The number of people showing up to open houses has reached 2007 levels, and buyers are doing more than looking; they are buying, increasingly getting entangled in bidding wars, the New York Times said. It seems New York City is on the cusp of a true, unadulterated recovery from the 2008 economic crash. [more]

Douglaston Development President Jeffrey Levine and the Edge

Now that most of the residential units in the Edge have filled up, the retail portion of the massive Williamsburg waterfront condominium is seeing some life, too.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a 15,000-square-foot grocery store called Brooklyn Harvest Market, a contemporary Italian restaurant, espresso bar and bakery called named Fabbrica and a new bike shop called Ride Brooklyn are all set to move in to the building’s retail spaces. [more]

From left: the Brooklyn waterfront and Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development

The entire waterfront of Brooklyn is ripe for new residential development, Crain’s reported. Massive developments are rising, from more predictable spots, such as Williamsburg, down to less likely spots such as Sunset Park, along the east river and ocean, the magazine said.

“Rents and the economy in general have come roaring back since the depths of the Great Recession,” Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, told Crain’s. Douglaston is building a $300 million, 509-unit rental tower in Williamsburg, at North 4th Street and Kent, near the Edge. [more]

Douglaston Development Chairman Jeffrey Levine and the Cameo (credit: PropertyShark)

Douglaston Development is facing a $62 million foreclosure suit from CW Capital after allegedly defaulting on loan payments for the Cameo, a luxury rental building at 311 West 50th Street in Manhattan.

In a suit filed Feb. 29 in New York state Supreme Court, CW Capital alleges that Douglaston, led by chairman Jeff Levine, failed to make its monthly installments on $47 million in loans starting in August 2011, and has made no payments through last month. [more]

From left: renderings of Three Northside Piers, 388 Bridge Street and 88 Willoughby Street

As space for residential development dwindles in Manhattan, developers are turning to Brooklyn, the Wall Street Journal reported, but they must be careful if they want to appeal to the different sensibilities of Brooklyn renters.

Citing a report by Nancy Packes, a consultant to some of the city’s largest developers, the Journal said 14,000 new residential units are being planned for Brooklyn in the coming years, compared to just 5,000 in Manhattan. [more]

From left: Douglaston Development Chairman Jeffrey Levine (top), Patricia Dunphy, senior vice president of Rockrose Development (bottom left), the Riverpark farm, the DeKalb Market and the Brooklyn Flea

With more than 600 stalled construction sites currently blighting the city thanks to the recession, developers have begun renting out their vacant lots, sometimes free of charge, to ventures that can lure foot traffic to the area. According to the New York Times, the developers hope the increased traffic will improve the neighborhood — and sales and leasing figures — in advance of their projects breaking ground.

For example, Alexandria Real Estate Equities has fostered a farm on the stalled site of the second Alexandria Center for Life Science tower. Chef Tom Colicchio’s adjacent restaurant Riverpark uses produce from the farm, a set-up that has attracted interest to what would otherwise be a construction fence. [more]

From the October issue:
[more]

Edge developer Douglaston Development has taken the lead on building a nearby site at 3 Northside Piers in Williamsburg and plans to break ground on a $300 million project in March, the Wall Street Journal reported. Douglaston, led by CEO Jeffrey Levine, intends to build a 40-story rental tower where rents range from $55 to $60 per square-foot.

The tower was originally supposed to be part of a three-building complex developed by Toll Brothers, L&M Development Partners and RD Management, but after sales were slow — even after price cuts — in the first two Northside Piers buildings, Toll Brothers backed out of the project. L&M and RD will help on Douglaston’s version of the tower. [more]

From left: Douglaston’s Jeffrey Levine, the Edge and Frolic! logo

Frolic!, a rock ‘n’ roll-inspired play space and enrichment center for children, has signed a 10-year lease for 5,000 square feet of retail space at Brooklyn development the Edge, Douglaston Development announced today. The terms of the lease were not immediately available.

“As Williamsburg mothers and homeowners, we’ve seen first hand the growing need for a spacious and enjoyable destination for the entire family” said Frolic! co-founder Carey Balogh, “and the Edge was an obvious choice for us.”

The space, in the 565-unit condominium at 34 North 7th Street and being marketed by Robert Greenstone, chairman and CEO of Greenstone Realty (see: correction appended), will feature an open 1,500-square-foot indoor playground and over 1,000 square feet of classroom space. – Katherine Clarke [more]

From left: Stonehenge Partners COO Andrew Hoffman, Jeffrey Levine, principal of Douglaston Development, Michael Gubbins, vice president at the Albanese Organization and Joseph Sbiroli, principal of Ventura Land

After a major evacuation, extensive preparations and a two-day mass transit shutdown, New
Yorkers have emerged after Hurricane Irene to find their city mostly unscathed.

“It was a remarkable non-event,” said Andrew Hoffman, COO of Stonehenge Partners.

Stonehenge, which manages approximately 2,500 apartments in 20 buildings, avoided the
evacuation orders with buildings like Midtown’s Ritz Plaza and 10 Downing.

Hoffman said they geared up for the storm by supplying each building with plywood, water
pumps, water vacuums, flashlights, batteries and thousands of glow sticks. [more]