Kathy Rudney, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, is handling rentals at Columbus Square

From the February issue:
It’s away from the heart of the Upper West Side. Its rents are up to 30 percent higher than the competition’s. And its shops more closely resemble strip-mall offerings than what’s typically found on city blocks. But Columbus Square, a mega mixed-use complex that spans six blocks from West 97th to 100th streets between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, is posting enviable rental and retail numbers in a down market, according to brokers familiar with the project and the neighborhood. Since May, the project has leased 290 of 454 apartments in two buildings at the site, where five buildings are planned, for a rental rate of 64 percent. One-bedrooms there list for about $3,400, which dwarfs the $2,300 average that postwar equivalents in the neighborhood usually command, brokers said. Once complete, Columbus Square will have 710 apartments. Of course, with the housing market still weak, tenants are receiving generous extras from the co-developers, Stellar Management and the Chetrit Group. Those incentives include up to three months of free rent, plus coverage of the broker’s fee, for signing a 14-month lease, according to Kathy Rudney, the Prudential Douglas Elliman broker handling rentals. But the base rents, she noted, are firm.  [more]

Jeffrey Davis, the general manager of Columbus Square, in front of the saltwater pool at 808 Columbus

From the January issue: When history books describe the real estate boom of the mid-2000s, they are likely to mention over-the-top amenities. In the mid-aughts, New Yorkers went mad for buildings with movie screening rooms, roof decks and pet spas. Buyers forked over six-figure down payments, and renters signed pricey yearlong leases, often assuming amenities were included. No more. Amid the hangover of the boom, the next generation of residential buildings will come with a bevy of extra fees and surcharges that New Yorkers aren’t accustomed to paying, often incurred to cover the cost of expensive features designed in more prosperous times. Fees for amenities at rental buildings did exist in some places before, but now are being expanded to include traditionally free features, like roof decks. New condos, meanwhile, are struggling to cover budget shortfalls by implementing transfer fees, special assessments and extra charges for previously included amenities like fitness and party rooms. [more]

Crane strikes scaffolding at 775 Columbus Avenue

A crane this afternoon struck a piece of scaffolding at 775 Columbus Avenue, a rental building under construction as part of the new Columbus Square complex, city officials said. There were no injuries, according to a fire department spokesperson, but emergency personnel were on the scene following the 2:15 p.m. collapse, making sure the crane was secure. It was not clear at press time what caused the collision. Columbus Square, developed by the Chetrit Group and Stellar Management, is a complex of five new glass rental buildings going up around Columbus Avenue between 97th and 100th Streets. It faced years of opposition from neighbors before construction began. A spokesperson for Columbus Square confirmed that no one was hurt and that leasing has not yet started at 775 Columbus Avenue. Two other buildings in the complex, 808 Columbus Avenue and 801 Amsterdam Avenue, have started renting. [more]

While new rental buildings have been offering ever-increasing incentive packages to draw in tenants, an Upper West Side apartment development’s financial package is causing some to doubt their brokers’ intentions. The five-building complex, Columbus Square, designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners, on Columbus Avenue between 97th and 100th streets, is reportedly offering three months’ free rent and $1,000 bonuses to brokers who can facilitate leases and get people to move in by Oct. 15. Jeffrey Davis, Columbus Square’s project manager, said that encouraging both brokers and renters to look at the building could yield better results than wooing tenants alone. “In this market you have to be creative,” Davis said. “I figured if I could incentivize everybody I would get more deals done.”