Google is an ambitious company, but are they flying a little off the handle by opening up their Street View mapping feature for Williamsburg and Long Island City? The look of both neighborhoods changes completely every three months or so in these development hot spots, as new buildings climb toward the sky and others get completed. Should Google have waited before sending out their platoon of roving camera cars to snap pictures of these 'hoods? Pictures that now, because it's Google, are outsiders' definitive views of these areas? Perhaps, but it's not like the market is going to collapse in the next couple of years and developers will back off. (Right? RIGHT??? Oh God somebody please tell us if it is!) But since the service is live, we decided to dial up some of Williamsburg's and LIC's most-hyped new developments, just to check up on how recent Google's photos are. Our assessment: not bad, but Google should probably pony up for a new round of photos in a year or so.
· Google Maps [maps.google.com]
LOWER EAST SIDE—Earlier, we pointed you to a Sunarticle about the planned recreation of a Keith Haring mural that the New York icon painted on a wall at the northwest corner of Houston Street and the Bowery in 1982. Lordy, the artists enlisted to paint the sucker sure are acting quick! Above, the wall as seen earlier this afternoon. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG & LONG ISLAND CITY—Those unpredictable Toll Brothers are offering up another one of their ridiculously short-term sales. It's much like an old one, but this time around, purchase a condo at Northside Piers, North8 or Fifth Street Lofts by Friday, April 25, and you'll save $20,000 on closing costs. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SEAPORT—What will spring up on 80 South Street now that Santiago Calatrava's Tower o' Penthouses have passed on? Yet to be determined, and first the land must be sold. A press release fresh into the inbox states that Newmark Knight Frank Capital Group has been retained as the broker for the site, and offers are due by May 8. The 8,128sqft parcel is expected to fetch around $115 million. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LONG ISLAND CITY—Several emails have landed in the inbox today about PriceChopping at Fifth Street Lofts in Long Island City. 5SL fans will recall a Limited Edition Price Chop, a Price Upper and a Not So Limited Edition Chop. Here's a detailed one: "I see price cuts on some units of $50,000 effective 3/14/08. If they could hold the price still for few weeks together I can decide what these apartment are worth. Up and Down and Up and Down again. I guess these decisions are made at the corporate level at Toll Brothers. 22 apartments for sale for a long time. I wonder when the last contract was signed." Streeteast shows some units PriceChopped and some PriceHiked, so let's just call it general 5SL PriceMadness. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOHO—The Puck Building is getting a new lobby with Gerner, Kronick + Valcarcel Architects doing the design duties and construction starting next month. Per an announcement, "the project’s specific focus is the lobby and refurbishment of antique elevator cages. Plans include concrete panels for walls and ceilings and two lobby walls done up by a glass artist [CurbedWire Inbox]
PLG—A lot of people have a lot of opinions about the 20-story glass tower planned near Prospect Park, but what about the birds? A reader emails, "Has anyone calculated how many dead birds this new structure will cause sitting as it is in one of the most important bird migration routes in the tri-state area?" [CurbedWire Inbox]
Now the Toll Brothers are just messing with us. Two weeks ago, it was the limited-edition PriceChop at Fifth Street Lofts. Last week, it was the whole building. And now this week, just to confuse matters more, the units' prices have been raised back to pre-chop levels, according to StreetEasy. We always knew Long Island City would drive us crazy, we just didn't know that the mission would have been accomplished so easily.
Meanwhile, there was also some PriceUpping at Crescent Club, long a Curbed favorite for its outdoor pool, project views and nice set of balls. What's up over at Queens Plaza? Well, we'll tell you. StreetEasy also showed increases on some two dozen or so units, just before a bunch of them went into the ol' "listings in contract" category. Curious. Curious...ly awesome, that is, which is precisely how we feel about Long Island City. Folks, we are feeling the heat.
· Feeling LIC's Heat, Part I: All Hail Duane Reade [Curbed]
· Feeling LIC's Heat, Part II: Panorama Edition [Curbed]
By all accounts, the Toll Brothers' Fifth Street Lofts development in Long Island City is selling well, which makes this e-mail blast from the 5SL gang even more curious: "The 'Deal of the Week' is unit 4K, which is normally $1,013,990. It has been lowered to $979,990 for one week only! The deal expires at COB on Monday 2.18.08." Trying to clear out leftover stock is one thing, but a one week only sale? Whatever dudes. So, for all those looking for luxury LIC living at a new cost of $800-per-square-foot, the chance you've been waiting for is here, but the clock is ticking!
· Listing: 509 48th Avenue 4K [Halstead]
· Checking In: LIC's Fifth Street Lofts Looking Ready to Rock [Curbed]
· Toll Brothers' Love Shifts from Williamsburg to LIC? [Curbed]
Before people started moving in at North8, one of two Toll Brothers developments in Williamsburg, there was some serious confusion over delayed closings and slow construction. In fact, pissed residents started congregating on a blog called North 8 (Condo) Delay! To avoid a repeat of this situation at the Tolls' Fifth Street Lofts in Long Island City, the Bros. are keeping buyers very in-the-know about what's going on at the building. A tipster sent us along a scan of the developer's recent letter to buyers, which includes the news that lower floors will close this winter (tick. tick. tick.) and higher floors will be complete in the spring. The letter ends with a polite reminder that parking spots and rooftop cabanas are still for sale.
We remember the Toll Brothers Fifth Street Lofts (aka 5SL) in Long Island City when the site had an old warehouse. Now, the building is looking fairly close to done and pretty close to the renderings. The front at street level has been revealed (frosted glass like its little Toll brother in Williamsburg) and all the windows are in. The listings show that about 80 percent of the building is sold with about 25 units still on the market. Occupancy was promised for "Winter 2007," which would technically leave until March for the schedule to be met.
Are the weekends usually a "chill time" in Long Island City? They were, according to blogger liQcity, who argues that condo-hungry sales office visitors are messing with the mojo of Hunters Point once the whistle blows on Friday afternoon. 'Qcity writes:
This weekend the hood was PACKED with people filing into the sales offices for the Foundry LIC, Powerhouse, 5SL… everything! Usually on nights and weekends, one can park with ease - FORGET about trying to park in LIC during business hours. All spots are usually taken by 6am. It’s worse than the Upper West Side. On nights and weekends, the commercial people aren’t around so much, so it’s much easier. But this Sunday, I thought twice about taking my car out for a spin after eyeing several Long Island-y types driving around stalker style.
WILLIAMSBURG, LONG ISLAND CITY—The Toll Brothers are thisclose to trotting out Crazy Eddie. A reader sends along this, from a Toll Bros email: "we are offering $10,000 off closing costs when you purchase a new home at Northside Piers, North8 or 5th Street Lofts between now and Monday, October 15, 2007." Huzzah! So, which one will you be buying? [CurbedWire Inbox]
LOWER EAST SIDE—A trusted source passes along word that the boutiqueish East Houston Hotel will open on Friday. Fuck. Yes. Then again, we could get stuck with another dreaded "two weeks." [CurbedWire Staff]
TRIBECA—Everyone knows that Tribeca Space on Murray Street is totally screwed, and a Curbed reader wants to fan those flames some more: "I remember the inital post last spring about the weird second bedrooms (among other problems). Rumor is that the developer is being forced to recharacterize the second bedrooms as home offices (which requires a new submission to the AG). In addition, the is a rumor that there is a new tax problem. Looks like there will be no closings in 2007." And it continues. [CurbedWire Inbox]
TRIBECA, SOHO—We love long dissertations on property taxes, so here's one right now: "I've recently learned that a number of buildings in Soho and Tribeca have been hit with massive property tax increases (in the neighborhood of 100%). Apparently one of the factors the city is looking at in doing the assessments is how much rental income is going to the coop. Because buildings breaking the 80/20 rule have large cash payments from rentals run through the building, the city sees that rental income when the coop does the tax filing. Although the coop may be tax exempt the city is saying that the building itself is more valuable because of the increased rental income. BUSTED." [CurbedWire Inbox]
Williamsburg was supposed to be the Toll Brothers' splashy entrance to the outer-borough luxury condo game, but stagnantsales at the Bros' two 'Burg properties have been well documented (although the 1BR and 3BR units at North8 now appear to be sold out). Initially just an afterthought, the Toll Brothers' Fifth Street Loftsdevelopment (left) in Long Island City has accidentally assumed favored son status. It's over 75% sold, and some units have unexpectedly cracked the elusive $1,000/sf barrier. In a wide-ranging story on LIC commercial and residential development, the Sun had a word with a Toll exec on 5SL's success:
"We are finding a smaller price differential between Long Island City and Williamsburg than we expected and, significantly, that there are many who prefer Long Island City over northern Brooklyn no matter what the price. My only issue with Long Island City is that I can't get my hands on another site."
A two-bedroom, 1102sf apartment in 5SL, Tolls Bros.' Long Island City loftarium, is in contract. Asking price: $1,132,990. According to our trusty TI-80, that works out to a price per square foot (assuming the bidder paid the ask) of $1028. And that about does it for us. Been fun. Curbed out.
· Listing: 509 48th Avenue [Halstead]
· Fifth Street Lofts Comes Online [Curbed]
· 5SL: Fifth Street Lofts LIC [5sl.com]
Comments
Are the weekends usually a "chill time" in Long Island City? They were, according to blogger 
Williamsburg was supposed to be the Toll Brothers' splashy entrance to the outer-borough luxury condo game, but 
