466-468 Columbus avenue is currently a 3 story building with retail that once housed the vegan restaurant, Blossom and Flywheel. The owners had submitted designs to create a new 8 story mixed use building on the site. The design was critiqued by the LPC and did not receive approval. The design team of BKSK will tweak their proposal and return at a later date.
All posts by Brian Silvestry
What is your favorite Downtown NYC building?
What is your favorite downtown Manhattan icon? Is it the Woolworth building which is undergoing a partial condo conversion? Is it the Freedom Tower? What about the curvaceous New York by Gehry? The Downtown skyline has been changing in the last few years.
What about 56 Leonard, the record breaking Jenga condo tower in TriBeCa?
Upper West side schools- Rezoning news
Late this week, Department of education spelled out two possible plans to rezone Manhattan’s upper west side schools. One proposal has the popular PS 452 moving to PS 191’s current location and PS 191 moving to a new building part of Riverside Center complex. This proposal has been met with much opposition as could be predicted. Another proposal has changes being made to the entire district up to the West 100’s.
A vote would have to be passed by December to take place in time for the Fall 2017 school year.
Riverside Park-Upper West side oasis
If you are living or thinking of living on Manhattan’s Upper West side, and can find an apartment close to Riverside Park, you will always be able to do find something to do even if it’s just a stroll on a hot summer day.
There’s a Cherry Walk from 100th to 125th street on the water as well as the red clay tennis courts at West 96th street in case you want to channel the spirit of The French Open. There’s soccer fields, long winding paths, the Boat Basin Cafe and this just takes you into the West 70’s. Here are some photos to get you motivated to take a walk on the Hudson River and maybe catch a sunset, take a free yoga class or watch an outdoor movie. Click on the below for a list of events. Calendar of events in Riverside Park
One of the best places to live is in one of the many full service buildings on Riverside boulevard. There are a range of apartments from studios to family size apartments. Many of the buildings have roof decks, and swimming pools among the amenities. One of the best buildings is the newest addition- One Riverside Park where a 3 bed/3.5 of around 2000 sqft (185m2) can be had for under $5 million or rented for under $10k per month. Around the corner at 1 West end avenue, you can find interesting offerings at around $2000 per sqft and this building comes with a 20 year tax abatement.
Beyond the glitzy new condos in this section of Lincoln Square, you can find the more affordable Lincoln Towers, a postwar co-op on West end avenue. A 3 bedroom is for sale for $2.295 million with a monthly maintenance under $2500 per month. Prices are around $1500 per sqft in this pet friendly development which has several buildings and while not as fancy as it’s neighbors to the west, it is more centrally located, a full two avenues closer to Broadway including Zabar’s and the express subway stop.
Whether you decide to purchase, rent near Riverside Park or just pass through, there’s always plenty to do…
Is now the right time to buy a Manhattan apartment?
Certainly with all of the news of late about the slowing of the real estate market, what do you do if you are about to purchase a Manhattan apartment right now? I think it is wise to take a look at a number of factors within your personal situation.
1- How long will you stay in the apartment?
2- Will you be able to rent it out if you have an opportunity/need to move away due to work etc?
3- Will the additional monthly payment offset by tax advantages be more affordable than continuing to rent?
4- What price range are you in?
If you are leaving NYC in 2 years due to anticipated job transfer, purchase if you like, but best to stay away form a co-op due to the restrictions in renting. Typically, Manhattan co-ops will allow you to rent for 2 of 5 years. After that, you will need to move back or sell. Condos on the other hand allow for unlimited subletting. So if the resale value decreases on your recent purchase then you can rent it out. As sales prices go down, rents normally rise.
It has been well documented that the luxury market is experiencing a glut. So if you are going to buy that $15 mm townhouse, have your real estate broker do an analysis to make sure that it is worth the offering price. Recently, I had one potential client that brought to me a listing that was for a townhouse in Chelsea. I just didn’t believe that it was worth the ask and in fact it seemed like the price will probably go down in the future so I told him so.
At the other end of the market spectrum, if you are looking under $3 million that market is still moving notwithstanding overpriced listings. So be prepared to compete at that level especially for 2 or 3 bedroom apartments which sell due to so many families staying in Manhattan and empty nesters whose dream may be a classic 6 on Central Park west or a 2 bedroom in the West Village.
Two other factors to consider are interest rates and the effect of Brexit. Interest rates are extremely low and even if prices level off slightly, interest rates will rise so the savings may be negated.
Brexit, most agree, may end up being a boon for the Manhattan real estate market, due to investors and buyers looking for a safe haven for their money.
In conclusion, you really need to do an analysis of what your personal situation is and if you decide to go forward with a purchase in a segment of the market that is peaking now, just make sure it’s a long term investment and not something that you need to get out of in 3-5 years.
Building profile 400 Central Park west
If you are thinking of buying on the Upper west one of the most desired building is within the postwar Park West Village. It is located at the corner of Central Park west and 100th street. The building features studios to 2 bedrooms (540 sqft(50m2) to 1140 sqft(105m2)). There are 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms with balconies. Apartments face either north or south due to the building being sideways on Central Park west and the 2 bedroom apartments have a second exposure either west or east.
Inside the building, there is a full time concierge, live-in-super, on site property manager, exercise room, children’s playroom, and laundry. Bike storage, storage and parking are also available on a wait list basis with parking in the outdoor parking lot going for only $204 per month! It takes about 1 year to get a space in the 400 Central Park west parking lot as of this time.
Best of all, 400 Central Park west has very low monthly charges. A 2 bedroom/2 bathroom which might sell for between $1.6-$1.9 million will have a common charge of about $900 and taxes around $400. For this reason, there are a limited number of apartments for sale in 414 unit building. Owners tend to purchase and stay or hold their properties long term.
The building also shares a playground with the neighboring buildings plus there is another playground inside Central Park at West 100th street. Many of the southern facing apartments have wonderful views of the Park and a Citi bike station is coming soon adjacent to the building.
Listings in 400 Central Park west
NYC Public swimming pools open
NYC swimming pools are open and Brick Underground has a comprehensive guide that they have published. Lasker Pool in Central Park is worth mentioning and is an Olympic size pool with lots of space though the morning session is a little more tranquil than the afternoon. One of the best tips is that the water is very cold and best on a very hot day. Read their full post to learn about the most recent renovated pool in the system as well as what to bring with you and what not to bring.
For those of you bringing the little ones, Lasker makes you leave the strollers outside but will let you bring car seats in. There is an area for the littlest little ones with fountains as the general pool can be a little raucous at times. Also the water in that area is a little warmer. Happy Summer!
What is your favorite area of Central Park?
Central Park has so many places to enjoy and seek refuge from a hot summer day. One of my favorite nooks of the park is the pool at West 100 street. It’s an area where you can see owners walk their dogs, ducks swimming, and even the occasional stray turtle planting their eggs. One of the advantages of this section is while it does swell up with picnickers on the weekend, it is nowhere near as crowded as sections closer to Midtown. That’s right Strawberry Fields, I am talking to you.
What happens when the sponsor turns over control to the Condo?
When a sponsor sells a condo, at some point they turn over control of the condo to the owners. According to Cooperator, it must happens in 5 years maximum or when 50% of the apartments are sold.
From there, the owners have to be ready to take the baton. In the article, the writer goes through the steps necessary to be ready. Among them, a team of advisers needs to be in place including lawyers, accountants and engineers. The owners must make sure that the sponsor has lived up to their requirements as laid forth in the offering plan.
There are buildings that I know of that have had facade or construction defects only a few years after they were built. Perhaps they did or did not consult with an engineer when taking control from the developer. Also, the wording in the offering plan is to protect the sponsor and not necessarily the condo going forward so a legal review of the offering plan may be necessary.
Thinking of buying in Lincoln Square?
Now with the warm weather upon us, Manhattanites are looking for anywhere that they can to find refuge from the heat. One such place is Columbus Circle and the shops at Time Warner Center in the background. The area is officially known as Lincoln Square and is very conveniently close to Midtown, shopping, many subway lines, Lincoln Center and of course Central Park.
The Time Warner Center which was completed in 2004 by the Related Company has two 80 story towers which houses condos, office and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Currently, there are 10 apartments for sale in the Time Warner Center ranging from $5 million for 2bd/2.5ba 1433 sqft(133m2) apartment to $24.75 million for a 3bd/3.5 ba 3491 sqft(324m2) 70th floor offering. The shops at Time Warner feature high end retail.
