The rollout of new developments of late has been targeted exclusively at the high end of the market.
My complaint over and again has been the lack of “bread and butter” apartments.
This has resulted in a nice bump in pricing for resale condominiums, riding the coattails of new development asking much higher prices.
A new coop on Madison & 61st
This month I was lucky enough to look at two new properties, The Carlton House and The Printing House.
Two Houses, much like the Montagues and Capulets, could not be much more different. With the former, I was sworn to secrecy
on availability and pricing.
With the other, marketing and sales have been as extroverted as can be.
The Carlton House will be marketed as a new cooperative, due to a long-term land lease, the kinks of which are being worked out.
That said, it benefits from the most prime location on the Upper East Side, 61st and Madison Avenue.
Finishes are meant to reflect Art Deco inspirations, and given that this is a refurbished property from that provenance, they are going for the “New Prewar” concept, and have embraced it completely.
Custom back-painted glass in the baths, which apparently was a bear to install, different kitchen/flooring packages of darker and lighter oak flooring, interesting and high-quality fixture choices, all presented by Extell, gives makes this among the highest end presentations that Extell has, along with their One 57 project.
What sets this apart, is that once at the 9th and 10th floors, city and park views begin, giving this a terrific boutique, connected-to-the-earth quality.
This is much more pre-war living than tower living, and the buyers who appreciate that will forgive Extell for asking outrageous prices.
Benefits will be condo rules, but some savings due to cooperative ownership, on the purchase side.
It is worth a visit for investor and primary user alike, for its incredible location and attention to detail.
That, and two $65mm apartments, a stunning townhouse and $65mm penthouse of some 10,000 square feet.
Lofts Creatively Redesigned
The Printing House, on the other hand, is a downtown condominium.
The marketing materials and energy reminded me of 2007’s Beaver House, with yellow everywhere. All that was missing was go-go dancers (a feature of a party Andre Balazs promoted for the William Beaver House).
I’ll go as far as saying it felt a bit decadent, using multiple decorators to create a designer showcase of sorts, the presentation read as a flamboyant, over-the-top demonstration of how hot the market it, helping buyers see all that these spaces can be with an unlimited design budget.
I had visited this building many times in the early 00’s, as this was a previous condominium conversion with an entire series of apartments still held as rentals.
Most are multi-leveled, taking advantage of the incredible lofty ceilings.
However, a taller buyer will occasionally need to duck to walk into closets or into certain apartment areas.
How will these fare?
I would have thought that reception would be more tepid than ground-up projects like 150 Charles, but in their early days of marketing they are nearly sold out of current inventory.
I am thrilled for the developer.
Just like most of life, timing is everything.
Next month I’ll touch on a few more that I’ll be seeing, such as 160 East 22nd Street, the revived 22 Renwick, and more.
Stay tuned!