May 19, 2012

One57 Begins Marketing Homes

Two of my favorite things are about to come together.  Not chocolate and peanut butter… that’s been done.  The two things I’m talking about are New York City and Park Hyatt Hotels.  And here’s the best part – now you can live in the same building.  Extell Development has begun marketing 95 condominium homes located at One57, the 90-story tower located at 157 West 57th Street.  The building will house a Park Hyatt, so residents who purchase a home will have access to the hotel’s amenities.

That list of amenities is long, and includes a 24-hour doorman and concierge, screening and performance space, on-site parking, triple-height indoor swimming pool and custom Jacuzzi, library, catering kitchen, function room, arts and crafts  room, state-of-the-art fitness center, yoga studio and even a pet wash room.

Units will start at $6.375M and supposedly go north of $30M from there.  When finished, the 1000-foot building will take the city’s tallest residential tower moniker from New York by Gehry.  Combine that height with that location and you’ll see why the price of admission is so high… the views in all directions should be phenomenal.

A New Beginning for Plaza Tower in New Orleans?

The Associated Press is reporting that the lonely, long-vacant Plaza Tower in New Orleans may be given a new life soon.  Local New Orleans developer Bryan Burns has bought the tower and said his plans for the building could include developing it into a a mixed-use residential and commercial complex.  The building’s previous owners, Plainfield Capital, bought the building in 2007 and spent over $12 million gutting it and remediating all the mold and asbestos.  They were unable to sell the building afterwords and ended up auctioning it off earlier this year.

Brickell House: First new Miami high-rise in years

Wait, what?  Somebody is actually building a new high-rise condo tower in Miami?  Well, according to this story in the Miami Herald it’s true.  Brickell House is scheduled to have 374 condos across 46 floors and will cost around $170M.  The developer claims that the existing inventory in Miami which used to be excessive has largely been absorbed (!) so the timing will be right for this building to hit the market in 2014.    This could be true as Miami, like Las Vegas, has seen a lot of international buyers come in the market because of the weak dollar and relatively low housing prices.  Your friends at the condo blog are skeptical, but hopeful that this is a sign that the market is turning.

Stalled Charlotte Highrise Reborn as SKYE

A stalled high-rise project in Uptown Charlotte, once known as the Park, has been reborn as the new Skye Condos. The 21-story tower will now house 69 luxury condominiums as well as a 172-room Hyatt Place Hotel and a roof-top restaurant. Units started selling this week and the studio condos start at around $200,000. Building amenities are scheduled to include a roof-top pool, sundeck, 24/7 security and available valet parking.