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]

From left: Jeffrey Gural of Newmark Knight Frank, Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development, David Weprin, Joe Sitt of Thor Equities and Frank Sciame, Jr. of F.J. Sciame Construction

Today, state Assemblyman David Weprin will get the nod from the
Democratic Party to run for Anthony Weiner’s old seat in Congress, which
he is expected to win.

And even though that seat, New York’s 9th, probably won’t be around for
long — population changes will likely force the state to phase it out in 2012
– some real estate executives are happy to have somebody they have close
ties to representing them in Washington, even for the short-term.

“He’s a good guy, and I don’t think the real estate industry has anything to
worry about,” said Jeffrey Gural, chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, who
contributed $2,000 to Weprin in 2010 for his assembly race, according to
campaign finance records. [more]

From left: Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, and his condo the Edge, developer Louis Greco, and his be@Schermerhorn

[Updated June 6, 2011 at 1:45 p.m. with detailed sales figures] Sales at the the Edge in Williamsburg have picked up rapidly, and in the past four months alone, the condominium has sold more units than any New York City residential building did in all of 2010. According to MNS, the brokerage formerly known as TDG/TREGNY which is exclusively marketing the development, the Edge garnered 144 signed contracts between Jan. 1, 2011 and June 1, 2011, including an average of more than 32 per month between February and May (see chart after the jump for a breakdown of sales by month). Granted the Edge is more than twice as big, but those sales numbers already shatter the figures posted by last year’s fastest selling building, according to PropertyShark.com, be@Schermerhorn, which sold 121 units out of 246 in the calendar year.

Now, 234 of the Edge’s 565 units have closed, and 61 are in contract, according to MNS. The firm told The Real Deal that the building’s location and amenities package, which includes an array of sports and spa facilities, have appealed to buyers.

[more]

Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development talks to Core’s Shaun Osher about his life as a developer and the Edge, the developer’s North Williamsburg waterfront condominium complex, in the video above. Levine says in the last six months, over 120 apartments have sold at the project, which the Developers Group has marketed since inception. The Real Deal reported in the beginning of the month that 165 units of the two buildings’ combined 565 residences, or 30 percent, have closed thus far, and over 100 more are in contract. The Woolworth Building, Levine tells Osher, is his favorite building in the world. [more]

The Edge, the North Williamsburg waterfront condominium complex by Douglaston Development, has hit the 50 percent sold mark. According to an announcement from the developer, 165 units of the two buildings’ combined 565 residences, or 30 percent, have closed thus far, and over 100 more are in contract. According to Highlyann Krasnow, who is heading up the Developers Group’s marketing efforts for the project, the current sales pace is at around 25 units per month, and the team is hoping for an uptick once the Edge’s water taxi service to and from Manhattan kicks off this summer. TRD [more]