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.

The Next Brooklyn?

The largest population shift since the rise of suburbia has begun!  Americans, young (especially young…) and old alike are moving back into cities at higher rates.  Whether it’s New York, Los Angeles, or even Kansas City, the city is the place to be.  The repopulation of America’s urban core has led to massive gentrification on a scale never seen before.

Brooklyn Baby!  This borough is the poster child for urban redevelopment.  The rise of neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Bushwick, DUMBO, and so many more, have quickly transformed desolate and often abandoned city blocks into reinvented breeding grounds for the creative class.  While Brooklyn was the first, it certainly will not be the last urban neighborhood to rise from the ashes.

The Real Deal published a great article looking into this phenomenon and asks what’s next.  Whether it’s “Brooklyn by the Bay,” Center City, Philadelphia, or a growing list of other cities, this article helps explain the real estate shifts occuring in this country, and gives great insight in to what is to come.  Take a look at the full article here.

PHOTO: Supertall & Super-Luxurious – 57th Street’s Development Boom

One57’s Park Hyatt Opening August 28th

Gary Barnett’s super tall and super expensive (super everything for that matter) mixed use tower on 57th Street is home to multi-million dollar condos as well as the Park Hyatt Hotel.  According to Curbed, the hotel is slated for an August 28th opening with rooms STARTING at $855/night.  If this tower can successfully pull everything off, it will truly be an enclave for the one percent.   

 

Million Dollar Marble For Billionaire Developer Gary Barnett

Take a quick look inside the Italian quarry where One57’s marble originated from. Super high standards for New York’s newest super-tall skyscraper.

What New York May Look Like In 2033

These are all planned developments that have either started construction, or are well into the stages of development/planning.  Very cool things headed to this city – Penn Station may be a little bit of a stretch among others, but the general idea is heading in the right direction.

Five Pointz To Be Demolished

(Taken from Gothamist) ONe of Queen’s most famous and photographed areas is set to be demolished into luxury housing.

The development will:

The creation of 1,000 union jobs (200 of them permanent) in connection with the razing and rebuilding of the 5Pointz site.

The increase of “art space” within the buildings from 2,000 to 12,000 square feet.

An inclusion of 10,000 square feet of external panels around the complex that will be devoted to aerosol art. Johnathan Cohen, the curator and founder of 5Pointz sometimes referred to as Meres One, has allegedly been invited to both paint and curate the panels.

32,000 square feet of public space that will include a park.

-For more on the developing situation, click the photo above.

New York Times: The History of the High-Rise

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/high-rise/?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OT_ASH_20131008

This Times Op-Doc section has created an amazing (and visually stunning) rundown on the history of the skyscraper. The series looks more so how construction has changed from a social and cultural standpoint rather than an architectural one. This prove to be particarlly effective in showing the changes taking place in the out of control New York real estate market. In an age when a condo is going to set you back hundreds of thousands of dollars, there has to be a humane answer facing the quickly vanishing urban middle class.

GENTRIFICATION: Harlem Welcomes Three Story Red Lobster

 

Red Lobster is planning another New York City location in Harlem, next door to the historic Apollo Theater.  The chain already has restaurants in highly trafficked areas such as Times Square and Atlantic Terminal.  Signage is already up along the quickly gentrification 125th Street corridor.   Plans call for a THREE story restaurant set to open November 11th of this year.   Red Lobster is just one of many large retailers taking over the formerly downtrodden neighborhood.  

Revamping the 125th Street corridor has been a leading force in the drastic changes seen in Harlem.  For the first time in almost a century, the neighborhood is no longer primarily black.  The New York Times reported the decline of black culture in the neighborhood as a steady stream of young professional move in.  Rents have risen seen more than a 10% increase in housing prices over the past year alone (MNS).   As other neighborhoods continue their upward climb, Harlem is becoming more attractive.  

The neighborhood will continue to develop and shows promise for those looking to invest.  I highly recommend my clients look into Harlem.  “Central Park North” as I will announce in an upcoming article for the Huffington Post, will take a deeper look into the changes taking place.  Landlords are seeing higher rates of return in this neighborhood than in any other in Manhattan.  If you are looking to buy, check out the changes happening here.

 

(Photo: New York Daily News)

Facebook Company Town: Under Construction

Facebook announced plans for a 394-unit residential development located just blocks from its Menlo Park headquarters.  Plans call for a $120 million, 630,000-square-foot complex that will include “everything from a sports bar, to a doggy day care.” (WSJ)  These development plans are not necessarily remarkable in size, but more so in a larger social context that dates back almost 100 years ago.

Company towns, which at one point numbered into the thousands, have been declining throughout the decades.  Lack on investment, economic shifts, and an inability to innovate and draw-in talent, are all facts that have led to the death of the company town.  Detroit serves as a perfect example when thinking about the death of a “company town.”  As auto-manufacturing declined, so did Detroit.  Unlike New York and Boston, cities have have been able to continually innovate and recreate themselves, Detroit and other company towns see their residents (and income) moving out.  From there the downward spiral until there the city is left as nothing more than a shell of its former self.

Facebook appears to be creating a company town of yesteryear with all of today’s modern conveniences.  Following Google’s “treat you too well to leave our company” philosophy as Facebook hopes to “lure coveted engineers with over-the-top perks and offices that resemble adult playground.” (WSJ)  I am suspicious as to how this town will end up turning out.  Will Facebook continue to adapt as society changes, and not only that, but will they continually update this growing town so that it is not rendered useless in a century like countless others?  Sadly, I think the answer is no, Facebook will not be able to adjust as time goes by, however, it will be interesting to see if Facebook brings rise to a new version of the company town.