East Village
331 East 8th Street
The five-unit condominium, designed by Kutnicki Bernstein Architects, has three two-bedroom lofts with terraces, a duplex penthouse with three terraces and a private roof deck, as well as a duplex with a 796-square-foot private yard. The units have 9-foot ceilings and private storage spaces. Helix Partners are the developers. Prices range from $1.275 to $2.05 million. Rob Gross of Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive broker. Contact: 212-727-6130.
Gramercy
Landmark 17
233 East 17th Street
Originally a convent and later a Hazelden clinic, the Victorian Gothic-style building — built in 1877 — is being converted to 13 condominium units. The façde will remain intact, while the inside will be gutted to create two- to four-bedroom homes. The chapel will be transformed into a four-story apartment with 23-foot ceilings. Eight of the apartments will have private gardens and terraces. Sales will begin this month, with a summer 2006 move-in date, the New York Post reported. Prices are expected to start at $1.5 million for a two-bedroom, according to Tamir Shemesh of Prudential Douglas Elliman. Contact: www.landmark17.com.
Harlem
2002 Fifth Avenue
The seven-story, 24-unit building was designed by Alexander Compagno. Many residences have private outdoor space. Prices for the one- to three-bedroom units start in the mid $400,000s. The building also features a 24-hour doorman, a residents’ terrace, fitness center, and a parking garage. Prudential Douglas Elliman is marketing the property. Contact: www.2002fifth.com.
Midtown
610 Lexington Avenue
A hotel-condo tower is going up at the site of the former YWCA, the New York Times reported. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the transfer of unused development rights from the Seagram Building on Park Avenue and 53rd Street to allow for the construction of the building. In return, the owners of the Seagram, RFR Holding, must permanently maintain that building’s modernist exterior.
Soho
350 West Broadway
Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures has received a variance permitting residential development of the existing three-story building, which has been vacant since its construction in 1987, GlobeSt.com reported. The newly renovated building will be 11 stories tall and contain 19 one- to three-bedroom units. At street level, the property will have 6,800 square feet of retail space. Rogers-Marvel Architects and Elliot Vilkas designed the expansion, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in October 2007.
Tribeca
1 York Street
Sales are about to begin at the 40-unit condominium complex designed by architect Enrique Norten. The complex occupies an entire block and splices a modern 14-story glass tower with a revamped seven-story building from the 1850s. Prices will range from $1 million for an 850-square-foot one-bedroom to $15 million for the 3,160-square-foot penthouse. A two-bedroom unit with 1,820 square feet will sell for around $2.4 million. Stanley Perelman of Jani Real Estate is the owner and developer. Construction is expected to be completed in April 2007, the New York Times reported. Cantor-Pecorella is the marketing agent. Contact: www.1york.com
Tribeca
414 Washington Street and 415-423 Washington Street
The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved in December certificates of appropriateness for the two buildings, the New York Observer reported. Both are designed by Joseph Pell Lombardi and Associates and will be clad in red brick and have multi-paned, arched windows. The building at 415 Washington Street will have eight stories and be called the Fairchild & Foster Atelier. The building at 414 Washington Street will have eight stories and be called the Pearline Soap Atelier. Although both properties sit in a manufacturing zone, the Department of City Planning is expected to rezone the North Tribeca neighborhood soon, allowing for residential uses.
Upper East Side
995 Fifth Avenue
The former Stanhope Hotel is going co-op, the New York Times reported. The hotel’s 185 rooms will become 26 private residences designed by John Simpson, the architect of the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Studio apartments for cooks, drivers, and maids are available on the ground floor for about $1 million. Upstairs, half- and full-floor apartments, 4,000 and 8,000 square feet each, begin at $10 million. The asking price for a duplex penthouse — 7,000 square feet with 5,000 square feet of outdoor space — is $47 million. The Corcoran Group is selling the units. Contact: 212-634-6500.
Upper East Side
1393 York Avenue
The Sheldrake Organization bought the Church of the Epiphany site and will build a luxury 25-story residential condominium, designed by Polshek Partnership, and a new church. The entrance for the condo tower will be on East 74th Street, and the church’s entrance will be on York Avenue, the New York Sun reported.
Vinegar Hill
99 Gold
99 Gold Street
One of the neighborhood’s largest condo conversions will open for sales in early February. Housed in a former toy factory, the building will offer 88 lofts. Units range from 750-square-foot loft studios to 1,200-square-foot two-bedrooms and are expected to fetch $350,000 to $1.35 million, the New York Post reported. Additionally, there are five 1,450-square-foot duplex apartments with individual rooftop cabanas. Most units will have terraces or private gardens. The building also has a basketball court, garage, roof deck, and gym. Occupancy is expected in spring 2006. Contact: www.99goldstreet.com.
Construction Update
Fashion District
125 West 31st Street
Construction is under way by development partners Sidney Fetner & Associates and the Durst Organization on the mixed-use development, the Sun reported. The project includes a residential rental building of 47 stories beginning on the 13th floor. Of the 480 units, 20 percent will be reserved for affordable housing.
Lower East Side
East Houston Street at the Bowery
AvalonBay Communities’ second building in the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Area is currently under construction on the north side of East Houston Street. It will rise nine stories and have 206 rental apartments. The building will have a roof terrace and fitness center for residents, along with 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The first residents are expected to move in by the end of 2006, the Villager newspaper reported. Contact:www.avalonchrystieplace.com.
Williamsburg
184 Kent Avenue
The landmark saga seems to have ended. The Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2005 designated the Austin, Nichols warehouse as a landmark, thereby throwing into doubt plans for condos on top of it. The City Council overrode the commission — only the second time it’s done so since the early 1990s. Then, Mayor Bloomberg overrode the council and sided with the commission. But, on Dec. 8, the council overrode the mayor’s veto and left the warehouse without landmark status and ready for development.
Financing
Windsor Terrace
35 McDonald Avenue
Longview Capital Advisors arranged $10.3 million in financing provided by Doral Bank for what will be a five-story, 38-unit condominium developed by Basile Builders. One- and two-bedroom units from 700 to 1,400 square feet range in price from $379,000 to $1 million. Completion is expected in spring 2006.
Sales Update
Carroll Gardens West
71 Carroll Street
Sales are under way at the five-story, 13-unit condominium by Basile Builders. Prices for the one- to four-bedroom apartments in the brownstone-style building range from $475,000 to $1.8 million. Occupancy is slated for spring. Andy Booth and David Perez of the Corcoran Group are the sales agents.
Downtown Brooklyn
The Smith
75 Smith Street
Sales are under way at the 50-unit condominium designed by Nick Dine of Dine Murphy Wood. Prices for the one- to three-bedroom units range from $550,000 to $1.295 million. The project includes eight duplex penthouses with private terraces. Residences will have 9-foot ceilings and oversized windows with skyline views. Leviev Boymelgreen is the developer; Meltzer/Mandl are the architects. Occupancy is slated for January 2007. The Sunshine Group is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: 718-339-2500, www.75smith.com.
Greenwich Village
88 Washington Place
All but two three-bedroom units have been sold, according to the Post. The Corcoran Group is handling sales. Contact: www.88washington.com.
Harlem
104 West 123rd Street
Sales are under way at Rosetree Development Company’s four-unit brownstone condo conversion. The units, which have exposed brick, private terraces and wood-burning fireplaces, are priced at $600 a foot. Financing was provided by Signature Bank. The exclusive sales brokers are Lawrence Comroe and Tony Oakley of the Corcoran Group. Contact: 212-875-2942, www.123condo.net.
Lower East Side
Blue
105 Norfolk Street
Sales are under way at the 16-story, 32-unit condominium. More than 700 inquiries were fielded before the units officially hit the market on Nov. 16, according to a release from the building’s sales office. Barrie Mandel leads the Corcoran marketing team representing the building. Contact: 212-533-8822, www.bluecondonyc.com.
Lower East Side
107 Avenue A
The 10-unit condo conversion has been on the market since Labor Day without a single sale by brokers, although developer Gary Vinbaytel has privately sold two of the units, the Post reported. The apartments, all one-bedrooms measuring 580 to 751 square feet, were originally put on the market in the $650,000 to $710,000 range. Prices have been slashed 10 percent since then, according to Vinbaytel, who will drop them another 2.25 percent.
Roosevelt Island
The Octagon
Twenty-one tenants so far have been lured by amenities like daycare and tennis courts to the converted tower, according to New York magazine. Rents in the former New York Lunatic Asylum, across the water from East 78th Street in Manhattan, range from $1,400 a month for studios to $4,100 for three-bedrooms.
South Park Slope
The Liberty
207 22nd Street
Aguayo and Huebener is marketing the nine-unit condominium developed by John Polanca and John DeSilva. The starting price for a 1,150-square-foot two-bedroom unit has been set at $599,000. The five-story building includes two ground-floor duplex apartments and a penthouse with views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Times Square
The Orion
350 West 42nd Street
At the end of October, 474 of the 551 units had been sold in the 58-story condominium, the Sun reported. Occupancy is scheduled for 2006.
Development in Brief
Manhattan (from north to south)
743 Fifth Avenue
The 10 upper floors of the slender Italianate loft building may turn into residential condos, the Post reported. Centurion Realty owns the property.
500 West 23rd Street
Leviev Boymelgreen will construct a 15-story rental of over 100,000 square feet, the Post reported.
140 West 22nd Street
Cronus Capital and Vintage Group bought the 12-story, 70,000-square-foot commercial building and plan to convert it to condos.
Third Avenue between 13th and 14th streets
Toll Brothers has bought the site of the old Variety Theater and intends to build a 77-unit condo tower, the Post reported.
173 MacDougal Street
Property Markets Group will be closing on an acquisition of Church of Christ, Scientist in 2006, the Sun reported. It plans to redevelop the site, building a new church and residential condos.
16 Warren Street
The three-year-old Tribeca Rock Club is closing and will be razed to make room for luxury condos, Curbed.com reported.
127 Fulton Street
New owners 127 Fulton LLC plan to convert the eight-story, 27,000-square-foot office building into condos, according to Helmsley-Spear.