The Scarsdale home that reportedly belongs to Jay-Z and Beyonce
Westchester towns known for their million-dollar homes are bristling with sales activity — from buyers seeking homes for half that amount.
The New York Times reported that well-heeled towns like Scarsdale, Bedford, Armonk, Pelham, Larchmont and Irvington are experiencing unprecedented activity in the $500,000 to $600,000 price bracket. [more]
From the February issue: The New York City real estate world has closely followed as brokerages here have downsized and shuttered offices. But just north of the city, in Westchester, the real estate industry has quietly seen a shift of its own. Indeed, some say the brokerage world there has been irrevocably altered during the downturn as some firms have announced closures, and others have set up shop or merged with larger corporate entities, poaching agents along the way. The biggest shake-up, of course, was Sotheby’s International Realty’s October decision to terminate its presence in the county altogether. Sotheby’s sold four of its offices — its three “golden triangle” offices in Scarsdale, Rye and Larchmont, as well as one in Chappaqua — to an affiliate, William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition, it shut down a fifth office in Katonah, farther north in Westchester. That follows Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, which has seven offices in Westchester with roughly 340 agents, joining the Realogy umbrella at the end of April. [more]
Scarano redesigns Williamsburg condo: Scarano
Architects has helped bring the condominium Olive Park, at 100 Maspeth
Avenue in Williamsburg, up to code and ready for sales, according to a release from the architectural firm. The firm
designed colonnades along the perimeters of the building to create the
15-foot setback required by the New York City Planning Commission. The
original design by another architect called for a straight wall
parallel to the sidewalk with no setback. “We were brought in as
trouble shooters, shortly after the building had been framed out and
City Planning had made its decision to halt construction,” said Robert Scarano. “Our goal was to help the
developer complete the project without having to start from the very
beginning, which would have been cost prohibitive.” TRD [more]
