From left: Jeffrey Davis, the general manager of Columbus Square, 801 Amsterdam Avenue and 808 Columbus Avenue

(Updated with comments from Yuval Greenblatt: 1:41 p.m.; updated with
date of completion for project: 2:51 p.m.) The Chetrit Group and Stellar Management have taken leasing at the Upper West Side’s Columbus Square out of the hands of Prudential Douglas Elliman and put it in the hands of five new in-house leasing agents. Elliman’s one-year contract for the leasing of the two rental towers 801 Amsterdam Avenue and 808 Columbus Avenue expired March 31, said Jeffrey Davis, general manager of Columbus

Square. In that time, the brokerage’s five on-site agents rented out about 80 percent of the buildings, which have 100 and 359 units, respectively, he added. “The contract was up and as the buildings were almost finished leasing [so] we decided to finish with our in-house team and [then] proceed with the other buildings” once 801 and 808 Columbus Avenue are completed, Davis said, which will likely be in the third and fourth quarters of this year. “The renewal would have been for the whole complex but as the other buildings were not ready and there would be a lapse in time it did not make sense to continue.” [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]

From the October issue: Keeping heads in beds has not been easy for New York City’s hotel
industry in this economy. Not only are tourists cutting back on
expenses, but companies — including those that not too long ago
readily put up their employees at five-star hotels — are also
massively scaling back.
In this month’s Q & A, hotel experts and operators talked to The Real Deal about why the hospitality industry has fallen further here than it has nationally.
They said revenue per room, or RevPAR, is down between 20 and 30
percent and that the luxury hotel market (not surprisingly) is getting
crushed hardest.

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.”