New Development
Manhattan’S NEW condos by ASKING price per square foot Address
Developer
Broker
No. of units
Average price psf
432 Park Avenue
CIM Group/Macklowe Properties
In-house
126
$6,894
157 West 57th Street, One57
Extell Development
In-house
94
$6,888
22 Central Park South
Elad Group
Brown Harris Stevens
7
$5,607
One Madison Park
Related Companies/HFZ Capital
In-house
53
$5,061
21 East 61st Street, Carlton House
Extell Development/Angelo, Gordon & Co.
In-house
68
$4,821
66 East 11th Street, Delos Living
Delos
Dolly Lenz Real Estate
5
$4,764
33 East 74th Street
Daniel E. Straus
Douglas Elliman Development Marketing
10
$4,582
11 East 68th Street, the Marquand
HFZ Capital
Douglas Elliman
40
$4,355
20 West 53rd Street, Baccarat
Tribeca Associates/Starwood Capital Group
Corcoran Sunshine
59
$4,112
33 West 56th Street, Centurion
Antonio Development/Stillman Development
New York Residence
47
$4,003
293 Lafayette Street, Puck Building penthouses
Kushner Companies
Douglas Elliman
6
$3,970
21 West 20th Street
Gale International Development
Halstead Property Development Marketing
14
$3,853 $3,749
150 Charles Street
The Witkoff Group
Douglas Elliman
91
12 East 13th Street
DHA Capital/Continental Properties
Cantor & Pecorella
8
$3,726
737 Park Avenue
Macklowe Properties
In-house
108
$3,719
56 Leonard Street
Alexico Group/Hines
Corcoran Sunshine
145
$3,302
400 Fifth Avenue
Bizzi & Partners LLC
Douglas Elliman Developments
190
$3,270
11 North Moore Street
VE Equities/Adjmi & Andreoli
Douglas Elliman
18
$3,188
180 Sixth Avenue, One Vandam
Quinlan/Tavros
Stribling Marketing Associates
25
$3,119
155 West 11th Street, Greenwich Lane
Rudin family/Global Holdings
Corcoran Sunshine
200
$3,098
60 East 86th Street
Principals at Glenwood Management
Corcoran Sunshine
15
$3,035
10 Madison Square West
WG 1107 LLC/ Vector Group Ltd.
Douglas Elliman
125
$3,033
71 Laight Street, Sterling Mason
Taconic Investment Partners
Douglas Elliman
33
$2,838
50 UN Plaza
Zeckendorf Development/Global Holdings Inc.
In-house
88
$2,785
505 West 19th Street
HFZ Capital
Corcoran Sunshine
35
$2,645
500 West 21st Street
Sherwood Equities
Corcoran Sunshine
32
$2,607
36 Bleecker Street, the Schumacher
Stillman Development International
Douglas Elliman
20
$2,586
1355 First Avenue, the Charles
Bluerock Real Estate/Victor Homes
Town New Development
27
$2,541
35 West 15th Street
Alchemy Properties
In-house
57
$2,531
245 West 14th Street, Village Green West
Alfa Development
Corcoran Group Marketing
27
$2,449
508 West 24th Street
Tamarkin Co.
Stribling Marketing Associates
15
$2,386 $2,349
50 Riverside Boulevard, One Riverside Park
Extell Development
Corcoran Sunshine
219
455 West 20th Street
Brodsky Organization
Corcoran Sunshine
8
$2,313
404 Park Avenue South
Kroonenberg Groep
Corcoran Sunshine
56
$2,093
160 East 22nd Street
Toll Brothers City Living
In-house
82
$2,067
5 Franklin Place
Elad Group
Cantor & Pecorella
53
$2,058
421 Hudson Street, Printing House
Mountbatten Equities
Corcoran Group
183
$2,023
22 Renwick Street
22 Renwick Associates
Brown Harris Stevens SELECT
18
$1,841
182 West 82nd Street
Naftali Group
Stribling Marketing Associates
11
$1,803
71 Reade Street
CBSK Ironstate
Douglas Elliman
17
$1,800
305 East 51st Street, Halcyon
HFZ Capital
Corcoran Sunshine
123
$1,735
101 Leonard Street, the Leonard
Bizzi & Partners LLC
Douglas Elliman
18
$1,699
151 West 21st Street, Chelsea Green
Alfa Development
Corcoran Group Marketing
51
$1,682
540 West 49th Street
Fortis Property Group
Halstead Property Development Marketing
114
$1,472
234 East 70th Street
234 East 70th Street Realty LLC
Corcoran Group
8
$1,428
One Morningside Park
110 Manhattan Equities LLC
Brown Harris Stevens SELECT
69
$1,370
264 Water Street
264 H2O BORROWER LLC
Marketing Directors
26
$1,081
Source: Data from CityRealty, StreetEasy, BuzzBuzzHome and TRD research. Includes projects that have come on the market in the last year in Manhattan and prime Brooklyn or recently launched projects with units remaining.
Michael Stern, CEO of JDS, told TRD in October that the project made financial sense because he already owned one of the parcels of his site, which he bought on a “disciplined” basis before land prices escalated. However, JDS and PMG did invest $177.8 million to acquire an adjacent building formerly owned by piano maker Steinway and its accompanying land lease, as well as $40 million for another nearby site. Sources said that kind of pricey buy-in means the developers must get top dollar in the 100-unit tower. Other projects slated for the corridor are another Extell building with 233 condos at 225 West 57th Street and a 65-story tower with rental and condo units by development company the World Wide Group at 252 East 57th Street. While the Extell and PMG/JDS projects are expected to target the top of the luxury market, the World Wide building may be more mid-range luxury, sources said. Saft said he’s confident that the 57th Street projects will be absorbed despite their price tags, even if sales take longer than they would in other neighborhoods. “I think we’re still very early in the cycle,” he said. “I say that 40 February 2014 www.TheRealDeal.com
because of the number of contracts that are still being executed, and the speed at which they’re being executed.” Some of the developers building mega-towers along the 57th Street corridor could also bifurcate the retail from the property and sell it off to make the numbers work. That’s not generally as viable an option for developers of smaller buildings on side streets, where retail is less valuable.
Unit shrinkage The shrinking availability of Manhattan land and increasing luxury prices are leading some developers to build smaller projects with larger units. All three new developments currently represented by Town are boutique condos with full-floor units, Heiberger said. Among them is the Charles, at 1355 First Avenue, where 27 full-floor residences are asking an average of $2,541 per square foot, according to StreetEasy. The website still has 13 active sales listings at the property. Alper said Witkoff has shied away from building giant towers and instead focused on acquiring property with some
kind of finite value proposition, like a view of a park or the river. Such a site is so desirable, he said, it’s partially isolated from market factors like inventory levels and interest rates. “Other than one project where we have 125 units, it’s been 50 or 60 units,” he said. “What our strategy has been over the last four months is buying irreplaceable sites. We’re not assembling sites on side streets or even on avenue sites.” Saft said the boutique condo play allows developers to justify paying higher land prices and to aim for higher-persquare-foot prices, because they can skip years of planning and turn the project around faster, thereby hedging against a declining market a few years out. “If you look around town, there are no buildings with 200 or 300 apartments,” he said. A quick turnaround ensures that the developer gets to market while the going is still good and interest rates remain low. “The whole history of New York has been boom-and-bust and boom-and-bust,” Saft said. “The guys who get in there first, and build and sell, are the ones that make the money. The ones that come in at the tail end of the cycle lose.” TRD