535 West End Avenue

Power broker Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas Elliman has been found liable for withholding commission from a former colleague in a $13.7 million sale of a seven-bedroom penthouse at Extell’s 535 West End Avenue. In a judgment issued Jan. 3, the State Supreme Court ordered Lenz to pay close to $90,000 to settle the dispute, Real Estate Weekly reported. “I always try to stand up for what I believe in, and, just because Dolly Lenz is a power broker, it doesn’t give her the right not to honor her agreement,” said Jona Rechnitz, the former director of Africa-Israel acquisitions who brought the suit and who now runs JSR Capital, a real estate development company. [more]

Sales launched today at the Aldyn, a 286-unit rental and condominium building at 60 Riverside Boulevard near 64th Street, according to developer Extell Development. Corcoran Sunshine Development Marketing is the exclusive listing brokerage for the project, which was designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners. The Aldyn includes rental apartments on floors two through 10 and condo units on floors 11 through 40. TRD [more]

From the December issue: The New York City residential real estate market has come a long way
from the dark days of late 2008 and early 2009. But despite the moderate
improvements in the market, succeeding in the current climate remains
far from easy. Many brokers and developers left the industry when the
economy soured, and those that remain have no choice but to be on their
“A” game.
This month, The Real Deal is recognizing people and projects
in the industry who managed to have stellar years despite the difficult
economic conditions. To compile this list, we conducted an online
survey, receiving more than 300 responses. We also got input from
industry experts, gathered data from real estate listings aggregator
StreetEasy, and relied on our judgment as 24/7 industry observers. [more]

Conditions at the Apthorp are continuing to deteriorate, several tenants in the venerated Upper West Side condominium-conversion have told The Real Deal, and a visit by a reporter confirmed that the environment appears to be far from desirable — and, in some cases, far from safe.

Their complaints come just days after an article was published in the New York Times, detailing the trials of 95-year-old tenant and Holocaust survivor Irene Front, who said that numerous maintenance requests — including complaints of rampant rodent problems — went overlooked for weeks.

After months of back-and-forth between residents and the building sponsor and management, other tenants say that unsafe construction zones in the building, at 2211 Broadway between 78th and 79th streets, are easily accessible, some common areas are left with detritus and punctured walls and ceilings, while exposed cables abound, all of which The Real Deal saw this morning (see photos above).
[more]

From left: Fifteen Madison Square North, living room of unit 17AB, the building’s children’s playroom and the fitness center

Fifteen Madison Square North, a 69-unit condominium conversion, has been completely sold, according to Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group. The condo achieved an average sales price of $3.59 million, one of the highest averages to date for a development in the Madison Square Park neighborhood, Corcoran said. The average price-per-square foot was $1,497. Sales were completed in two phases; phase 1 launched in June 2006 and was sold out in April 2007, while phase 2 launched in November 2007 and is now complete. Closings began in July 2008. Over the past 12 months, 17 contracts were signed and 23 units closed. The highest priced residence in the building was 16BC, which closed for $12.16 million in April 2009 at $2,356 per square foot. The sale of residence 17AB — which closed for $12 million in January 2010, $2 million above the asking price — was named Corcoran Sunshine’s Deal of the Year. The property was developed by Walter & Samuels, in conjunction with RREEF’s Opportunity Funds Group, the real estate division of Deutsche Asset Management. Residences at the building feature14-foot-high ceilings, oversized windows and views of Madison Square Park. Designed by Daniel Goldner Architects and Nathan Egan Interiors, residences boast kitchens by Arclinea and bathroom finishes by Waterworks. TRD

[more]

Manhattan House condominium conversion developer O’Connor Capital
Partners recently received an extension on its $750 million
construction loan, according to Crain’s. The loan, which was supposed
to expire in the fall of 2011, now has a December 2013 maturity date.
The $1.1 billion conversion of the 575-unit building at 200 East 66th
Street on the corner of Third Avenue began three years ago. So far
around 137 apartments are either sold or in contract. Corcoran Sunshine
Marketing Group took over sales at the building in January 2009. Sales
began in 2007. [Crain's]

[more]

From left: 535 West End Avenue and Dolly Lenz

A full-floor unit at Extell Development’s 535 West End Avenue has sold for $12.91 million — 40 percent less tha [more]

From left: 535 West End Avenue and Dolly Lenz

A full-floor unit at Extell Development’s 535 West End Avenue has sold for $12.91 million — 40 percent less tha [more]

Charles Russell, formerly a managing director at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, has moved over to the competition: Prudential Douglas Elliman’s new development division.

Russell, who has worked at the Corcoran Group and Corcoran Sunshine for nearly 20 years, has been named a vice president at Elliman’s development marketing group and his first day was today, according to a spokesperson for Elliman, who added: “Prudential Douglas Elliman is very excited to have him.”

Reached on his cell phone, Russell confirmed that he’s moved to Elliman but didn’t provide further details. The Elliman spokesperson said Russell will be recruiting new business and consulting on new condominium projects. [more]

Bob Siegel, co-founder of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects

Bob Siegel who co-founded Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects in 1968, said his staff numbers 40 today, down from 65 two years ago. Plus, a few major projects are winding down, “and there are not a lot of replacements coming in” to the firm’s sole office, in Manhattan, Siegel said. One recently completed project is the new W Hoboken Hotel and Residence, a 26-story high-rise in New Jersey with 225 rooms and 30 condominium units, while the Financial District’s under-construction W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences, whose 58 stories contain 217 rooms and 159 residences, is set to debut within weeks, though the project has been somewhat troubled: the city has slapped it with 30 stop-work orders, and it’s wrapping up two years behind schedule. In an interview with The Real Deal, Siegel, 70, spoke about why his favorite New York neighborhood is Battery Park City, what apartment buildings will look like later this century and coping with the death of the firm’s other founder, Charles Gwathmey, last year. [more]