Douglas Elliman Development Marketing CEO Susan de Franca

Development firms that build high-stakes residential buildings in New York City should adopt marketers as “integral members” of the team from the outset, Douglas Elliman Development Marketing President and CEO Susan de Franca told the New York Times.

She said the marketing team should assist in what kind of property is built, what demographics it should appeal to, who the architect and interior designer should be, and ultimately what the layouts and unit mixes look like. [more]

From left: 400 Fifth Avenue and 210 East 21st Street

The most expensive Manhattan home to hit the market this week is the 6,883-square-foot 59th floor penthouse at the Setai Fifth Avenue, at 400 Fifth Avenue in Midtown South, according to Streeteasy.com. The full floor condominium unit has six bedrooms, six-and-two-half bathrooms and diamond-angled windows to enhance the light and the 360-degree views. It’s listed for $27.5 million by Gail Sankarsingh and Andrew Anderson of Prudential Douglas Elliman. As The Real Deal previously reported, the brokers would prefer to sell the entire floor as one unit, but are open to splitting it up. The cheapest Manhattan home to come online this week is a studio unit in the co-op building at 210 East 21st Street in Gramercy. Barak Realty’s Max Moondoc lists the apartment for $190,000, but requires an all cash transaction. Click here for more. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

Setai Fifth Avenue developer Bizzi & Partners hosted more than 200 brokers at the building’s two 60th floor penthouse units last night to formally introduce Prudential Douglas Elliman as its exclusive sales and marketing broker (see photos above). The building had been previously marketed in-house. Giuseppe Rossi, executive vice president at Bizzi & Partners, welcomed the crowd and Elliman Chairman Howard Lorber introduced his team, led by Karen Mansour, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Douglas Elliman Developments. The tower, located at 400 Fifth Avenue at the corner of 36th Street, includes a 214-room luxury hotel and 184 condominium units, and Elliman officials said the property is unlike any in the New York market and they expect it to drive tremendous demand from the brokerage community. TRD

Elliman’s Karen Mansour and 400 Fifth Avenue

Prudential Douglas Elliman will officially be named the new broker for the Setai Fifth Avenue, the luxury hotel and condominium from developer Bizzi & Partners, which now faces an amended lawsuit from the Setai Group for another $50 million, The Real Deal has learned. Karen Mansour, the director of development marketing at Elliman, will lead the new sales team, hoping to raise flagging sales at the 400 Fifth Avenue tower, which includes a 214-room hotel and a 184-unit condo. Sales previously had been managed internally by Elida Jacobsen Justo, director of sales at the Setai, who previously told The Real Deal that nearly 50 percent of the units had been sold. [more]

The Real Deal went party hopping last night. First, we chatted up the guests at the Friends of the Israeli Defense Force Real Estate Division Reception at Gotham Hall honoring Ofer Yardeni, managing partner and co-founder of Stonehenge Partners. Then, we dropped by the Setai Hotel and Residences at 400 Fifth Avenue, where three separate 58th-floor units were decorated in honor of classic films: “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Wall Street” (see photo gallery above). [more]

Architect Robert Siegel and Elliman’s Dolly Lenz

The Real Deal was on hand last Friday to celebrate the grand opening of the Setai Fifth Avenue Hotel & Residences, located at 400 Fifth Avenue on the corner of 36th Street. The Gwathmey Siegel & Associates development includes 214 hotel units on floors one through 30 and 184 condominium units on floors 31 through 60. Hosted by developer Bizzi & Partners, the event drew real estaters, local officials and partygoers. On hand were architect Robert Siegel, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Elida Jacobsen Justo of Bizzi & Partners and Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Dolly Lenz. See the slide show above for a glimpse into the Setai’s opening night. TRD

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The Setai Fifth Avenue, a 157-room hotel with 57 condominium units on top, developed by Bizzi & Partners, opened today at 400 Fifth Avenue, between 36th and 37th streets. The 60-story tower was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, together with interior designer DAS Concepts. TRD

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From left: Elida Jacobsen Justo, director of sales; Robert Siegel and Gregory Karn of Gwathmey Siegel; the rounded corner exterior of the Setai, at Fifth Avenue and 36th Street; and the view of New York City from the 59th-floor windows

The Setai Fifth Avenue, a new hotel and condominium project at 400 Fifth Avenue, is nearing completion, developers announced today during an advance press-only tour of the building. The 214-room hotel, developed by Bizzi & Partners, will open Nov. 1, with the 184-uni [more]

From the May issue: While the New York City real estate market is in
something of a deep freeze, one building is rolling out a truly chill
new amenity: an ice cave. The cave, planned for the Setai at 400 Fifth
Avenue, between 36th and 37th streets, is modeled on a European spa-type treatment. Inside the
enclosed space, the temperature will be set to 45 degrees. Big in
Europe, ice caves — where patrons can rub ice chips on their skin –
are the cooling counterpart to a sauna or other type of steam room.
While officials at the Setai declined to comment, Steven Kass,
president of American Leisure, which designs and operates spas and
fitness centers and helped create the ice cave at the Midtown Setai,
said the cold temperatures are good for the body and the skin. “The ice
cave is part of a series of thermal and water treatments that vary body
temperatures at different levels of exertion, which is good for the
skin, circulation and internal organs,” he said. [more]