Developer Maurice Mann and the interior and exterior of a penthouse unit at the Laureate

Maurice Mann, the original developer of the Apthorp condominium conversion, has purchased a penthouse unit at the Laureate, the Stahl Organization’s new luxury condominium at 2150 Broadway, for over $7 million, according to public records filed with the city today.

Mann closed on the 2,532-square-foot, three-bedroom residence at the Laureate on Nov. 18, according to records, with a price of $7.37 million. Though he was not immediately available for comment, a person who answered the phone at his office confirmed the purchase.

The unit, which boasts “a great room with extra large windows and a set of French doors that open to a Juliet balcony at the [front] of the building,” was last listed with Shlomi Reuveni, a broker and head of the Brown Harris Stevens Select team, for $7.7 million, according to Streeteasy.com. [more]

Sales have officially launched at Reade57, a 21-story condominium in Tribeca developed by the John Buck Company, according to a release from the developer.

Brown Harris Stevens Select is marketing the building at 57 Reade Street, which was designed by SLCE Architects.

“Reade57 is unlike any recent new development project Tribeca has seen in terms of its competitive price point and diversified unit mix, offering one- and two-bedroom homes in a neighborhood dominated by multi-million dollar lofts,” said Shlomi Reuveni, executive vice president of Brown Harris Stevens Select.– Miranda Neubauer [more]

Just one month after Eric Weiner, the co-creator of bilingual cartoon character “Dora the Explorer”, sold his apartment at Extell Development’s Ariel West at 245 West 99th Street, he has picked up a 3,326-square-foot unit at the Laureate, a new luxury condominium at 2150 Broadway.

According to the New York Observer, the five-bedroom, 4.5-bath home was listed by Brown Harris Stevens agent Shlomi Reuveni for $8.8 million. It was not immediately clear if Weiner had paid the full listing price.

The apartment features a master bedroom with his-and-hers walk-in closets, a private balcony, a library and a “great room.”

The Stahl Organization’s the Laureate has been experiencing strong sales activity. Having opened in February of this year, 32 of the building’s 71 units are already closed and 26 are in contract, according to Streeteasy.com. Its three-to-seven-bedroom units range in price from $2.5 million to $11 million. [Observer]

Several new developments across the city are once again selling apartments off floor plans alone, the New York Times reported, a practice not seen since before the downturn. Examples tend to be in areas of low inventory and extensive amenities. “For the right design and location, there’s very little inventory,” said Extell Development’s Gary Barnett, “and if people want to lock into something, they’ll buy off floor plans.”

At Extell’s One 57, a 90-story condominium tower at 157 West 57th Street across from Carnegie Hall, apartments will not be ready for move-ins for two years, but sales will probably kick off this summer. “We have had such a strong reaction with people wanting to buy that we expect to get a fair amount of sales even before the sales office opens,” Barnett said. [more]

From left: Paula Del Nunzio, Serena Boardman, Carrie Chiang, Shlomi Reuveni and Dolly Lenz

From the June issue: In March, Brown Harris Stevens broker Paula Del Nunzio put the Woolworth mansion at 4 East 80th Street on the market for $90 million. The listing — the priciest Manhattan residential listing ever — signaled that the era of massively expensive property sales is back, with a vengeance. Brokers say there is more high-end product on the market than last year, and furthermore, many of these new, pricey listings are resales rather than the newly constructed condos that seemed to dominate the luxury market in Manhattan for so long. That trend is reflected in The Real Deal’s annual ranking of the city’s top brokers, which is based on who is marketing the most Manhattan property.

[more]

By Katherine Clarke and Lauren Elkies

Terra Holdings, parent company of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, is launching a new development marketing company and Stephen Kliegerman, executive director of new development marketing at Halstead Property, has been selected to head it up, according to an internal memo leaked to The Real Deal. A public announcement is imminent, according to a spokesperson for Halstead.

Kliegerman will not be leaving Halstead. Terra Development will market development projects represented by both Brown Harris and Halstead, of which Kliegerman will become president.

Though the memo dates back to April, the move has remained relatively under the radar. When contacted by The Real Deal late yesterday afternoon, Halstead would not disclose any information about the move, but said a public announcement would be released within the next 48 hours or so. [more]

Last week, back when it wasn’t raining non-stop in New York City, the real estate industry convened in 15 Union Square West’s Penthouse 11 for an art, architecture and design showcase, “TENTOONSTELLING,” by the Going Dutch Foundation. The event, hosted by Avenue magazine, developer Brack Capital Real Estate and building marketing team Brown Harris Stevens Select, was put on in conjunction with the 23rd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair. In addition to the collection of Dutch artwork, design pieces and architecture models on display, the penthouse itself, designed by Vincente Wolf, was officially unveiled. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom spread is on the market for $10.7 million. Check out photos from the event in the slide show above. TRD

Reade57From the April issue: In a city defined by soaring skyscrapers, a 20-story condominium is hardly considered a towering giant. But in Tribeca, a neighborhood marked by low-rise buildings and sprawling lofts, the New Modernist, glass-construction Reade57, a high-rise with smaller-scale apartments, will stand apart as a residential alternative in the area. At least that’s what its developers, the John Buck Company, are hoping. The Chicago-based firm, the builders behind the swanky Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District, plans to launch sales at the 84-unit condo in the middle of next month, with Brown Harris Stevens Select serving as the exclusive marketing agent. [more]

From the May issue: The first-quarter market reports released last month by the city’s major residential firms yielded few shockers. With sales volume largely unchanged from last year, industry experts agreed that the market is generally stable.

But the data did bring one unexpected twist: an unusual spike in the number of co-ops sold.

The first quarter saw “an unusually high” number of co-op transactions versus condos, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel and the preparer of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s market report.

“Co-ops are seeing a burst of activity, and condos are seeing a sharp drop,” Miller said.

Elliman’s report found 1,430 closed sales of co-ops in the first quarter, surging 28.7 percent from 1,111 in the same period of last year. Condo sales, meanwhile, dropped 24.3 percent to 964 from 1,273 in the prior-year quarter. [more]

The Laureate, a penthouse at the building and Shlomi Reuveni of Brown Harris Stevens Select (illustrations by Dbox)

The Stahl Organization’s the Laureate hit the market at 2150 Broadway just six weeks ago, but the Wall Street Journal has already declared the property the “top-selling new luxury condo” in Manhattan. The 20-story, Beaux-Arts project, whose three-to-seven-bedroom units range in price from $2.5 million to $11 million, has accounted for almost one-quarter of the 103 signed contracts above $4 million since sales launched there Feb. 28, according to Donna Olshan, who tracks high-end apartment sales at her residential brokerage, Olshan Realty. On average, condos at the SLCE Architects-designed building, at 76th Street, are going for $6 million, or $2,350 per square foot — twice the current average per-square-foot price of new Upper West Side condos. [more]