From left: the exterior of 102 Bedford Street, the interior of the unit, Miles Davis and Debi Mazar
Calling all starving artists. Kenny White, a singer-songwriter who owns an “artist’s garret” at the West Village’s storied Twin Peaks co-op building, slashed the price of his apartment by $225,000 yesterday to $1.45 million, or about 13 percent less than when it first hit the market in mid-February. [more]
From left: Owner Volker Herrmann and the sites of his bakeries at the base of 185 Orchard Street (gray building at right) and 137 Seventh Avenue South
A German bakery selling wursts, soups, salads and baked goods, which was originally slated to open two New York locations last fall, is finally moving ahead with its plans, Volker Herrmann, owner of the bakery, Landbrot, told The Real Deal.
Landbrot, which was founded by German telecommunications execs David Rothe and Hermann, will open the eateries, at 137 Seventh Avenue South in the West Village and 185 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, both in late March, Herrmann predicted, though no dates have been pin-pointed so far. The latter space, which is at the base of the Thompson LES Hotel, has been vacant since the completion of the hotel in 2008. Rothe will permanently move to New York city to oversee the operation of the stores. [more]
Just this morning, it was reported that St. Vincent’s Hospital is the subject of an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s fraud unit over accusations that it purposely allowed its finances to slip so it could be sold to a private developer. Now, that private developer is making strides towards getting a residential project off the ground at the site.
Proposed development plans were certified this afternoon by the City Planning Commission, marking the first step in the public review process for a mixed-use project by the Rudin family.
Rudin, which purchased St. Vincent’s property parcels in an area bound by 11th and 12th streets and Sixth and Seventh avenues for $260 million earlier this year, is proposing a 590,000-square-foot residential development with 450 units, 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, 20,000 square feet of medical offices, 15,000 square feet of public space and a 152-space parking garage at the site. [more]
1. Pritzker Realty Group teams up with TriBridge Residential to expand apartment building holdings
[WSJ]
2. Historic LI school building may be destroyed
[WSJ]
3. Museum of Math needs a further $8M in funding to launch
[MediaBistro]
4. Barclay’s Center arena to take center stage at annual Construction Safety Week
[Brooklyn Eagle]
5. Shares of Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis fall
[Reuters]
6. Jennifer Aniston about to close on West Village apartment
[NYDN]
7. New York investment group’s bid on U.S. steel tower will not trigger city’s deed transfer tax
[BizJournals]
8. Sheepshead Bay church steeples to be stabilized, not demolished
[NYT]
9. Aloft Brooklyn hotel opening delayed to June 9
[Curbed]
10. Williamsburg photographer captures decaying New York theaters
[NYT]
The West Village’s 10014 placed fifth on Forbes’ annual list of America’s most expensive zip codes based on home prices, down from third place last year, with a median of $3.8 million. The Upper East Side’s 10065 came in at number seven, with a median home price of $3.7 million. Soho’s 10012 ranked in the top 10 this year, coming in at number 9, moving up from 18th place last year, with the median home price rising 22 percent to $3.2 million. Last year’s most expensive zip code, 07620 in Alpine, N.J, dropped to fourth place as the median home price there fell 8 percent to $3.8 million. [Forbes]
Multi-million dollar heir Neil Bender won a major coup yesterday when an appellate court ruled that he was fit to manage the 150-property Manhattan real estate portfolio that once belonged to his late uncle William Gottlieb, which his mother left to Bender in her will. His relatives have tried to wrest the collection of properties, including the Keller Hotel, the Northern Dispensary and the New Holland Hotel, located mostly in the West Village and Meatpacking District, from his control since July 2007, in a public family feud, according to the Wall Street Journal. A group of Bender’s relatives, including his sister Cheryl Dier and his nephew Michael Corbett, had alleged that he swindled them out of their share of the real estate portfolio, which has an estimated value of $1 billion. Among Dier’s claims were that Bender’s alcohol consumption was out of control, deeming him an “habitual drunkard.” But a judge decided that there was little proof that his purportedly boozy habits would “affect his ability to handle estate affairs sufficiently.” [WSJ]
The dismal retail environment may be changing — if the recent activity on Bleecker Street is any indication, according to the Wall Street Journal. The West Village shopping mecca has seen a recent influx of high-end boutiques, including Freemans Sporting Club and French brand A.P.C., moving into a neighborhood that, up until recently, saw more than its fair share of vacancies. [more]
From the April issue: There are still plenty of unsold new construction condos in New York City, especially in areas like Midtown, the Financial District and Williamsburg. But brokers say that months of busy sales activity (combined with some sellers taking their units off the market) is creating a shortage of inventory in some hot spots. Indeed, Miller Samuel’s fourth-quarter market report found that Manhattan inventory was down 18 percent from the previous quarter and almost 25 percent over the fourth quarter of 2008. In some neighborhoods, buyers are increasingly frustrated because they can’t find the type of apartment — often resale condos or prewar co-ops — they want. As a result, the competition for those apartments, when they do come on the market, can make the downturn seem like a distant memory. This month, The Real Deal asked brokers to identify the types of Manhattan apartments facing the worst shortages. [more]
Actor couple Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany recently swapped their Park Slope mansion at 17 Prospect Park West for a penthouse apartment in Manhattan. Connelly, best known for her turns in “A Beautiful Mind” and “He’s Just Not That into You,” and Bettany, who took on a villainous role in “The Da Vinci Code,” found their new home at 288 West Street, which cost a reported $6.99 million according to Curbed, and was less “creepy” than the Park Slope spot, according to Connelly. On last Friday’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” Connelly revealed that her children were so skeeved out by the family’s Brooklyn mansion that they slept on her bedroom floor to avoid being alone, causing her concern that child services might intervene.
The board of the Hudson River Park Trust was slated to announce today which developer it has selected for a renovation plan at Pier 57. The project aims to install cultural attractions in a 375,000-square-foot building that occupies the entire pier. One developer, Youngwoo and Associates, has garnered massive support from the community. Manhattan Community Board 4 voted in favor of Youngwoo’s proposal, which includes plans for a concert venue, galleries and an auction house.
