Brooklyn new development sales prices (source: MNS)
Though a lack of inventory has driven down sales activity for new developments in Brooklyn, it has also kept prices steadily rising, according to a new development market report released today by MNS. New development sales volume fell 38 percent in the first quarter from $141 million during the final three months of 2011, as the number of sales decreased 47 percent during that period and 75 percent on an annual basis. [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: Debra Kavaler, senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, and the interior of the Edge, at 22 N. 6th Street
Condominiums at waterfront building the Edge, by Douglaston Development, topped the list of residential sales by price in Williamsburg last year, Crain’s reported, citing a broker from the Corcoran Group.
Two penthouse units at 22 N. 6th Street, the Edge’s south tower, marked the neighborhood’s priciest sale, at $2.95 million, according to Debra Kavaler, a broker and and senior vice president at Corcoran. The neighborhood’s second largest deal was at the Gretsch, a re-purposed factory building at 60 Broadway, where a 2,400 square-foot penthouse sold for $2.85 million, Kavaler told Crain’s. A $2.7 million sale at Toll Brothers’ 30-story Two Northside Piers was the third largest sale of 2011 in Williamsburg. [more]
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]
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]
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]
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]
New development condominium sales are up year-over-year in both Manhattan and Brooklyn for the second quarter of 2011, according to a second-quarter new development report released today by residential real estate firm MNS.
In Manhattan, condo sales prices were up 18 percent on an average compared to the second quarter of 2010, the report says. Compared with the first quarter of 2011, the average Manhattan new development price was virtually flat. Even though some condo sales are seeing strong sales, several real estate professionals told The Real Deal earlier this spring that many challenges lie ahead. [more]
New development condominium sales are up year-over-year in both Manhattan and Brooklyn for the second quarter of 2011, according to a second-quarter new development report released today by residential real estate firm MNS.
In Manhattan, condo sales prices were up 18 percent on an average compared to the second quarter of 2010, according to the report. Compared to the first quarter of 2011, the average Manhattan new development price was virtually flat. Even though some condo sales are seeing strong sales, several real estate professionals told The Real Deal earlier this spring that many challenges lay ahead. – Miranda Neubauer [more]
The pool at 15 Central Park West
From the July issue: One of the selling points emphasized by brokers at the Edge condominium in Williamsburg is the major weekend scene at the pool, with lots of sunbathing, picnicking and socializing. At 20 Pine’s pool in the Financial District, neighbors regularly practice yoga and host parties.
But there will be no pool parties at 15 Central Park West this summer. Even as the weather heats up, the atmosphere at the über-exclusive condominium remains subdued, residents say, and the pool area is often deserted.
The Robert A.M. Stern-designed building has become the condominium of choice for hotshot celebrities like Denzel Washington and Sting, and finance bigwigs such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citigroup Chairman Emeritus Sanford Weill. [more]
