Search Results for: garden

September 4, 2015

PBDW Architects Add a Dramatic Rear Conservatory to This Greenwich Village Townhouse

The scope of this beautiful Greenwich Village Townhouse renovation, completed back in 2003 by PBDW Architects, was massive, but from what we can see, totally worth it. It included adding complete structural reinforcement and new building systems. Additionally, the home's exterior and interior spaces were fully restored, and a new garden and conservatory was added to the back of the building.
See the full renovation
September 3, 2015

Miraculously Unscathed by Time, This Historic Wooden UES Townhouse Seeks Tenants

Townhouses available for rent have a way of seeming decadent and dreamy, the perfect home for a collective of friends or a lucky city family. Their monthly bill is often but a dream for many as well, and this Upper East Side home asking $18,500 a month is no exception; the house itself, however, is quite exceptional. The amazingly preserved home at 120 East 92nd Street, as well as its neighbor at number 122, and a third, a block over at number 160, comprise a trio of wooden houses built between 1859 and 1871, before the city sprung up on all sides. This collection of dainty wooden houses presents an utterly charming shock of nostalgia amid the brick, stone and steel of Manhattan's Upper East. One of the last wood-frame houses to be built in Manhattan, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission called 120 East 92nd "...a delightful surprise. Time and change have passed it by." But change, in this case, has been good: The three-story, four-bedroom home's longtime owners have renovated it for comfort and livability–and preserved it with the utmost care; it boasts every modern convenience while keeping its historic beauty.
Take a look inside this rare historic home
September 3, 2015

Village Green West, Alfa Development’s Chelsea Condominium, Nears Completion

The finishing touches are being applied to Alfa Development's environmentally sensitive and industrially evocative condominium Village Green West. According to CityRealty, only two if its 27 units are are currently up for grabs, with at least 18 already in contract. Alfa's 12-story mid-block building is centrally positioned at 245 West 14th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues at the crossroads of Chelsea, the West Village, and the Meatpacking District. The Michael Namer-led development team purchased the 5,200-square-foot development site in 2012 for $14.65 million.
More details on the project here
September 2, 2015

Bed-Stuy Brownstone With Its Historic Details Intact Asks $1.9 Million

The days of finding an affordable historic brownstone in Brooklyn are long gone. Today, brownstones–like this one at 348 Gates Avenue in Bed-Stuy–are priced into the millions. Because the home has much of its historic interior details intact, like mantles, high ceilings and the original hardwood floors, it's especially pricey for the neighborhood, with an asking price of $1.9 million. It's also in a convenient area of the neighborhood, bordering Clinton Hill and off the main drag of Franklin Avenue. So, will this brownstone achieve its high ask?
See more to decide
September 2, 2015

Find Historic Brownstone Warmth and Manhattan Convenience at This Chelsea Duplex Rental

It's hard to resist historic brownstone interiors with their high ceilings, graceful plaster molding and tall townhouse windows. Living on two floors of a townhouse feels pretty much like you've got a whole house to yourselves. Throw in a wood-burning fireplace–and, even better, a tasteful renovation–and we can't imagine a better place to settle in and get ready for winter. Just one flight up, this gorgeous three-bedroom duplex at 322 West 20th Street is on the rental market for $9,800 a month; at 1,800 square feet, it's not house-sized, but it beats the average Manhattan apartment by a city mile–and many a sleek downtown duplex rents for as much or more.
Take a look inside this pretty brownstone apartment
September 1, 2015

Modern Two-Bedroom in Williamsburg Comes With a Dreamy Outdoor Space

If you're on the hunt for a modern condo unit (and aren't shopping on a strict budget), Williamsburg is one Brooklyn neighborhood that is full of them. Here's the top-floor unit at 317 South 4th Street, a boutique condo with four total units—a two-bedroom, two-bathroom on the market for $1.45 million. The floor-through apartment has all modern finishes, lots of glass, a private balcony and even a 700-square-foot roof garden.
See more of it
September 1, 2015

For $725K This One-Bedroom Chelsea Jewel-Box Is a Just-Right Downtown Dream

On a postcard-perfect tree-lined West Chelsea street, tucked among elegant, historic apartment buildings, this one-bedroom garden co-op at 433 West 24th Street has just what it takes to recharge and take refuge from the surrounding kaleidoscope of New York City life. The listing for this funky and fabulous flat offers no floor plan or square footage, but rooms appear well-designed to take advantage of the available living space–and look good doing it.
Tour the apartment here
August 28, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Courtside at the Century-Old West Side Tennis Club With Roland Meier and Bob Ingersole

With the U.S. Open starting on Monday, tennis fever is once again sweeping across the city. Over the next two weeks, thousands of New Yorkers will hop on the 7 train or the Long Island Rail Road to watch the likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams play in Flushing Meadows at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. However, prior to 1978, tennis players and fans found themselves playing and cheering at a different venue: The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. The West Side Tennis Club was the former home of the U.S. Open. Founded in 1892 in Manhattan, the club moved to Forest Hills in 1913, where it played host to many great moments in tennis history. Following the U.S. Open's relocation, The West Side Tennis Club faced a number of challenges and retreated from the spotlight. But after years under the radar, the club's president Roland Meier and tennis director Bob Ingersole are helping The West Side Tennis Club re-emerge as a major player on the tennis scene. We recently spoke with Roland and Bob to learn how history and modernity mix in Forest Hills.
Read our interview with the pair here
August 28, 2015

Enchanting 1930s Tudor Home Is Just $429K, but Also Way Out in Queens

Have you ever heard of Laurelton? If not, start Googling. It's a neighborhood in Queens where you can buy a single-family home for $429,000—a very impressive price in today's real estate market. It's a Tudor built in around 1930 with a charming exterior, unique details on the interior, a small front and back yard and a garage. Of course, at that price, you'll make some kind of sacrifice—it's not located anywhere near a subway station. But if you're in the market for an affordable single-family, don't write this one off.
Check it out
August 27, 2015

Ultra Minimal Long Island Home Blurs the Lines Between Indoor and Outdoor

If you're going to live in the middle of nature in Amagansett, a hamlet on the south shore of Long Island, you want to be reminded of the beautiful outdoors as much as possible. That seems to be the inspiration behind this home built by the architecture firm Levenbetts, who designed this property for a couple and their teenage children. It's been dubbed the 36SML House and was designed as three connected wings—a wing for the couple, another wing for their kids, and yet another one for guests. A driveway cuts through the middle of the home, and there's a roof deck (with amphitheater seating!) on top. Each wing of the house also creates separate courtyard spaces to accommodate parking space, a vegetable garden, and a play area with a swimming pool. Thoroughly impressed by the exterior?
Now check out the interior
August 27, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at Thor Equities’ Retail Jewel Box in Williamsburg

Last August, Joseph Sitt's Thor Equities purchased a string of Williamsburg properties for nearly $22 million with the intent of replacing the gritty row with a 10,000-square-foot retail jewel box. Now, Thor's website gives us our first look at what the prime property at the southeast corner of Berry and North 6th Streets may hold. The two renderings presented of 124-136 North 6th Street reveal a sleek, two-story building clad in brick and glass that could potentially house a half-dozen boutique retailers. According to the Observer, who first reported the deal last October, Thor is seeking a retail showroom and/or restaurant tenants. Above the spaces, the building may be topped with a gardened roof deck enclosed in trellises.
More details
August 26, 2015

City’s Next Floating Park May Be a Giant Food Forest

It seems the way to create new public spaces in New York these days is to float them in the rivers. First there was the +Pool, then Pier55, and now we introduce to you Swale, a floating food forest that may grace our waters next summer. The New York Observer reports that artist Mary Mattingly is looking to embark on the project, which will "be created with collaborators and built from repurposed shipping containers, will stretch 50 feet across and will feature a gangway entrance, walkways, and an edible forest garden." The floating garden will move around to different docks in the harbor to serve various communities. Local students and gardeners are working on a wetland plant base that will filter the river water to help grow edible plants.
More on the project ahead
August 26, 2015

Construction Update: Perch Harlem, Manhattan’s First Passive House Rental Building, Rises

A tipster has alerted us that Manhattan's first market-rate rental building built to passive house standards has reached street level. Dubbed Perch Harlem, the soon-to-be-seven-story structure is located in the uppermost reaches of Harlem's Hamilton Heights section at 542 West 153rd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues. "Perched"on a ridge 150 feet above sea level, the site overlooks the bucolic grounds of Trinity Cemetery, which is the only active burial ground on the island. The project's forward-thinking developers, the Synapse Development Group with its investment partner Taurus Investment Holdings, purchased the 10,000-square-foot former parking lot back in December of 2013 and have since been growing their Perch brand of passive house buildings that focus on low-impact living and community-oriented design. A second Perch building is slated for Williamsburg at 646 Lorimer Street.
Find out more about Perch Harlem
August 25, 2015

Experience Brooklyn Townhouse Living Without the Commitment in This Pretty Cobble Hill Rental

If you've ever harbored a certain kind of Brooklyn townhouse fantasy–but aren't ready for the responsibility (or the mortgage)–this is about as close to the dream as it gets. And though it might require a tiny bit of imagination (picture it with furniture!) this just-renovated triplex rental at 198 Warren Street checks all the boxes--charming restored original details, five bedrooms (though one is tiny) if you've got a big family or just want to share the rent, 2,500 square feet of living space, a brand-new kitchen, central A/C, and outdoor space. And you're in one of Brooklyn's most desirable enclaves in Cobble Hill on a picture-postcard block near, as the brokers say, all.
Check out the historic interiors, this way
August 21, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: 100 GATES’s Natalie Raben on Beautifying the Dreary Metal Gates of the LES

Natalie Raben spends her days thinking about closing time, specifically the gates businesses roll down when they lock up for the night. For Natalie, these metal gates represent blank canvases waiting to tell stories. And over the last several months, she has been focusing on turning them into works of art as she oversees and manages the 100 GATES Project. Natalie spends much of her time connecting interested businesses with artists to support a collaboration that creates a sense of community each evening. With a mixture of well-known artists like Buff Monster and up-and-comers making their debut, these once-bland metallic gates are livening up the area, engaging residents visually as well as inspiring conversations around the works themselves. So far over 40 gates have been completed and more will be finished later this month. We recently spoke with Natalie to learn more about this unique project and how the neighborhood is responding to it.
Read our interview with Natalie here
August 21, 2015

An Incredible Private Hideaway Asks $12.75 Million in the Adirondacks

The listing calls this "a private hideaway for those who seek the finest craftsmanship and location." For sure, the house at 553 Hawk Ridge Road, nicknamed Camp Big Rock, is pretty special. It's located on 30 sprawling acres near Saranac Lake, up in the Adirondacks. The modern house, designed by the architect Shope Reno Wharton, was even impressive enough to land on the cover of Architectural Digest. And there is so much more than the home: the grounds include a boathouse, beach cabin, guest house, barn, gym cabin, caretaker's cabin and tennis court. There's no "roughing it" here. This is the luxurious day camp of your dreams.
See more
August 20, 2015

1920s Popular Science Illustration Stacks the Future American City Like a Layered Cake

As the automobile became more widely available in the 1920s, the idea of living in the suburbs became far more appealing to Americans. Residents of large cities sought to escape increasingly crowded streets (thanks to industrialization), and with newly paved roads and auto ownership, taking on a commute was well worth the space and comfort that was paid out in return. While many urbanists and architects in the '20s predicted that suburban migrations would give way to sprawl (and it eventually did), other urban "futurists" balked at the idea of decentralization, and believed instead that Americans would be living and thriving in high-density vertical cities. Architect Harvey W. Corbett's “May Live to See, May Solve Congestion Problems” is one such proposal that sees everything from homes, offices, schools, green space and even aircraft landing fields stacked on top of each other for the ultimate metropolis.
Have a closer look at the complete plan here
August 20, 2015

Modernist Designer Russel Wright’s Hudson Valley Home Is a Rare Example of Organic Mid-Century Architecture

Dwell Magazine recently brought to our attention this magical modernist gem, located in the Putnam County town of Garrison, New York. Manitoga, the house, studio and 75-acre wooded garden of mid-century industrial designer Russel Wright (1904-1976), is one of the few 20th century modern homes open to the public in New York State. A firm believer in the idea that “good design is for everyone,” Russel Wright was a pioneer of the idea of modern living in America. Best known for his organic yet elegant American Modern dinnerware collection, his became a household name–one which could be found on the underside of each of the over 200 million pieces that were sold between 1939 and 1959. But the designer's lesser-known–yet no less remarkable–effort can be seen in the home and surrounding landscape–including a large abandoned granite quarry–which were acquired by Russel and Mary Wright in 1942. Now a National Historic Landmark, and virtually unchanged save ongoing improvements and renovations, the Manitoga/Russel Wright Design Center hosts tours, hikes, performances and an artists’ residency.
Find out more about Russel Wright's lesser-known masterpiece this way
August 19, 2015

Supermodel and Daughter of Zipcar Founder, Cameron Russell Scoops Up a $1.5M Bed-Stuy Townhouse

Victoria's Secret model, TED Talk speaker, burgeoning media mogul and daughter of Zipcar founder Robin Chase, Cameron Russell has just scored herself a cover-worthy townhouse in Stuyvesant Heights. According to city records filed this afternoon, the model dropped $1.522 million on the home, paying a tad more than the original ask of $1.45 million. Featured on 6sqft previously, the three-story, multi-family property was given an update back in 2011 and boasts high-end renovations, beautifully restored details and all the Brooklyn brownstone charm one could ask for. There's even a solar array topping off the structure and a large garden to boot!
Have a closer look inside
August 17, 2015

Wood Detailing Galore at This Bed-Stuy Brownstone Asking $2 Million

One of our favorite things about old, well-kept brownstones? The intricate wood detailing you'll find along the doorways, mantelpieces, staircases and shelving. The phrase, "They just don't make them like that anymore" applies here. This brownstone at 429 Hancock Street in Bed-Stuy, a classic Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood, has plenty of the above details. As the listing says, the home is in the Queen Anne style with some Romanesque Revival elements thrown in. It's also got some modern upgrades to go along with it. For this blend of the historic and the new, it's going to cost you a total of $1.999 million.
Tour the interior
August 14, 2015

Elegant Brownstone in Sleepy South Slope Asks $2.65M

The Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenwood–with Park Slope to the north and Sunset Park to the south–has become a top choice for buyers priced out of other headline-stealing neighborhoods. It retains its somewhat sleepy old-Brooklyn feel, while enabling residents to stay in the loop with an ever-growing roster of amenities–including those in nearby Park Slope, Gowanus and Red Hook. The area is convenient, transit-wise; Prospect Park is its northeast border, and adjacent Green Wood Cemetery is one of the city's most treasured green spaces. South Slope itself has seen a precipitous price leap as it has gone from being a dodgy lower annex to merely a more laid-back option. And homes in Greenwood are no longer the "steal" they once were, but they are still expected to be considerably less costly than their northern counterparts. The row of stately four-story 19th century brownstones that includes 228 17th Street seems almost out of place among the eclectic mix of wood-frame, vinyl-sided and brick homes, larger townhouses and apartment buildings, some of them with modern renovations (plus the unavoidable march of new construction), that give both South Slope and Greenwood their laid-back feel. But variety is certainly welcome here. The home was first listed in April with Brooklyn Properties for $2.95 million, reduced to $2.750 million shortly thereafter, delisted in July, then listed anew in the able hands of Halstead at its current ask.
Take a tour
August 13, 2015

Marilyn Monroe and Milton Greene Conspired in This Upper East Side Townhouse

Back in 2006, this 3,500 square-foot four-story Upper East Side townhouse first surfaced on the rental market, and again three years later; in 2010, its owner attempted to find a renter for the winter holiday season (a portion of December) apparently without much luck. After bouncing through several different agencies, 127 East 78th Street landed at Sotheby's in 2011 with the intent of marketing the house as a summer rental for $25K; not much luck there either, as townhouse renters tended to want something more long term. A lesson seems to have been learned here, as there are no short-term stipulations mentioned in its new listing for $27,500.00 a month. What is mentioned is more interesting: The townhouse once belonged to famous fashion photographer Milton Greene–known for his collaboration with Marilyn Monroe on photo shoots as well as their joint film production company–and his wife, Amy. Marilyn considered the home a sanctuary among friends when she was in town. And though its interiors have likely been updated since Marilyn's day, the elegant Upper East Side enclave still retains the aura of an East Coast refuge for Old Hollywood.
Take a look around
August 13, 2015

Inside Brooke Shields’ Hamptons Cottage; A NY Cabby Scores a $226/Month Chelsea Pad

Taxi driver Hamidou Guira has finagled himself a $226/month apartment at the Chelsea High Line Hotel using a little known rent regulation law. [NYP] Take a tour of Brooke Shields’ colorful and classy cottage on Long Island. [Better Homes and Gardens] Real Estate bigwig and “Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran is reportedly eyeing Tavern Island as her […]

August 12, 2015

Green, Grand, Great Eats: A History of Jackson Heights and Its Future as the Next Hot ‘Hood

As the transformation of Queens reaches a bit deeper into the borough, it’s really no surprise that Jackson Heights is quickly becoming a focal point for savvy buyers and renters. The area, roughly bounded by Northern Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, Roosevelt Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is fully loaded with stunning pre-war co-ops practically everywhere and shiny new redevelopments for under $800,000. Combine this with its diverse cultural offerings and a myriad of subways that can always get you smack dab in the middle of Manhattan in less than 30 minutes (that’s better than a lot of the up-and-coming areas of Brooklyn, mind you), it has all the makings for the next hipster-setting housing boom.
Why Jackson Heights is one to consider