AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/South Florida Speculators Outbid Average Homebuyershttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/30/south-florida-speculators-outbid-average-homebuyers/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/30/south-florida-speculators-outbid-average-homebuyers/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/30/south-florida-speculators-outbid-average-homebuyers/#commentsFiled under: ,

You'd think that now would be the time to pick up a bargain home in South Florida. After all, there are more than 96,000 foreclosures to choose from, and that's just from the first six months of 2010, according to the Miami Herald: "Distressed properties are still dominating the market, with more than half of all homes and condos sold last month at some stage in the foreclosure process."

Floridians with modest nest eggs who were priced out of home ownership during the boom should be able to get their hands on a sweet little slice of subdivision now that prices have plummeted. Right?

Not exactly. It turns out that investors are opening their purse strings, too, beating regular buyers to the punch.
"Cash-happy investors have been scooping up these bargain basement deals at a fast clip, often before middle-income buyers can get financing," according to the Herald. The nest egg can't compare to the deep pockets of developers, speculators and investors who can self-finance, especially in the wary world of mortgage lending. And foreclosed homes tend to sell for 25 less than their non-foreclosed counterparts, hard for the cash-in-hand to resist.

While it's bad news for middle class Americans who thought they'd finally get a piece of the real estate pie, it's decent news for the Florida economy. Median sales prices in Miami-Dade county are still down from a year ago -- 4 percent lower -- but they're 3.4 percent higher than they were in May. Sales are up from a year ago, and single-family home prices are slightly higher.

The real mystery is what the investors will do with the homes. Buyers tend to be more patient, willing to wait decades to see their home values appreciate, whereas investors prefer to see a quick return on investment.

Will the homes sit empty, waiting for a new round of bank-approved buyers? Or will those middle class buyers who missed out on the first round be willing to pony up a little more for a property they missed out on initially?

We'll have to tune in next quarter to see.


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]]>foreclosures for salehome pricesmiami heraldMiami-Dade Countysouth florida real estateLisa Selin Davis2010-07-30T17:01:00 00:00NYC Luxury Real Estate: Steve Wynn Rolls Dice on Plaza Penthousehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/15/nyc-luxury-real-estate-steve-wynn-rolls-dice-on-plaza-penthouse/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/15/nyc-luxury-real-estate-steve-wynn-rolls-dice-on-plaza-penthouse/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/15/nyc-luxury-real-estate-steve-wynn-rolls-dice-on-plaza-penthouse/#commentsFiled under: ,

Since the Plaza in New York City began its conversion from hotel to condos in 2004, there's been nothing but controversy. First, what would happen to Eloise, its most famous fictional resident? Then there were the record-breaking prices and the subsequent grumblings, accusations and lawsuits. Even so, the units were snatched up -- bought, if not lived in.

That seems to be the case with a penthouse unit on the 20th floor. Hotel and casino mogul Steve Wynn is now the proud owner of said home, one of the largest units, thanks to the previous buyer's reneging on the contract. According to The Wall Street Journal, that buyer claimed the apartment delivered was markedly different than the one promised. The matter is still bandying about the courts.

The price for such swanky digs?
A mere pittance. Wynn reportedly paid $23 million, a million less than the asking price; though the original asking price in 2007 was $31 million.

We're pretty sure this Streeteasy listing is the unit in question, promising "A nine room penthouse duplex on the Plaza's northwest corner that truly lives like a 'house in the sky.' Accessed by a 45-foot entry foyer with both sweeping circular staircase and private elevator, this classic home offers up to four bedrooms plus a library." It includes a wood-burning fireplace and several terraces.

Should we take that as a reflection of the current market, where the recession has shaved $8 million off the price tag of luxury apartments? Or a sign that the Plaza's conversion is cursed?

According to this report on the state of the luxury market, all's well in the world of high-priced real estate. "Sales have doubled in volume in the first quarter of 2010 versus the same quarter of 2009," writes luxury broker Elizabeth Stribling. "The free fall in spiraling downward prices reached bottom in late summer of 2009 as pent-up demand began to scoop up bargain prices."

If you look at it that way -- a $23 million bargain -- Steve Wynn's gamble just might pay off.

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]]>luxury real estatenew york city real estateplaza hotelsteve wynnLisa Selin Davis2010-07-15T12:20:00 00:00Utah: State Scoops Up Unsold New Homeshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/14/utah-govt-scoops-up-unsold-new-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/14/utah-govt-scoops-up-unsold-new-homes/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/07/14/utah-govt-scoops-up-unsold-new-homes/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lots of banks are saddled with extra properties these days, thanks to risky loans and faulty practices. But in Utah, it was the state that did the risky lending, and has found itself the proud owner of what seems to be a suburban ghost town.

Arizona-based developer SunCor worked out an unusual deal with the state of Utah: SunCor could lease the land from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), develop a far-flung suburban paradise two hours from Las Vegas and four from Salt Lake City, then give the state a portion of the profits when the homes were sold -- 2,000 of them on more than 2,500 acres. The funds would directly benefit schools in the state.

You can guess at least part of the story: The market collapsed and very few homes were built. According to Stateline.org, "The half-completed Coral Canyon development went up for sale last year along with other SunCor projects in Arizona and New Mexico. Rather than waiting for a hedge fund to scoop up Coral Canyon and flip it for a quick buck, state officials decided to step in." They paid $3.4 million for 172 finished lots.

The big question is why.

The website for Coral Canyon, Utah, promises golfing and a beautiful hotel (which turns out to be a rather lonely-looking Holiday Inn Express); and extols the virtues of single-family homes in a master-planned community. Alas, none of it panned out.

When banks are desperate to unload foreclosed properties and President Obama has declared the age of suburban sprawl officially over, why invest in a ghost town so far from densely populated areas, where "wide roads built on the edges of the development anticipating future growth now dead-end into brush"?

The answer: Apparently government officials in Utah don't believe we're in the midst of a housing double dip. They're betting that the market will recover, and that they'll sell the lots for $50,000 a pop, which is more than twice what they paid. Luckily, it doesn't matter how long this phantom recovery will take. The state owns the land, and doesn't have to worry about grumbling shareholders or mounting taxes. But it's a gamble anyway, while they're waiting for their return on investment.

Meanwhile, Utahans are either prescient, patient, or kidding themselves.

More on AOL Real Estate:
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Find foreclosures in Utah.
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]]>coral canyonhousing markethousing market collapsehousing market recoverysitlasuncorutahutah real estateUtah School and Institutional Trust Lands AdministrationLisa Selin Davis2010-07-14T15:45:00 00:00Half-Finished Home Listed for $75 Millionhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/24/half-finished-home-listed-for-75-million/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/24/half-finished-home-listed-for-75-million/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/24/half-finished-home-listed-for-75-million/#commentsFiled under: ,

$75 million unfinished mansion versaillesIf you thought the economic downturn and housing crisis would lead to more modest homes, you are wrong -- at least in this case. And in this case you'd be very, very wrong.

It's a 90,000-square-foot mansion listed for $75 million. It sits in a prime spot, on 10 waterfront acres in a gated community outside Orlando, Fla. It has plenty to boast about, including 10 kitchens, a 20-car garage, 13 bedrooms, a bowling alley and an indoor roller rink.

Actually, make that space for 10 kitchens, a 20-car garage, 13 bedrooms, a bowling alley and an indoor roller rink, because the house has one big catch: It's not finished.
The home, Lake Butler Mansion, was created by and for real estate tycoon David Siegel, owner of the largest privately held time-share company in America. He admittedly could use a lot of room for his 12 children. But his company, Westgate, has suffered in the downturn and there's no longer ready cash to finish. "He just stopped construction because of the banks not being as free on the credit lines with his own company," says Lorraine Barrett, the Coldwell Banker real estate agent handling the listing. She says the Siegels are good neighbors who donate over $3 million a year to charity and have 6,000 employees to feed: "He's putting his own money back into the business and not into his house."

While $75 million seems a lot for a half-finished home -- it is about five times the amount of Barrett's other luxury listings -- just look at what you'd get: According to Yahoo, the house is as long as "nearly two football fields, is almost double the White House and about 36 times the size of the average American family home." It will have an Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, its own fitness center. It is modeled after -- and nicknamed -- Versailles, which Siegel and his second wife visited on their honeymoon, says Barrett.

And it's not as if you'd be getting an empty shell, some of the wiring is in place, as is the facade. But the stone for the stone-walled, gated entrance sits in boxes in the garage -- at least the new owner won't have to buy all the building materials. A chain-link fence marks the property now. The elevator shafts are empty. The steel beams await their housing. The baseball field-to-be is choked with weeds.

$75 million unfinished mansion versaillesOne boon for new owners: If they have different taste in finishes, they won't have remodeling to do. If Versailles isn't their thing, they can choose another style. But if they trust in Siegel's sensibility, they can purchase the whole thing, finished, for a cool $100 million.

And it's certainly not the most expensive house for sale in America. Yahoo reports that there's still a "$150 million mansion in Holmby Hills, Calif., owned by Candy Spelling, widow of television giant Aaron Spelling."

But these properties have been listed for a long while -- one of them for four years. That's actually good news for Siegel. Barrett says that if his fortunes change, the listing might come done.

"If the credit lines free up," she says, "he'd be the proud owner again of his own house.

See homes for sale in Orlando, Fla. and luxury homes elsewhere at AOL Real Estate.


 $75 million unfinished mansion versailles

$75 million unfinished mansion versailles

$75 million unfinished mansion versailles

$75 million unfinished mansion versailles






 

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]]>david siegelflorida mansionsflorida real estate marketstalled constructionversailleswestgateLisa Selin Davis2010-06-24T12:00:00 00:00Bronx Residents Fear Being Homelesshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/22/bronx-residents-fear-homelessness/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/22/bronx-residents-fear-homelessness/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/22/bronx-residents-fear-homelessness/#commentsFiled under:

The Bronx has it hard. It's the New York City borough with the highest unemployment rate. It has the highest violent crime rate. And now, according to the NY Daily News, its residents have more worries about homelessness than those in any other borough.

According to a poll by the Institute for Children and Poverty, a third of all Bronx residents actively fear homelessness, spurred in large part by continuing rent increases and budget cuts. Some 80% of Bronx residents polled ponder homelessness monthly, and more than a third speculated about it every single day.

And not without good reason.


According to the City, outreach workers interact with homeless people in the Bronx more than any other borough. They have 1,458 contacts with homeless folks in the Bronx every month, compared with 1,219 contacts in Queens and 1,157 in Brooklyn (exact figures on the homeless are impossible to obtain).

Even those who aren't homeless are hurting harder in the Bronx than elsewhere. About 40% of the residents polled reported that they struggled to handle basic expenses, a number that was 10 percent lower for residents of other boroughs.

One of the interesting things about the poll was that it revealed a boroughful of thoughtful people, an anti-NIMBY community. The News reported that "80% of Bronxites endorse the 'Right to Shelter' that guarantees a bed for every homeless person in the city," and "Only 9% of Bronxites oppose nearby shelters, the poll found, and regardless of hard times, half would pay higher taxes to solve the homeless problem." Not only are they compassionate, but their hard times might bend them toward a socialist philosophy.

Another reason they might fear homelessness: even those with leases and money to pay rent are vulnerable. Several Bronx landlords made the Village Voice's list of 10 Worst Landlords this year. To some Bronxites, the street might be looking pretty good.

 

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]]>apartment buildingsbronxhomelesslandlordsnew york cityresidentsLisa Selin Davis2010-06-22T16:05:00 00:00Buyers Sue Green Developer: Not Eco Enoughhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/03/buyers-sue-green-developer-not-eco-enough/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/03/buyers-sue-green-developer-not-eco-enough/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/03/buyers-sue-green-developer-not-eco-enough/#commentsFiled under: ,

When it first hit the market in 2008, The Riverhouse, or One Rockefeller Park, was marketed as the pinnacle of the new green-building movement: chic, modern, luxurious and sustainable, all wrapped up in one water-view building. It symbolized the departure from the 1970s version of the movement -- off-grid yurts and solar-powered treehouses that we previously associated with green -- and repositioned it as an urban lifestyle.

Well, thanks to a lawsuit by one couple, The Riverhouse may come to symbolize something else: the empty promises of pre-bubble eco-housing.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the owners of one three-bedroom, three-bath unit there are suing the building's former manager, Sheldrake, and its new manager, Centurion Real Estate Partners, for empty green promises.
Steven Gidumal and Allison Keeley paid $4.2 million for their condo in 2008, one which promised "twice-filtered air, filtered water and healthy building materials," according to The Riverhouse's own press materials. Proof of the eco-credibility would be attained when they received certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, It doles out LEED -- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- plaques in exchange for buildings that can certify that they're energy efficient; built with sustainable materials; promoting a healthy lifestyle (near transit, with bike parking, etc.); and have other green ingredients.

Since The Riverhouse does not yet have its LEED Gold certification adds fuel to the plaintiffs' fire, along with the fact that their engineers "found a deviation of 49 percent over the LEED standards in the cumulative size of holes and cracks allowing infiltration of cold air," reports The Journal, and "that air temperature for heating the apartment was too low, which the owners say is a sign that the building isn't maximizing energy efficiency."

In other words, they're being green by making it too cold in winter, not by using some alternative energy to keep it warm.

Does the couple have a case? It remains to be seen, although one lawyer stated that he is seeing more and more buyers who say that environmental efficacy claims were misleading -- otherwise known as "greenwashing" -- so that they can back out of contracts. Gidumal and Keeley bought at the height of the market, when green features were one of the only ways for developers to set themselves apart from the glut of luxury condos flooding the market. If green was all The Riverhouse had going for it, buyers are clearly hoping it's a deep green, not a faint one.

One thing we do know: Hundreds of buildings await the LEED seal of approval. There's a tremendous backup, not to mention a backlash, in the world of LEED. Even architect Frank Gehry recently decried LEED-certified buildings as a form of greenwashing (called "LEEDwashing").

So is anyone happy with his or her green home? Maybe those hippies in their yurts and solar treehouses, who have yet to file a lawsuit.

See homes for sale in New York, N.Y. and elsewhere at AOL Real Estate.

 

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]]>battery park citycenturion real estate partnersgreen buildinggreenwashingLEEDleedwashingnew york city real estateone rockefeller parksheldrakethe riverhouseLisa Selin Davis2010-06-03T15:30:00 00:00Housing Crisis Breeds a New Generation of Squattershttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/17/housing-crisis-breeds-a-new-generation-of-squatters/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/17/housing-crisis-breeds-a-new-generation-of-squatters/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/17/housing-crisis-breeds-a-new-generation-of-squatters/#commentsFiled under:

What should be done with the million or so foreclosed homes in the country? We've seen their empty swimming pools used as skateboarding parks. We've seen programs aiming to transform them into rehabber's dreams. And we've heard plenty about turning that empty housing stock into affordable homes.

That last idea appeals to a subgroup of young Americans who are resurrecting a movement that blossomed in the 1980s: squatting. According to Salon.com, a new generation sees the tragedy of foreclosure as an opportunity: not for real estate speculation but to proffer an anti-capitalist message; to beat the system and to reclaim bank-owned housing for those who need it.

Although need might be too strong a word. This new round of squatters isn't in it for the free rent, exactly. Many have college degrees and earning potential, but "squatting is about everyone's right to housing; they are anarchists who reject the idea that homes be treated as commodities to be speculated over for profit." Squatting isn't about shelter, they say, and it's not even relegated to the homeless. It's a campaign, a continuation of what squatters did in three decades ago in claiming abandoned sections of New York's East Village for their own.

Those properties are now, of course, worth millions of dollars ... but that wasn't the point.

Things are a little different for these squatters. They're organized. They're on a mission. They're not claiming property in devastated, drug-addled neighborhoods -- as the East Village was in the 1980s. Landlords aren't warehousing the properties -- keeping them deliberately vacant.

Instead, the absentee landowners are banks.

While it seems to be happening mostly in New York City, it's also occurring in Miami, Los Angeles and Detroit.

Will this generation be successful? It remains to be seen. In the meantime, their home-improvement skills are growing, and their inventory of potential new homes continues to expand.

Maybe the banks will appreciate their work and agree to their demand to claim and co-op homes, making them capitalist participants after all.

 

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]]>affordable housingeast villagenew york citynew york city real estatesquattersquatterssquattingLisa Selin Davis2010-05-17T13:30:00 00:00San Francisco: Presidio Bets on Luxury Rentals for Park Upkeephttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/14/sfs-presidio-bets-on-luxury-rentals-for-park-upkeep/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/14/sfs-presidio-bets-on-luxury-rentals-for-park-upkeep/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/14/sfs-presidio-bets-on-luxury-rentals-for-park-upkeep/#commentsFiled under:

The 1,500-acre former military base known as the Presidio was reborn as a public park in 1994. Its rolling hills, ocean views and 800-odd buildings were put under the watch of the Presidio Trust and funded, at least until 2012, by the federal government.

Now that those monies are soon to dry up, the trust has come up with an innovative idea: Let luxury rentals pay the Presidio's way. Those 800 buildings, many of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, require a lot of upkeep, as do the lovely grounds. (The views, however, continue to be free).

Enter the abandoned Public Health Service Hospital, a 78-year-old building and the largest of the historic buildings on the property. Instead of hospital rooms, the new residences will have high-end amenities including a doorman, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, a wine storage room, a residents lounge and a gym: Let the Presidio Landmark apartments rise!

The Presidio is not the only park to seek funding through luxury housing. In Brooklyn, a condominium building is set at the southern tip of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Called One Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's expected to generate maintenance funds for the public space.

Although the Brooklyn site isn't a national park like the Presidio, the financial arrangement has generated plenty of controversy. Critics contend that putting private housing in a public park will make visitors feel as if they're trespassing in condo-owners' front yards. They don't appreciate that the developer gets to lease the building for a dollar a year, either. But plenty of New Yorkers are happy to have park maintenance costs picked up by an entity other than their cash-strapped city.

Of course, as a former military base, housing in the Presidio isn't new. And the proposed redevelopment hasn't sparked a lot of controversy -- except among affordable-housing advocates hoping that the residences would be priced far under market.

Already, renters can pay $1,700 a month for what The New York Times calls a "modest apartment" or $9,580 a month for a six-bedroom former officer's home that looks out onto San Francisco Bay. Two-bedroom apartments, with storage and hardwood floors, covered parking and washer-dryers, go for $1825 in the Baker Beach section.

We can expect that the 154 Presidio Landmark apartments and seven townhouses will rent for considerably more when they hit the market this summer. And they'll have a selling point that might even be better than a park: a parking spot.

 

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]]>funding for national parksluxury real estatenationl register of historic placespresidiopresidio landmarksan franciscosan francisco rental apartmentssan francisco rentalsLisa Selin Davis2010-05-14T13:02:00 00:00Flipper Victims Sue Developer: Should Others Be Worried?http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/real-estate-flippers-sued-by-florida-couple-should-others-be-wo/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/real-estate-flippers-sued-by-florida-couple-should-others-be-wo/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/real-estate-flippers-sued-by-florida-couple-should-others-be-wo/#commentsFiled under: ,,

Many remorseful Americans are finding their property values have plummeted, their neighborhoods have gone to the dogs, and their neighbors have defaulted right out of their houses. So whose fault is it anyway?

Jonathon and Brandy Miller, of Boynton Beach, Fla., think they have an answer. The couple sued the builder of their townhouse, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., for selling multiple units in their development to home flippers.

Instead of the mini-utopia they were promised in the development called Firenze, the Millers say, they found it full of transients. Not homeless folks but real estate flippers who bought homes with the sole intent of selling them.

Now it's a ghost town instead of a neighborhood, where vandals have looted everything but the kitchen sink, and maybe even the kitchen sink, in some homes. "The exercise room was burglarized," reports the Wall Street Journal. "The clubhouse remains locked for fear of vandalism. Landscaping deteriorated."
Because Hovnanian allowed these flippers to purchase property there, the Millers want to be reimbursed for their purchase price and closing costs. It's a desire many housing-bubble homeowners share, but their case is worse, they say. They're claiming "emotional distress," and "loss of capacity for the enjoyment in life." If they can get that back via reimbursed closing costs, they should count themselves lucky.

We're not sure the lawsuit will make it very far. No one has control over who their neighbors are, nor the amount of crime in their area. And Hovnanian Enterprises might be responsible for some unattractive tract homes and several examples of suburban sprawl, but it's certainly not single-handedly responsible for the housing crisis and the turn of events that led to a Firenze made of flippers.

We're not sure that the Millers think it'll go far, either. They feel wronged, they said, but in the end "we finally just got fed up and had to take some sort of action to address it."

 

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]]>boynton beachfirenzefloridahovnanianlawsuitsreal estate flipperstownhouses in boynton beachLisa Selin Davis2010-05-05T14:00:00 00:00Atlantic Yards Project: Another Brooklyn Holdout Emergeshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/atlantic-yards-project-another-brooklyn-holdout-emerges/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/atlantic-yards-project-another-brooklyn-holdout-emerges/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/05/atlantic-yards-project-another-brooklyn-holdout-emerges/#commentsFiled under:

Last week, infamous opponent to Brooklyn's much-maligned Atlantic Yards development project, Daniel Goldstein, surprised some of his supporters when he took a $3 million settlement from the developer who took ownership of his property through eminent domain. (Those who waxed cynical about his cash infusion apparently wanted him to martyr himself by trying to find a decent place to live in the ever-inflated South Brooklyn real estate market).

But Goldstein, it turns out, is not the last resident of the area to refuse to leave. Out of the rubble -- literally -- of the Atlantic Yards construction zone, another family has emerged, according to the NY Post. A woman named Aisha Ahmed, whose ex-husband bought 481 Dean St. in 1988, is asking for $170,000 more than she has been offered -- or $85,000 for each child -- to vacate her property. We don't know what the previous offer was, nor do we know if the property has been officially sold, since no records have been found.
We do know that the state, the developers, and probably even the members of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the organization that Goldstein led (until he retired as spokesperson after receiving his settlement) were unaware of the Ahmed family's presence. They are described by the paper as "elusive" and perhaps the building is in bad enough shape that it fits the definition of blight that Forest City Ratner, AY's developer, fought so hard to establish. (Update: Goldstein reports that they have known about the family for years, DDDB has tried to assist them, and that their house is not blighted.)

If these are officially the very last holdouts, then Goldstein surrenders his title as ultimate holdout. And his $3 million cash settlement confirms what some anti-eminent-domain activists feared: that large lump of cash he got won't inspire people to keep fighting the fight; it'll convince them to hold their ground until they get a better offer.

See more coverage of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards development. Or see homes for sale in Brooklyn, N.Y. at AOL Real Estate.

 

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]]>Atlantic Yardsbrooklyn atlantic yardsbrooklyn real estatecharles schumerdaniel goldsteindefinition of blightDevelop Dont Destroy Brooklyneminent domaineminent domain abuseforest city ratnerreal estate holdoutsLisa Selin Davis2010-05-05T13:00:00 00:00Coney Island for Sale? We Are Not Amusedhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/03/coney-island-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/03/coney-island-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/05/03/coney-island-for-sale/#commentsFiled under:

Poor Coney Island. Piece by piece it's been dismantled, rezoned, and shut down, all with the promise of building a bigger, better, newer Coney. Now Crain's NY reports that three acres of Coney Island are up for sale, bringing more uncertainty to the already wobbly prospects for the area.

The owner, apparently, is Horace Bullard, who owns the Kansas Fried Chicken chain (which seems to have its home in the Bronx, not Wichita). And we don't know the reason for the sale, or the price.

We do know that there are some constraints on the purchase. It has been rezoned as an amusement district and thus no condos can go up on the site -- forget your living-room view of the Cyclone.

"Amusements, small retail and entertainment" are what's permitted.

What's ironic is that those are exactly what dominated the area in 2008, when the rides at Astroland, an amusement park within Coney Island, were packed up and shipped off because of withered negotiations between Astroland's owner, Carol Alpert, and the developer who owns the land, Thor Equities.

The city purchased 6.9 acres from Thor last year for $95.6 million in an effort to save Coney Island from disappearing altogether.

Joseph Sitt, Thor Equities' chairman, still owns around four acres of Coney Island and said Wednesday that he'll pour $10 million, a small chunk of what the city gave him, into reinvigorating his own amusements. And the city has selected a company, Central Amusement International, to lay out and manage new rides and amusements in the hopes that Coney will blossom once again. They're installing 23 new rides, including a human slingshot and go-karts.

Those who love Coney Island for its grit and attitude might fear that the area will become Disneyfied, much like Times Square -- the charm of Coney has always been its anti-Disneyness, with freak shows instead of princess costumes. They need not be anxious, but shouldn't be too optimistic, either. Some of the old Coney remains, like the frighteningly rickety wooden roller coaster, the Cyclone, and the Wonder Wheel -- both city landmarks and part of extant Deno's Amusement Park.

But let's face it. For now, we still have a smaller, worse, older Coney Island, one losing the dark charm that has always drawn throngs to the area. We'll have to wait and see who buys this current three acres of Coney, and if they can manage to resurrect it without erasing what makes it great.


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]]>amusement parksamusement parks for saleastrolandbrooklyn real estatecarol alpertcentral amusement internationalConey islandconey island freak showdenos amusement parkhorace bullardjoseph sittkansas friend chickennew york city real estatenew york city rezoningthor equitiesLisa Selin Davis2010-05-03T17:00:00 00:00Brooklyn Development: Atlantic Yards' Last Holdout Gets Monster Settlementhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/brooklyn-development-atlantic-yards-last-holdout-gets-monster/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/brooklyn-development-atlantic-yards-last-holdout-gets-monster/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/brooklyn-development-atlantic-yards-last-holdout-gets-monster/#commentsFiled under:

Daniel Goldstein's apartment has appreciated in value by more than just about any other in his Prospect Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood. He bought it for $590,000 in 2003. Seven years later, he'll get $3 million to move out.

Goldstein has been the most vociferous opponent to Atlantic Yards, a massive infill development project that used eminent domain to reclaim several buildings. He was the last holdout, the lone tenant in his building after every other was bought out by the developer, Forest City Ratner. Along with the $3 million, Goldstein has agreed to step down as spokesperson for his anti-Atlantic Yards organization, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, but not to leave the opposition or stop speaking out against the project, something he's been doing for years. Goldstein and his compatriots took their fight all the way to the Supreme Court, claiming that seizing private property for a private development was an abuse of eminent domain.

The court did not agree. As of March 1st, ownership of his home was transferred to the Empire State Development Corp., which told him to pack up his wife and kid and move out by May 7. Yesterday he reached a settlement with the developer, who will give him $3 million to do so; he initially was offered $510,000 by the state to leave.
Certainly, his legacy will be profoundly altered, and plenty have dismissed him as more sellout than holdout. His agreement to a variation on the gag order -- stepping down as DDDB's spokesman -- garnered him a fresh round of derision, too, but it's done nothing to quell his sharp tongue. "It wasn't enough, I guess, for Ratner to decimate my neighborhood, take my home, and kick me out," Goldstein said in a statement. "They also felt they had to cut out my tongue."
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]]>atlantic yardsbarclays centerbrooklyn new yorkbrooklyn new york developmentbrooklyn new york real estatedaniel goldsteineminent domainforest city ratnerprospect parkprospect park brooklynprospect park real estatesettlementLisa Selin Davis2010-04-22T15:30:00 00:00New York City to Take Governors Island From Statehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/new-york-city-to-take-governors-island-from-state/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/new-york-city-to-take-governors-island-from-state/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/22/new-york-city-to-take-governors-island-from-state/#commentsFiled under:

It was, perhaps, the best real estate deal in New York City history: For one lousy buck, New York State bought 172 acres of land less than 800 yards from lower Manhattan. Governors Island, the former military base and Coast Guard stomping ground, was going to be, at times, a park, an oasis of affordable housing or a theme park, and always a symbol of the New York's ability to reinvent itself.

But seven years after the sale, pretty much nothing has happened on Governors Island other than the continued decay of its historic buildings and the arrival of picnicking visitors. It has instead become a symbol of the state's dysfunction. So last week, New York City won the right to take over development of the island.
Mayor Bloomberg will appoint nine of the 13 members of the Governors Island Operating Entity, who will be taking over from the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, or GIPEC. Maybe a shorter acronym means a more efficacious group?

By almost all accounts, the switch is good news. Despite plenty of budget hardships, the city has more money to draw on than the state, and the public certainly has more faith in Mayor Bloomberg than it does in Gov. Paterson. Chances have increased that we'll gain an 87-acre park, a new high school and some architectural restoration in a more timely manner, but they're certainly not a given. The city now has to bear the brunt of the $200-million project and all the operating costs (minus the national monument, run by the National Park Service), and it has its own $5-billion budget deficit to contend with.

Yet it also has a commitment to provide green space, and the mayor's PlaNYC demands that every resident have access to a public park. And we do have a precedent for city takeovers of state parks: The city took over operation of Brooklyn Bridge Park from the state earlier this year.


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]]>Brooklyn Bridge Parkgovernor patersongovernors islandmayor bloombergnew york citynew york city parks departmentnew york stateplaNYCLisa Selin Davis2010-04-22T11:30:00 00:00I Want This House! Brooklyn Brownstone for $2.695Mhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/06/i-want-this-house-brooklyn-brownstone-for-2-695m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/06/i-want-this-house-brooklyn-brownstone-for-2-695m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/04/06/i-want-this-house-brooklyn-brownstone-for-2-695m/#commentsFiled under:

This brownstone for sale is what all the Brooklyn hubbub is about: A mint Brownstone in North Park Slope on one of the desirable "named streets" (as opposed to those with numbers, like 7th Avenue or 3rd Street). This one, fresh on the offering block, is four stories and has its "museum-quality details" intact: wooden pocket doors and marble fireplaces, mahogany built-ins shelves and woodwork. It has more than 4,000 square feet, four bedrooms, a den, and two-and-a-half bathrooms. If for some strange reason that's not enough space, there's a finished studio apartment on the garden level, for your home-office, a mother-in-law apartment or to use as rental income.
While the bulk of the house seems to obey its 19th-century roots, the kitchen has a modern upgrade without being too sleek or out-of-place -- the wood-burning fireplace isn't bad, either.

But brownstone perfection doesn't come cheap. At $2.695 million, this house is several hundred thousand dollars more than similar homes for sale in Park Slope ... but those ones, a few hundred grand cheaper, are in the "numbered" streets, that have less cache, not to mention fewer train lines servicing them. Although, if your budget allows for this house, chances are you have enough for a private driver, too.

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]]>brooklyn brownstonesbrooklyn homes for salebrooklyn real estateI want this housenew york citynew york city real estatepark slope homes for salepark slope real estateLisa Selin Davis2010-04-06T12:00:00 00:00I Want This Brooklyn Condo on Prospect Park, $1.59Mhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/i-want-this-brooklyn-condo-on-prospect-park-1-59m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/i-want-this-brooklyn-condo-on-prospect-park-1-59m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/i-want-this-brooklyn-condo-on-prospect-park-1-59m/#commentsFiled under:

Once upon a time, there was an old-fashioned soda fountain on this site, the corner of 9th Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It was surprisingly unloved, despite its sweet, stained glass and egg creams on the menu, so developers tore it down and built the biggest building they could: four stories overlooking the winding paths of the park.

There was no neighborhood hoopla over the construction, as far as I know, and I for one have always thought the building was perfectly acceptable: not really in conversation with the Italianate brownstones and limestones around it, but quietly proud, with its brick facade and window trim painted French blue. And with the open floor plans, great views and wall of windows, it seemed like a pretty darned nice place to live.

Now there's a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath unit on the market for $1.595 million, and it still seems like a pretty darned nice place to live. With it you get central air, a semi-private green roof, keyed elevator, space, light, and a bathroom with beautiful subway tile (I even like the sea foam walls, believe it or not).

While most people move to this neighborhood dreaming of 19th-century detail, I think the modern, clean lines version of Park Slope life seems great ... as does the washer dryer. You're paying a little more for modernity, though. This four-bedroom in the posh Center slope is $100,000 less. The Prospect Park West property has one leg up on it though; it's only one block from the F subway, which means an easier commute..


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]]>brooklyn homes for salebrooklyn real estatenew york real estatepark slope brooklynpark slope condopark slope homes for salepark slope real estateprospect park west real estateLisa Selin Davis2010-03-31T13:00:00 00:00Writing the Book on Keeping Househttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/writing-the-book-on-keeping-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/writing-the-book-on-keeping-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/31/writing-the-book-on-keeping-house/#commentsFiled under: ,

It's hard enough to get your hands on a piece of good real estate. How to take care of it once you've got it, well, that's another story. In fact, so many people have stories about keeping house--the good, the bad and the ugly--that writer Mindy Lewis collected them in an anthology called DIRT: The Quirks, Passions and Habits of Keeping House.

"People take pleasure and pride in creating home environments-even messy ones," says Lewis. "We express and define our idea of ourselves." The essays in this collection reveal people's [sometimes irrational] attachment to objects, their compulsive cleanliness or hoarding tendencies. "Many of us seesaw back and forth, making stabs at creating order, while resigning ourselves to some degree of chaos," she says.

In her own essay, "Abhorring a Vacuum" (excerpted on the next page), Lewis writes about how "38 years of living in my rent-stabilized apartment becomes a potential health hazard but seems perfectly natural as it accrues." There's nothing like regulated rent to lower one's level of objection to certain housekeeping situations (I'm a rent-stabilized tenant, too, and I live here with lead paint, black mold and cheap rent). "Abhorring a Vacuum"
(C) Mindy Lewis

"I hesitate to say this, darling, but your apartment is frightening." My neighbor, a retired piano teacher, speaks with motherly concern. She gestures at the piles of papers, paintings and books that dominate my living room/home office.

I know she means well, but I'm taken aback. I pride myself on my sense of order, and think of the clutter in my apartment as charmingly eccentric evidence of the three-headed hydra of my creative life: graphic designer, painter, writer. Paintings hang along every inch of the walls (the best lateral storage). Stacks of books represent a stratified archaeology of interests over the decades: psychology, Buddhism, French symbolist poets, artistic anatomy, landscape painting...all the way up to computer manuals. My stuff is who I am.

Like my neighbor, I am one of a rare breed, destined for extinction: a native New Yorker with a rent stabilized Upper West Side apartment in a classic prewar high rise. It's mine by inheritance: my stepfather grew up here with his parents, who remained here until sweet Sadie of the trembling ladle passed quietly away and dapper, dignified Sam moved to a seniors' residence, leaving the apartment to me and his hat and cane in the hall closet.

When I moved into this apartment in 1971, I had no idea I'd still be living here 38 years later. From my home base, I've watched the neighbors' kids grow up, go off to college, get married, and come back to visit with their own kids in tow. I've witnessed familiar faces exit the building a final time, wheeled out to waiting ambulettes. Having spent my entire adult life in this building, I can't help wonder if one day I will be carried out of here too-if they can find me in the midst of this clutter.

My place wasn't always such a mess. When I moved in here-my very first apartment-at age nineteen, I arrived with next to nothing, just a small trunk filled with clothes, books, and treasured possessions. Newly arrived, I registered each detail: herringbone parquet oak floors with maple trim, picture moldings, cut glass doorknobs, honeycomb-pattern hexagonal bathroom tiles edged in age-darkened grout. Wherever you looked, the place had character. It also had layers of grime. Evidently Sadie and Sam didn't see too well in their old age; the ancient stove and dishes were encrusted with remnants of Sadie's cooking (to the delight of the resident roach colony), and the colorful balloon pattern linoleum didn't hide the crumbs, spills, and decades of dirt quite enough. The place smelled musty, dusty, old.

I double-locked the door, looked around and felt the buzz of possibility. I would make this place my own, starting from scratch. I decided to get rid of the heavy, dark furniture; I'd sell what I could and give the rest away. I unfurled my Indian print paisley bedspread over the indentations in the sagging mattress left by Sam and Sadie, headed out to Broadway to buy cleaning supplies, then came home and attacked.

At first I swept and dusted daily and mopped once a week, usually on Sundays. My newfound domesticity felt poignant and piercing. "Home sings me of sweet things, my life there has its own wings," I'd sing along with Linda Ronstadt. With each swish of the mop, I'd vow to be strong, capable, independent, creative. All I needed was a true heart, elbow grease, and a do-it-yourself attitude.

My methods were primitive. I sloshed ammonia-laced water over the parquet floors, but instead of dissolving the dark, brittle layer of floor wax, it turned it a lurid green. Down on my hands and knees, I rubbed, scrubbed, and scraped the blackened wax, until I found it yielded more successfully to dry sanding. Inch by inch, I hand-sanded the floor, beginning in the corner of the bedroom, working my way towards the center. The logical solution, renting a sanding machine, was beyond my budget but also an insult to my romantic notions of self-invention. No machines for me! No fan, no air conditioning, and, most emphatically, no vacuum cleaner!

I have always hated vacuum cleaners. For one thing, there's the sound: an impersonal whining drone that drowns out comfort and pleasure, screaming: Nothing is permanent, there's nothing that can't get sucked up into my nozzle, and if you think you can escape you'd better get out of my way! If not, I'll swallow you and you'll disappear in an instant! It's the sound of arbitrary, voracious hunger. A vacuum cleaner does not discriminate. Anything that crosses its path-coins, lost earrings, buttons, fallen paper clips, small living creatures, dust balls, crumbs, outdoor dirt, indoor dust, microscopic particles-is equally stripped of value.

Supposedly a timesaving tool, a vacuum puts humans to work, lurching behind like a demented pet, blindly banging and crashing into furniture, walls, and shins, while its cord, an uncoiling snake, wraps and tangles and trips us up. When it eats something it can't digest, it chokes, screeches, whines, grinds and wheezes a protracted, staccato, hair-raising aria of machine complaint.

I grew up with the sound of the vacuum. Wielded on weekdays by Marie, our part time housekeeper, while my mother was at work, the appearance of the vacuum signaled an interval of empty time in the afternoon. For me, its roar was the sound of inescapable loneliness that in an instant cut off the sound of the human voice. I'd hum loudly while it was going and be startled at its cessation by the sudden reappearance of my voice. Marie hummed too, her voice warm and melodious and comforting; between strokes of the vacuum I'd catch strains of bluesy gospel.

On Saturdays, my mother would vacuum too, pushing the machine around with a vengeance. I knew to stay out of the way. The drone of the vacuum provided a cushion of sound that both muffled and contained a queasy, unnamable anxiety. It hinted at a larger vacuum: a malaise, a paralysis of life force, a void into which everything familiar disappeared. An absent father, a dissatisfied mother, an unknown future-everything swirled into the vacuum's relentless roar.

***

Over the years, I shared my apartment with a succession of roommates-seventeen in all-each of whom had their own cleaning (or non-cleaning) style. One roommate dubbed me Olive Oyl, for the way I stood, arms crossed, foot tapping, as I struggled to find a way to ask her to clean up that didn't seem too controlling. Who was I kidding? I couldn't go to sleep with dishes in the sink, or without straightening the things on my dresser. I didn't have to look far to see the reflection of my mother.

My longest cohabitation, in my early twenties, was my first, indelible, live-in love affair. As a gift, my boyfriend's mother gave us a compact, portable General Electric vacuum cleaner in a fashionable 'sixties palette of orange and gray. A hand-me down that had already afforded years of use, this machine was seemingly invincible (even after it stood on end for many years in my broom closet). During the years my boyfriend lived with me, I vacuumed around him as he sprawled on the floor (the parquet temporarily covered by a Rhya rug, another hand-me-down) in front of the TV. I mostly enjoyed these domestic scenes, and felt womanly and grown up (although once, as a statement, I deliberately left his socks out of the wash, which hurt his feelings).

After the relationship ended, the sight of the vacuum was painfully depressing, reminding me of the vacuum my life had become. I couldn't get a grip, couldn't calm down. But I could clean. Washing dishes, scrubbing the tub, mopping, dusting, straightening, making the bed-I couldn't undo my mistakes, but these were things I could control. I had a clean apartment, but I had no life.

Slowly, I healed. I left the GE in the broom closet, and did my best to fill the void by focusing on work, art, and the care and feeding of a series of cats who ran hissing from the sound of the vacuum. When I finally gave it away, its motor still functional and bag intact, I felt a physical sense of relief.

* * *

My life fills with work, art, friends. My apartment fills with stuff, which grows out from the walls in layers. A boyfriend wedges slats of wood atop the moldings high in the hallway, where I pile canvases and easels overhead (I imagine the headline: "Artist Crushed to Death in Hallway"). A long overdue paint job-the first in 23 years-forces me to clean up...for a while. Afterward, boxes sit around unopened, onto which are piled papers, folders, books-and more dust.

So how do I clean? I wipe away the dust I can't ignore with whatever's nearby-a Kleenex, a sock, my hand. I blow on the tops of books. I gather tumbleweeds from the floor with my fingers. I sweep on occasion with my nesting plastic broom and pan duo, and mop infrequently; there's too much stuff to mop around, and not enough time.

Dustbusters are a doable compromise. They're compact, easily portable, and don't make that hellish noise. They're small enough that I feel they're under my control, but the cordless ones aren't powerful enough; sooner or later, they bite the dust. They just can't stand up to my kind of dirt. Nor can I stand up to their demands; bending over was fine fifteen years ago, but now my lower back rebels.

I ogle state-of-the-art machines posed like sleek, alluring mermaids in hardware store windows; extravagant, sultry models in citrus green and lipstick red, with names like Carina and Botticelli-a far cry from the clunky cylindrical Hoover my grandmother dragged behind her for decades.

Then I find the one made for me, on sale at Target. My silver Super Shark is slightly bigger than a 'buster and more powerful than a cordless. Plant stems and leaves, paper clips: it all gets sucked up into the cup-shaped filter by a compact but capable motor hidden inside the handle. Beautifully designed-if not quite as "whisper silent" as the packaging promises. At first I use it often, but soon, reverting to my neglectful ways, I leave my new toy to gather dust.

Gradually, I just stop seeing. The dust has become part of the surface of things, the same way the drips on the kitchen floor blend with the speckled linoleum I installed...was it 18 years ago? Can it be that I've become like Sam and Sadie?

I know I need help, but the thought of an outsider judging my familiar squalor fills me with shame. Besides, how can anyone possibly clean here, with all this stuff? I would have to spend hours cleaning up for the cleaner, and then, what would be the point?

A friend tells me about a Hungarian couple, Attila and Rita, who work as a team and use only green cleansers. There's something about their names...they sound just exotic enough, strong enough, old world enough to do this job. It would take a warrior, or a couple-Attila and his Hon-to clean this apartment.

On the appointed morning, Attila and Rita arrive at my door. They are younger than I expected, a pleasant, fresh-faced couple. Attila does most of the talking; diminutive, inscrutable Rita breaks in occasionally to address him in Hungarian.

I tell them I'd like them to clean and mop all the floors, and dust wherever it's dusty.

"Oh yes," I add, "and could you please vacuum the rug?" I've had the kilim for three years and have dust-busted it only twice.

"We have only two hours, and we can't do everything," says Attila. Rita's face is expressionless-or is that a frown? I'm afraid they'll think this is too hard a job, and decide not to do it. I escort them to the place in my bedroom where my Shark sits neglected on the floor.

"I know this machine. I can work with it," Attila answers, and I relax.

But the clock's ticking. Rita's already working on the bookshelves, lifting and replacing each framed photograph to dust beneath it. My presence no longer needed, I head off to the gym.

Two hours later, I'm excited to get home and experience my "new" apartment.

As I enter, the place smells slightly of citrus. The floors appear less scuffed, without that familiar dull film. All the exposed surfaces have been dusted: bookshelves, tabletops, file cabinets. Everywhere I look, I sense Rita's hands have been there, while Attila has run the mop over every inch of exposed floor. And I know the vacuum has been at work: the kilim looks renewed, its earthy reds and greens just a shade brighter. The place is gleaming. I don't know how they did it, and in only two hours.

Meanwhile, if they can do it, why can't I? I pluck one of the remaining hypoallergenic wipes from the packet on the kitchen table and run it along at random, looking for places they missed: corner shelves, windowsills, blinds. Satisfaction! With each stroke I rediscover not only the pleasure of cleaning, but also the energy and spirit of my younger self, long-buried under the dust.

Attila and Rita have left little trace of the dirt they've gathered. The sponges are all rinsed clean. The mop sits in the bucket, just outside the bathroom. The Shark is enthroned on a chair in my bedroom, hose dangling, its cord wrapped neatly around its little silver body, looking sleek and shiny.

Seized by a sudden urge to call my mother, I pick up the phone-it too is free of dust. Before I dial, I look around once more. There are still papers to sort, things to throw away. But for now the dust is under control.

###

 

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]]>Lisa Selin Davis2010-03-31T10:00:00 00:00NYU Gobbles Greenwich Villagehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/25/nyu-gobbles-greenwich-village/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/25/nyu-gobbles-greenwich-village/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/25/nyu-gobbles-greenwich-village/#commentsFiled under: ,

It's hard to wander through Greenwich Village without feeling New York University's presence. Towering over the South Side of Washington Square Park, for instance, is Furman Law School, an enormous building on the site of what was, until 2000, Edgar Allen Poe's modest home; they quashed it to erect their new creation, preserving only the facade. They own most of the townhouse real estate on the north side of the park, too, and have systematically been buying up land and buildings throughout the neighborhood for years.

But piecemeal projects are nothing compared to NYU's grand expansion plans. Although the official language of NYU2031 states that the goal is to "maximize existing assets already owned," WNYC reports that their 20-year vision includes "a new tower at Bleecker Street next to the Silver Towers as well as buildings on Governors Island and in Brooklyn." In all, they'll be adding six million square feet to the campus, mostly to complete the transformation from commuter to residential college. But surely some of it stems from a long competitiveness with Columbia, which has similar plans -- no matter how contested -- to widen its stamp on Upper Manhattan's Morningside Heights.
The official announcement of the 2031 plan comes April 8, but you can already preview their proposal, which will be subject to a public review process. For Greenwich Village real estate owners, the expansion would mark the final ejection of any remnants from the Village's beatnik days, and continue the transformation of the neighborhood into half-dormitory, half-tourist trap. These days, the far West Village seems like a more desirable residence for folks over 21. The median sales price for that neighborhood, per Trulia, is $1.9 million. In Greenwich Village, it's $1.25 million. Guess that's good news for NYU's real estate acquisition team.

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]]>Columbia expansion eminent domainedgar allen poe house demolitionGreenwich villagegreenwich village new yorkgreenwich village real estatemorningside heightsmorningside heights real estatenew york city real estateNew York university school of lawNYUNYU expansion plansuniversity expansionLisa Selin Davis2010-03-25T13:30:00 00:00Brooklyn Bridge Park Opens, Locals Gain Green Spacehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/brooklyn-bridge-park-opens-locals-gain-green-space/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/brooklyn-bridge-park-opens-locals-gain-green-space/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/brooklyn-bridge-park-opens-locals-gain-green-space/#commentsFiled under:

It would be reductive to say that it took 20 years for Brooklyn Bridge Park to open. It truly is a feat to create a brand new, and quite grand, city park when the Governor of New York State has been closing parks everywhere else. To do it in a recession, when housing prices are still falling and lots of New Yorkers are out of work, is even more of a feat.

True, only 9.5 acres of the total 85 opened this week. But it's 9.5 acres in a part of town -- Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill -- that has a dearth of parkland and public recreation space to offer. Curbed points out that in addition to fields, playgrounds and waterfront walkways -- watch out, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, you have competition -- Pier 1 has a "stairway to nowhere," a granite sculpture of steps that will be a favorite of wedding parties and tourists posing for pictures.
From a real estate perspective, the park is nothing but good news. Although there's no way to know exactly the impact of green space on real estate values, this study estimates that proximity and access to parks increases property values by as much as 20 percent. And developers have long believed that golf course communities were attractive not because residents loved their five irons, but because the fairway is a promise of permanent green space.

This park, in fact, has been more closely tied to real estate than most public park projects. The luxury condominium project One Brooklyn Bridge Park -- located within the park's borders -- is contributing $3 million annually to the park for maintenance and operations. But plenty of folks have objected to the idea of placing private housing inside a public park, claiming it would make visitors feel they were breaking into someone's personal yard. And the condo's contributions don't mean the park's finances area all set. The park's conservancy has $231 million of the $350 million in place, and no amount of penthouses will fill that gap.

Meanwhile, Dumbo is already the priciest neighborhood in Brooklyn (or at least it was in 2008), the neighborhood that transformed the fastest and most dramatically in large part due to a massive overhaul by the developers Two Trees. Love 'em or hate 'em, they put the neighborhood between the bridges on the map. (Ironically, they're about to build a huge project that will block views of the Brooklyn Bridge). So the park is good news for them, as well as residents who bought in their condo buildings.

And it looks like now that the ball is rolling, it won't take decades more to get the park finished. Pier 6 is set to open later in the spring, which will include a monster playground, a concession stand with an outdoor roof deck and volleyball courts. And while Pier 1 is open, it's not quite done. Come summer, a salt marsh with native plants and a granite seating area (hm, is that comfy?) will open, too.


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]]>brooklynbrooklyn bridge parkBrooklyn Bridge Park Conservancybrooklyn heightsbrooklyn heights promenadebrooklyn real estatecity parkscobble hilldumbo brooklyngreenspacenew yorknew york citynew york city parksone brooklyn bridge parkpark openingspier oneLisa Selin Davis2010-03-24T14:30:00 00:00I Want This 4-Bedroom Brooklyn House for $1.8Mhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/i-want-this-4-bedroom-brooklyn-house-for-1-8m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/i-want-this-4-bedroom-brooklyn-house-for-1-8m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/24/i-want-this-4-bedroom-brooklyn-house-for-1-8m/#commentsFiled under:

House for sale in Brooklyn, NYIt's a challenge to get your hands on a four-bedroom house in the historic and very, very popular Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. It's pretty much impossible to get one with a driveway, which is one of the things that makes this house such a rarity.

It's semi-attached -- another wonder in brownstone-land -- with four bedrooms and four baths, a total of 1,648 square feet. Yeah, it's not a grand brownstone, some of which can total as much as 5,000 square feet, and it definitely needs some love on the inside: the kitchen and bathroom have some standard, underwhelming Home-Depot-type fixtures, pressboard cabinets and high-1980s tile.
What it's got going for it is location -- on what's called a park block (meaning one block from the park between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West, which runs along the park) -- and that darned driveway. It can cost up to $300 for a spot in a garage, so figure a $3,600 per year savings right there.

Then there's the school district, beloved P.S. 107, home of the Readings on the Fourth Floor series, where every famous living Brooklyn writer has orated to raise funds for the school. Guess that means that it's not so well-funded despite being a serious draw to the area. Good news is that with this house you'll have enough space to invite neighborhood kids, and their cultured parents, over to play.

But the price, at $1.8 million, strikes me as very optimistic, stuck in the past around 2007 or so. This three-bed, three bath immaculate home two blocks away is on the market for the same amount, and this one is light, open, and totally renovated...but no driveway, it's true.

 

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]]>brooklynpark slopesemi-attached housingtownhouseLisa Selin Davis2010-03-24T12:00:00 00:00Development Delayed Indefinitely on Brooklyn's Toxic Canalhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/12/development-delayed-indefinitely-on-brooklyns-toxic-canal/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/12/development-delayed-indefinitely-on-brooklyns-toxic-canal/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/03/12/development-delayed-indefinitely-on-brooklyns-toxic-canal/#commentsFiled under:

When Toll Brothers, the developer most famous for its suburban McMansion subdivisions, first eyed New York City in 2004, many here saw it as the beginning of an ironic twist to the story of real estate. Its City Living division raised luxury towers in neighborhoods that had been denizens of drug users or had been homey family neighborhoods -- I'm talking East Village and Williamsburg, respectively -- just a decade before.

But that was nothing compared to the irony of creating a vast luxury complex on one of the most contested sites in all of Brooklyn: the Gowanus Canal. It was rumored to be one of the most toxic bodies of water in America, filled with residual gunk from the neighborhood's manufacturing past, along with dead bodies deposited there by the mob. The project would have erected 460 units of housing, 140 of them affordable, in buildings four- to 12-stories high right along the waterfront.Well, the rumors are true...about the toxic part, if not the Mafia. Last week, the EPA declared the canal a Superfund site -- meaning they allocate moneys (hence the "fund" in Superfund) to clean it and consider it an official environmental hazard. And, after spending well over $300,000 on lobbying efforts, wrangling to change the zoning from manufacturing to mixed use and spending countless hours trying to convince Brooklynites that the project was a good fit, Toll Brothers has finally pulled out. They are disappointed not just for themselves, they say, but for the area as a whole. "It's unlikely you are going to see development there for many, many, many, many years," said Toll Brothers VP David Von Spreckelsen.

For folks who wanted the Superfund designation, this is a good thing: they don't want babies being raised next to one of this great Northeastern environmental hazard. But those who supported Toll Brothers had another argument: since the area is relatively underpopulated compared to its neighbors, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, it didn't have enough constituents to demand clean-up. Put the people there, they reasoned, and the people will insist on safety, especially if they're paying for a luxury townhouse with a garage and a gym.

Clearly, it's going to be a much longer road to development now, Von Spreckelsen is right about that. But, according to The New York Times, it's worth the wait. Apparently after Superfund sites are cleaned up, property values tend to rise.

 

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]]>Affordable housingbrooklyn developmentbrooklyn new yorkbrooklyn new york developmentbrooklyn new york real estatebrooklyn real estatecarroll gardens real estateepaGowanus Canalgowanus canal developmentpark slope real estatesuperfundtoll brothers brooklynLisa Selin Davis2010-03-12T12:15:00 00:00