Taking the pulse of a changing condominium market in New York City can be a difficult proposition when so many livelihoods depend upon it. Promotion of properties spins endlessly, a process full of sound and fury, but not necessarily signifying anything. Still, there are signs that the new development market is not as robust as it was six months ago. New Development: As the market cools” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Tower battles lower-rent competition Downtown Prognosis for pricey 7 WTC: glass half full” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Eliot Spitzer comes from a family that made its money in New York real estate. But does that mean he Untangling Spitzer’s real estate ties” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Residential conversions and new business improvement district to help shopping strip East 23rd Street shifts gears, eyes retail upgrade” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Speculation on next tenants for newspaper headquarters heats up as renovation plans face scrutiny Targeting the old Times building” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
City hotels add exercise equipment to lists of in-room perks, but room sizes may limit trend A gym in your hotel room” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Jamaica, Queens, hitches rising retail prospects to Kennedy Airport link; vacancies already low [more]
Construction unions see membership ebb in New York building boom [more]
Low vacancy rates, steady demand means office landlords can offer tenants fewer incentives; tight ma [more]
Luxury high-rises and major Harlem retail complexes — the Gotham Organization’s done them and more. [more]
Midtown building on the block
Douglas Harmon of Eastdil is marketing the 23-story 522 Fifth Avenue for Rockpoint and Stellar Management, the New York Post reported. The venture bought the 595,000-square-foot building and land separately for a combined $217 million last year. A conversion to a hotel, retail, or condos is possible.
Fifth Avenue site could support hotel
The joint venture of Lehman Bros. and Yitzchak Tessler is selling a vacant Fifth Avenue site that could fetch close to $400 a square foot. On the northwest corner of 36th Street, 400 Fifth Avenue could be built to 550,000 square feet as well as down two levels for a garage. It can also support 190,000 feet of hotel space, along with residential or even offices. Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan of CB Richard Ellis, along with Jeff Dauray from the D.C. hospitality company Molinaro Koger, are marketing the site, the Post reported.
Nineteen residential buildings hitting the market
A collection of 19 residential buildings is coming onto the market and could sell for as much as $100 million. The walk-up and elevator buildings, which have a total of 891 units, are scattered throughout Inwood, Washington Heights, and the Bronx. The largest building is the Tudor in the Bronx with 130 apartments, the Post reported. Woody Heller and his team at Studley are marketing the properties.
Soho mixed-use buildings on the block
Bids were recently due for the twin adjacent six-story buildings at 131-137 Spring Street. The buildings, which total 58,100 square feet, are occupied by fashion retailers Burberry and Diesel at street level and by multiple office and residential tenants above. Eastern Consolidated’s Ronald Solarz and Eric Anton are marketing the property with an asking price of $49 million.
Flatiron garage for sale
A six-story garage at 19-25 West 20th Street, which has about 90,000 square feet of building space, is expected to fetch close to $40 million, the New York Sun reported.
Williamsburg mixed-use property on the market
The 104,861-square-foot mixed-use building at 143, 147 and 153 Roebling Street is listed for $35 million. The property occupies an entire block and contains 37 residential and 11 commercial units. Richard Helfand and Victoria Guthrie of Marcus & Millichap are representing the seller, a New York investor.
Madison Avenue conversion opportunity on the block
The five-story mixed-use building at 238 Madison Avenue is on the market for $13.9 million. The property contains two commercial and 14 residential units. The property has significant air rights, making it ideal for conversion to condominiums. Massey Knakal’s John Ciraulo, Meyrick Ferguson, and Karen Shulman are the exclusive
agents.
Office building near Time Warner Center may be converted
John Catsimatidis and a partner are marketing the office building at 1790 Broadway to a developer who might be willing to pay $1,200 a square foot for the site and convert the property into a residential condominium, according to the Sun.
Diamond District building for sale
The 16-story commercial building at 29-31 West 47th Street in the Diamond District is on the market. The property contains 57,851 square feet, including 74 commercial units — 65 offices and nine retail stores, all jewelry-related. Massey Knakal’s John Ciraulo and Mark Spinelli are marketing the building.
West Side development site on the block
At the northeast corner of West 34th Street and 10th Avenue, a 10,000-square-foot site, formerly home to a gas station and garage, is being marketed for sale, according to the Sun.
Inwood development site on the market
Adelaide Polsinelli and Laurence Ross of Besen & Associates are marketing a parking lot on Dyckman Street just off the Harlem River Drive. The mid-block site can support 65,000 square feet of mixed-used development.
Commercial owners reveal their strategies to profit from the ever-tightening market The office market could not be better for landlords — just ask one” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Younger first-time buyers flock to Manhattan’s smaller spreads; market share reaches five-year high
Fast sales for starter apartments” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Appreciation slows to single digits; buyers now thinking about price first, brokers say Brooklyn townhouse jewels lose a little luster” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Banks powered by city real estate veterans provide financing for fresh developments Developers bank on new lending ventures” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Luxury watchmaker Rolex has asked the owner of listings database software used by the Real Estate Bo [more]
The rooftops of higher-end housing developments are emerging as expected amenities [more]
Editor’s note: The Real Deal this month introduces a new feature called “How it feels…,” chronicling the professional triumphs and tribulations of New York real estate from a first-person point of view.
[more]
Broker Jerry Minsky’s past and present center around the Brooklyn neighborhood [more]
Chelsea
Verde Chelsea
125 West 22nd Street
Brooklyn-based Basile Builders Group is developing the 13-story, 33-unit condominium. Designed by H. Thomas O’Hara, the building will feature no more than three homes per floor, with layouts offering between 778 and 1,838 square feet. All residents will have access to a 1,045-square-foot garden. Sales for the one- and two-bedrooms were expected to start in early April, with prices ranging from $695,000 to $2.85 million. Occupancy is expected in spring 2007. Corcoran Group Marketing is the building’s exclusive marketing agent. Contact: 212-627-1255, www.verdechelsea.com.
Chelsea
Slate
165 West 18th Street
The 29-unit Andres Escobar-designed building is now under construction. It will have a glass facade and glass balconies. The 12-story condominium is offering 700-square-foot one-bedrooms starting at $700,000, and the 2,200-square-foot three-bedroom penthouse is $3 million, according to the New York Post. Amenities include a garage and a pet spa. Sales were expected to open in mid-March. Contact: 212-627-5283, www.slatecondos.com.
Chelsea
241-245 West 19th Street
Ginsburg Development Corp. bought two small apartment buildings at the site, has already demolished them, and will build a 12-story condominium project, the Post reported. The previous owners, a local partnership, first devised the condo scheme, but decided to sell instead. Ginsburg will now go ahead with the plans, which call for a 38,358-squarefoot structure.
Downtown Brooklyn
167 Johnson Place
Subsurface work began in February at the site, where developers Ron Hershco and Dean Palin will construct a 40-story tower with 304 units and a 35-story building with 208 units, Crain’s reported. Both buildings will have unobstructed 360-degree views, commercial space on the ground level, and 110-car garages underneath. The $200 million project is expected to produce $400 million in sales. Units will range from studios to three-bedroom penthouses. Prices haven’t been set, but high-end condos nearby are fetching $800 to $900 per square foot.
East Village
254 East Second Street
The seven-story rental building has 47 studio, one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 410 to 950 square feet. Designed by Architecture & Design Group, the building sits on top of the Eastside Tabernacle Church. Prices range from $1,500 to $4,700 per month. Homes will be available for occupancy by the end of April. Core Group Marketing is the exclusive marketing and rental agent. Contact: 212-726-0709, www.coregroupmarketing.com.
East Williamsburg
158-160 Manhattan Avenue and 199 Humboldt Street
Sales are under way at the four-story, 24-unit luxury condominium. One-bedrooms with private balconies, duplexes with private gardens, and penthouses with private terraces range in size from 950 to 1,300 square feet, with prices starting at $420,000. Moses Gross is the developer, Robert Scarano is the architect, and Andres Escobar designed the interiors. The Developers Group is handling the sales and marketing. Occupancy is scheduled for fall 2006. Contact: www.thedevelopersgroup.com.
Fort Greene
South Oxford Street
A historic Fort Greene mansion was sold in a deal that included two carriage houses and a two-family home on the same property. The developer buying the spread plans to tear down the two-family home and replace it with a 40,000-square-foot luxury condominium tower, according to the Daily News.
Midtown
Southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 53rd Street
Developer Harry Macklowe plans to raze five old brick structures for a new hotel and condominium development. Macklowe will build a tower of several hundred thousand square feet, the Post reported. A hotel will occupy roughly the lower third of the tower and luxury condos will be on the upper floors.
Murray Hill
m127
127 Madison Avenue
The 12-story condominium conversion took the inspiration for its name from the city bus system. Prices start at $1.5 million for one of the 1,700-square-foot floor-through lofts, and at $3.5 million for the 2,500-square-foot duplexes, the Post reported. Creative agency The Apartment is in charge of the interiors, marketing and branding. Stribling & Associates will begin selling the apartments this fall. Contact: www.stribling.com.
Sheepshead Bay
The Riviera at Sheepshead Bay
2434 Knapp Street
SSJ Development plans to build 18 loft-style units on the site, the latest in its series of waterfront projects under the Riviera brand in New York and New Jersey. One- to three-bedrooms will range in size from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. The developer plans a promenade on the site.
Upper East Side
Barbizon/63
140 East 63rd Street
BPG Properties has converted the Barbizon Hotel into a luxury condominium. Architect Nancy Ruddy of Cetra/Ruddy designed the interiors. One- to three-bedroom units and five penthouses range in size from 680 to more than 5,000 square feet. Occupancy is slated for winter 2007. Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.barbizon63.com.
Construction Update
East Village
188 Ludlow Street
Edison Properties broke ground in February for the 23-story mixed-use building. The 210,000-square-foot, 243-unit project will be constructed with Hunter Roberts Construction Company acting as general contractor. Costas Kondylis & Associates is the architect. The $90 million project was financed with tax exempt bonds under the state’s 80/20 program.
Greenwich Village
Site near 13th Street and Eighth Avenue
A developer wants to build an 11-story, 70,000-square-foot glass building with 32 units on the site of a parking lot. Preservationists and elected officials asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to reject the application last month, according to the New York Sun.
Long Island City
Avalon Riverview North
Ground was broken last month for part of the first phase of the Queens West development. The project will add 613 rental units at 48th Avenue at Center Boulevard and Gantry Plaza State Park, according to the Empire State Development Corporation.
Lower East Side
Blue
105 Norfolk Street
Construction of the 32-unit condominium has reached the halfway mark, with eight stories of the total 16 completed. The project is expected to top out in early May; occupancy is scheduled for fall 2006. Contact: 212-533-8822, www.bluecondonyc.com.
Williamsburg
144 North 8th Street
Mendel Brach, the developer of the so-called Finger Building, has submitted new plans to the city that would make the controversial building six stories shorter than originally planned, the Daily News reported. The condominium would now be 10 stories — but local critics say it’s still too big for the area. The original plan called for 42 units.
Financing
Williamsburg
Greenbelt
361 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn-based developer Dwelling Research Corporation obtained $4 million in project financing from Hudson Valley Bank to build an eight-unit environmentally-friendly “green” condominium. The project will contain 9,600 square feet of residential space and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space designated for purchase by a local artist. Architect Gregory Merryweather’s design alters an existing one-story warehouse on the site and will add five new stories. Preliminary site work began in January and construction is scheduled to be complete by October. Contact: www.greenbeltbrooklyn.com.
Sales Update
Battery Park City
The Verdesian on the Park
211 North End Avenue
The first tenants moved into the Albanese Organization’s 26-story, 254-unit “green” rental last month. The building was nearly half-leased prior to occupancy. Units range from 500-squarefoot studios starting at $2,350 per month to 1,400-square-foot three-bedrooms starting at $6,500 per month. Contact: 212-227-0222, www.verdesian.com.
Harlem
The Lenox
Lenox Avenue between 129th and 130th streets
Five of the 17 units priced at more than $1 million in Harlem’s first fully market-rate condo development in decades had been sold as of March, even though occupancy is several months away, the Sun reported. The building has 77 units total, with prices ranging from $490 a square foot for three-bedrooms to $668 a foot for the penthouses with terraces. Contact: 212-234-8888, www.thelenoxnyc.com.
Harlem
The Rhapsody
2056 Fifth Avenue
The condominium’s 22 units will go on the market in April, according to the Post. The building was formerly the Gospel Temple Church of America.
Murray Hill
The Aurora
556 Third Avenue
Sales of the 4,000-square-foot penthouses are under way, with prices starting between $3.4 and $3.8 million. All buyers will have views of the city from four balconies and a private rooftop garden. Mitchel Maidman is the developer. Shvo Marketing is the sales agent. Contact: 212-994-4556, www.aurora.shvo.com.
Upper East Side
Cielo
83rd Street and York Avenue
A model residence and sales center were unveiled last month at JD Carlisle’s 28-story condo. The newly furnished two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath model was designed by interior designer Alex Chapman. Occupancy is slated for spring 2006. Contact: 212-737-7200, www.cielocondos.com.
Williamsburg
The Point
191 Woodpoint Road
The seven-story development has 12 two-bedroom condominium units and 50 rental units. Sales began in February for the condos, which start at $499,000; some of the units are duplexes starting at $850,000. Prices for the rental units range from $1,950 to $2,350 a month for one-bedrooms and from $2,200 to $2,950 a month for two-bedrooms. The project includes 30 underground parking spots. Sal Gargano and Anthony Dirusso are the developers. The sales and leasing agent is aptsandlofts.com. Contact: www.191woodpoint.com.
Development in Brief
Manhattan (from north to south)
2050 Fifth Avenue
The Mount Moriah Church is looking to strike a deal with a developer, according to the New York Post.
Park Avenue between 121st and 122nd streets
North General Hospital is planning to sell the parking lot to a developer who will build a 15-story residential condominium tower, the New York Sun reported.
602-612 10th Avenue
A Long Island development company will build a luxury condominium on the 10,000-square-foot parking lot. The site can support 54,700 square feet.
Sixth Avenue between 30th and 31st streets
Herald Square Development bought the 33,500-square-foot plot and may build up to 335,000 square feet of space, including 247,000 square feet of residential, Crain’s reported.
27 West 19th Street
Later this year, Skyway Development Group plans to begin construction of a 15-story residential condominium, the Sun reported
Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn
Several residential projects are reportedly in the works on Flatbush Avenue. Isaac Hager plans what could be a 400-foot-tall apartment building at Flatbush Avenue and Tillary Street, near the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge; Isaac Katan will construct several buildings, perhaps 28 to 32 stories each, on Myrtle Avenue just east of Flatbush; and BFC Construction Corp. plans a 500-unit building at the corner of Flatbush and Myrtle, according to Crain’s.
New projects in emerging area west of Time Warner Center come online as overall sales slow [more]
The 421a tax abatement has become a valuable marketing tool for new condo projects — and saves thousands of dollars in monthly taxes for buyers — so possible changes to the incentive by the city have real estate developers and marketers worried.
The city started the 421a program to spur new housing construction in New York. In the midst of a residential building boom, the city may significantly alter the incentive, possibly ending what’s not only become a welcome incentive for new construction but also a means to lure buyers to new luxury projects.
Since its creation in 1971, the 421a has provided the financial impetus through tax breaks for construction of more than 110,000 apartments, according to the city. Most of that construction has been of rental apartments, but about a third of it from mid-2002 through mid-2005 was of co-ops and condos, the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development reported.
Real estate professionals say there is still a shortage of housing, so the incentives should be kept in place.
“In the long run, there’s a big, big housing shortage,” Andrew Heiberger, CEO of developer Buttonwood Real Estate, said. “And with the costs of land and the costs of construction, to eliminate incentives to build is going to further exacerbate an already severe crisis.”
The incentives are also a significant tool for marketers of new projects, because buyers of 421a-funded housing save thousands in monthly taxes. Depending on the location and size of a project, among other factors, tax exemptions can last up to 25 years.
“We recommend to our clients [developers] that they apply for the 421a abatement any time they can,” said Tricia Cole, senior executive vice president at Corcoran Group Marketing. “Because they understand the economics of our ability to then market the housing product as something that gives people this purchasing power.”
While the savings for buyers can be significant, so can the loss to the city: In its first 16 years, the 421a cost the city $551.1 million in tax revenues that it agreed to forgo, according to the New York Times.
The Bloomberg administration announced in late February the creation of a task force to evaluate the current 421a and make recommendations about possibly changing it.
Only new construction of multiple-unit developments on lots which are at least mostly vacant qualifies for the 421a. Also, construction in so-called Manhattan exclusion zones, between 96th and 14th streets on the East Side and 96th to Houston streets on the West Side does not qualify for 421a unless a developer has some sort of affordable component or concession, or government assistance.
The task force may end or alter the 421a’s exemptions by increasing the sizes or the numbers of the exclusion zones, or by changing the time lengths of the exemptions.
Details on what the task force might ultimately do weren’t available, and members of the task force didn’t return calls for comment, but its recommendations are expected this fall. The task force includes representatives from for-profit and nonprofit real estate organizations, including the Related Companies, the Gotham Organization, and the Real Estate Board of New York.
The thousands of condominium units being readied for sale in Manhattan will force brokers, marketers, and developers to change sales and marketing pitches, particularly in neighborhoods where sales are already typically low, industry observers say.
In the Financial District, already a fringe residential neighborhood for sales, deals closed on only 66 apartments in 2005, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The upper East and West sides usually see more than 1,500 sales a year.
Also last year, 3,119 condos were either approved for construction or planned in the Financial District, according to the state Attorney General’s office. That means that for every sale of an existing apartment in the Financial District in 2005, more than 47 units were in the pipeline, a ratio higher than any other neighborhood (see map below).
This ratio — and similar ones for other Manhattan neighborhoods — raises the question: Will new units sell in areas where there aren’t a lot of existing sales already? The answer seems to be “yes, but…”
“Obviously, all those new units aren’t going to hit the market on the same day,” said Ron Tardanico, manager of Bellmarc Realty’s East Side office. He said he doesn’t think sales prices will drop. “But if too many [units] hit the market over a short period of time, there’ll be perks offered — broker perks, buyer perks. They might say, ‘No common charges for a while,’ or they might eliminate transfer taxes. That’s only if too many units hit the market at the same time.”
Developers also may halt or alter condo developments in neighborhoods where apartment sales are typically low.
“I think developers will pull back,” said Paul Purcell, a former Prudential Douglas Elliman president who co-founded the residential real estate consultancy Braddock + Purcell. “A lot of the numbers you’re talking about are on plan. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have to build it. If I were a developer, [the numbers] would give me pause, unless I had some stupendous product.”
Developers may also have difficulty financing new condos because of the amount of new units. “The lenders, at this point in time, I think, have the recollection of what happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and they don’t want that to happen again,” said Andrew Gerringer, managing director of the Prudential Douglas Elliman Development Marketing Group, referring to the severe housing market downturn more than 15 years ago.
Developer pullbacks and buyer perks are likelier in some Manhattan neighborhoods than in others, for a variety of reasons, according to an analysis by The Real Deal. The analysis compared the number of new condos approved for construction or pending approval in 2005, according to the state Attorney General’s office (where offering plans on condos have to be filed) with the number of apartment sales per neighborhood in 2005, according to Miller Samuel. The sales numbers included co-ops and condos.
In 2005, 7,190 sales closed in Manhattan, according to Miller Samuel; the same year, 19,796 condos were approved for construction or were pending approval. For every sale in Manhattan last year, then, 2.75 condos were pending or approved.
Neighborhoods like the Financial District, Harlem, and Midtown West had low sales numbers in 2005, but hundreds of new condos are slated for each. Neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, and Midtown East also had hundreds of condos in the pipeline, but may differ because they have historically stronger sales — over one-quarter of Manhattan’s sales closed on the Upper East Side alone last year. These latter neighborhoods will not see the developer pull-backs and buyer perks, market observers say, because they’ve traditionally been popular with buyers — and, therefore, with brokers — because of location, price, and likelihood of appreciation, among other factors.
In the other neighborhoods, the ones where brisk market-rate condo development is a relatively new reality, pricing becomes paramount in insuring that new housing sells. “In the newer developing neighborhoods,” Tardanico said, “prices still have to be perceived as giving more value for the dollar.”
Tardanico cited a recent visit to a new development on 148th Street in Harlem. Prices there were about $550 a square foot, he said, something perfectly marketable for the area. Go near or above $1,000 a square foot — the approximate average price for all of Manhattan — and such a development probably wouldn’t sell, Tardanico said.
It’s not, then, a matter of dropping prices to move new condos; it’s a matter of pricing them correctly initially. “I still think location, great pricing, and a good product — there are buyers for it,” Purcell said. “But those are three elements that are sometimes hard to get. It’s your pricing that’s probably the most delicate of the balance.”
Floor-plan flexibility can be secret weapon in selling condos, marketers say, especially in oddly sh Floor plans to floor buyers” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Housing market slowing, experts say, but nowhere near freefall; new development may ebb under higher The Real Deal New Development Forum” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Bayside downzoning preserves neighborhood, advocates say, but may lead to lower property values Bayside: A posh corner of Queens wrestles with zoning” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Could the Two Bridges area be the last frontier for Lower East Side gentrification? Two Bridges: Development spills into bitty, gritty nabe” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
From rethinking new project tax breaks to dire home price forecasts, mayor changes second-term tune Bloomberg rattling some in real estate” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
State board approves plans for baseball stadiums
The board of the Empire State Development Corporation announced in late March it had approved the redevelopment plans for the new Yankee and Shea stadiums. The New York Yankees and the New York Mets will finance the stadiums with tax-exempt and taxable bonds from the state and the city. The state will contribute to infrastructure upgrades for the new Shea, including surface parking, and the construction of fresh parking facilities at the new Yankee Stadium. The city will contribute infrastructure improvements at both stadiums as well as parkland replacement and other amenities around the new Yankee Stadium.
Council overrides veto of anti-Wal-Mart bill
The City Council, as expected, last month overwhelmingly overrode Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of the so-called anti-Wal-Mart bill, which means the leading big-box retailer probably won’t be coming to the five boroughs any time soon. The bill requires employers of large grocers to match the average rate of health coverage contributions that other grocers pay in the city, according to the Daily News.
New BID for Brooklyn
A bill to establish the city’s 54th business improvement district was introduced last month in the City Council, and BID services should commence in July, Crain’s reported. Centered at the busy Brooklyn intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand avenues, the district would initially include 235 businesses and eventually add an $80 million mall anchored by Target. Developer Triangle Equities began construction on the 300,000-square-foot mall in late February.
PATH track at Trade Center scrapped
Having started construction last November on a retaining wall for a sixth and temporary PATH track at the World Trade Center transportation hub, the Port Authority has decided not to build that track, the New York Times reported. Eliminating Track No. 6 will create space for construction of the World Trade Center memorial and will save several million dollars.
Go directly to jail — and shop
The city Correction Department may turn part of the Brooklyn House of Detention into a retail hub, the Times reported. Three sides of the block that the jail now occupies along Atlantic Avenue between Smith Street and Boerum Place would be converted starting this summer into a one-story, 24,000-square-foot shopping center.
City selects finalists for re-doing Willets Point
The city has selected eight firms as finalists for redeveloping Willets Point in Queens. Three of the finalists are Forest City Ratner, the Related Companies, and Vornado, the New York Sun reported. The firms will bid for the $2 to $3 billion project that will include about 1 million square feet of retail space, a hotel, and a convention center.
Mayor unveils plans for middle-income housing
Mayor Bloomberg unveiled plans last month for providing more than 20,000 apartments for middle-income New Yorkers. The first phase would put 435 apartments in the West Chelsea and Hudson Yards area on city Housing Authority property by 2009. These apartments would be targeted at households with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000, the Daily News reported.
Northeastern Bronx downzoning proposed
The Bloomberg administration has proposed more downzoning for a northeastern corner of the Bronx where residential zoning has already been tightened four times in the past year, according to the Daily News. The downzoning for 58 blocks in the Pelham Parkway/ Indian Village neighborhoods would preserve the area’s low-density residential character while allowing some small apartment buildings along two major corridors.
City launches Greenpoint-Williamsburg fund
The city has launched a fund aimed at stimulating manufacturing in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, where large sections were recently rezoned to allow for residential and retail uses. The $4 million Greenpoint-Williamsburg Industrial Fund will be used to help manufacturing firms relocate, help existing firms cut pollution, and aid nonprofits that want to develop space for industrial uses, Crain’s reported.
Inventory of unsold homes in U.S. at highest level in seven years, but prices still rising; what app Ken Harney – Seller strategies for spring” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
Info now sold to competing lenders within 24 hours of loan preapproval; ‘bait and switch’ set-up Ken Harney – Hawking your private mortgage data
” class=”read-more-link”>[more]
The Corcoran Group will move back to Chelsea in late April. The brokerage giant closed its Chelsea office at 21st Street and Broadway in 1998, citing the need for more room, and moved its sales operation for the neighborhood several blocks south to Soho.
Now, Corcoran returns to Chelsea on April 21 with a 9,000-square-foot sales and rentals office on the second floor of 59 West 19th Street. It will host 66 agents, said Scott Durkin, a former Corcoran COO who will manage the new office.
The airy office — a former gymnastics studio — includes large corner windows facing Sixth Avenue and 19th Street, which gives the brokerage street-level visibility. “We have amazing exposure here,” Durkin said, “in the middle of probably the most exciting new development craze in the city.”
Partly from new condo development, most of it higher-end, Chelsea has become since the 1990s one of the most popular — and competitive — sales markets in New York City. In 2005, 398 sales closed there, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel, ahead of larger neighborhoods like Harlem and Hell’s Kitchen, and only slightly behind Greenwich Village.
Durkin said the agents for the Chelsea office will be drawn from the firm’s existing locations as well as from new hires and from other brokerages.
Firm names Upper East Side office manager as its first senior managing director [more]
Two government officials specializing in development — one from the city, one from Long Island — left the public sphere in the past month for the private sector, parlaying their experience into top positions at two of the fastest-growing development firms in New York City.
Marc Shaw, the former first deputy mayor under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, started work in late March for Extell Development Company, and David Wasserman, commissioner of buildings, planning, and economic development for the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, left that post to become in February vice president and project manager for Douglaston Development.
Shaw stepped down as first deputy mayor in late November, the New York Times reported, and had spent the three months since helping train his successor, Patricia Harris, the former deputy mayor for administration. A former executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Shaw, according to reports, served as a de facto chief operations officer for the city. He’s now executive vice president for strategic planning at Extell, which emerged as a major player in Manhattan development in 2005. Shaw did not return calls for comment.
Wasserman spent six years with North Hempstead, overseeing the town’s land use policies. Wasserman told The Real Deal that his move to Douglaston was eased by his prior relationship with Douglaston CEO Jeff Levine, whom he met during his last round in the private sector, when Wasserman was the senior architect and operations director for a Westchester County-based development firm.
At Douglaston, Wasserman said he would be in charge of coordinating the development requirements of the firm’s projects. Recent Douglaston projects include the luxury condo developments at 325 Fifth Avenue and 555 West 23rd Street.
Realogy new Cendant real estate name
Realogy. That’s the new name of Cendant’s standalone, publicly traded real estate services company that owns such brokerages as the Corcoran Group and Sotheby’s International Realty. The name change, according to Cendant, will take effect in the second quarter of 2006, when the spin-off from Cendant is completed. Cendant announced in October that it was splitting into four different publicly traded companies. Realogy is supposed to translate as the “study of real estate,” Cendant announced.
Baruch College adds real estate offerings
Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business has added a Department of Real Estate. The new department is the first in New York City to offer a BBA in real estate, according to Baruch. Ko Wang, who holds Baruch’s William Newman Chair in Real Estate Finance, will head the new department.
Vision Real Estate Group opens brokerage division
New York-based Vision Real Estate Group announced the opening of a full residential brokerage division under the name of Equinet Properties. Equinet will be managed by Thuyha Pham and supervised by Amir Yerushalmi.
Barak Realty expanding rental department
Barak Realty has expanded its rental department and added 14 new work stations to its Upper West Side office. The firm is in the process of hiring a rental listings manager and up to 20 new agents. Lee Miller has been appointed project manager.
Listingmania.com launches
A site that supports free residential listings, www.listingmania.com, launched in late February. The site hopes to pick up posts from Craigslist once it starts charging rental listings fees.
CB Richard Ellis acquires Advocate Consulting Group
CB Richard Ellis announced last month that it has acquired Advocate Consulting Group Inc., a real estate project and construction management consulting firm in the New York area. Advocate will immediately adopt the CB Richard Ellis name and brand.
Residential
Brown Harris Stevens
Paul Herman joined as executive vice president and director of management. He was managing director for Rose Associates.
Prudential Douglas Elliman
Susan Skinner rejoined the firm after recently joining Barak Realty as senior vice president.
Commercial
AvalonBay Communities
Phil Wharton was promoted to vice president of development.
Broadway Real Estate Partners
Jonathon Yormak was promoted to chief operating officer. He was previously executive vice president and general counsel.
CB Richard Ellis
Brian Gell and Howard Fiddle were promoted to vice chairman. Both were executive vice presidents. Keith Cody, Eric Gelber, David Hollander, Paul Leibowitz, John Oh, Tom Shirocky, and Gary Trock were promoted to senior vice president. Steve Eynon, Benjamin Friedland, William Iacovelli, Doug Lehman, Robert Meyers, Rand Pear, Gregg Rothkin, and Andrew Sussman were promoted to first vice president.
Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust
Marc Warren was named president in the New York office. He was executive director at UBS.
GVA Williams
Bernhard Weinstabel joined the Manhattan office as senior director. Jan Sigmon and Lori Gabay joined the Manhattan office as associates.
Helmsley-Spear
Donna Zavattieri was promoted to executive vice president. She was a vice president. Al Elahi joined as a salesperson.
Massey Knakal
Ryan Condren joined the Brooklyn office as an associate to chief operating officer and partner Timothy King. Han Lee joined the Queens office as a sales director covering East Flushing, Bayside, Douglaston, and Glen Oaks. Evan Daniel joined the Queens office as an associate to broker Al Holloman.
The Sapir Organization
Alex Sapir was appointed president.
Studley
L. Craig Lemle and Greg Taubin were promoted to senior managing director. Both had been corporate managing directors. John Johnson was promoted to corporate managing director from managing director. Michael Leff was promoted to managing director from assistant director. Nicholas Farmakis was promoted to associate director from assistant director. Jason Perla was promoted to assistant director of consulting services from associate of consulting services. Tatiana Tarassenko was promoted to assistant director from associate.
Sullivan & Cromwell
Joseph Shenker was named vice chairman.
Winter & Company
Michael Becker, Jeff Feldman, and Dan Silver joined the firm.
You can’t miss them. Billboards — big, broad, gleaming expanses of advertisement touting seemingly every swanky new residential project throughout Manhattan. The billboards might cost developers into six figures, but that’s chump change compared to the sales interest they might draw.
“In my 20 years of experience, billboards have been the single greatest source for [sales] traffic,” William Zeckendorf, a co-partner in Zeckendorf Development, told The Real Deal.
Zeckendorf is developing the ultra-luxury 15 Central Park West condominiums, the first fresh residential construction along the park in more than a generation. Part of its marketing includes a bright billboard splashed along 200 feet of both Broadway and Central Park West, turning corners onto 61st and 62nd streets.
Sales prices at 15 Central Park West have already turned enough heads to cause collective neck injury to the New York City real estate community. For instance, a hedge fund mogul bought a condo there late last year for a reported $45 million — an all-time condo sales record for the city — and all units are expected to go for thousands a square foot. The “six figures” that Zeckendorf said he estimates was spent for the billboard and its upkeep, then, could be covered theoretically by one small unit’s sale.
Not all billboards are literally boards — nor are they necessarily at the projects they market. Fifteen Central Park West’s is both: It’s fabric stretched over wood at the construction site. But, for 555 West 23rd Street, Douglaston Development had the fabric of a billboard stretched down the side of a building at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue. It not only screams the project’s name to the masses in Chelsea, but also instructs — “River views four blocks west” — which, in the end, might be the most cost-effective thing a billboard can do.
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