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]
That stuff seen blowing around with vigor in the YouTube vid? According to liQcity it's "toxic dust" on part of the big development site that Rockrose is remediating:
That particular site used to host a refinery, and like much of LIC, the soil is extremely toxic. So the question of the morning is: should that dirt be blowing around hither thither?...There’s a business idea for LIC entreprenuers: respirators and other toxic dust survival gear.
The Port Authority may be looking to get rid of Freedom because of slow leasing, but Steve Cuozzo unleashes has second fascinating item of the day with a report that a Skidmore Owings & Merrill-designed office tower will be going up next to the Citibank Tower in Long Island City. (Click on the image to expand it a little.) Rockrose, which has been putting the site together since 1988, will be developing it. Citi's friend, which would be called 10 Court Squre, will clock in with 800,000 square feet, and a Rockrose VP says the site "begs to be done" as an office building. Will a big new LIC office tower fly? Well, Rockrose needs an anchor tenant that will take half the building before it builds, so the big Citi Tower could remain lonely for a while. Rockrose is putting up a 42-story residential tower nearby.
· Citi Tower Will Get Neighbor [NYP]
HARLEM—After a bit of backlash at new 123rd Street condo development The Dwyer, we knew it was only a matter of time until we heard from a customer again, especially after word came through that appliances had been delivered. Folks, we love a happy ending: "Last week I got the opportunity to walk through my finished apartment at the Dwyer. Must admit I was a little worried the quality would not be there since they had taken what seemed like forever to finish. Luckily my fears were totally unwarranted. Like any new construction there where a few small issues but nothing to lose sleep over. I've attached some pics of the finished product. It's been a long and winding road but it looks like I'll finally be calling 123rd and St. Nicholas home." [CurbedWire Inbox]
LONG ISLAND CITY—Over on the Queens West waterfront, the Jesuscondo known to mere mortals as The View is enjoying a "friends and family" opening, according to a tipster: "I was walking along Center Boulevard in LIC where the new Rockrose Building, The View, is being built. I look to my left a little and I see a glorious sales office open and ready to go. It's located in their rental building at 4720 Center Boulevard which is right on the water. The sales office is glass on all three sides and it faces the actual building that they are selling. Kind of sick. Plus the back conference room has glass that has, of course, beautiful views of Manhattan."
Those unfamiliar with Long Island City might think it's an industrial wasteland, given NYU's denouncement of the neighborhood as unworthy of a hostile university takeover. But how could an area not "developed enough residentially" give us such a sweet hangout? The above photos are of the huge landscaped deck at Rockrose's 4705 Center Boulevard (aka EastCoast 2) built on top of the luxury rental building's parking garage on the Queens West waterfront. When we last checked in, work was beginning on the communal lounge area/summer BBQ spot just off the indoor pool, and we must say it came out pretty nifty. But maybe that's just because we have a thing for orbs.
· EastCoast [Official Site]
· Curbed Inside: Long Island City's EastCoast 2 [Curbed]
Now that the cat has been let out of the bag regarding The View, Rockrose's Jesuscondo on the Long Island City waterfront, broker Andrew Fine is no longer sworn to secrecy about his trip inside the unfinished building, as well as other juicy details. So far, the most talked about design element is the terraces-upon-terraces-upon-terraces facing the Manhattan skyline on the southern end of the building. Well, here they are! Yum. Also, of the much-talked-about $1,100/sqft average, Fine says this: "Prices for 'The View,' for now at least, start just below $1000 per square foot. While the average may be at or above $1100 per square foot, none of the prices quoted take into account the outdoor space. Two-Thirds of the units will have outdoor space ranging from 64sf-1500sf." So there you go. Also, the only units that are stuck with eastern views into yucky Queens are corner units that also look at nonyucky Manhattan. The building's eastern glass façade is actually a windowed hallway. We've added some photos of The View's views (say that three times fast!) to the gallery above, as well as some older renderings of LIC's version of 15 Central Park West.
· "The View", LIC: Separating Fact From Fiction [A Fine Blog]
· EastCoast 3 Revealed: This View is Not a Scam [Curbed]
· Feeling LIC's Heat, Part IIII: Beast of the East Getting Glassed [Curbed]
On Sunday, at the New York Observer's Luxury Living showcase at the Puck Building, Rockrose will finally reveal renderings for the company's first condo project along the Long Island City waterfront, the EastCoast building that will either validate or ruin LIC. Except, oops, liQcity already got its hands on some of the images, marked up by a source who really doesn't want other brokers marketing units in the building. The name of the 184-unit building is, ahem, The View at East Coast by Rockrose. The project is designed by Handel Architects, and those early rumors of sky-high LIC prices seem to have panned out. 1BRs will start at $760,000, 2BRs at $1.2 million and 3BRs at $1.465 million. Often referred to as EastCoast 3 to differentiate it from Rockrose's rental buildings at Queens West, The View will boast jaw-dropping views (oh, now we get it) of Manhattan. And Roosevelt Island, if that's your thing.
· Eastcoast 3 debuts as The View; Rockrose broker fees paid to tenants [liQcity]
· Feeling LIC's Heat, Part IIII: Beast of the East Getting Glassed [Curbed]
· Checking In: EC3 & CB2 at Queens West [Curbed]
The old building in the photo is interesting both because it's days are numbered and because of its replacement: a Rockrose rental building at LIC's Courthouse Square. liQcity says the building is coming down for 42-story, 704-unit rental behemoth that will also occupy the parking lot behind it. liQcity calls the units "super lux apartments with fancy trimmings." Studios starting at $2100/mo.
· Beautiful building in LIC awaiting death by tower of glass & steel [liQcity]
· Checking In: EC3 & CB2 at Queens West [Curbed]
Construction photos of 211 Pearl Street—where the last remaining relic of Lower Manhattan's "first World Trade Center" is being absorbed into the design of a big new apartment building—will never cease to be amusing (OK, and a little sad). Everyone went through great pains to preserve the façade, and just the façade, of 211 Pearl, even while its equally-historic 19th Century neighbors were being demolished. Now we're left with this silly sight. Soon to be even more silly, once the giant hotel is built on the other side of it. This sordid little tale is most likely soon to be forgotten, considering the Historic Pearl Street website is now dedicated to vintage wood trading. So our children and children's children can remember a time when this block wasn't just about floor-to-ceiling windows and rooftop bars, we present the above guided photo history. Make sure to download "The Way We Were" before clicking through.
· Construction Watch: Rockrose Builds on Pearl Street's History [Curbed]
· Historic Pearl Street Facade Getting Absorbed [Curbed]
· Destructoporn: 213 Pearl Street Gone [Curbed]
The only thing slightly more ridiculous than the preservation of the flimsy façade of 211 Pearl Street (while its historic neighbors were obliterated) is what Rockrose Development Corp. plans on doing with it. A Curbed tipster dropped by the Financial District/Seaport area yesterday and snapped a couple pictures of the Pearl Street scene, and it looks like Rockrose isn't wasting any time in building that new behemoth. Of course, we're still waiting on renderings of the Lam Group's massive double hotel just down the block, what is sure to be another tranquil addition to what was once Manhattan's first World Trade Center. That'll be a fun one, for sure.
Anyone heading over to the formerly construction-filled streets of Queens West these days is far more likely to be squashed by a moving van or furniture delivery truck than pancaked by a bulldozer. A visit to booming LIC found heavy moving and delivery activity at the Rockrose and East Coast rental buildings that have been completed, and an awful lot of brick applied to the East Coast 3 building that is slated for $1,000+ per square foot condos. Since we visited for a mega-look at East Coast 2, the streets have been repaved and the athletic field looks set to go. And, if they could only get that Amish Market open, everyone would be happy.
Location: 99 John Street, Financial District Size: 27 stories, 442 apartments Prices: $530,000 to $3.3 million Architect: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Developer: Rockrose Sales & Marketing: Rockrose Lowdown: We've known for almost a year that Rockrose's limestone-clad FiDi rental building was headed for the rare double conversion. Now it has finally happened, with a couple of bonus words slapped on the building's name for good measure. The old 99 John party palace is now the 99 John Deco Lofts, but the selling points are the same: youngsters' amenities (billiards room, gym, residents' lounge) in a building designed by the same architects as the Empire State Building. Rockrose bought 99 John in 1996 for just $17 million, so if they weren't making an absolute killing on those luxury rents, they certainly will on the condo sales. Paging foreign investors.
99 John Deco Lofts
99 John Street between Cliff/Gold Streets Social Butterflies, Architectural Cachet, Makeovers website, CityRealty
Broker-blogger Andrew Fine checks in with the Queens West chunk of Long Island City, where Rockrose's third EastCoast building (and first EC condo) is currently getting bricked. He writes:
The building will not be named "East Coast", but I am not at liberty to divulge the name of what is to be a high end condo project. There will be terraces o'plenty, incredible unobstructed views, and prices to start at "over $1000 per square foot and average $1150 per square foot" according to a reliable source. Sales for the building are expected to begin in the spring, although there are unsubstantiated rumors that Rockrose may be considering a late change to rentals.
Forget the rumors, because Rockrose has extremely high expectations for this 20-story building. While buildings like the Toll Brothers' nearby Fifth Street Lofts seemed to top $1,000/sf almost as if by accident, EastCoast 3 plans on marching right out of the gate with record-setting LIC prices. It's shaping up to be the ultimate test of the state of the New York City market: new construction with amenity overdrive, charging Manhattan prices for non-Manhattan real estate. Will it work? We're psyched to find out. And if you forget where EC3 stands in the grand scheme of Queens West, we snapped a picture of the model when we checked out EastCoast 2 for Curbed Inside.
In its acquisition of the property, Rockrose Development Corp. was required to preserve the facade of 211 Pearl Street in the Financial District, one of three Greek Revival warehouses known as New York's first World Trade Center that date back to the 1830s. But now that its old-timey neighbors at 213 and 215 Pearl Street have been obliterated, the lonely brick wall of 211 Pearl has looked pretty ridiculous standing amongst rubble and tall office buildings. It won't be like that for long, as David Dunlap reveals in the Times' City Room blog that the leftovers will be part of Rockrose's new 28-story building that's going up next to Rockrose's new 50-story building. The company will at least get some mileage out of the old girl, with apartments and office space built directly behind the facade's windows. The base will continue to serve as the entrance to an underground parking garage. We've still yet to see designs for the Lam Group hotel that will reportedly be built right next door, but 211 Pearl Street will most likely end up as the historical lunch meat in a towering modern architecture sandwich.
· A Brick Facade Remains as a Signal for Change [City Room]
· Destructoporn: 213 Pearl Street Gone [Curbed]
· Pearl Street Demo: Preservationists' Last Gasp? [Curbed]
LONG ISLAND CITY—The sounds of profound unhappiness are coming from Queens West, where at least one new tenant is significantly pissed off that the pool at East Coast 2 is not ready as promised. Here is what our disgruntled tipster writes: "There's a battle going on at the latest Rockrose Development. Despite advising tenants that all amenities (including the very Craigslist-friendly roof top swimming pool) would be ready and available for the first wave of movers on November 1st, it is now abundantly clear that Rockrose, or American Leisure, or both, have decided amongst themselves that it's not economically sound for them to open them up until there are more people in the building. Advice to anyone wanting to move in on the back of the screening room, swimming pool. sauna and steam room? Don't!" [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—Meanwhile, over at that epicenter of undulation in the West Village, the new condo sales office for our friendOne Jackson Square has opened its doors. Per an email: "It is very decorated with lots of greenery that must stand for its advertised greeness. They have a glowing architect model of the building in the middle of the office." A glowing model! [CurbedWire Inbox]
STUY TOWN—A reader writes to ask an interesting question concerning breaking a lease at Stuy Town. "Does anyone know what the cost to break a lease in Stuy Town would be?" he writes. "Is anyone aware of somone who may have done this? Just 3 months in two a two-year lease and would like to break it. Is it possible to pay the higher 1 year increase for the rest of the year and back rent for the difference of past months. We have only been here 3 months on the new lease." [CurbedWire Inbox]
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—On the ongoing demolition of historic 213 Pearl Street: "Work has moved to the rear of the building today. Two workers on the roof were using some sort of piercingly loud saw to slowly grind the roof off." Also piercingly loud: preservationists' anguished cries. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LONG ISLAND CITY—Reports are trickling in from Rockrose's 4705 Center Boulevard in Queens West, the luxury rental building recently featured on Curbed Inside. One tipster's bulleted list: "No Laundry because the card machines don't have a phone line. Current status - unknown; No facilities apart from Gym at set hours. Understood because they didn't have health and safety approve the facilities yet...despite tenants moving in November 1; Building work still going on in building to a certain degres; Apartments are really rather nice. Views are great, the windows block out a LOT of sound, so it's very peaceful; RCN doing a good job with cable setup. They are on site every day and have problems ironed out almost immediately." [CurbedWire Inbox]
The by-hand demolition of 213 Pearl Street—the last remaining full structure in a slightly-forgotten and slightly-razed row of 1830s Greek Revival warehouses—is scheduled to begin today. For a while the building, as well as the preserved facade of 211 Pearl Street right next door, have remained comically walled off from the encroaching skyscrapers of the Financial District/Seaport. But the protective cocoon could only last for so long. Or could it? This story has turned into one of those multifaceted and vicious preservation battles that get amateur historians in this city fired up, and it appears the book hasn't quite closed on this relic from New Yorks' "first world trade center."
Curbed Inside visits the interior of a structure with an eye towards revealing the design and architecture. If you've got a project you'd like Curbed to consider for shooting, drop us a line.
Sequels have to be bigger and badder than their originals to be successful, and don't think the Rockrose Development Corporation doesn't know that. The company's EastCoast project—a group of rental and condo towers in the Queens West chunk of Long Island City—had its first building open about a year ago, and even though the original is 100% leased, the Rockrose gang still decided to step up their game in both design and amenities for Phase 2. The second rental building is a 31-story tower officially known as 4705 Center Boulevard but referred to by anybody who's anybody as East Coast 2, and it's set to open any minute now. In addition to being the building that will finally bring Queens West its long-awaited grocery store, East Coast 2 will also provide Rockroseians with a parking garage, gym, lap pool and various other good-time activities. East Coast 3, a condo building, is currently under construction just northwest of EC2. Seven East Coast buildings are planned in total.
LOWER EAST SIDE—A tipster updates us on the demolition of the 95-year-old Young Israel Synagogue: "the Young Israel Synagogue, at 225 East Broadway in the lower Lower East Side, is being rubbled from within. I guess I can't believe it's really happening..." [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST CHELSEA—A Curbed insider provides a few more details on Japanese architect Shigeru Ban's mysterious Metal Shutter Houses on 19th Street. Apparently it will be a small building with 12 loft apartments, give or take. The units will have metal roll-down doors over the windows, and will not look like Ban's previous shutter house work. Sounds like a bodega to us. So, is someone going to send over some renderings, or what? [CurbedWire Inbox]
EAST VILLAGE—Vanishing New York followed up on the rumors of East 10th Street's demise: "I went by and asked some shop employees what they knew about it. I was assured that they checked and double-checked, and buildings number 90, 86, and 84 are safe from demolition. That is excellent news. However, they also told me that the corner Green East bodega and the building that houses the former St. Marx Music (formerly formerly the Atlas Barber School) are slated to be razed to make way for a high-rise luxe hotel." Why hello there. [J'sVNY]
LONG ISLAND CITY—This sounds a wee bit shillish, but hey, we love that QueensWest: "I've just completed an application for East Coast 7 - Rock Rose's second phase in LIC - it's filling up fast ! I have to say, given the amenities (Indoor Pool, Gym, Screening Room, Steam Rooms, Saunas, Billiard Room), this place is looking to be quite the steal. 6th Floor 1 Bed with Balcony 2600 per month. Currently a very good view of Manhattan over to the 59th street Bridge. Amish Markets coming in February." [CurbedWire Inbox]
Late yesterday, word came via our sister site Racked that one of the biggest remaining reasons to hate on the Queens West chunk of Long Island City—no grocery store, dude!—is no more. Apparently there are supermarkets in this world other than Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, because broker Andrew Fine reported on his blog that Rockrose has a deal to stick an Amish Market in the coming East Coast Phase 2 rental building at Center Boulevard and 47th Avenue. Eat that, FreshDirect! A little more research shows that Nest Seekers broker Eric Benaim posted the news on his blog on August 30, pointing out that this Amish Market replaces the Jubilee that was supposed to go in ECP2. Supermarket, Starbucks—what's next, LIC, a Pinkberry? Don't go becoming a regular neighborhood on us.
· Breaking RackedWire: LIC To Finally Gain A Supermarket [Racked]
· Rejoice! Long Island City Finally Has A Supermarket [A Fine Blog]
· The Amish are coming!!! [longislandcitynyc.com]
"The 2Q 2007 Long Island/Queens Market was characterized overall by weakening prices, rising inventory and a declining sales," begins an email from Miller-Samuel, which has just issued its latest report for Prudential Douglas Elliman. Dear God, is the bloom off the Long Island City rose? Someone hold us! Oh, wait, there's more: "However, the changes varied widely by market. Condos showed the most price growth with Queens leading the other markets." In fact, while the median sales price of a Queens residential property fell 4.3% to $469,000 from the same period of time in 2006, the upper 20% of the market showed a 4.6% increase to a $852,973 average sales price. In other words: Rockrose, keep building those waterfront condos!
· Market Reports [Miller-Samuel]
1) While not all of the 21 recently shuttered Catholic Churches are on the market, some have been sold and are being transformed into residential properties. The properties include Rhapsody on Fifth, a site on 127th Street that is being converted into 22 heavenly condos and another and another on East 17th that is the future home of 13 divine units. [Posting/C.J. Hughes]
2) Rapidly rising rents have forced renters to run screaming to open houses and sales offices, ready to finally give up the rental lifestyle and buy an apartment. Case in point, Candice Spielman, who decided to buy a studio in the Cocoa Exchange building after latest price increase in her 150 sq ft studio pushed her over the edge. Rising rents? We thought the fact Spielman “can’t sit down on a couch” in the space would have been enough. [When Renters Reach the Breaking Point/Christine Haughney]
3) There are always those New Yorker's who can't move from renter to buyer, like this pre-hipster Williamsburg resident who after having her rent raised to $1200, decides to liquidate her life and head to the Midwest, vowing never to return until she can take Manhattan by storm. [New York Observed/Abigail A. Frankfurt]
4) Kamran T. Elghanayan and his company, Rockrose Development, has always been willing to buck the trend and go it their own way in the New York real estate market. After starting in the then unglamorous West Village and then helping lead the FiDi residential transformation, the Rockrose boys are at it again, this time in Hudson Yards and Long Island City. But don't look at them to build and run, as Mr. Elghanayan says, “We rarely sell. We build everything. We hold everything. We love the buildings.” [Square Feet/Alison Gregor]
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WEST VILLAGE—Meanwhile, over at that epicenter of 
EAST VILLAGE—Vanishing New York followed up on the 
Late yesterday, word came via our sister site 
"The 2Q 2007 Long Island/Queens Market was characterized overall by weakening prices, rising inventory and a declining sales," begins an email from 
1) While not all of the 21 recently shuttered Catholic Churches are on the market, some have been sold and are being transformed into residential properties. The properties include 
