NYC Real Estate
Julian Schnabel Takes A Bath: A Brief History Of The Palazzo Chupi
[Julia Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi in the West Village]
Most of the socialites who frequent Rose Bar probably know of Julian Schnabel as the designer of this posh spot. Or perhaps they know of his daughter, Stella Schnabel, the “curator” of art at this Gramercy Hotel haunt. But real estate aficionados know him as the creator of the ersatz Italian Palazzo in the West Village, known as Palazzo Chupi. An artist with substance, its unfortunate that he has overplayed his hand with Chupi. Even with countless shoutouts in Vanity Fair from Graydon Carter and other social pals, the units won’t sell. So for those of you who are not familiar with this pink tower, we offer you a brief history:
Substance:
Chupi is to an Italian Palazzo as Sanka is to Coffee. In its short life, the paint has already begun peeling off at a rapid rate consistent with the decline of its own listing price and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But it’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside right? More »
A Toast To David Collins And His Newest Project “The Charles”
[Rachel Roy, Nicole Esposito, Christina O'Neill, Laura Brown. Photos by CHANCE YEH for PMc]
Glenda Bailey helped host a party to TOAST David Collins and the debut of his newest residential collection “The Charles” at his first NYC project, The London Hotel on 54th. The Charles is currently in the works on 72/73rd street and 1st avenue and is a 35 floor building has 45 full and half floor apartments that range from $2 to $16.5 million dollars. Besides his The London Hotel here in NYC, this name brand designer has tackled high-end hotels, restaurants and private residences in Europe.
More story and photos below:
You Can Buy A Piece Of Gossip Girl
Want a chance to walk the same parquet floors as Serean van der Woodsen? Curbed reports that a house on Albemarle Road in Prospect Park that was used in a second season episode where Blair and Serena get into a knockdown fight, is now on the market. For only 2.35 mil, you too can have three floors of
“all original oak detail. The foyer boasts beamed ceilings, fluted columns, a window seat, two Tiffany stained glass windows and a fireplace.”
Plus, maybe a headband or two. Print up some fake realtor cards, and scour the wraparound porch for possible chunks of hair.
[Photo via Curbed]
We Are All Living In The Wrong City…
This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house costs a mere $43,900. The only problem: it’s in Akron, Ohio. I’ve never been to Ohio but clearly we are all morons.
Lockhart: you think there’s potential for a Curbed in Ohio? Because this house has you and Jessica written all over it. Seriously. I can picture the backyard bbq’s now. For more 4 bedroom houses way under $50k, aka things that 6 months rent would buy, go HERE.
The Rose Club At The Plaza, An Insider’s Dish
[Photo via NYT]
A rose is a rose is a rose. At least it seems that way for our city’s night spot’s lately. A friend of ours ventured to the newly open Rose club at the Plaza hotel. He genuinely liked the atmosphere of the place (save for the typical promoter’s table with their models), and reported that he simply “walked right in” to the space. “There was no doorman or list or anything, but maybe it was because it was a slow night.”
My bet is that this place will remain attainable. It’s no small feat getting the late night crowd to venture uptown…just ask the Koch Brothers.
Albert Hammond Jr.’s Pad…Inspiration For Lisa Perry?
[Photo via Cityfile]
Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. is selling his east village bachelor pad to move across the river, in with his fiance,l model Agyness Deyn. I would never have thought that Mr. Hammond’s pad would look so much like the inside of a Lisa Perry boutique! It can be yours for $1.199 mil.
Michael J. Fox Can’t Wait Until His Hedgerow Grows
 
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Those real estaters out there may have been following Michael J. Fox’s recent purchase of a house in Quogue, NY (Hamptons) for 6.3 million. The Newsday ran a story, and the real estalker blogged about Fox’s new 7000 square foot place and the town of Quogue:
Quogue a sleepy and (some might say) staid village at the western end of the Hamptons that is wall to wall with old school estates carpeted with vast lawns and anchored by gigantic shingled summer “cottages”.
This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise since Fox has been renting in Quogue for years, and was often spotted at the Baby Moon Pizzeria in Westhampton.
But now that the word has broken, and given the close proximity of his house to Quogue Street in the middle of town, Fox can expect a lot of gawkers to be coming by and ogling his place. And unfortunately for him, his hedgerow is pretty nascent, and will probably not fill out by the time the summer rolls around. Well Michael, I suggest you set your sprinklers on high!
New Yorkers Love Their Small Spaces
[Max and Sarah Kate make the most of their W. Village Apt. Photo via Apartment Therapy]
Many (dare I say, most?) young city dwellers move once per year, packing up their lives, often putting it in storage for a short time before moving into another less-than-ideal space. With consumerism running rampant in this city, it is amazing that some of us believe that we’re above the clutter. But we do believe it. And then, like quarter-lifers living a lie, our respective self-images are shattered when we have to pack up once again, faced with the brutal truth that we have far more shit than we could ever possibly need. Why does this happen? I have a theory. O
The Plaza, Solitary Confinement For The Nouveau Riche
[Juxtaposing an empty reality (left) with images (middle, right) from theplazaresidences.com. Click image for fullsize]
The Mega Rich: They’re just like us! They want nosy neighbors, companionship, a sense of forced community, and awkward wine and cheese parties. But at the plaza residences, money might buy you a pied-à-terre with breathtaking views of the park, but it won’t save you from the loneliness that suffocates its handful of full-time residents.
When…living at the Plaza, some say they find themselves longing for a nod from a neighbor by the elevator, a hello in the lobby, a friendly wine and cheese gathering. Like anyone else, they long for a community, albeit a community of the megawealthy. [Sunday Styles]
But if you look at pictures from theplazaresidences.com, the pictures have so much photoshoping lighting that it looks like Radio City Music Hall!
The Upper East Side: An Apologia
Today The New York Observer posted an article on their real estate blog titled “More Kids Dating Soho, Marrying the Upper East Side” about born-and-bred Upper East Siders moving back uptown to their home neighborhood after spending some time in the city’s “grittier environs”, as the writer calls it, so that they may–get this–get Soho, the Lower East Side, or Chelsea out of their system. (Note: I think only Upper East Siders refer to Soho, LES, or Chelsea as “gritty.” You really HAVEN’T ever gone over the bridge, have you?)
I’ll get the other deeply elitist and embarrassing point of the article out of the way now, which was not that these former downtown rebels were moving back between 59th and 96th so that they could outsource their parents’ housekeepers and the family dog, because that’s too cringe-worthy to even touch on for me. But rather that 86th Street is *gasp* that commercialized urban strip mall where “classes collide” in the “microcosm” of the Upper East Side. (Read: The four-way intersection around the subway that is less white than surrounding streets, due to those domestic workers coming from above 125th Street. Because really, who else will do your laundry and watch your kids while you sip lattes with the ladies who lunch?) More »
Hipster on Houseboats…Really On To Something?
[Photo from NYTimes]
It is rough being a hipster these days. No longer can you expect cheap digs in places like Williamsburg, Dumbo, or even Long Island City. Nope, the areas that YOUR PEOPLE founded and made part of the “cool club”, are now “too cool” for you. What’s a striving hipster to do? Well the more savvy ones are taking matters into their own hands. As Jim Dwyer reports, today’s “Young and Broke in the City, are Staying Afloat.” Brian Markey, a 28 year old gardener in the Bronx and his roommate Owen Cahillane may be the hippest of the hipsters. Months ago, they moved into a 250 sq. ft. houseboat in Westchester Creek and are content in knowing that they will never have to fear their neighborhood becoming gentrified (at least not throughout their time spent in hipster-land phase). Map of where they are located:
Sure, these two will have their share of heat and humidity issues, but they will forgo having to worry about any ibankers or urbanite families embarking on their territory. Maybe Markey is on to something. “The novelty of a party on a houseboat gets people here. If we advertised it as a party in a small room a few blocks off the 6 train, I doubt we’d get many.” The graduate of Loyola University claims. (Picture of Markey at his recent NCAA Football party shown above). Did we mention they spend $400 each on rent?
The Invasion of the Euros!
[Source: AP]
Euros here, there, everywhere! With the plunging US dollar, our fag-smoking Burberry clad neighbors across the Atlantic are lining up to buy a piece of the Big Apple. Brokers are humming about the “hot” market which normally goes into a lull during this time of year.
“The exchange rate is like a gift from God for Europeans,” said Danielle Grossenbacher, the broker for Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy who showed the Millers around. “Everybody is feeling they have an opportunity to purchase a piece of Manhattan.” [NY Times]
Wallstreet Bonuses are also down, which means that the cash influx that normally props up the market is missing, creating even more buying opportunities. In between shopping at FAO Schwartz, Abercrombie, and Gap Kids; Fabio and Sven’s avarice for real property is bailing us out from a glut of condos and new developments.
Foreign buyers are helping shield Manhattan from the housing slowdown that has plagued the rest of the nation and are providing a ready market for thousands of newly built condominiums. [NY Times]
So, while owners are certainly happy, those of us who were hoping to buy into the market in a downturn, or get a little bit shaved off our already poverty-inducing rents, are out of luck.