New York City Luxury Rental Blog Archives for March 2011

Middle of Manhattan, Top of the World: New Luxury Rental MiMA Looking Like A Blockbuster

Manhattan real estate is the land of acronyms and abbreviations, and from Soho apartment listings to FiDi rentals to apartments on the LES, it's one that New Yorkers speak every day without even noticing it. So, in a certain sense, MiMA -- a hybrid new luxury rental and condominium building from The Related Companies whose name is short for Middle of Manhattan -- fits right in. In just about every other way, though, MiMA stands out -- for its location on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue, at the heart of booming Clinton; for its stellar suite of amenities; for its luxurious (and not-at-all cheap) apartments for rent. MiMA is as ambitious and extravagantly amenitized a new construction luxury rental development as Manhattan has seen since... well, since Midtown West neighbor The Ashley, probably. But MiMA is also further proof that Manhattan's high-end rental market is returning to robust health -- Manhattan rental listings don't come much more luxurious than this.

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The Hold Steady: Manhattan Rents Way Up Over Last Year, Barely Up Over Last Month

That the Manhattan real estate market is in a better place now than it was 12 months ago is looking more and more like an objective fact. But while each month seems to bring more news that the marketplace for Manhattan rental apartments is back on its feet, there's an odd, uneasy addendum to what looks like good news. Well, two -- one is that what's good for the Manhattan rental marketplace is usually good for landlords, not those searching rental listings. But the more novel issue this time around is that, while the Manhattan rental market seems to be tilting in landlords' directions and the old renter's market appears to be on its way out, numbers suggest that things should really be a lot worse for Manhattan renters. While the number of no-fee rental listings in Manhattan has shrunk, there are still plenty out there. While landlord concessions have diminished, they're still out there to find. And while increased demand should have led to a serious spike in Manhattan rents, it hasn't... yet. A pair of recent studies show that rents are up a robust 8 percent over 2010 figures, but rents are still essentially flat month-to-month, just as they were last month. For now, at least. So you see the "uneasy" part, presumably.

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All-Whirled: Architecture Critics Flip For Gehry's New Financial District Rental at 8 Spruce Street

Gehry Financial District Rental Luxury Rentals ManhattanWe've never been afraid to say it here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog: Frank Gehry’s new Financial District rental at 8 Spruce Street is jaw-dropping. The Spruce Street project -- formerly known as Beekman Tower and still kind-of-known as 8 Spruce Street -- is called New York by Frank Gehry. Not only is the new Gehry rental the the tallest luxury residential building in New York City, it is also one of the most-celebrated new construction apartment buildings the city has seen in years.   If you move around the tower the shape changes constantly. Why? Well, because of its rumpled stainless skin, its curved windows and, perhaps, the vertiginous 76-story height that makes it look something like the Transformers’ headquarters. In short, 8 Spruce Street sits on the northern edge of the Financial District; west of Cass Gilbert’s 1913 Woolworth Building, east of McKim, Mead & White’s 1912 Municipal building, and at the top of any list of new Manhattan rental listings worth celebrating.

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Park Avenue Apartments For Everyone: New York Times Charts The Rise of Park Avenue South

A Park Avenue apartment is a Park Avenue apartment, but when people brag, dote and obsess on the idea of a Park Avenue rental apartment, they're generally not talking about the comparatively modest stretch of Park Avenue south of Grand Central Station. Long considered a poor relative of the “real” Park Avenue of the Upper East Side, Park Avenue South has lately stepped out as an address worth attention in its own right -- both because apartments for rent on Park Avenue South offer solid value per square foot, and has lately come into its own as a place to live and socialize. Convenient, walkable and steadily breaking its associations with unromantic Midtown East, the rental listings of Park Avenue South are finally getting their due.

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A Blockbuster On The Border: The Continental Is One Of Manhattan's Hottest New Rental Listings... But Where Is It?

We know what The Continental is -- it's a new luxury rental at 32nd Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and it has been one of the most popular luxury rental listings on Luxury Rentals Manhattan since it began leasing in mid-January. What's harder to pin down about The Continental is what neighborhood it's in. By our guidelines at Luxury Rentals Manhattan, the new luxury rental at 32nd Street and Sixth Avenue is filed under Chelsea rental listings, and that categorization passes the initial shrug-test. But The Continental is a shorter walk from the Empire State Building than it is from The High Line, and nearer to Madison Square Garden than Chelsea Market, which could see it filed under Garment District rentals or Clinton rental listings. In this sense, The Continental has something in common with Emerald Green, a blocbuster rental listing on 38th Street that appears to exist in several neighborhoods at once. One thing that is not subject to debate about The Continental, though -- and another thing that it has in common with Emerald Green -- is that it belongs on any list of Manhattan’s most intriguing new luxury rental listings. Wherever it is, The Continental is a hit.

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