New York City Luxury Rental Blog Archives for April 2012

Roosevelt Island Transformed by New Apartment Buildings and Stores

Luxury rental apartments in Roosevelt Island are on the riseIt's no secret that Roosevelt Island has always been Manhattan's stepchild. The 2-mile long island sits right across from the Upper East Side in the East River, but no one has ever confused the two. The Brutalist-style apartment complexes and limited retail and dining options couldn’t stand in starker contrast to the Upper East Side’s glamorous pre-war apartment buildings and high culture. But changes are happening as we speak. A joint venture between Related Companies and Hudson Companies is building a totally new neighborhood on Roosevelt Island called Riverwalk. Plus, Hudson Cos. recently took over the 100,000 square foot retail corridor from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, a state agency that developed and manages the Island, and New York City’s best known chain stores are already moving in. What this means for Manhattan apartment renters is simple: luxury apartments on Roosevelt Island are a steal right now.

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Rent Control versus Rent Stabilization

rent regulation rent control rent stabilization in new york cityWhile the case between the Upper West Side landlord and his rent stabilized tenants sits in front of the Supreme Court pending further action, the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog thought this would be a great opportunity to review the difference between the real estate mysteries that are rent control and rent stabilization. Rent control and rent stabilization, both of which fall under the category of rent regulation, refer to laws or ordinances that set price control on the renting of residential building. Historically, New York State has one of the longest history of rent regulation in the country and subsequently the vast majority of rent regulated units are located in New York City as well.

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Transforming the Former AIG Skyscraper into NY's Tallest Residential Building

In recent years, converting office towers into luxury apartment buildings has been a popular way of freeing up rental inventory in Manhattan’s Financial District, especially since new construction has been so hard to finance. Metro Loft Management has led the way in this respect, and they've built their reputation on transforming business offices into high quality luxury rentals; they presently own nine converted buildings in FiDi. The 66-story high-rise at 70 Pine Street is their latest addition, and once it is finished it will be the tallest residential building in New York and the Western hemisphere.

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Manhattan Rents Broke Records in March

The rental apartment in Manhattan reached new heights in MarchTwo new market reports released this week confirmed what we already knew but added a few twists to the story. According to both reports, rents in Manhattan for luxury rental apartments continued their upward year-to-year trajectory in March. These median and average rent increases were elevated by a dearth of landlord concessions, something that we at Luxury Rentals Manhattan wrote about previously. The real shocker was that one report found that the average rent in for rental apartments in Manhattan in March, not including concessions, reached $3,418 a month, breaking the previous all-time high set in May 2007. The picture isn’t quite as one-sided as it appears though. Hidden beneath all these highs, there are some signs that the scales may finally be tipping back in favor of renters.

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The Boom Before the Boom: Hudson Yards' Hidden Success

Hudson Yard's residential building boom has gone largely unnoticedEveryone knows that big changes are on the way for Hudson Yards. The old manufacturing area will be transformed in the next decade or two into an entirely new neighborhood, one replete with luxury apartment buildings, an ultra-modern office complex of angular high-rises, a new park, a new museum, a subway line, and even a new boulevard that will bisect the area. But if you were to look at the Hudson Yards site right now, it still looks much like it did ten or twenty years ago. Appearances can be deceiving though, because new development for luxury rental apartment buildings has thrived in the area over the past half-dozen years, and many newly constructed luxury rentals are already available. Considering that the Hudson Yards area has succeed in sustaining new construction at a time when such success is rare, this area is well-positioned to emerge as Manhattan’s next hot rental neighborhood.

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Spring Is Officially Here As Manhattan Rentals Hold Steady

Spring came early for luxury rentals in Manhattan in 2012When is a plateau not a plateau? Well, when a market dips at the same time every year for years on end, and then all of sudden it doesn’t, that even keel isn’t mundane at all. Quite the opposite: the absence of winter’s usual decline in rental market activity for luxury rentals in Manhattan couldn’t be more noteworthy. A recent market report showed that rents for Manhattan apartments have been essentially unchanged since October, which means that the usual winter season never materialized. We skipped right over it. Looking back to this time last year, rents are up across the board, especially for two-bedrooms, which is the most distinctive shift. Whereas rent increases in studios apartments in Manhattan led the way in March 2010 and 2011, large apartments are now taking the lead.

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254 Front Street Finally Crosses the Finish Line

254 Front Street is directly adjacent to the Brooklyn BridgeThe saga of 254 Front Street may finally reach a happy ending. After a developer purchased the property in 2004 for a mere $4 million, numerous setbacks and ownership disputes threatened the project’s completion. This may have been in part because the value of 254 Front Street was lessened by its direct proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge; traditional wisdom held that it’s difficult to ‘sell’ the bridge, which is why the old Jeremy’s Ale House Building was so cheap. In the eight years that have elapsed since then, this 40-unit, 8-story building switched from a condo-conversion to a luxury rental, and now this pre-war rental conversion is finally about to complete construction and hit the market.

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