There are currently two 10-room apartments in the legendary Dakota building up for sale, which has the Times' Josh Barbanel wondering: shouldn't all the richies going nuts over 15 Central Park West be lining up to buy in the real thing? If 15 CPW is an imitation of buildings like the Dakota, and 15 CPW is currently the ultimate trophy home, then what is the Dakota? It's art, says Brown Harris Stevens' John Burger, and whether or not you agree with him, the pair of on-the-market co-ops at 1 West 72nd Street are certainly priced like masterpieces. Burger's listing is the pricier of the two, at $24 million. The sixth-floor apartment has four bedrooms, four wood-burning fireplaces, a 16-foot-long gallery and a huge corner living room. In the same line but two floors lower is a similar apartment priced at $18.5 million. The reason we spotlighted the latter in the gallery above is because it definitely has the pricier apartment beat in terms of "Dakotaness," meaning what we would expect from a sprawling home in the iconic 1880s building where Rosemary's Baby was filmed. Try that pedigree on for size, 15 CPW!
· Listing: 1 West 72nd Street [Warburg]
· Listing: 1 West 72nd Street [BHS]
· New Is Nifty, Old Is Gold [NYT]
1) The leading concrete testing company in the New York area, Testwell Laboratories, is under investigation for failing to perform some tests and falsifying others on some major construction projects, including the Freedom Tower and the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and the Port Authority both say the concrete used for their projects is sound and poses no safety threat, but yikes! Investigators took 200 boxes of documents and computers from a pair of Testwell offices, as well as from a trailer at Yankee Stadium. ['Company Hired to Test Concrete Faces Scrutiny']
2) The condo conversion of the Apthorp is a go, and when the 163 apartments in the Astor-built complex at Broadway and West 79th Street (right) hit the market, they will average about $3,000/sqft, more than the initial offering at 15 Central Park West. The average apartment price will be about $6.5 million, and current Apthorp tenants are not getting any insider deals, though they do have an early crack at any apartment in the building they want. Sales open to the general public in the fall. It's Manhattan's second-most-expensive condo conversion, behind Manhattan House. [Big Deal/Condos at Pedigree Prices]
3) Rumors of Hoboken's demise have been greatly exaggerated: "Average sales prices are still increasing for downtown condominiums in Hoboken, although most asking prices are open to negotiation these days, as several developers acknowledged in interviews. Developers say that their new buildings are still selling out, if somewhat slower than in the past." Take that, supposed down market! ['Hoboken Weathers the Market']
4) If you want to know how the rest of the country lives, look to Staten Island, where income and homeownership figures are similar to those icky other places. And in Staten Island, foreclosures are a "grimly familiar tale." ['Fighting Foreclosure on Staten Island']
Who is in charge of preserving the exclusivity of Gramercy Park, one of two private parks remaining in New York City? According to the Times, it's Arlene Harrison, founder of the Gramercy Park Block Association and one of five members on the park's board of trustees. She has remade the two-acre expanse in her own image, we're told, and she lives on Gramercy Park East in an apartment bought in 1971 for "around $68,000," and which she's quick to point out is worth "millions" today. So, what have we learned?
On laying down the law: "She has added to a list of regulations (no dogs, no feeding of birds, no groups larger than six people, no Frisbees or soccer balls or 'hard balls' of any kind) that, in turn, have served to dictate how the park is — and is not — used."
On the conversion of the Salvation Army's women's boarding house on Gramercy Park South to luxury condos:"One of Will Zeckendorf's best friends lives in my building and I liked him. I like what they did with 15 Central Park West ... It will change the neighborhood for the better. It will be less use on the park."
On turning down offers for playground equipment: "Too much wear and tear. But do you know what? The children who grow up here learn to use their imagination."
1) A second penthouse at 15 Central Park West has hit the market, joining Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald's duplex on the 18th and 19th floors of the "House" building (which officially doesn't have a listing price but is said to commanding at least $90 million). A penthouse on the 40th floor of the "Tower," a 5,270-square-foot four bedroom apartment that also includes a ground-level 1,100-square-foot space for the help, is now asking $80 million, after closing in April for "just" $21.9 million. The owner is London-based investor Amit Ben-Haim, who made his money from selling off a medical device company he founded. According to brokers, the apartments are "already attracting interest from a stream of billionaires and their representatives," so call these penthouses the anti-Pierre. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
2) Mount Sinai Medical Center's 31-story black Annenberg Building at 99th Street off Fifth Avenue is often said to be a blight, but would the East Harlem locals rather have that than an even taller condo building that could come about as a result of Mount Sinai selling off the development rights to fund a new 11-story SOM-designed medical building nearby? Critics are worried that the Durst Organization's 564-foot-tall proposed tower would leave part of Central Park in the shadows. And there's also the sensitive affordable housing topic. The city has yet to approve the deal. [The City/Gregory Beyer]
3) The rent-stabilized tenants of 220 Central Park—the 30 or so left in the building—are still fighting the demolition of their 20-story building, and they won a recent court battle which at least buys them some time. The Clarett Group and Vornado are trying to get everyone out so they can build a 41-story glass condo on the site, and the other tenants have all moved or been bought out. The holdouts, which include Corcoran's Leighton Candler, reportedly turned down an offer of $1 million per apartment to vacate. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
15 Central Park West just got a good one. Ed Snider, the dude who owns the 76ers, Flyers and the arena they play in. Snider bought a 2,300-square-foot 2BR pad on the 36th floor of the "Tower" for $7.34 million. Now if only Jim Dolan would buy in 15 CPW, then we'd have something interesting brewing. [TRD]
What slowdown? In yesterday's Times, Josh Barbanel crunched some May numbers, and he reports that the median and average apartment price have edged up yet again, to a new record of $1.54 million. And before 500 commenters scream bloody murder about 15 Central Park West and the Plaza inflating the numbers, please note that Barbanel excluded the two big-ticket developments from the calculations. The number of sales, Barbanel reports, was higher than in any month since August 2007, and the 52 documented sales of $4 million or more was the highest ever. Yeesh, can anything stop the Manhattan market? Maybe. Many brokers still say that market uncertainty has clients on the fence, and the number of sales closed in May was down 20% from last year, but still above the volume of May 2006. Barbanel points to price cuts on resales at 40 Bond and the Time Warner Center as a potential weakening of the trophy property market. But c'mon, those prices are only down because all of those potential buyers are tripping over themselves trying to buy into 15 Central Park West. Once 15 CPW tops out at an average of eighty bazillion dollars per square foot, they'll head back to the also-rans.
· A Mixed Picture [NYT]
Late yesterday, we received an e-mail from a tipster saying Brown Harris Stevens was asking $80 million for a 6,000-square-foot 15 Central Park West duplex, in a very hush-hush way. Given the reported $100 million offerings at the limestone Jesus, that wasn't outside the realm of possibility. And the rumor was almost true. In fact, Brown Harris Stevens is asking $90 million for it, Braden Keil reports today, and it's the very same apartment (Unit #18-19A in the "House" building) whose buyer—a Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald—claimed he turned down a $100 million offer. So why the discount, doc? Unclear, but if the 4BR, 6.5BA condo sells for $90 million, it will claim the title as Manhattan's most expensive residence as well as the most ever paid per square foot. And it's not even a virginal 15 CPW pad (dude lives in it). And it's not even the penthouse! Well, it's a "penthouse," but it's below the $42 million apartment bought by Citigroup's Sanford Weill. Keep an eye on the page of BHS broker Janet Gifford, who is leading the charge. Maybe they'll share some goodies if nobody bites.
· $90M Flip Out [NYP]
· It Happened One Holiday Weekend: 15 CPW Officially Insane [Curbed]
1) In last week's PriceSpotter, we touched on the madness of the resale market at 15 Central Park West (right). Now, Josh Barbanel reports that the buyer of a $30 million penthouse in the building has been offered $100 million for it (he turned it down!) and there are rumors that $125 million has been offered for another apartment. Also, the world is a cold, dead place. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
2) Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., is endangered, and yet his Urban Ass House in Hudson Square, Richguyville, is just dandy. Up in Architect Heaven (it's like regular heaven but the zoning is lax and there are no community boards), PJ just took off his glasses and shot the residents of Connecticut quite the look. ['A Tiny Masterpiece, Unloved, Faces Threat'/Andy Newman]
3) Luxury condo buyers along the isolated Williamsburg waterfront will most likely have to throw some additional cash into the kitty if they want that ferry service that every developer has advertised as an amenity. Also, this photo makes Williamsburg look post-apocalyptic. [Posting/C.J. Hughes]
4) Artsy Brooklynites priced out of Park Slope are gentrifying Kensington, and rumors of a coffee shop (a coffee shop, people!) are making the rounds. Ah, Brooklyn. [Living In/Jake Mooney]
We knew a high-floor flip at limestone Jesus 15 Central Park West would lead to an entertaining thread, which is why we gave away the location right off the bat. Wow, we were right. Comments included, "I'm not even going to do any math...I'm just going to guess $7.2M." "15CPW? There are no rules here, how is this even fair? $8.1m, just to trump the highest so far." "Dollar amount for maintenance is 100 more than square footage. That's the hint. Price is $10 million." "Lets go with $13 million. because if i had $13 millions dollars i would spend them on this apartment." In the end, one anonymous guesser nailed the correct price. Mr. Zeckendorf, that you?
· Listing: 15 Central Park West [Sotheby's]
· Curbed PriceSpotter: 15 Central Park West [Curbed]
PriceSpotter is Curbed's asking price guessing game. We provide you with some details and pictures from an apartment listing, and you take a crack at the price in the comments. Tomorrow we reveal the answer. And hey, no cheating!
What/Where: 2BR, 2.5BA condo at 15 Central Park West Square Feet: 2,367 Maintenance: $2,467 The Skinny: Usually we make a big stink about keeping the exact building location secret in order to deter cheating, but folks, there is only one 15 Central Park West—the #1 newish condo building in New York. Anyone who looks directly at photos of the building's interiors without the aid of their specially tinted 15 CPW sunglasses immediately has their eyes melted, and we don't want that on our hands. Literally, the eye goo is really hard to scrub off. This two-bedroom unit on a high floor in the tower hit the market this week, and it's virginal and pure. Flips in the building have been anarchic, with some apartments getting double what they closed for (or more). So, wise bidder, what's your guess?
· Curbed PriceSpotter archives [Curbed]
1) The Ariel West, one of a pair of new Extell condo buildings so beloved by their Upper West Side neighbors that the neighborhood was immediately downzoned, is scooping up always-pregnant View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her third-string QB husband as tenants. The couple bought a $3.25 million four-bedroom apartment in the 99th Street tower for their brood, which hopefully goes better than our last run-in with an Ariel 4BR. [Manhattan Transfers/Max Abelson]
2) After an initial burst of boldface buyers—Sting, Denzel Washington, Jeff Gordon—the roster at 15 Central Park West has been one boring banker after another. Now, finally, someone else we've heard of! Norman Lear closed on a 38th Floor condo in the "Tower" for $10 million. The TV legend may be 86, but he'll be damned if he's kept out of the best show in town. [The Real Deal]
1) The most famous hot tub and hammock in the West Village is no more. Well, they still exist, but you can't have them (unless you pony up upwards of $7.9 million). After getting pricechopped to hell, Gisele Bundchen's West 11th Street triplex has been pulled off the market. Pour one out for this fallen homey. [Gimme Shelter/Braden Keil]
2)Bono traded his El Dorado apartment (home/not home to Moby) for a more fancy Upper West Side co-op, the San Remo, a few years back, and now he's finally cashing out on his old pad. The 2,322sqft three-bedroom apartment first hit the market in March 2006 for $5.95 million, and it recently sold for $4.9 million. [Manhattan Transfers/Max Abelson]
3) Nearly two years after he signed a contract to buy it, Sting has finally closed on his five-bedroom spread in the tower at 15 Central Park West (yes, we would've pegged him for a "house" guy, too). Gordon Sumner paid $26.5 million for it, and he still owns this beauty a little up the street. [The Real Estate/Lysandra Ohrstrom]
4) Is Village resident Liv Tyler the latest in a long list of Manhattan celebrities lost to the cozy breeding ground of Brooklyn? Word across the pond is she's checked out a townhouse at 140 Columbia Heights, but there may be holes in this story. [Brownstoner]
5) Think doodling in class gets you nowhere? The creator of Dora the Explorer just bought a condo at Extell's Ariel West for $4.395 million. The next time you buy your nephew a Diego toy, think about that sweet, sweet apartment. [The Real Estate/Max Abelson]
Location: 535 West End Avenue, at 86th Street Size: 20 stories, 22 half- and full-floor units Prices: $8,750,000 to $21,000,000 Architect: Lucien Lagrange Architects Developer: Extell Sales & Marketing: Corcoran Sunshine
For all those who wonder why they don't build them like they used to, this one is for you. Extell's new ultra-luxury development caught some heat in the Times and elsewhere for its "pre-war" marketing, despite being new construction. It's "pre-war style," they responded, and the truth is we were ready and willing to pile on the mockery, but the building is now open for business, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Staggeringly so. Current rendering kings dbox handled the images, and we don't think we're being outrageous when we say this could turn out to be another 15 Central Park West (minus the park part). The building is the first New York City project from French architect and former SOM partner Lucien Lagrange. The apartments are gigantic—3,744 to 8,451 square feet—as are the prices (only three apartments are currently listed). The question is, will high-end buyers searching for trophy properties be drawn to this McClassic? Given 15 CPW's success and the gimme gimme gimme state of the luxury market, most likely. There are really too many details to get into in this space, so click through the gallery for the complete guided tour.
535 West End Avenue
535 West End Avenue, Upper West Side Floorplan Porn, White Glove, Pre-WWIII website, listings
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—The pool deck at 20 Pine - The Collection has become a microcosm of the delays at the building, so we're happy that a Curbed tipster is keeping an eye on the situation. The latest: pool wall built! [CurbedWire Inbox]
COLUMBUS CIRCLE—While The Plaza was busy nearly killing its few-and-far-between occupants, 15 Central Park West—its rival in mega-luxury—could only laugh. In fact, nary a bad word has ever been uttered about 15 CPW. Which is probably why so many people are lining up to badmouth the building following PaperShadeGate. They've been so repressed! The latest: "Not only are there paper shades at CPW, but there is a broken window too. It's on the Broadway side about 7 or 8 floors up. uhg-ghly!" Heaven forbid! [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—Today, the sales office for Edge opens, marking a major test for the new Williamsburg. But the old Williamsburg is not going quietly. Check out this e-mail: "It's Williamsburg not BILLYBURG, ETC ANYONE FROM BROOKLYN WOULD NEVER SAY THAT!"
COLUMBUS CIRCLE—A tipster sends along the above photo and points out, in horror, that someone at 15 Central Park West is using "paper shades." Why not serve foie gras on paper plates while you're at it? [CurbedWire Inbox]
CENTRAL VILLAGE—The controversial proposed New School building at 65 Fifth Avenue is a little slow out of the gate. Reports a tipster, "The latest on the New School building at 65 5th Ave: Demolition has been pushed back 6 months from June 2008 to December '08/January '09. Nobody's surprised, but there was cautious optimism that the project would be on time. They still say 5 years from demolition to new building." If the GVSHP doesn't derail it, of course. [CurbedWire Inbox]
HELL'S KITCHEN—The only reason anyone ever pays attention to Hell's Kitchen is when two hoodlums try to cash a dead guy's social security check with the corpse parked on the sidewalk, but there's so much more going on in the neighborhood. Did you know that The 505, on West 47th Street, is 90% sold, and the last batch of units (1BRs from $699,000; 2BR penthouses with private roof decks from $1.395M) are now being released? Huh, DID YOU? [CurbedWire Inbox]
The entire industry has been holding its breath in anticipation of this moment, and here we go: the release of the major brokerages' Q1 market sales reports. Will the credit crunch and the mortgage crisis finally infiltrate Manhattan real estate? Will Wall Street layoffs slow the now years-strong market surge? No, yes and maybe. Here's the headline: prices are up—again. In fact, the average sales price reached a new record. Jonathan Miller's report for Elliman has the Q1 average sales price at $1.72 million, up 33.5% from Q1 2007. Gregory Heym's Halstead/Brown Harris Stevens report (not online yet) has the number at $1.69 million, up 46% from his numbers last year. Wow! But we all know those numbers are inflated by the 15 Central Park West and Plaza closings (for the quarter, 71 apartments sold for more than $10 million, compared with 17 in Q1 2007), so what about the median? Elliman has the median sales price at a record $945,276, up 13.2% over last year, while Halstead/BHS has it at $855,000, also a record and up 13%. Woo, the bulls win! Let's pop the champagne! Well, hold that thought, because here is where things get a little dicey.
Prime development sites along Central Park don't come on the market very often, and when they do—especially in a post-15 Central Park West world—they break the bank. That's why the Post's Steve Cuozzo believes that the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel, expected to hit the market soon following the death of owner and resident Leona Helmsley, will "rekindle the sputtering investment-sale market, however briefly." So, what exactly will the eventual buyer be buying? A 46-story travertine and glass tower on Central Park South in need of some serious renovation, given the 1970s styling pumping through its veins. Ugliness aside, the building could fetch close to $1 billion, according to one hotel analyst. And let's not forget that condo developers will be circling the property as well, which could drive the price even higher. Another hotel-to-condo conversion along Central Park? Ladies, this time, please protect your Fabergé eggs!
· Leona's Lair Hits Market [NYP]
· Helmsley Park Lane [Official Site]
The Daily News ran an interesting real estate blind item: "We hear developers of a very upscale project on Central Park West are offering buyouts to early owners who purchased their units at half of what they are worth now. Most haven't even moved in yet, and they can double their money. The developers are obviously bullish the market is still on the up and up." [NYDN]
"Congratulations to architect Robert A.M. Stern. Your building is the city's biggest hit. Now what's the deal with two middle initials? Congratulations to Indiana limestone. We don't want to speak too soon, but you just might have ended the city's infatuation with glass curtain walls. In a dark room somewhere, Richard Meier is sobbing quietly." [NYP]
Nobody lives in the Plaza Hotel. We know this because the Times just did a big story about how nobody lives in the Plaza Hotel. Sure, the condo units in the renovated building have been bought for outrageous sums of money, but Russian billionaires don't usually spend the majority of their time in Manhattan. It's been a funny situation, until this sudden and dramatic plot twist. At right, clutching her Fabergé egg like a wounded kitten, is Plaza resident and real estate broker Joanna Cutler, who was recently trapped overnight in the 14th floor garbage room, just 10 feet from her front door. She screamed at the top of her lungs for hours, and bloodied her hands while beating on the doors to try to get someone's attention. Only there was a small problem: nobody lives in the Plaza Hotel. Notes the Post: "Couples from San Francisco and New Zealand live on her floor, but they were out of town." Yes, "out of town." Anyhowsers, Cutler fired off a letter to Plaza developer Elad Properties yesterday that hinted at a potential lawsuit over the incident. Should they just skip some steps and buy her the 15 Central Park West apartment now?
· Horror Night at the Plaza [NYP]
· It Happened One (Long) Weekend: So Lonely at The Plaza [Curbed]
Say goodbye to the next 15 minutes of your life. The NY Condo Blog has put together a 1-100 ranking of Manhattan condo buildings, based on location, layouts, interior finishes, amenities, and that most tempting of mistresses, investment potential. As if the recent lukewarm reaction to flips in The Plaza weren't indication enough that the feud is over, the Zeckendorfs' record-setting 15 Central Park West is #1 here, too. The Plaza is #2, and in a bit of a shocker (only because it's been quiet for so long), Ian Schrager's 50 Gramercy Park North takes the bronze. The much-discussed Stanhope Hotel995 Fifth Avenue is fourth, maybe because rebrandings and press mentions as a "hobbit hole" aren't factored in. Stanhope (sorry, we just can't stop) developer Extell has four projects in the Top 10. All the favorites are there, including BLUE (#87), YVES (#67) and One Ten 3rd (#44). Folks, this is a fun one.
· Top 100 New York Condos [NYCondoBlog]
1) OK, so here's the deal with 15 Union Square West (above). It's hard to tell from the rendering, but the shaded glass around the original structure—the 1870 Tiffany & Co. building—is wrapped around the cast iron arches that were revealed when the white brick facade was stripped away. Says the marketing broker: "We tried to encase the cast iron in glass as if it was a piece of art." [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
2) An interesting survey of what's up in Far Rockaway reveals that the rebounding Queens neighborhood—once the getaway of choice for the A-list in a pre-Hamptons era—is now suffering from overdevelopment and the subprime mortgage crisis. In fact, 50 out of the 180 homes for sale in the area are being sold by banks. Ouch. [Living In/C.J. Hughes]
3) There is a dearth of super-expensive apartments up for sale in Manhattan's trophy buildings, so the competition is heating up. The first two resales in 15 Central Park West are already in contract, including one sealed-bid auction after the owners were "besieged with offers" for their $12.5 million apartment. And an apartment in the Pierre was sold to a European buyer for $7,000-$8,000 per square foot. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
15 Union Square West be damned, it's time to get back to the only 15 _____ _____ West that matters: the Upper West Side's limestone Jesus. Closings are in full swing at 15 CPW—the most successful condo building in the long history of the exchange of currency for goods and services—and as such, the flippers are doing their thing. But, for those looking more short-term, what's for rent? According to StreetEasy, nine apartments are currently looking for temporary inhabitants. They top out at the pictures you see above, a $55,000-per-monththree-bedroom apartment with some of those those treasured Central Park Views (there's a bigger apartment in the building asking just$52k/month). Can these superfancy apartments be bargained for? One prospective renter of this two-bedroom apartment tried to find out, and his story...
Comments
1) The leading concrete testing company in the New York area, Testwell Laboratories, is under investigation for failing to perform some tests and falsifying others on some major construction projects, including the Freedom Tower and the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and the Port Authority both say the concrete used for their projects is sound and poses no safety threat, but yikes! Investigators took 200 boxes of documents and computers from a pair of Testwell offices, as well as from a trailer at Yankee Stadium. [
Who is in charge of preserving the exclusivity of Gramercy Park, one of two private parks remaining in New York City? According to the 
1) A second penthouse at 15 Central Park West has hit the market, joining 
What slowdown? In yesterday's 
Closed: 4/9/08
1) The most famous hot tub and hammock in the West Village is no more. Well, they still exist, but you can't have them (unless you pony up upwards of $7.9 million). After getting 
The entire industry has been holding its breath in anticipation of this moment, and here we go: the release of the major brokerages' Q1 market sales reports. Will the credit crunch and the mortgage crisis finally infiltrate Manhattan real estate? Will Wall Street layoffs slow the now years-strong market surge? No, yes and maybe. Here's the headline: prices are up—again. In fact, the average sales price reached a new record. Jonathan Miller's report for 
Prime development sites along Central Park don't come on the market very often, and when they do—especially in a post-15 Central Park West world—they break the bank. That's why the Post's Steve Cuozzo 
Nobody lives in the Plaza Hotel. We know this because the Times just did a 
