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Posts Tagged ‘Prudential Douglas Elliman’
Friday, July 15th, 2011
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 15, 2011
The question arose this week (and many times before) about the future of West Chelsea as an Arts Center: will West Chelsea go the way of Soho? Will Gagosian become the Gap? Will Prada replace Paula Cooper? Chanel replace Cheim & Reid?
“The biggest difference between Soho’s evolution into a high fashion retail environment and West Chelsea to-day is the fact that now most galleries own their space and don’t rent,” says Matt Amico, a West Chelsea resident and a Prudential Douglas Elliman broker. “When I moved into the Caledonia (450 West 17th Street)it was a brand new construction building: Alternatively, had I moved into Soho years ago, I probably would have replaced an artist.”
Soho artists did own many of the lofts that they moved from, mostly because they had bought them for next to nothing years ago: subsequently they have left behind a huge mess with the AIR program and walked away with huge, often retirement-fund-sized profits (well deserved, as they pioneered the area and transformed many derelict buildings into habitable homes and studios). West Chelsea is very different as the focus is not so much artists as it is galleries….and these (often highly profitable) galleries own their space this time: In Soho most were renting their retail/commercial space.
Another huge value to anyone in commerce is the high concentration of an industry: With about 350 art galleries concentrated within just a few blocks, the ability to lure potential art buyers is so much greater than being spread around the city, or worse, outside of the City removed from easy access. “The experience of visiting West Chelsea is now further enhanced by the fact that the recently opened Highline Park extension acts as a connector between West Chelsea’s arts district and the Meatpacking District, a thriving retail environment: so the area combines everything that Soho was 15 years ago with what it is to-day.”
The Highline Park, the new Avenue’s School, new restaurants, amenities and services combined with the Hudson River Park to the West add fuel to West Chelsea’s fire. When the subway stop is added to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street, the northern end of the Arts District will be connected to Times Square via a 5 minute subway ride. Add to this a substantial volume of construction planned for the Hudson Yards area, diminishes the urgency to vacate current art gallery spaces to convert them or tear them down for residential use. There are still many vacant/commercial, non-art gallery building sites in West Chelsea to satisfy developers for several years. Walking on the Highline Park the other night amongst a very civilized group of calmer, more elegantly dispositioned New Yorkers, you actually saw the realization of this amazing neighborhood transformation: illuminated landscaping bracketed by exceptional new buildings that arch over the park such as the two stainless steel clad HL23 and 245 Tenth Avenue …..and in the distance a host of interesting new building mixed in with the older residential and commercial structures….and one day soon all this will terminate at a brand new Whitney Museum….
So my conclusion is that the unique flavor that has been created in West Chelsea is here to stay, for at least the next 10 years, and possibly much longer. Remember the entire area was re-zoned too to prevent a big mess, so maybe this is one area that will serve as a textbook case study for responsible development?
Friday, November 19th, 2010
 The penthouse at the Superior Ink building in Greenwich Village, New York, owned by Houston Rockets owner, Leslie Alexander, has sold for a record $ 31,5million according to the Wall Street Journal. But is it a record for Downtown? Yes and no.
The quadruplex combination penthouse at 200 Eleventh Avenue sold for around $ 33 million, also raw, in 2009, and while larger, hence a lower $$$/sf price, that selling price does beat this sale. The sale of the penthouse at 145 Hudson Street is another notable exception.
“It is nevertheless a testament to the ressiliancy of the Greenwich Village real estate market in New York, a zip code named one of the Top 5 by FORBES recently,” says Leonard Steinberg publisher of LUXURYLETTER and a managing director with Prudential Douglas Elliman. “The Robert A. M. Stern designed building boasts superb sunset views over the Hudson River, and is one of very few full service buildings in the area. It commands a premium for many reasons, but most notably are the views, services, quality of space and the Stern-cachet. I do believe the price could have been significantly higher if the space had been beautifully finished out, as there is always a market for SUPER-TROPHY-PENTHOUSES in Manhattan.”
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
 The elusive $ 10,000/square foot price has been reached in Manhattan with the sale of the Zeckendorf’s penthouse at 15 Central Park West. The $ 40million sale of their penthouse marks a turning point in the history of New York real estate pricing.
“We have by-passed The Gilded Age, and entered THE PLATINUM AGE,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER, the authority on luxury New York real estate.
The sale of this penthouse at $ 10,259.00/sf marks a new milestone in pricing. 15 Central Park West has broken all records, delivering the pre-war look with new construction advantages craved by so many buyers: it’s magnificent Limestone facade and larger windows framing superb Central Park views combined with an incredible package of services and amenities has huge appeal to the ultra-wealthy seeking the combination of status as well as safety.
On US standards, this pricing is historic, but then we are in historic times: Translate this price into Euro’s and the picture is quite different. On international standards, this pricing is still on the lower side when compared to other major cities, especially London, where super-prime real estate sells for considerably more than this.
This pricing sets a new bar for luxury real estate in Manhattan: it is a result of inventory shortages of the ‘best of the best’. And this won’t change quickly with the current slump in construction. Quality new inventory is at least 3 years away, the perfect environment to fuel even more impressive price gains on trophy properties.
Does this sale fuel the argument that the divide between the super-rich and everyone else will continue to grow?
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Rumor has it that New York’s most expensive rental lease has been signed…..a massive pad in Midtown: And the monthly rental rate? A mere $ 210,000.00! That rent is TOO DAMN HIGH!
With a massive shift in political power to the right, it is only fitting that the Wasserstein apartment at 927 Fifth Avenue is experiencing a bidding war with an asking price of $ 26million, and the highest priced lease is signed,” says Leonard Steinberg managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER. “We have officially entered a new era where being wealthy is no longer such a bad thing: it’s the dawn of THE PLATINUM AGE.”
Monday, November 1st, 2010
A goregous townhouse on Grove Street in Greenwich Village has gone to contract close to its $ 15million+ asking price. Attached are some pictures of this beauty. The property was gut renovated by Triton Enterprises and never lived in, over 5,000sf in size.
“The key to this story is,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of Luxuryletter, “It sold FAST, mostly because its a beauty, but more importantly because it was in move-in condition, superbly renovated, in a prime location. There is a shortage of this type of property. We just closed on 60 Jane Street, also a beautifully renovated Greenwich Village townhouse that sold for a premium price.”
Monday, November 1st, 2010
 In this weekend’s New York Times, an interview with Frederick Peters, the head of Warburg Partnership, illustrates clearly how the world of real estate brokerage has changed forever.
“I remember a time many years ago when I started doing e-mail blasts to the brokerage community, announcing new properties I was listing,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of Luxuryletter. “Frederick Peters called me, somewhat outraged that I was using the e-mail system to do this. At that time, even Warburg’s website was an annoying distraction. Now, Frederick Peters is on Facebook, Tweets and is as tech-savvy as any 18 year old tech start-up geek! Now with “Selling New York”, will he be the next Danielle Staub?”
One does have to admire a company leader that at one time may have remained stuck in the past, who now embraces the new world whether we like it or not. Whether we think Fred’s “Housewives-of-New Jersey-style-reality-TV” debut into “Selling New York” is something we think is great is a whole other story. There is no reality in REALITY TV, and unfortunately we think the distortions of reality are counter-productive. Then again, reality TV is the info-mercial of the 2000′s and can be food for brand recognition.
So while the old world of brokerage, the broker-to-broker chatter, the listing systems, the broker open houses, etc, will continue as from the past, now the web, blogs and all things electronic and cyber will be entrenched into the industry…..until the next great thing comes along.
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
 With almost certainty we will see a major political shift after next week’s elections. The presidency will be stuck in a potential gridlock where the only window of opportunity is 2011 says Nouriel Roubini in to-day’s Financial Times. The president deserves credit for setting up a bipartisan debt commission, which is most likely to propose a sensible combination of entitlement spending cuts and increases in taxes. But sadly the chance that these recommendations will be implemented in 2011 is close to zero: Republicans will veto any tax increase, while Democrats will resist unpopular entitlement reform. Again, Washington politicians serving their own interests of power and not the well being of the country. The TEA PARTY is not the Third party this country needs after all…..the THIRD PARTY needed is the one that can unlock gridlock and side with the party that makes the most sense for the country, trimming it’s excesses and de-radicalizing its agenda….an intelligent party …….GO BLOOMBERG!
So we see LOTS OF GRIDLOCK over the next 2 years, a protracted Halloween if you like. And how will this affect New York real estate?
“New York’s high end real estate is fueled primarily by Wall Street,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER. “Wall Street goes where the money is, and if growth is not in the USA, it will put its money where it can make the most money. There are many other parts of the world where growth and success are huge, and US investors and companies have their hands in all of this. Remember corporations and private equity are sitting on over 2 Trillion dollars of cash right now. Wall Street likes certainty, and its almost certain not much is going to change in Washington for the next 2 years. We think this will keep the markets stable: they will not soar upwards, nor dip downwards. Some areas of inventory shortage may rise more than others though: that is happening already.”
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 Tonight, 200 Eleventh Avenue, the iconic new landmark in the West Chelsea Arts District designed by Annabelle Selldorf and built by Glauco Lolli-Ghetti of Urban Muse and Young Woo and Associates came to life with the launch of SNOB magazine, the Russian language magazine geared towards the growing Russian community in the USA.
On one of the most perfect evenings, a large, well-heeled crowd ascended to a dramatic penthouse in the building currently listed by Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier of Prudential Douglas Elliman for $ 17,5million. Beluga Caviar and Champagne were flowing, with thousands of candles and 2 bands playing. The dramatic double height loggia terrace boasted the most remarkable panorama of Midtown Manhattan as a backdrop. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner and publisher of SNOB, towered over the crowd, yet he never felt constrained by the 24ft ceilings of the large living room with views in every direction.
The magazine, operating out of a Dumbo office, will include a social-networking website and an elite club that hosts invite-only cocktail receptions, readings and film screenings around the U.S. The September issue features a cover story on Stepan Pachikov, the Russian founder of a handwriting-recognition software company. Snob will be distributed 10 times a year, running a circulation of 20,000 in New York.
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 If you are walking near West 26th Street and 10th Avenue, look up. You will notice a new addition to the High Line—the Viewing Spur is starting to take shape. Crews have hoisted the 22-by-11-foot painted steel frame into place, giving us a hint of what will soon be one of Section 2′s most dynamic design features. The Viewing Spur is meant to recall the billboards that were once attached to the structure of the High Line. This frame, though, will enhance views of the High Line and the city, rather than blocking them as the billboards once did. The Viewing Spur will be surrounded by shrubs and trees, such as Flameleaf sumacs (Rhus copallina), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and Greenbay magnolias (Magnolia virginiana ‘Greenbay’). At the foot of the frame, a platform with wood benches will invite High Line visitors to sit and enjoy views of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, passers-by on the street will look up and see people in the place of advertisements. We think it will be one of the best places for people watching when Section 2 opens next spring.
“Only when the extension of the High Line Park opens next Spring, will we see the true value of it’s ability to connect neighborhoods,” says Leonard Steinberg, publisher of LUXURYLETTER and managing director of Prudenital Douglas Elliman. “This park will connect the sensational gallery district of West Chelsea to the vibrant Meatpacking District and Greenwich Village. What surrounds this park will be simply amazing, and already we can witness the creation of an entirely new quality of life for Manhattan living.”
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
The economy in the U.S. probably grew at a faster pace in the third quarter, reflecting a pickup in consumer spending that bodes well for the recovery’s staying power, economists projected a report this week will show.
Gross domestic product rose at a 2 percent annual pace, up from a 1.7 percent rate in the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 67 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before an Oct. 29 Commerce Department report. Other data may show business investment remains a mainstay of the economic rebound, while housing is mired in a slump.
“This is definitely good news for the New York real estate market which has seen significant improvements in activity, reduced inventories and the anticipation of significant bonus dollars about to enter the markets,” says Leonard Steinberg, managing director of Prudential Douglas Elliman and publisher of LUXURYLETTER.
The question is: If growth is good, and better than we have been told, why is good not good enough? Surely with an economic meltdown as cataclysmic as the one we just experienced, we should not expect a speedier recovery?
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