CO-OP/CONDO BUYERS

Ever wish you could live in the Waldorf Astoria? Well, your wish may come true, but you better prepare to have more than just a whole lot of money. The Real Deal (TRD) has learned that Anbang Insurance Group, which just paid almost $2 billion for the Waldorf, plans to convert the iconic hotel's two towers into condos. TRD obtained a transcript of a recent talk Anbang's chairman Wu Xiaohui gave at Harvard University. "We plan to renovate the two towers into luxury residential apartments with world-class amenities and finishes to reflect its culture and social status. A potential buyer needs to have more than money to qualify for our apartments," he said. How intriguing. What could it be? Celebrity? Clout? Lots of property? The Waldorf Towers operates as a 181-room boutique hotel within the Waldorf, and currently occupies the top floors of the 47-story building. It has a separate entrance on 50th Street, amenities include a fitness center, and it's just a hop, skip, and a taxi from Midtown's ultra-luxury billionaires' row. 

Photo by Christopher Bride for Property Shark

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How do you like this frigid weather? Early this morning, it was one whole degree Fahrenheit in Central Park. You might have to get used to it because it looks like there's more extreme weather in our future thanks to climate change. Brooklyn Magazine reported that a dispatch from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office says the five boroughs are about to get swampy and more… underwater. According to the mayor's report, projected sea levels will rise 11 to 21 inches by the 2050s. Park Slope can actually become an island. Does that mean there's a Survivor: Park Slope in our future? Okay, okay, a more serious question. What's the mayor doing about this grim news? "He’s vowed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and has a plan in place to gird the shoreline of the city against future extreme weather events," according to Brooklyn Magazine. 

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Move over, Williamsburg. Epic Commercial Realty CEO Yona Edelkopf believes Prospect-Lefferts Gardens is the next big things in Brooklyn. Why? Edelkopf said in a statement quoted by DNAinfo.com that the neighborhood is getting a lot of "continuous attention" from investors and developers thanks to larger-scale condo and rental developments in the area. Just last week, a parking lot at 227 Clarkson Avenue sold for $1.35 million to Brookland Capital, a developer that plans to build condos on the property. DNAinfo adds that "the lot is one of more than a dozen development and construction projects in the area, where the local community board has been considering controversial changes to zoning rules meant to regulate the building boom." 

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New condos are popping up all over the city. It's understandable when you consider all the perks of owning a condo. Condos tend to command higher prices on the market, but there is also the question of freedom. When you own a condo, it's yours. There's no board telling you what to do regarding sublets and no underlying mortgage. Seems pretty neat. So why don't co-ops look into converting? Well, for starters, it's not so simple. And it might not be worth the headache. 

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Don't mess with a New Yorker's view, especially when it's a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. That's just one of the reason local officials, civic groups, preservationists, and some community residents are seriously ticked off about plans for a 494-foot-tall condominium tower over the water at the foot of Beekman Street. The condo tower is part of a planned $1.5 billion redevelopment years in the making that aims to "rehabilitate crumbling piers, preserve landmark buildings and bring new vitality to the 400-year-old historic [seaport] district on the East River," according to The New York Times. But it looks like thanks to the tower, the project is going nowhere fast — this despite a $300 million amenity package, which also includes "rescuing the city’s financially ailing maritime museum, building a school and affordable housing, renovating the Tin Building and extending an esplanade." The tower, aside from obscuring view of the Brooklyn Bridge, would also stick out like a sore thumb in the "low-scaled, early-19th-century brick buildings that make up the 11-block seaport district, once the center of the city’s maritime industry." It may seem to some like it's much ado about nothing, but they do make a good point that applies to a lot of new construction all over the city. When we can't save old buildings, such as Harlem's historic Renaissance Ballroom on 138th Street and 7th Avenue, it would be nice to at least erect new buildings in their place that reflect a sense of the neighborhood's own history. Likewise, it would be nice to see a new building constructed in the historic seaport district that is aesthetically sensitive to its surroundings. 

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If you think supermarket options are few and far between in Clinton Hill, then bad news. It looks like the Key Food on Lafayette Avenue is going the way of the dinosaur. According to DNAinfo, "Slate Property Group is in the process of buying the building at 325 Lafayette Avenue," and it looks they plan to demolish it to build condos in its place. The spokesperson for the owners of the Key Food told DNAinfo she could not give any more information beyond confirming the building was in the process of being sold. Nothing's set in stone just yet — the entire project is in the planning stages — so there is a chance, however great or slim, that the new developers might reserve space in the new building's ground floor for the grocery store. But until a definitive decision is made, neighborhood folks will remain anxious about the possibility of losing a convenient grocery store option. Who can blame them? Fewer stores means less competition and prices that inevitably creep upward. And if you don't have a car? Fuggedaboutit. Get ready for longer walks.

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Apartment hunting in New York requires a methodical touch. You want to get a feel for what's out there, but you want, and need, to move fast. In a city as crowded as this, someone else can snap up the unit of your dreams from right under you. How can you stop that from happening? After all, you don't want to take the first apartment you see, right? Or do you? If you like it enough, then why not? An increasing number of co-op and condo buyers are seizing the day and buying the first apartments they see, according to The Daily News, in so-called "one-and-done" deals. "It’s the real estate equivalent of marrying the first guy you meet in a bar," says the report, adding, "Call them impulsive or foolhardy, but as inventory hovers at record lows, these devil-may-care purchasers are beating their rivals to the punch — and reaping the rewards." Fair enough. Before you seal the deal in ink, however, the article does caution potential buyers to do their research first: "A tall finance executive [fell hard for a] loft on the Upper West Side a few years ago [and] didn’t bother to explore the upstairs landing. When he came back to walk through the apartment before the closing, he discovered that the ceiling was so low that he couldn’t stand up straight. It was too late to back out of the deal." And that's got to suck. 

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Do you live in a relatively new co-op or condo? Does it have a 13th floor? Chances are, the answer is no. According to The Wall Street Journal, although most people don't buy into the idea of unlucky 13, "less than 5 percent of residential condo buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn have a designated 13th floor." It might be a case of being better safe than sorry. That is, what if a broker is showing an apartment to a potential buyer in a building with a 13th floor? Well, if that potential buying is superstitious, then floor 13 will have caused the broker a sale. So who makes the call? WSJ explains that "the decision to omit the 13th floor occurs well before ground is broken. Both developers and marketers discuss floor layouts in initial planning meetings, but the developer has the final say. Then, if the 13th floor is omitted, developers work off two sets of plans — technical plans that show a 13th floor and marketing plans that don't." Who knew? But don't feel bad for poor old 13 — it's not the loneliest number anymore. WSJ reports that some developers are dropping the fourth floor because the number four is considered unlucky in Chinese culture. 

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Once upon a time there was a bakery at 331-333 Kent Avenue. When artist Cosimo Cavallaro bought the building, he had big plans for it. Brownstoner reports that, in 2004, Cavallaro wanted to convert the once bakery-then artist loft into an 11-story luxury condo called Punctilio. It was not to be, however. In 2012, the spacious building near the Williamsburg Bridge sold for $5,000,000. All we know about the new owner is that it's an LLC. And thanks to Brownstoner we also know that the mystery owner plans to develop a huge gallery space with apartments, most likely condos. "The first two floors will house a cafe, reception and art gallery over 7,805 square feet…. A two-story addition is [also] planned, which will house two duplex apartments with terraces over 4,663 square feet." The Department of Buildings (DOB) has reportedly given a thumbs down to the planned expansions. And we agree with Brownstoner, which praised the modernity of the new design, but added: "We think it would be even better if the original building were restored, arched brick windows and all."

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It's no news that prices in Bed-Stuy have been on the rise and then some. Just ask all the people who have as many as four roommates and still find their share of rent creeping close to the $1,000 mark. And what about buyers? Well, with the neighborhood's historic brownstones hitting record numbers, some agents say buyers are looking at condos as alternatives, reports DNAinfo. Halstead Property real estate agent Morgan Munsey said Bedford Avenue would soon become a "condo canyon." Why? "Fourteen studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments will soon go on sale at a new 'boutique condominium development' at 1188 Bedford Avenue." With units at 1188 reportedly going for up to $825,000 — nearly a grand per square foot — it certainly looks like the condo boom is alive and well in Brooklyn, and Bedford Avenue it the new condo hot spot. Sure, $825,000 is hardly chump change, but it's a lot more affordable than dropping a million on one of those brownstones.

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