NYC real estate in brief

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Robert Scarano and Olive Park

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.”

Marcus & Millichap says rental demand is on the decline

Rising
unemployment during the recession is causing rental demand to subside,
according to an Apartment Research Report by Marcus & Millichap.
Across New York City, employers are expected to cut 136,900 jobs this
year for a total 3.7 percent decline in employment, according to
Marcus & Millichap. The report said that lengthy planning and
building timetables have kept the city’s construction pipeline full,
despite the recession, and developers will bring nearly 3,200 new
market-rate rentals online this year, compared to 1,225 rentals last
year. Falling rental demand is expected to increase the average vacancy
rate 160 basis points to 4.2 percent by the end of the year, and asking
rents and effective rents are expected to fall 3.5 percent and 4.7 percent,
respectively.

Two Westchestser properties to be auctioned

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Two residential development sites in Westchester County will be
auctioned off on May 20. The first site is 80 acres in Tarrytown, at
618 Broadway, and the second is a 1.5-acre property in Larchmont, at
2101-2103 Palmer Avenue. The auction, by Sheldon Good & Company
Auctions Northeast, will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 109 East
42nd Street. Approvals are already in place to build two three-story
multi-family buildings with 51 units on the Larchmont site,
and the minimum bid is $2.6 million. The seller of the Tarrytown
property believes 13 home sites could be built on the property, which
has a minimum bid of $75 million. TRD