Archive for the ‘Manhattan Real Estate News’ Category
CurbedWire: Reflecting on 3 Columbus; WTC Trident Complete; Babs on Mosque
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
HELL'S KITCHEN—A well-placed top secret Curbed correspondent reveals the shocking real reason for that much-despised glassy facade facelift of 1775 Broadway, now known as foreclosure casualty 3 Columbus Circle: To create a great reflection of the Hearst Tower! We take back everything we've said about 3 Columbo. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WORLD TRADE CENTER—Last week we pointed out that the original Twin Towers tridents are at the site of the 9/11 Memorial, awaiting reassembly. Well, today one of the tridents became whole again. Meanwhile, at a 7 World Trade Center press conference, Mayor Bloomberg reiterated that the Memorial & Museum will be open for the tenth anniversary of the attacks next year. Continuing the back-on-track theme, a Bloomberg (news agency, not the guy) story says that all current World Trade Center construction could wrap up by 2014. [The Memo Blog/Bloomberg]
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—Speaking of the WTC, our long national nightmare of not knowing where Barbara Corcoran stands on the "ground zero mosque" controversy is over. Apparently she is taking a "liberal and heart felt view." Guess Sarah Palin will never buy an apartment through her. [@BarbaraCorcoran]
Linkage: Columbia Demolishes Block; Washington Square Park Woes
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
[Via Curbed Photo Pool/Tim Schreier]
· All in the Family star's 75 Central Park West apartment sold [NYO]
· Columbia takes the wrecking ball to West 115th Street block [HB]
· One broker's analysis of the August lull in sales [UrbanDigs]
· There are some omissions from Bill deBlasio's slumlord watch list [VV]
· Inside the world of people who collect apartments [Artinfo]
· Car has close encounter with Brooklyn Heights brownstone [BHB]
· Has everyone behind Washington Square Park work "fallen asleep at the wheel?" [WSP]
· New South 'Burg building revealed! ['Stoner]
· Chatting with the broker leasing 1 WTC office space [NYO]
· God—and Community Board 7—hates Sunday parking freeloaders [DNAinfo]
· Restaurant opening in Union Square mystery hotel [Hotel Chatter]
Facade Face-Off: Harlem’s New Condos Pick Out Matching Outfits
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
Among all the other new and under-construction condos in Harlem, 2080 Frederick Douglass Boulevard—which will eventually have 18 market-rate units and four affordable ones—has flown under our radar. But Harlem Bespoke has been tracking its progress and noticed the recent peel-off of the scaffolding. Instead of the neighborhood's standard red and yellow brick, 2080 FDB is copying the gray facade of nearby surprise seller the Parc Standard, which one commenter believes "looks like it was dropped from a spaceship and crashed into the middle of the block." So is this a full-on alien invasion?
· 2080 FDB Reveals Gray Facade [Harlem Bespoke]
· Harlem Oversupply Poster Child Bags Fifteen Buyers [Curbed]
Floorplan Porn: $6.5 Million Buys This in Chelsea’s Most Terrifying Condo
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
One way to take the edge off the terror of waking up in the Chelsea Stratus: wake up in an apartment like this one! The 3,400-square-foot condo belongs to Veronica and Darrell Lighty, who paid $5,376,360 for it in 2008. They're now asking $6.5 million for the place, which has two washer-dryers, a shoe closet in the master bedroom, and oh-so-trendy zebra print everywhere.
· Listing: 101 West 24th Street [Elliman]
· 101 West 24th Street #34CE [StreetEasy]
Harlem’s Apex Almost On Sale: The Apex condos, on top of…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
The Apex condos, on top of the new Aloft hotel on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, are going on sale this month, and The Real Deal fills us in on what Aloft amenities buyers will get to indulge in: "Residents of the condos will have access to hotel amenities including a bar, fitness center and on-site parking, and will also have their own private, secured entrance, residents-only elevators, storage and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views." No nightly turndown? Travesty. [Real Deal; previously]
Miller Time: Three Cents Worth: 30 Days Hath September Inventory
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
[This week, real estate appraiser, Curbed graph guru, and podcaster extraordinaire Jonathan Miller investigates the post-Labor Day listings bounce.]
Click to expand!
It's that time of year again, plus I've never used "hath" before so I thought I'd give it a try.
There's always hype surrounding the likely jump in available Manhattan inventory for the month of September, after the Labor Day weekend. Slow news cycles, people wrapping up their summer, sellers waiting until after the holiday, kids getting back to school—they all seem to provide a summer bookend for listing activity.
Since 2001, there has been an average increase of 9.5% from the end of August to the end of September (excluding shadow inventory), with the assumption that listing inventory will rise through the end of the year. Six out of the eight times that inventory rose in September, it also increased in October, but there was only a 4.4% average increase from the end of August to the end of December.
It's the first half of each year that should be of primary concern.
· Manhattan Co-ops + Condos Monthly Listing Inventory [Miller Samuel]
· Three Cents Worth archive [Curbed]
Housing Inventories Rise for Eighth Straight Month
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Distressed Properties, Manhattan Foreclosures, Manhattan REOs, Manhattan Real Estate News
Comments Off Crookery: One of the infamous Open House…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
One of the infamous Open House Bandits just had her felony charges dismissed after completing a shoplifting program and staying out of trouble. Back in 2007, Jessica Joyner and her partner-in-crime, Jennifer Jones, gained notoriety for donning disguises and robbing Upper West Side and Upper East Side apartments during open houses. Joyner will keep her felony record for some heists in New Jersey. Jones struck a similar Manhattan plea deal earlier this summer. Lock up your baubles. [NYP]
On the Racked: Fashion’s Night Out Rehearses; Marc Jacobs Cafe Opening Uptown?
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
And now, the latest from Racked NY, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.
1) UWS: Our friends at Racked are getting excited for tonight's Fashion's Night Out: The Show extravaganza. See a sneak preview of the show, including a group of models dancing onto a bus, here.
2) NYC: Rumor has it that in addition to the new Bookmarc store now open on Bleecker Street, there may be a Marc Jacobs Cafe coming. But it won't be the next step in the Marc Jacobs takeover of Bleecker Street: it might be opening uptown.
3) East Harlem: Harlem's East River Plaza has another new addition: Verizon's "evolution store," which is full of Verizon devices to play with in a futuristic space.
· Racked [ny.racked.com]
Home Buyer Tax Credit Price Tag: $22 Billion
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Distressed Properties, Manhattan Foreclosures, Manhattan REOs, Manhattan Real Estate News
Comments Off Tuesday Townhouse: Underground Railroad Stop Now Asking $4.975 Million
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
This 1847 townhouse at 95 Barrow Street was once home to choreographers Alvin Nikolais and Murray Louis, and, long before that, was allegedly a stop on the Underground Railroad. (We're still waiting for Harriet Tubman's confirmation on that one.) These days it's just your average 2,592-square-foot West Village townhouse with seven wood-burning fireplaces, only four of which actually burn wood. It's kicking off the fall sales season with an asking price of $4.975 million.
[Click to expand!]
· Listing: 95 Barrow Street [Elliman]
· 95 Barrow Street [StreetEasy]
Street Fighters: As Union Square’s Traffic Changes Begin, Here Comes Truffle
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
The Department of Transportation's rapid-fire makeover of Broadway—in which anything equipped with an internal combustion engine is viewed as an enemy of the state—has reached Union Square. Work has kicked off on the north end of the park, with traffic lanes along 17th Street already reduced and pedestrian plazas and bike paths waiting in the wings (hence the paint job placeholder above), which should create more room for the Greenmarket's spillover crowd.
The transformation of Broadway hasn't been without controversy, and the Times dives into the topic today, writing that the Bloomberg administration has turned it into a "narrow passageway with barely more room for cars than a sleepy street in Greenwich Village." That's a good thing, at least according to the transportation nerds who say Broadway was always meant for pedestrians. Drivers, well, they have a different take on the matter.
· Broadway Is Busy, With Pedestrians, if Not Car Traffic [NYT]
· Union Square's New Plaza Sketched [Curbed]
A Landmark Bankruptcy: We don’t often hear about landmarks…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
We don't often hear about landmarks filing for bankruptcy, but the bad years have finally caught up with the Upper Upper West Side's Metro Theater at 2626 Broadway. A deal to put a big Urban Outfitters store in the vacant building fell through when the owners started squabbling (the chain opened up across the street instead), and the theater, between West 99th and 100th Streets, has been vacant since. The building was up for sale for $10 million, if anyone is thinking of mansionizing it. [Crain's]
Construction Watch: Now the Bowery Has a Blue, Too!
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
Cars stuck in traffic near the mouth of the Manhattan Bridge at Bowery and Hester Street are getting a good glimpse of Chinatown's answer to the Lower East Side's BLUE. Sadly, this latest aqua-hued tower probably won't have outdoor showers and inspire PhotoShop hijinx. It's just a boring new Wyndham hotel, which Bowery Boogie filed some updated construction photos of now that the glass is climbing up the 18-story skeleton. The hotel replaced the last Chinatown movie theater and got a bunch of folks riled up. Maybe the motion of the ocean will calm them down a bit.
· Wyndham Garden Hotel Gets More Glass [Bowery Boogie]
· 93 Bowery coverage [Curbed]
On the Market: The 141 Prince Street water tower-topped…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
The 141 Prince Street water tower-topped penthouse owned by Rupert Murdoch and then Elie Tahari may be off the market, but for water tower fans, there are other options in the building. Like the 60'-wide fourth-floor loft, which cordially invites you to "bring your designer!" That's for the low, low price of $8 million, but hey, the maintenance is only $1,200/month! [Meisel; previously]
Fall Reset Week: Shake Off the Back-to-School Blues With a Curbed Internship!
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
Now that the symbolic end of summer is in our rear-vie, we can get back down to business—the business of our annual (except when it's not) Curbed Fall Reset Week! All week we'll be reminding you of ways to stay involved with the Curbediverse, the first of which is through non-compensated part-time employment! Are you an eager, perhaps college-age person who happens to enjoy Curbed on a daily basis? If so, this opportunity may be for you. We're looking for interns with journalism in their blood to join our merry band ASAP.
Internship responsibilities may include (a) attending long, boring meetings from which you may be required to file entertaining and witty reports; (b) dashing from Curbed HQ to the scene of breaking news with camera in hand; and (c) undertaking onerous, potentially soul-crushing, research projects. The pay shall be zero dollars. The glory shall be extreme. Timing's very flexible. Interested persons should send an email to interns@curbed.com with a brief description of yourself and your interest in the gig. No attachments, please. If we like what we see, we'll get back to you quickly. Thanks.
Market Reports: New York Magazine mined sales data…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
New York Magazine mined sales data for the year so far to come up with the most popular apartment types and median closing prices in some of Manhattan's most popular neighborhoods. Prewar co-ops, especially 2BRs, are the favorites across a few neighborhoods, but prices range from $441,500 for Upper Manhattan to $1,257,500 for the same type of apartment in Tribeca. FiDi bucks the trend, with the most popular apartments being postwar studio condos for a median price of $549,855 in buildings loaded with amenities. [NYM]
Real Estate Sold: Tight Deadline Leads to Top Dollar for Carroll Gardens Cutie
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
Creepy ornamental mannequins aside, we're way into this two-family Carroll Gardens townhouse at 449a Sackett Street. Sure, it just misses the magical 20' wide mark, but that is some serious lumber on those floors, and the farmhouse vibe in the kitchen makes us giddy for Pa to return home from the fields. According to its retired Corcoran listing, the 1.922sqft house went the "best and highest" route with a deadline of May 20th, which StreetEasy tells us is not longer after the place hit the market.
Did drawing that line in the sand help or hurt the bidding? Welp, the asking price was $1.15 million, and the closed sale just hit public record, coming in at $1.27 million. A bold play rewarded with ultimate victory. We're going to need a nap to deal with these tense real estate mind games.
· Listing: 449a Sackett Street [Corcoran]
· 449a Sackett Street [StreetEasy]
Flower Power: After much outcry, the city is…
September 7th, 2010
Posted in Manhattan Real Estate, Manhattan Real Estate News
After much outcry, the city is close to granting community gardens more long-term protections, but no permanent guarantees are being made. The new rules would give neighborhoods fair warning when a developer is trying to swoop in, and give extra protections to gardens that aren't just junk-filled scrapheaps that are never really open, which is how more than a few of them could be described if we were feeling catty. [NYDN]
Comment of the Day: “They should really just be bold…
"They should really just be bold and ban cars from Broadway entirely. It's clear that that's the ultimate goal, but going piecemeal just makes people leery of the positive changes Broadway has already undergone as if it's some kind of evil conspiracy."—anon [As Union Square's Traffic Changes Begin, Here Comes Truffle]