Kuafu Properties Scoops Up Subway Inn Site for $300 Million
The increasingly prolific Kuafu Properties has snatched up the six-parcel assemblage that includes the beloved, and doomed, Subway Inn, for $300 million, Crain's reports. Their plan, as expected, is to build a condo tower, demolishing the buildings that currently sit at the site and adding 60,000 square feet of retail space to a new ground-up project. Beyond that, the details are not known, but the site could accommodate a tower over 1,000 feet tall, which would be the tallest in Midtown East. Bob Knakal, who marketed the property, said that Kuafa "just moved faster than anybody else and that's what won it for them. They have proven to be folks who mean what they say and say what they mean."
$9M Carnegie Hill House Is a Sunlit Gem With Literary Cachet
For the first time in more than 25 years, the lovely townhouse at 103 East 91st Street is on the market, asking $8.9 million. It was once home to the American author Patrick Dennis (aka Edward Everett Tanner III), the creator of Auntie Mame, and his family owned the house until the 1980s.
Still, many of the house's defining features, like the double-height living room and Palladian-style front window, are the work of Dennis. There are stained-glass windows, mahogany woodwork, wood-burning fireplaces, coffered ceilings, and two private gardens, as well as a kosher kitchen, four bedrooms, and a sun room.
Donald Trump Unloads Bland Park Avenue Penthouse for $21M
National court jester Donald Trump has parted ways with his very large and boring penthouse in 502 Park Avenue, better known as Trump Park Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reports. The five-bedroom apartment, which carries $16,272 in monthly costs, has been owned by Trump since he converted the building to condos in 2002. It was listed for $35 million in 2013 and was eventually chopped down to $25 million this year, before selling for $21 million. "In his mind, it was a strong market and it was a good time to get a deal done," said the listing agent.
Citi Bike to Open Fewer Stations Than Everyone Thought
According to The Post, the city will get a much smaller number of newCiti Bike stations than initially proposed.
Despite initial reports of a significant Citi Bike expansion coming in late 2015, it turns out that the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side will respectively see only 21 and 27 new stations, not the previously reported 39 stations each. These new Manhattan stations will join 79 new stations in Greenpoint, Bed-Stuy, and Williamsburg, and 12 new stations in Long Island City, which are set to begin opening in August. By September, the city will have 139 new stations.
Billionaire's Nonexistent Megamansion Already Costs $78M
Earlier this year, Roman Abramovich—the billionaire owner ofChelsea FC and this ridiculous thing—purchased not one, not two, butthree adjacent townhouses on the Upper East Side, with the ambitious goal of knocking them all down and building one enormous megamansion. Now, The Daily News reports that Abramovich has closed (under an LLC, duh) on the last of these properties at 13 East 75th Street for $30 million. Add that to the $48 million he's already spent on the neighboring buildings, and Abramovich's total investment is pushing a whopping $80 million. And construction on this little pet project hasn't even started yet.
If Abramovich is able to navigate the thorny preservation lawsaffecting the block, he could end up building one of the largest private homes in the city. But, if we're being totally honest, such a level of personal excess and opulence isn't all that shocking these days. If hereally wanted to blow our minds, Abramovich would build a secret lunar base or try to block out the sun.
· Roman Abramovich has already spent nearly $80M on his Manhattan dream house — and he hasn't even started building it yet [NYDN]
· All Roman Abramovich coverage [Curbed]
· Roman Abramovich has already spent nearly $80M on his Manhattan dream house — and he hasn't even started building it yet [NYDN]
· All Roman Abramovich coverage [Curbed]
What $1,900/Month Can Rent You In New York City
Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what one can rent for a set dollar amount in various NYC neighborhoods. Is one man's studio another man's townhouse? Let's find out! Today's price: $1,900/month.
↑ This 1.5-bedroom apartment in Bed-Stuy's Stuyvesant Heightsshort-changes itself by boasting windows and closets in both of its bedrooms. For $1,900/month, it also has a very respectable bathroom with a skylight, a living area with a decorative fireplace and a ceiling fan, and a kitchen with a dining peninsula. That carpet, though, is not that great.
Condos at Converted 200 East 62nd Street Start at $2.18M
The first listings for apartments at 200 East 62nd Street have hit the market. O'Connor Capital Partners'has spent several years converting the former rental building into condos, with architecture teamMessana O'Rorke handling the interior redesigns. The 30-story building now offers 115 condos ranging from one- to five-bedrooms, with one-bedrooms starting at $2.18 million. According to O'Connor, the apartments showcase a modern aesthetic "with an emphasis on openness" (literally!), and each features oiled white oak floors, high ceilings, solid core doors with polished chrome hardware, and in-unit washer-dryer.
Park Ave. Synagogue's Expansion Plan Rankles Neighbors
An Upper East Side synagogue's ambitious renovation and expansion plans have hit a snag, as neighbors and the local community board have rejected key parts of the proposal.
According to DNAinfo, the Park Avenue Synagogue is set to move into the current home of theTrevor Day School at 11 East 89th Street by the end of the summer, where the synagogue will expand its educational programming. It will also embark on a huge overhaul of the building, restoring its facade and windows and adding a green space, a new elevator bulkhead, an emergency generator, and a tall fence on the roof. These proposed changes have neighbors worried that their views will be obstructed and that the "historic character" of the block will be destroyed.
What $4,300/Month Can Rent You In New York City
Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what one can rent for a set dollar amount in various NYC neighborhoods. Is one man's studio another man's townhouse? Let's find out! Today's price: $4,300/month.
↑ In the East Village, there's a two-bedroom apartment on East 9th Street with a lovely 700-square-foot private backyard. The interior looks nice, too, with hardwood floors, a separate kitchen, French doors, and a newly renovated bathroom (though, oddly, it's not pictured) Rent is $4,300.
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Envisioning a Smaller, Garden-Saving Expansion for the Frick
Just over a year ago, the Frick Collection unveiled renderings of itsproposed expansion, which would've added gallery space, offices, a conservation lab, an auditorium, educational facilities, and a rooftop terrace. A firestorm of controversy subsequently erupted, with critics lambasting the plan ("banal and inelegant," anyone?)—in part because it would eliminate a beloved garden designed by British landscape architect Russell Page. All the backlash promoted the storied Frick tonix the expansion and go back to the drawing board. They've yet to come up with a revised proposal, but Unite to Save the Frick has. First detailed in the Architect's Newspaper, the interest group tappedarchitect David Helpern to design a smaller, more conservative addition that would add some new features but also save Page's garden. Have a look.
'Versailles in Manhattan' Townhouse Chops Price to $25M
The extravagant, eight-fireplace townhouse at 163 East 64th Street isback on the market, and, of course, we would be remiss not remind you of the interview its owner, commercial broker Kenneth D. Laub, gave the Observer in 2009, in which he said, that price cutting "shows that certain people are desperate to sell. They need the money, that's what it shows." At that time, the house, dubbed "Versailles in Manhattan" by one broker (everyone involved with this place is just so modest) was listed for $35 million. Since then it has undergone a number of price cuts as the listing has passed from brokerage to brokerage. It settled at $27.5 million for a few years before finally being cut down to its current price, $25 million. [EDIT: Elliman cut the price down to $25 million before the listing was passed on to Compass.] Compass, the sixth brokerage to try and sell the house for Laub, now has the listing.
Brownstone Made Famous in Breakfast at Tiffany's Sells
The Upper East Side townhouse where fictional party girl Holly Golightly hosted her wild shindigs in Breakfast at Tiffany's has changed hands for $7.4 million. This is the third time that the house, located on East 71st Street between Third and Lexington avenues, has sold since 2008, and the new owners, as well as the last, are hidden behind LLCs.the Observer reports that the house has not been renovated since the 1990s, which is clearly why it sold for $2.6 million less than its original $10 million asking price. The seller's renovation plans evidently did not pan out, and the broker told the Observer that it was "far too small for them." It's currently configured as two duplex units, and there's a solarium, private backyard, and four fireplaces. The new owners will likely flip it, but don't worry, it's in a historic district, so that famous facade will remain.
Imagining the Floorplan of a $120M Manhattan Megamansion
The brokerbabble for the three-townhouse combo at 12-16 East 62nd Street—aka the $120 million whopper that is currently the most expensive listing in New York City—says that the properties could be redeveloped as a "single family mansion, club, embassy, or retail space," but it looks like the first option is garnering the most interest. A tipster pointed out that the listing has been updated to include aproposed floorplan for the palatial pad, and boy, is it a doozy. The 30,000-square-foot home could have a 32' by 20' swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, and a steam room; a gym and a sports court with a "changeable glass floor" that could be used for basketball, hockey, or soccer; a solarium, a garden with a waterfall, and a "garden room;" a double-height library, a 70-foot long living room, 21 fireplaces, 15 bedrooms, 11 terraces, 21 toilets, and two elevators. Whew!
Citi Bike Stations Finalized for Upper East and West Sides
The Department of Transportation has unveiled the final locations for 39 stations apiece on the Upper West Side (pdf) and the Upper East Side (pdf). The plans are very similar to the ones that were originally proposed, with three stations shifting locations on the Upper West Side, and two more moving locations on the East. This is sure to please no one—residents of the neighborhoods will continue to be upset by the locations of many stations, and serious transportation advocates, like Streetsblog, maintain that the proposed number of stations is not nearly enough.
Cornerspotted: 101st St. and Fifth Ave., Mount Sinai Hospital
Astute commenters Mpisc and HKresident were able to identify this week's cornerspotter as 101st Street and Fifth Avenue along Central Park, which now bisects Mount Sinai Hospital on the Upper East Side. A few other commenters threw their guesses towards Central Park'sSeneca Village, a former African American enclave which, coincidentally, the Central Park Conservancy is hosting a tour of this Sunday.
· Hint: Shacks Have Given Way To a Site For the Common Good[Curbed]
· Cornerspotter archives [Curbed]
· Hint: Shacks Have Given Way To a Site For the Common Good[Curbed]
· Cornerspotter archives [Curbed]
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