TRIBECA—A special Curbed correspondent found that the fence was going up this morning at the triange park below Canal Street at Varick that will become CaVaLa Park, which will come complete with its own faux canal. Get those picnic baskets ready. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WORLD TRADE CENTER—Reaction to the very elongated and unclear time line for the World Trade Center project have been less than enthusiastic today, and then there's developer Larry Silverstein's statement: "As of today, my company's projects – Towers 2, 3 and 4 – are fully designed and on schedule. Construction of Towers 3 and 4 is underway, and all three buildings are slated for completion, as projected, by the end of 2012. As demonstrated by the success of 7 World Trade Center, as well as other recent developments in the area, Downtown is energized like never before. It is vital that we maintain that momentum and finish the rebuilding.” [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—We thought that the Toll Brothers North8 development on Kent Avenue had already gained all of its Temporary Certificates of Occupancy, given that the first was issued at the beginning of the year, but apparently not. A tipster writes: "The rest of the building finally got the TCO. Only half the residents have been able to move in so far. The original move in dates ranged from January 2007-August 2007. I guess a year and half late is not so bad for a 6 story building." [CurbedWire Inbox]
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]
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.
The very first thing we noticed that something big was happening at the North8 Condo on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg was the chandelier hanging in the window. A hipster touch? Unintended irony? Or simply a design element that will be visible to everybody on Kent Ave.? Who knows. After all the drama about delays at North8, the first residents moved into the first major new development on Kent Avenue north of the Williamsburg Bridge this weekend after the third and fourth floors got Temporary Certificates of Occupancy. (Nevermind the fact that significant parts of the building still look like a construction zone.) Will life on once desolate Kent Avenue ever be the same now that it's all grown up?
It's been a while since we've had a look at the Toll Brothers North8 development on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. We can report that they're edging toward being done, especially since our last look during the summer. The cabanas on the roof, with those expansive views of Manhattan and East River State Park, are looking great, and frosted glass at street level took the place of plywood a couple of weeks ago.
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."
About a month back, we ran an item noting a massive PriceChop at the waterfront Williamsburg development Northside Piers, brought to you by your friends and ours, the Toll Brothers. Today, TheStreet.com reporter Nicholas Yulico digs into the troubles at the building, unearthing a bunch of hard data on the 'Chop:
· about 40% of the 180 units at Tower 1 have been sold, with about 70% of the units having been released for sale
· On the B-line section of Tower 1, prices were cut from above $1 million to the $800,000 range; of the 17 (of 23) B-line units released for sale, 10 have been sold, four have deposits and three remain available for sale, as of last week
· says a Toll rep, the 'Chopped units were "mispriced from the beginning"
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Williamsburg was supposed to be the Toll Brothers' splashy entrance to the outer-borough luxury condo game, but 
