Where Noho, Soho and Nolita converge: This triplex Noho penthouse offers remarkable space with exceptional light and views in one of New York’s most desirable locations, steps from all amenities including subways, prize retail boutiques, Whole Foods, restaurants and so much more. The intimate doorman condominium building with its newly renovated lobby, and almost completed facade, nestled on a charming treed block welcomes you home: A large living room and dining room with balconies and a superbly appointed kitchen provide outstanding entertaining space. A study/additional bedroom is on this floor too. The enormous top floor Master Suite features a sumptuous bathroom: There are four other bedrooms with three bathrooms….a powder room is a bonus. The fourth floor features a substantial private roof terrace with sensational views in all directions. This unique penthouse combines the best of apartment and townhouse living and should not be missed.
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Posts Tagged ‘luxuryloft’
NEW NOHO LISTING: 306 MOTT ST, PH
Monday, January 7th, 2013BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING MAYHEM: A GOOD THING?……OR IS IT A SIGN OF INFLATION?
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 28th, 2011
Retail insanity was the order of the day starting mere seconds after the turkey and stuffing had been digested. Reports of fist fights, pepper spraying, gun-shots, etc highlighted American’s intense desire for a bargain. Retail sales were up over 8% over last year, setting new records. These are my questions:
1) Were Americans more desperate to buy the bargains this year because for many the economy is so bad they cannot afford anything less than a bargain?
2) With over 100 million Americans out shopping, maybe those isolated incidents of violence were actually low compared to a normal day, inspiring the press to make it a story as it provides great imagery?
3) Is this a sign of a retail/economic recovery? The US economy is mostly based on consumption that has remained pretty stagnant during the recovery……have American consumers grown tired of the gloom and doom, holding back to the point of a breakdown? Is this a resurgence of consumer confidence? Remember US consumers increased their savings rate from 0% in 2008 to about 5% in recent years….that’s quite a bit of money saved waiting on the sidelines…..earning next to nothing in saving’s accounts, and shrinking in value in the equity markets.
4) Is this a flight towards hard, tangible assets, steering away from cash? Many of the wealthy have been buying Manhattan real estate (as witnesed by the Luxuryloft team)and gold for this exact reason.
5) Have Americans come to the conclusion that yes, Kim Kardashian is actually right: it’s all about STUFF, not that other stuff no-one can see and covet?
6) If sales were up over 8%, did buyers actually buy more, or did the merchandise simply cost more because of …….inflation?
POINTING FINGERS, DOUBLE STANDARDS: Hmmmmm……
Saturday, May 14th, 2011Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 14, 2011
Everyone seems to be pointing fingers these days with horrible double standards…..here are some examples:
1) Pakistan is OUTRAGED that the USA ‘invaded’ their land to kill the world’s worst terrorist and the government now demands that these outrageous breaches of their borders end immediately…. even though they housed this monster for years in their back yard, a monster who is responsible for killing more Muslims than any single person in the past 10 years. His little clan just killed another 80 Pakistanis this week. Hmmmmmm……
2) The Picard attorneys going after the Madoff stolen funds, have just requested approval for their fees….. David Sheehan, one of the lead attorney’s billings equate to him working 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, every single day on the case, at over $ 800.00 per hour…..hmmmmmm….. They have recovered almost $ 10 billion, but of that 70% was recovered from one person alone. Paralegals and library staff are being paid $ 250/hour……do they really earn $ 500k per year? Hmmmmmm…….
3) US Bankers who borrowed billions of taxpayer dollars to clean up their financials, often blaming lax lawmakers for their woes and are now requiring intense scrutiny for borrowers (a good thing, although some rules are silly) have in many instances delayed the sale of un-sold units and repayment of construction loans……to collect more interest payments. Hmmmmmm……
4) Some New York City developers are asking how they can get higher than pre-2008 pricing while delivering a lesser product….Hmmmmmm….
One Response to “POINTING FINGERS, DOUBLE STANDARDS: Hmmmmm……”
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OK #4 for real? More money for a lesser product! This is just ridicules…. I guess the power of money and greed are to never be under estimated.
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THE REALLY, REALLY STUPID MTA…… REALLY!
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
How stupid is the MTA? Well, just when you thought they were as stupid as stupid gets, we are reminded how much more stupid stupid can be….. As we all know by now, the MTA is building an extension to the #7 subway line from Midtown all the way over west to a new stop at 34th Street and 10th Avenue…..the line will run directly past the 41st Street/Tenth Avenue intersection, but the MTA recently dropped plans to place a subway stop there, an area where literally THOUSANDS of New Yorkers are without subway access. Its almost impossible to believe that an extension like this that actually runs directly through the access point would ever consider NOT putting a station 10 streets from its previous stop, but……
So now, members of both the real estate and building community have agreed to put up a total of $250,000 in an attempt to win a $3 million grant from the federal government that would help resurrect the plan to put a subway station at West 41st Street and Tenth Avenue as part of the extension of the No. 7 subway line. In other words, we, the people will be paying the MTA more again in a disguised manner. Real estate executives have been lobbying to restore the station, which they say is critical for the ongoing development of the West Side. Construction executives say the project would create much-needed jobs. The city, which formally applied for the grant from the federal Department of Transportation, also ponied up $500,000. The federal government is giving out $600 million for infrastructure projects through the TIGER II Discretionary Grant Program. The program requires that recipients put up a portion of the money. A decision on whether the city will get the grant is expected within the next month.
Yes, developers and builders do stand to profit from the addition of this station, but ultimately its the thousands of daily commuters that need this transportation, and are entitled to it, just like all other New Yorkers are. Or should a tax break be given to those who do not have easy access to transportation?
With this in mind, do you now feel better about paying more to the MTA? For their bloated retirement packages, those extras tagged onto your cab fee every time you take a cab ride? Their unfriendly, rude employees who earn more than most workers in the real world? Another example of a government agency with no brains, completely blind to reality doing what they do at the expense of all. Or is the MTA corrupt? Maybe stupid AND corrupt? Someone PLEASE dig deeper!!!!
THE MOST EXPENSIVE DOOR IN THE WORLD?
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
Yes, this door, a simple door located in THE CALEDONIA fronting onto The High Line Park, could very well be the most expensive door in the world….. Reliable sources have told us that negotiations between the building and the Parks department have broken down after the building was asked to pay an annual fee of $ 800,000.00 to the Parks department to operate this access point to the High Line Park.
Located in West Chelsea, steps from the Meat-Packing District, THE CALEDONIA is a condominium and rental building with a large Equinox Gym developed by RELATED, the company best known for its development of the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle and the Superior Ink building in Greenwich Village. The building that fronts the High Line Park has a door to access the old elevated railway turned hotspot park that runs from the Meatpacking District all the way north to the Hudson Yards in the 30′s.
“This is another example of a ridiculous City tax that simply won’t work,” says Matt Amico, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman and member of the LUXURYLOFT team. Matt, who lives in the Caledonia and is a resident broker expert in the building added: “The building always knew it would have to pay a fee to the Park’s Department for this access point: the building built and provided a bathroom and elevator that the City has an easement to access. But asking for $ 800,000.00 a year for the use of a door is excessive and out of touch with reality. It is this form of New York-style government abuse that causes people and companies to head out of state.”
IS BANK OF AMERICA ABANDONING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES?
Monday, September 20th, 2010
Just to-day, Bank of America withdrew a loan that had been completely signed off on and referred it to another lending institution…..word on the street is Bank of America may be exiting the residential mortgage market…..
“Its amazing how many smaller banks and untraditional lenders are eating away at the market share of the more obvious banks,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and leader of the LUXURYLOFT team. “Recently I re-financed a CHASE mortgage, at their suggestion, and at the last minute they wanted to charge me a $ 1,600 fee for extending the mortgage commitment: This, even though the rates had come down! Large banks may be in for a shock.”
Is Bank of America the BANK OF OPPORTUNITY, or a LOST opportunity?
Has anyone heard anything about this? If so, please let us know….
IRAN + VENEZUELA’S WORST NIGHTMARE?
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
When is this clever idea coming to the USA with its MILLIONS of square feet of parking spaces in sunbelt areas?
Imagine every Wallmart and Home Depot, not only providing shade to all its parked cars to reduce their need for that initial AC blast, but also producing enough power from the overhead SOLAR PANELS that act as the roof to power the entire building, not to mention produce surplus energy for the grid?
“In Manhattan, we have so much roof space that is going to waste: these solar panels combined with wind turbines, could probably cater to at least 15-20% of our power needs,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER. “We will need this extra power soon as more cars convert to electrical use.”
Above is a version currently in use in Italy at a highway rest stop……
MONACO SAFRA PENTHOUSE SELLS FOR $ 17,600/sf: A NEW RECORD
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
The chatter on the French Riviera is all about the recent sale of a Monaco penthouse, once the home to Edmund Safra and featured recently in Architectural Digest….recently we reported the London penthouse that had sold for around $ 220 million making it then the world’s most expensive private residence: Now the record has been shattered with the $308 million sale of a ornate penthouse in Monaco . The Monaco property, called La Belle Epoque, has quite a history; formerly the home of billionaire banker Edmund Safra, it’s where he was found dead following a mysterious fire that gutted the apartment in 1999. The three-bedroom, 17,500-sq-.ft. duplexpenthouse, which includes a double-height library and vast roof terraces complete with mature 15-foot trees and an infinity pool, is thought to have been purchased by an Arab sheikh, the Economic Times reports.
“At roughly $ 17,600/sf, this property makes New York’s 15 Central Park West seem like a relative bargain,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER. “Then again, New York is not a tax free City, which may just indicate that tax-free cities and countries may have a value of $ 10,000/sf?”
The apartment’s luxe features include a panic room with reinforced glass and surveillance cameras, cinema screens which emerge from walls at the touch of a button, numerous walk-in wardrobes and dressing rooms, a leisure room with billiard tables and arcade video games, a Jacuzzi and spa, and a media room with special executive chairs which convert into beds. The penthouse was sold by British property developers Christian and Nick Candy, who acquired the space relatively cheaply following the fire from Lily Safra and hired designer Martin Kemp to oversee $40 million in renovations, including a dining room (above) with a platinum leaf ceiling.
One Response to “MONACO SAFRA PENTHOUSE SELLS FOR $ 17,600/sf: A NEW RECORD”
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Mike Albanese says:
I hear the people who bought it from Safra did a flip on this.. not a bad Flip
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WHAT’S REPORTED HAS ALREADY HAPPENED
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, an interesting article talks about the timeliness of real estate data. We have been talking about this for years….
“We have repeatedly cautioned anyone to use real estate quarterly reports to get the best gauge of what is really happening in the markets right now,” says leonard Steinberg of Prudential Douglas Elliman, and leader of the LUXURYLOFT team. “We issue a monthly report that reports on SIGNED CONTRACTS as well as closed sales to get a more balanced perspective of what is selling for what RIGHT NOW. Closed sales often went to contract many months and sometimes even years before closing. Pricing is a reflection of what the market is will ing to bear to-day, not that of the past.”
When reading Tuesday’s report on home prices from the S&P/Case-Shiller index, use caution.
The Case-Shiller index uses data that is several months old—it’s a three month moving average, which means that Tuesday’s report shows home sales for April, May and June. That’s when the home buyer tax credits were largely still in effect.
So it’s not surprising that Tuesday’s reading showed that home sales gained by a non-seasonally adjusted 1% in the three month period ending in June from the period ending in May.
July’s weak sales figures—existing and new home sales were both at very low levels—means that sellers are going to be reducing prices if they want to sell homes. Real-estate agents across the country are describing a rare standoff in housing markets, where buyers and sellers aren’t seeing eye to eye on price.
So when you read of a ‘double dip recession’ chances are we are already in the dip and by the time the press reports it as actual, chances are we will be on the way out…
MAJOR MANHATTAN SKYLINE CHANGES COMING?
Monday, August 30th, 2010
It is now certain that within the next 10 years, the Manhattan skyline will look very different. Plans for a spate of significant high rise buildings appear to be moving forward now as the economy slowly un-locks.
Developers are readying two residential towers that will rise above most of Midtown. The massive mixed-use development planned west of Penn Station would transform Manhattan’s skyline as viewed from New Jersey. Downtown, the transformation is already happening, with the warped, metallic skin of Frank Gehry’s Beekman Tower looming over the neighborhood around City Hall and, at Ground Zero, 1 World Trade Center already rising to 36 stories.
Some of the proposed alterations to the city’s skyline have been opposed. Vornado Realty Trust’s plan to build a tower near Penn Station attracted criticism from people wanting to preserve the Empire State Building’s iconic spot.
But the new projects are being propelled by powerful forces. The City Council’s near-unanimous approval of the Vornado project is a sign that elected officials are much more concerned about producing jobs than aesthetic concerns. “They were saying New York needs new buildings,” says Carol Willis, director of the Skyscraper Museum. “Before that, I would’ve said that New Yorkers like their city just fine the way it looks right now.”
“Politics trumps everything in development,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and leader of the LUXURYLOFT team. “When politicians need to create jobs, huge buildings that employ thousands become desirable, something that also caters to the Unions. Remember the midtown Jean Nouvel tower that was proposed a few years ago? Jobs were not a political issue then, so the Tower was scrapped.”
From a residential perspective new towers are definitely in demand, especially in the Midtown area: they offer the views, services and amenities that this buyer craves. Aside from the Bloomberg Tower and the Time Warner building, there are not too many options.
From the commercial perspective, businesses are demanding super-efficient high-tech spaces with high security and quality space. It is very difficult to retrofit existing buildings to achieve this.
And if you don’t think this will happen, look at West Chelsea to-day compared to 10 years ago…..100 Eleventh Avenue, 456 West 19th Street, 200 Eleventh Avenue, 231 and 245 tenth Avenue, Gehry’s IAC building, HL23, The Caledonia, all viewed from the Highline Park…..
There are no apparent rewards for me to being crushed, elbowed, and abused by desperate shoppers clawing their way through doors for not so rare and elusive gift items. I will spend my Thanksgiving weekends enjoying the beauty of our area and quality time with my family and friends!