. "The 362 condo units in the Midtown East building, which Trump completed in 2001, have a total market value of $238.27 million in fiscal year 2016," they say. To boot, Trump Place at 220 Riverside Boulevard comes in eighth on the list.
See the other frontrunners

Real Estate Trends

December 7, 2015

This $8.5M Turtle Bay Townhouse Is a Timeless Classic With Pops of Modern

By Michelle Cohen

Without hype or hyperbole—though certainly compliment-worthy—this 1890s townhouse on a classic and lovely East Side block has all the modern upgrades you'd need, thanks to complete renovation in 2006. And for traditional brownstone buffs, 327 East 51st Street’s refined facade, gated courtyard, interior details and traditional stoop all add up to a quintessential New York City townhouse. Mechanicals, plumbing, lighting and electrical systems have all been updated and now include a new Crestron home audio system, a four-zone HVAC system, four automatic gas fireplaces, a state-of-the-art security system and lots of well-planned storage space.
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Distinctive Homes

Turkish Consulate’s New Tower Across From UN Finally Moves Ahead, Offices and Apartments Planned

Concept design by Chelsea Atelier

October 9, 2015

Turkish Consulate’s New Tower Across From UN Finally Moves Ahead, Offices and Apartments Planned

By Ondel Hylton

After more than three years on the drawing board, the replacement tower for Turkey’s Consulate General and Permanent Mission to the United States at 821 First Avenue is finally moving forward. First announced in 2012, the proposed project, known as the Turkevi Center, has commissioned Perkins Eastman as the architects of record. The building will house new offices for the consulate, and diplomatic residences for permanent staff and visitors above.
Find out more here

On Sale Now: An Unofficial Black Friday Bargain Hunt!

135 West 70th Street Penthouse BC; Listing photo Douglas Elliman.

November 28, 2014

On Sale Now: An Unofficial Black Friday Bargain Hunt!

By Michelle Cohen

Late November can be an anxious time for both buyers and sellers; unpleasant weather, family events and just plain seasonal shutdown mode can reduce the traffic at open houses to a trickle and get properties pulled off the market until after New Year’s Day or even springtime. Sellers may panic and prices get cut in the hopes of getting the deal done before year’s end; it’s a good time for intrepid buyers to stay in the game, though, because the competition factor is at a minimum. After reading about Leo DiCaprio who, like Macy’s, Wal-Mart and Kohl’s, jumped the gun on the traditional discount day by price-chopping his haute-holistic Delos Living penthouse, we rounded up some stellar dwellings that received significant markdowns just in time for the popular post-Thanksgiving Day shop-a-thon. So if you’re on the hunt–or you’ve got a two-bed-two-bath-with-killer-views-sized stocking to fill–check out our list of sale merch of the real estate persuasion that–we hope–won't require you to queue up at the crack of dawn.
10 more discounted deals that are better than lords a-leaping

May 1, 2014

NYC Condos Designed by Pritzker Prize Winners

By Diane Pham

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is architecture’s most acclaimed honor. Since 1979, the award has been given away annually to honor one living architect whose built work demonstrates consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment. New York City is home to structures built by 12 of the 36 past winners — ranging from Philip Johnson to I.M. Pei to this year's winner, Shigeru Ban — and currently holds 14 residential examples of their work. One other fascinating tidbit is that condos designed by Pritzker Prize winning architects are selling on average a whopping 44% higher (price/square foot) than those their respective neighborhoods, and 47.5% higher than the Manhattan market average. But are they worth the money? Learn more about them all ahead.
Are these Pritzker Laureate-designed condos worth their markup?

Architecture And Design

April 24, 2014

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

By Diane Pham

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.
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The 74

201 East 74th Street

Lenox Hill

Gracious Upper East Side condos with Central Park and skyline views

2 beds starting at $3,380,000
3 beds starting at $4,850,000
5 beds starting at $11,950,000

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Turtle Bay

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