Real Estate News

Design of black box theater appears to fit in well with rest of Lincoln Center

A rendering of the new theater (Source: H3 Hardy Collaboration)

For those of you who worry about the potential desecration of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, in the form of Hugh Hardy’s newly announced black box venue that is scheduled to take up residence on the landmark’s roof, I can offer this consolation: the work that has already been done on the Beaumont’s plaza and surroundings, according to designs by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has wrought such a change upon the place that the new addition should make little difference. We will not know until next fall, apparently, the success of that work, which includes, among other alterations, the creation of a huge grassy mound for sunbathing and a new restaurant along the sides of the reflecting pool that continues to hold Henry Moore’s titanic “Reclining Figure.” What we can say is that the feel of the place will be -- indeed already is -- vastly different from what it was. The spare, almost minimalist, geometry of the post and lintel theater, the perfectly square reflecting pool, and the surrounding grounds, together with the way they all responded to the striated side of the Metropolitan Opera, provide one of the most muscularly modernist experiences in New York City.

HUD probes Extell over Rushmore complaints

From left: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and the Rushmore

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched an investigation into the Rushmore condominium, amid allegations that the lawyers for the developer, Extell Development, held previously undisclosed meetings with state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office to prevent existing buyers from backing out of their apartment contracts. HUD officials said that as of May 11, 2009, Extell “voluntarily suspended” the building’s registration under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSA), a federal law that protects consumers in newly constructed condos with more than 99 units. The move would allegedly be a way for the developer to shield itself from ILSA-related claims. HUD opened the probe after media reports mentioned that 34 buyers filed complaints with the AG's office. While officials did not disclose why Extell would suspend, documents obtained by The Real Deal show the Rushmore developer was facing an ILSA-based lawsuit prior to the filing.

Foreclosure, a gift that keeps on giving

From the South Florida Web site: Thousands of South Floridians are among the nation's foreclosure victims who've learned the hard way that troubles spawned by that procedure don't end when they lose their home. John King, a Coral Gables resident who defaulted on his mortgage and was foreclosed upon, found out last month that a Miami-Dade County court gave debt collectors permission to seek an additional $44,000 stemming from the litigation. Lenders, reeling from the collapse of boom real estate markets like South Florida, Las Vegas and California, are now pursuing their right to seek the unpaid mortgage balances of homeowners who have defaulted. Ben Hillard, a former investment banker who now is a real estate and corporate attorney at Hillard & Rogers in Largo, said banks are now able to pursue what are called deficiency judgments with greater frequency as they adjust to the realities of a market cratering.

Manhattan apartments see annual price decline for first time since 1996

A Prudential Douglas Elliman report released today depicts the spectacular rise of home prices over the past decade, but also the sudden -- and definitive -- arrival of the real estate slump in Manhattan. In 2009, Manhattan co-ops and condos saw year-over-year declines for the first time since 1996, the report shows. The average 2009 apartment sold for $1.39 million, down 12.5 percent from the previous year. The median price dropped 11 percent to $850,000 from 2008, while the average price per square foot sank 14.2 percent to $1,073. Other areas of the country have seen real estate activity and prices decline gradually over the past few years, but the Manhattan real estate market was still booming until the Lehman Brothers collapse in the fall of 2008. In fact, Manhattan prices set new records in 2008. That year, the average sale price of a Manhattan apartment reached a new ever high of $1.59 million, while the median was $955,000 and the price per square foot was $1,251, according to the report. Still, Manhattan real estate prices remain at dizzying heights compared to a decade ago.

Source: Prudential Douglas Elliman

Stuy Town tenants, owners extend interim rent agreement

Tishman Speyer Realty and Blackrock agreed with tenants to permit the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village lawsuit to proceed as a class action case, and also extended an interim agreement to lower rents until June, according to a joint statement from lawyers and the landlord. Under the agreement, tenants will continue to pay, until the end of June, the lower of either their existing rent or estimated rent-stabilized rents. Tenants will also be granted certain rights that exist under the city’s rent stabilization law, including rights to renew leases and family succession. After missing a $16.1 million interest payment, Tishman Speyer and BlackRock last month agreed to turn the 110-building complex over to creditors in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. The companies bought the complex in 2006 for $5.4 billion. Tenants won a landmark lawsuit alleging the landlord illegally deregulated apartments at the complex, which received J-51 tax benefits from the city.