Aroza Sanjana, president of Warren Lewis, and the Jade 8 condo

A new eight-unit green condominium building called Jade 8 has debuted in Gowanus with one contract already signed, according to Warren Lewis Realty, the exclusive marketing and sales agent for the property.

The building, at 186 8th Street, features two-bedroom simplexes with private balconies, oversized one-bedroom garden duplexes, and two three-bedroom penthouse duplexes, one of which has already been snapped up. Units range in size from 905 to 1,475 square feet. They are priced between $725,000 and $1.15 million. [more]

A vital bridge loan from Canyon Capital Realty Advisors for the stalled condominium development at 1355 First Avenue known as the Charles has finally gone through, according to a press release from Canyon. The $25.6 million senior loan for developer Bluerock will enable the $170 million Upper East Side project to “refinance existing debt and to resume pre-development activities,” at the embattled site between 72nd and 73rd streets. The infusion from Los Angeles-based Canyon has been held up by legal issues since last month. Bluerock will retain development firm Victor Homes to get things going at the site, where construction should begin in the next 12 months, according to the release. – Guelda Voien [more]

Source: Extell Schedule A pricing data for One57 obtained by The Real Deal

Slated to be New York’s tallest residential tower, Extell Development’s 90-story One57 is one of the more ambitious condominium projects under construction. With presale prices ranging from $3,000 to $8,285 per square foot, it’s also one of the priciest (see pricing chart above). And while the units may fetch those sums, experts said the location and the uncertain economic future are working against Extell. “It’s a very rich price per square foot they’re asking there,” said Charlotte Van Doren, a Stribling & Associates senior vice president who has worked in the area, handling numerous sales at the Centria at 18 West 48th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. “This will be a really interesting test of the resilience of the luxury market and just how far that luxury market can be pushed.” [more]

The city is seeking proposals to build, operate and maintain a temporary structure enclosing the recreational fields on Pier 5 at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which are scheduled to open in the summer of 2012, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
Park officials announced late yesterday that they were seeking a developer for the enclosed recreational bubble with one soccer field that would be operational by the end of 2012. The city will spend up to $750,000 on construction, but the developer will be responsible for costs beyond that.
“The concession structure on Pier 5 will enrich the park by encouraging year-long active recreation,” said Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The structure will operate from Dec. 1 to March 31 each year. [more]

City and state officials plan to sign an agreement today that would allow limited private housing to be built at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the New York Times reported. The agreement will ensure the completion of the park, which will expand to 85 acres along the East River.
“Our goal when we took control of the piers was to transform them into one of the world’s great waterfront parks,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “and this agreement will enable us to realize that vision in its entirety.”
Housing, Bloomberg believes, will create a steady stream of money and allow the park to be self-sustaining. He initially wanted three apartment buildings at the park; property taxes would be dedicated to the park, the Times said.
The agreement would allow at least one building, near John Street, to go forward, but it would be substantially reduced in size. The two others, both near Pier 6, could shrink or even be eliminated. There are also plans for a hotel and retail complex to help generate revenue for park operations. [more]

After months of rapidly dropping prices in Manhattan’s residential market, more brokers say they’re seeing seeing stabilization across all types of housing stock, according to Crain’s. The rebound has been so pronounced that some brokers, like Marketing Directors CEO Adrienne Albert, are even raising prices on new development units. Albert, who recently boosted prices by 3 percent to 5 percent at the 44-unit Apex condominium in Harlem, said she’s one of many who are feeling more bullish. [more]

As monthly charges for co-op and condominiums continue to increase, many residents are exploring a cheaper alternative called self-management, in place of a super, according to the New York Times. A small percentage of buildings in New York City, most of them with only a handful of units, operate on this system, where residents are responsible for everything from taking out the trash to balancing the books and filing required forms with the Department of Buildings. The amount of money saved through this method can be as much as $750 a month, as is the case in a self-managed 12-unit prewar co-op in Park Slope, where two-bedroom apartments have sold recently for $589,000 and $575,000. As the economy struggles to recover, industry experts have noticed a growing interest in this “do-it-yourself” route. According to Rebecca Poole, the president of Real Estate Management Group, the three-part workshop that she teaches on self-management has started to attract representatives from buildings that are larger than the typical self-managed property. [NYT]

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After a tidal wave of complaints from buyers trying to renege on contracts in 2009, data from the state attorney general’s office show that the number of deposit refund requests has shriveled in the first quarter of the year, according to Crain’s. Just 43 complaints for condo deposit refunds were filed in the first three months of 2010, a figure that pales in comparison to 2009′s total of 475 such filings. While this might be interpreted as a positive sign for the market, real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey said it might have more to do with the relative dearth of buyers in 2009. “The era of wanting a deposit back is ending,” Bailey said. “That’s because hardly anybody has signed new contracts in the last year.”

Actor Paul Giamatti, best known for his roles in movies like “Sideways” and “Cinderella Man,” has purchased a $1.3 million condo in Brooklyn Heights, according to Real Estalker. The 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is the second-known abode that Giamatti owns — the other is located in Venice, Calif. The Brooklyn pad is outfitted with hardwood floors and marble kitchen countertops, and contains a 29-foot-deep living room.

Manhattan residential sales activity picked up for the Corcoran Group in February, according to market data from the residential brokerage. Condominium unit sales
closed by the company increased 9 percent month-over-month, according to the
company’s monthly market snapshot, while co-op sales shot up 23 percent
during that same time period. But while co-op sales prices were able to hold
steady with an approximately 5 percent increase between January and
February, condo prices were 4 percent lower in February 2010 than they were
in the previous month. TRD [more]