Are you in the market for a NYC condo apartment? Are you looking for something sparkling new, sleek and dynamic?

Consider a NYC Green Home. Featuring all of the amenities of traditional doorman, luxury hi-rises; eco-friendly buildings offer something even more: peace of mind.

Set your mind at ease. Not only will you purchase a home which is built from re-used, recycled, reusable or sustainable products, a home in which the air and water is filtered, and the rainwater reused to keep the grounds beautified, but you will also purchase a house in a micro-market that seems to be weathering the current economic downturn. According to Lydia Depillis’ article in the November 13, 2008 “New York Observer Article” the market for environmentally friendly housing in New York City is “…going strong: Driven by growing demand for eco-friendly living and working space, developers are forging full steam ahead on plans to obtain green certification.”

With many new LEED certified buildings in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, you’ll have a variety of neighborhoods and styles to choose from. Of course, you’ll have to do your due diligence by reviewing the building’s financials and having a lawyer look over your contract before purchasing.

Have questions? Want more information on LEED certified buildings? Would you like a tour of the newest eco-friendly condos? Ask Lala.

No Comments »

Location: 80 Metropolitan (Kent Avenue and Wythe Avenue)
Size: 123 units
Prices: $425K to $1.6M
Expected Occupancy: immediate
Developer: Steiner New York
Architect: GreenbergFarrow
Sales and Marketing: Halstead Property

Overview: Williamsburg Grows Up

For years, the joke has been that the best thing about Williamsburg is that it’s the East Village, while the worst thing about it is… that it’s the new East Village. 10 years ago, this meant that Williamsburg was filled with hipsters flocking to art openings, loft parties, or shows at dive bars. While this facet of Williamsburg life is still there (and there to stay), Williamsburg has come to resemble the East Village in other aspects well. These include the presences of sushi restaurants, upscale lounges, designer furniture stores and, now, luxury condominiums.

80 Metropolitan is a completely new condo development, built on the site of the Old Dutch Mustard Company building. GreenbergFarrow’s design is tastefully reminiscent of the site’s- and neighborhood’s- industrial character. This does not mean that life inside 80 Metropolitan in any way resembles life inside a warehouse loft. The units’ luxurious kitchens include Liebherr refrigerators, Miele ovens and cook tops, Bosch dishwashers, marble finishes, polished Caesarstone countertops, lacquer and glass cabinetry with Wenge details, and garbage disposals. Baths include glass showers with marble benches, double sinks, Grohe Rainwater Showerheads, and custom Wenge Vanities. In apartment washers and dryers ensure the best of both worlds: living in Williamsburg, but never having to schlep down to the twenty-four hour laundromat on Bedford and Metropolitan.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 2628 Broadway and 245 W. 99th Street (Broadway and W. 99th Street)
Size: 137 units total
Prices: $1.6 through $14.5 million
Expected Occupancy: immediate
Developer: Extell Development Company
Architect: Cetra/ Ruddy
Sales and Marketing: Corcoran group

Overview: Ariel East and West- Family Friendly Luxury, Rising Over The West Side

Ariel East and Ariel West- a pair of striking glass towers on W. 99th Street and Broadway, respectively- can be seen from both New Jersey and the East Side. The two towers are architecturally very different from each other, but they stand together high above their Upper West Side neighborhood.

While striking, The Ariel Condominiums are also surprisingly livable. This is especially true for families. The buildings offer lush parkland views, child friendly common areas such as playrooms and gardens, and are comprised solely of multiple bedroom units. They offer an ideal option for who want a nice place to raise their family, but still want to live give up luxury high-rise life.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 1200 Fifth Avenue (E. 101st and E. 102nd Streets)
Size: 59 units
Prices: $1.5 to $14.5 million
Expected Occupancy: 2008
Developer: Joseph Nakash, Joseph Chetrit, Lloyd Goldman and Mann Realty
Architect: Emery Roth
Sales and Marketing: Corcoran Sunshine

Overview: 1200 Fifth Avenue- Old World Charm and New World Luxury

Condo buyers are often forced to choose between the charm of a pre-war building and the luxury of a new development. The conversion of 1200 Fifth Avenue means that you can have both at the same time. Modern luxury amenities have been seamlessly worked into 1200 Fifth Avenue, without disturbing the elegance that has graced the building since it was first built in 1928. High-beamed ceilings co-exist with central air and tilt-and-turn picture windows; old world craftsmanship co-exists with electric fireplaces, state of the art kitchen appliances, and a fitness room.

1200 Fifth Avenue’s northerly location on E. 101st Street means that it is slightly removed from the competitiveness and bustle of Carnegie Hill (some might say mercifully so), without sacrificing any value. Furthermore, the fact that 1200 Fifth Avenue is a condo building means that you can buy Fifth Avenue real estate directly, without having to go through the involved condo board approval process.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 1 River Terrace (Murray and Vesey Streets)
Size: 264 units
Prices: $1.7 to $6.2 million
Expected Occupancy: Spring 2008
Developer: Site 16/17 Development LLC.
Architect: The Polshek Partnership/ Ismael Levya/ David Rockwell
Sales and Marketing: Corcoran Sunshine

Overview: Combining Luxury and Green Development

The Riverhouse is ahead of its time. In an age where many other buildings still ignore environmental sustainability altogether, The Riverhouse is an entirely green building. This means that priority is placed not only on quality, but on energy efficiency, occupant health, environmental health, and overall environmental friendliness as well. The Riverhouse achieves these goals through many innovations, such as using only non-pollutant materials and finishes, heating and cooling the building with a geothermal system, placing solar panels on the roof, filtering its own waste, re-filtering air, and employing an energy efficient triple pane window system. These efforts have earned The Riverhouse a Gold rating from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the national rating standard for green buildings.

No need to worry, though; this focus on eco-friendliness does not come at the expense of comfort. In addition to green technologies, The Riverhouse includes all the luxuries and amenities of contemporary New York City condo living, such as health club, valet parking and laundry. Eco-friendliness also does not mean skimping on technology either. Units come equipped with high speed internet, wall mounted TV’s, and a sound system with speakers in every room.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 25 East 77th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues)
Size: 160 units (118 hotel/ 42 condo)
Prices: $1.9 million to $60 million
Expected Occupancy: Summer 2008
Developer: Alexico Group
Architect: Shwartz & Gross (new interior by Jacques Grange)
Sales and Marketing: Corcoran Group Inc.

Overview: A Perfect Blend of Past and Present

Across the street from the Cafe Carlyle- where the legendary Bobby Short once held court- lies The Mark Hotel.

This copper-topped building has been a premier New York hotel since being built by the architecture team of Shwartz & Gross in 1927. It is now undergoing a full renovation and will reopen Summer 2008, featuring 118 hotel rooms and 42 cooperative suites.

The Mark will still be very much a working hotel and- unlike with a typical condo conversion- buyers will have a chance to reap the benefits. Those who wish to purchase a furnished condo in the Mark, but plan to only live there part of the year or only during the week, will have the option of allowing management to use it as one of their hotel rooms and receive 70% of the room rate in return.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 300 E. 79th St. (at Second Avenue)
Size: 40 units, 18 stories
Prices: From $1 million to $6+ million
Expected Occupancy: 2008
Developer: 1510 Second Avenue, LLC
Architect: H. Thomas O’Hara Architect
Interior Designer: Jack Levy Design
Sales & Marketing: Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group

Overview: Upper East Side Elegance – Within Reason
A mid-sized building on the Upper East Side, 300 East Seventy Nine has the modern, all-glass façade typical of many of today’s new condos and an elegant but welcoming lobby designed by Jack Levy Design. Apartments range from small one-bedrooms to huge penthouses, all of which have walnut floors and nice architectural details.

With multimedia outlets in every room and optional home-automation technology, you can live a 21st-century lifestyle in gracious surroundings. Kitchens feature marble countertops and backsplash, Sub-Zero refrigerators, Wolf ranges, and Bosch dishwashers. Bathrooms offer yet more marble (someone must have gotten a good deal on marble) and equally high-end fixtures.

The building’s amenities include an entertainment suite for hosting large parties, a landscaped terrace with outdoor fireplace, a fitness center, and a children’s playroom. A bicycle storage room and a refrigerated storage room (for the Fresh Direct packages that arrive home before you do) are also available.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 280 W. 78th St. (between Amsterdam and Broadway)
Size: 33 units, 20 stories
Prices: From $1.6 million – $8 million
Expected Occupancy: 2008
Developer: Urban Residential
Architect: Handel Architects
Sales & Marketing: Corcoran Sunshine

Overview: A Boutique Condo Building in the Land of the Brownstones
Linden 78 hasn’t actually been built yet – as of this writing it’s just a gap halfway down the Broadway-to-Amsterdam block on the south side of W. 78th Street – but that hasn’t prevented the developers from showing a lot of stunning pictures and pre-selling a lot of wildly expensive condo apartments. Recently I took a look at the building site, which offers views of a medium-rise building to the south and a row of typical Upper West Side brownstones on the north side of the street, and then paid a visit to the Sales & Design Center a few blocks away to see the model showrooms for the condo apartments that are planned.

The workmanship and design are outstanding – custom kitchens designed by Florense, an interior design boutique in Soho, are outfitted with Viking and Miele appliances; the master bath features his ‘n’ hers soaking tubs and Lagos Azul limestone floors; living room floors are made with 5-foot-wide oak planks.

In keeping with the Upper West Side’s older buildings and traditional family appeal, Linden 78 has been designed with only spacious apartments – none of those tiny little boxes that are being jam-packed into so many condo buildings today. The smallest apartments are two-bedrooms with about 1,200 square feet, and the largest are five-bedrooms with more than 4,500 square feet. There are only one or two apartments per floor, and at least one seems to take up two full floors. In addition to the decks on the penthouse apartments, there will also be a roof deck for the non-penthouse condo owners to share.

Tenants will have plenty of other amenities, too – bicycle storage, personal storage bins, a fitness center, a children’s playroom, and a landscaped garden.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 635 W. 42nd Street (between 11th and 12th Avenues)
Size: 478 units, 46 stories
Prices: From $.7 million – $1.5 million
Occupancy: 2007
Developer: The Moinian Group
Architect: Costas Kondylis and Partners
Sales & Marketing: The Marketing Directors, Inc.

Overview: A Haven for Celebrity Spotters

Is midtown stretching west, or is Chelsea stretching north? The Atelier, which takes up most of the block on 42nd Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, aims to stake out what the developers call “a dynamic new neighborhood” along the northern edge of Hudson Yards. There may not be much surrounding the building, but 478 condominium apartments go a long way to creating an instant neighborhood, and the indoor pool, 12,000-square-foot health club, rooftop lounge and terraces, art gallery in the lobby, and 15,700 square feet of retail space help make the neighborhood more livable.

The condo’s developers have worked hard to create a celebrity aura around the building. Rumor says they gave an apartment to Hollywood bad-girl Lindsay Lohan – and, at any rate, Lohan is now a condo owner. Other residents include singer/actor Nick Lachey and his girlfriend, MTV personality Vanessa Minillo.

Appealing to younger buyers, the developers created a condominium with only small apartments – the largest are two-bedrooms a little over 1,000 square feet. However, they’ve made the most of the abundant light and views afforded by the building’s far-west location, and the apartments are well-appointed, with polished marble and Italian white oak flooring, stainless steel appliances and chrome faucets and fixtures.

Other amenities include:
• 24-hour doorman and full-service concierge
• Bosch large-capacity washer and dryer in every unit
• Sunning divans, basketball and volleyball courts, bocce ball and children’s play area on terrace.
• Billiards room, catering kitchen and landscaped sundeck in rooftop lounge
• 100-car underground garage.
read more…

No Comments »

Location: 455 Main Street, Roosevelt Island
Size: 124 units, 18 stories
Prices: From $.6 million – $1.3 million
Occupancy: 2006
Developer: The Hudson Companies Inc.
Architect: Costas Kondylis and Partners
Landscape Architect: Mathews Nielsen
Interior Designer: Kondylis Design
Sales & Marketing: Related Companies

Overview: Small-Town Utopia in NYC
Even though it has a 212 area code and is only one subway stop or a tram ride away from Manhattan, Roosevelt Island is still nearly invisible to New Yorkers who do not live there or have no friends there. Strange, given that it is such a spectacular waterfront site.

With a moving landscape of boats in the river, this island may be the best of both worlds – the cosmopolitan lifestyle combined with a truly serene and relaxing environment, removed from Manhattan yet a mere 20 minutes away. The ambience here is modernly utopian: within yards of the city, a waterfront paradise with abundant open space and high degree of community-mindedness.

Owned by the city, Roosevelt Island was leased to the State of New York’s Urban Development Corporation for 99 years in 1969 and became the site of a utopian housing experiment in the 1970s. With the corporation’s approval of the Riverwalk, the first luxury condo, Roosevelt Island has been transformed from a subsidized housing collective into an upscale residential neighborhood with small-town ambience.

Compared with Manhattan’s luxury condos, this one has more open space and more recreational opportunities. Thirty percent of Riverwalk’s buyers were already island residents before Riverwalk was born, so they understand the value of what they’re getting: an ideal residential lifestyle in a striking waterfront park setting with unmatched Manhattan skyline and river views, priced 30% below comparable offerings in Manhattan. In addition to individual buyers, Cornell has bought four floors in Riverwalk Court for faculty residences.

Amenities include:

• Floor-to-ceiling windows with wonderful views
• Kitchens with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances
• Kitchen garbage disposals
• Marble baths
• Hardwood plank flooring
• Washers and dryers in units
• 24/7 attended lobby
• Fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment
• Children’s play room
• Rooftop entertaining lounge
• Landscaped sundeck
• Bicycle room
• Storage lockers

read more…

No Comments »