Green developer eyes busted condo properties

Christopher Albanese, the developer of Battery Park City’s energy-efficient Visionaire condo and rental building the Solaire, is setting his sights on busted condo projects for his next green endeavor. Albanese, a principal of the Albanese Organization, told the New York Times that while “banks have been very slow to dispose of property,” there are several busted condo projects his firm is eyeing and he expects banks to be willing to sell by this time next year. Meanwhile, sales at LEED Platinum-certified condo the Visionaire, at 70 Little West Street, are on a one-per-week pace, down from 8 to 10 per week before the Lehman Brothers collapse. Prices are averaging $1,150 a foot, down from $1,300 a foot at the peak of the market. At the Solaire, which is located at 20 River Terrace and is 100 percent occupied, rents are down to $55 a foot with no concessions from $65 a foot at the peak. [NYT]