Exciting Development Happening….In Staten Island!

Staten Island is the latest borough to see a surge in waterfront redevelopment.  Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens have all seen their fair share of projects ranging from Extell’s various projects on the Upper West Side to TF Cornerstone in Long Island City.  Waterfront property throughout New York City has seen a brilliant resurgence over the last two decades.  Like all redevelopment, things have not been equally distributed. Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan have taken the largest share of the pot, but  It appears that the tables are turning, or at least they are trying to.

Staten Island has long been known as the least desirable borough, even when compared to New Jersey.  For those of you who do not remember, Mayor Bloomberg advocated for these redevelopment plans a few years back.  Now they are starting to really take shape.  A 630-foot ferris wheel, 190-room hotel, and massive outlet mall are all expected to open in 2016.  Take a look at Empire Outlet’s “Future of Staten Island Video” for a better look at what is currently in the works just a ferry ride away from Manhattan.

Brooklyn Set To Welcome Its First Sephora

Downtown Brooklyn is seeing a steady stream of name brand retailers infiltrate the very granola neighborhood.  Sephora set their eyes on the area a few months ago when the cosmetic chain announce they will be setting up their first Brooklyn shop some time this year.  That day has finally come.  The store announced it will be handing out a handful of goodies to the first 100+ customers who make it to the opening this Friday.  

 

This store, along with Whole Foods, JCrew, Urban Outfitters, (and even Mamouns) now see Manhattan’s ugly stepsister as a lucrative investment/growth opportunity.  It appears that soon, there will absolutely no reason for Brooklynites to commute to Manhattan for the modern luxuries they have become so accustomed to.

 

Check out the complete details via Racked.com

New 1,300 Foot Skyscraper Coming To 57th Street

The development in New York is starting to get out of hand (in a good way!).  Yesterday, JDS Development’s proposal passed a final hurdle for city approval.  The New York City Landmarks Commission approved the 1,350 ft. building yesterday.  The super-tall super-skinny structure will be on the same block as Gary Barnett’s billionaire tower, 157 West 57th Street.  Here are some pictures taken from the Curbed article.

 

On a side note…I truly am beginning to think we are entering a golden age of development here.  Between the World Trade Center, The Ghery Building, 432 Park Avenue, One57, and now this project, this list of 1,000+ Ft. tall buildings in New York City is really going to be reshaping our skyline, into a skyline of the future.  Soon, the most famous skyline in the world, will be transformed into a sci-fi version of reality.  Hopefully this development is sustainable rather than a bubble ready to pop.

 

TF Cornerstone’s Pepsi Project

TF Cornerstone’s latest  project is progressing nicely along the East River.  The 41-story building is part of a larger 2,000+ unit project featuring both sales and rentals.  The latest rendering you see below will have 820 studio, through three-bedroom apartments  “Studios start at $2,125/month, one-bedrooms at $2,645/month, two-bedrooms at $3,875/month, and three-bedrooms at$5,390/month” (Curbed)

Gantry Plaza State Park houses the iconic Pepsi sign you see in the rendering.  The recently expanded park was once a Pepsi factory.  I highly suggest heading out to the park for amazing views of the city, or to check out the sign itself.  The picture you see below was taken from TF Cornerstone’s website.  With views like that, it is easy to see how the project is commanding those prices.

Take a look at the rooftop amenity spaces in the rendering below.