If you want the distinction of owning the priciest apartment in New York City, be prepared to cough up $150 million. Thats the listing price for a triplex penthouse in the former Sony building, the most expensive listing for any New York condo since last September's $130 million asking price for an apartment at 520 Park Ave. The $150 million price tag would also shatter the record $100.5 million deal for a condo at One57 at 157 W. 57th St. if the Sony building triplex sells at the listing price. This is taking everything to a whole new level, Ben Bernalloul, a luxury real estate broker at RLTY NYC, told the New York Daily News. Its setting a new standard for real estate in this area. Now, everyone is going to be playing catch-up with this number.

The Sony building, at 550 Madison Ave., sits on Billionaires Row, the name given to the flashy new high-rises that have gone up around 57th Street near Central Park. The building is owned by the Chetrit Group, which is converting the former Sony offices into luxury apartments, according to Bloomberg Business.

The $150 million asking price for the eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom triplex penthouse may be a way for Chetrit to stand out from the crowd of luxury apartment buildings in the area, Jonathan Miller, president of the New York City-based appraising firm Miller Samuel Inc., told Bloomberg. The penthouse seems to be a strategy to train focus on the development, he said. Buyers in the super-luxury market are obsessed with having an asset thats unique and not cookie-cutter.

Jason Haber, a broker at Warburg Realty, said the penthouse may attract billionaires who want to claim the most expensive apartment in Manhattan. The triplex penthouse and other apartments on Billionaire Row cater to Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern sheikhs and Chinese business moguls, according to the Daily News. The $150 million penthouse comes with 10 powder rooms, a wine room and a spa, according to the Real Deal and the Daily News. In a market like this where everyone is going after the biggest trophy, everyone always wants the shiniest one, Haber said. Chetrit is now saying this is the shiniest one.

The $150 million apartment may test the limits of how much billionaires are willing to pay for New Yorks priciest residential real estate. "It's all public relations, luxury broker Donna Olshan told the Daily News. They're ratcheting it up for the press sake. I can't think of a better way to make a splash than to put something on the market at a record price."

Here is the original post:
Most Expensive Apartment In NYC: $150M Asking Price For Triplex Penthouse At Former Sony Building

SPRINGFIELD'S first apartment building will soon be added to the region's skyline, with construction set to begin later this year.

The $200 million Park Avenue project will see 600 apartments built on a 1.8 hectare site on Sinnathamby Bld, Springfield Central, creating a new lifestyle option for residents wishing to call Ipswich home.

There are mid-level towers proposed ranging between six to seven levels, which will provide one and two bedroom apartments with views over Robelle Domain.

During the first stage 66 apartments will be built.

They will be conveniently located near amenities such as Robelle Lagoon, Orion Springfield Central, University of Southern Queensland, GE state headquarters and the brand new Mater Private Hospital Springfield, providing a lifestyle built around lifestyle and entertainment.

Park Avenue will also accommodate its own bustling retail precinct with an enviable mix of alfresco and dining options right on your doorstep.

The project is being convened with Springfield Land Corporation and Folkestone Limited.

Springfield Land Corporation managing director Raynuha Sinnathamby said there was a real buzz surrounding the apartment building.

"Initial interest has been very good via the website with over 300 requests for more information," she said.

"With our billboards and online promotions, we seem to be getting up to 40 enquiries a day.

Here is the original post:
High life in Springfield with Park Avenue project

Plans for a 27-unit student apartment building on College Avenue in Greensburg moved forward Tuesday with a recommendation from the city Historic and Architectural Review Board.

Greensburg Property Partners LLC presented plans to the board for the second time, after tweaking the proposal's designs in response to criticisms raised last month.

The porches in front of the three-story brick building will be larger and have a more classical look. The windows will be more consistent and symmetrical. The bricks will be all red, instead of the red and tan scheme originally proposed.

It is much more comprehensive, and I'm grateful for that, said HARB member Barbara Jones.

Board President Steve Gifford abstained from the vote. He is the director of the Greensburg Community Development Center, which sold some property to the developers for this project.

The rest of the board members agreed unanimously to recommend the building to city council.

If the project receives approval in March, construction will begin immediately. The developers are aiming for completion by Aug. 1, in order to house Seton Hill students in the 2015-2016 school year.

Nate Morgan of Monroeville and Deanna Seruga of Harrison City own Greensburg Property Partners and will oversee construction.

Most of the building will be constructed modularly off-site, then rapidly assembled. Once all the pieces are on the property, the building will be up in only three or four days, Morgan said.

The project would demolish five vacant houses, four on College Avenue and one on Brown Avenue, all built sometime in the 1910s or 1920s.

Go here to read the rest:
Student apartment plan clears Greensburg hurdle

Washington U.S. homebuilders slowed the pace of construction in January, breaking ground on fewer single-familyhousesahead of the spring buying season.

Housingstartsslipped 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million last month, down from 1.09 million in December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Leading that decline was a sharp 6.7 percent monthly drop instartsfor single-familyhouses. Still, a healing economy has caused building activity to move at a faster clip, with single-familystartsclimbing 18.7 percent over the past 12 months.

Despite the monthly decline, the broader economy should help boost home sales and apartment construction this year.

"We have strong job growth, strong consumer confidence, still low borrowing costs," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

In the past three months alone, the economy has gained more than a million new paychecks. Employers are adding workers at an annual clip of 2.3 percent, the fastest rate in the more than five-year recovery from the Great Recession.

The hiring has also fueled expectations that more millennials will sign leases on apartments. Builders have prepared for the additional demand, with apartment construction surging 12.1 percent in January and 24.5 percent over the past 12 months.

The improving labor market is expected to trigger greater demand to buy homes, boosting prices and then causing builders to further ramp up construction.

Metro areas with the fastest job growth are experiencing larger increases in home prices, Jed Kolko, chief economist at the real estate firm Trulia, said in a report last week.

"A growing economy fuelshousingdemand," Kolko said. Among the 10 metro areas with the biggest year-over-year price increases, nine had at least 2 percent job growth, he noted.

See the article here:
US housing starts fall in January, but construction is speeding up

A torch used to thaw frozen pipes has been blamed for starting a fire Monday in a three-unit apartment building in Brigden that left several people temporarily homeless, and caused damage estimated at between $250,000 and $300,000.

Walt Anderson, chief of the St. Clair Township Fire Department, said Brigden firefighters were called out at approximately 5:30 p.m. to the fire on Boswell Street.

"The landlord was thawing some pipes and the fire got into the walls," he said.

"With the type of construction, she just went up the walls and into the attic."

The shell of the building was still standing Tuesday, but "it's pretty well gutted," Anderson said.

"Apparently, it was an old creamery so the walls are like three-foot thick of brick. It's a pretty solid building."

Anderson said all of the building's tenants escaped safely, and are reported to be staying with family, or found other accommodations.

"Everybody is out of the cold."

Anderson said firefighters were told four people lived in one apartment, one person lived in a second, and the third unit was vacant.

"It was very stubborn to fight," Anderson said, with cold temperatures and ice adding to the challenge, but no firefighters were injured.

See the original post:
Tenants escape burning building

The amount of snow on the roof of 600 Pennsylvania Ave., in the Liberty Place apartment complex in North Leominster, is measured. David Dore photoA building at the Liberty Place apartment complex was evacuated for a couple of hours Monday after residents called the Fire Department to report a creaking roof and cracks in the walls and ceilings.

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Davis said the Fire Department was contacted around 11:30 a.m. Monday that someone at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. heard some creaks and thought they saw new cracks in the walls and ceilings. Liberty Place is located off Industrial Drive in North Leominster.

The Fire Department contacted the building inspector because we did have some concern, just with the cracks, Davis said.

A structural engineer brought in by building co-owner Peter Bovenzi and the building inspector checked out the building once it was evacuated, Davis said. They checked out the attic and the snow load on the roof, he said, and the engineer deemed it safe.

There was at most 12-13 inches of snow on the roof, Bovenzi said, and the construction of the building allows it to support three to four times that amount.

Asked about the cracks reported by residents, Bovenzi replied there were no cracks that he could see.

After almost a couple of hours, residents were allowed to return, according to Davis. In the meantime, a resident said, they either stayed with family or friends or went to the citys emergency shelter at Southeast Elementary School.

The several feet of snow that has fallen on southern New England in recent weeks has raised concerns about roof collapses, and caused several of them around the region. Davis said the Leominster Fire Department has gotten calls from people concerned about a roof collapse, but as of Monday there have been none in the city.

Read this article:
Apartment building evacuated over roof concerns

MIDDLETOWN A proposal for a six-story, 89-unit apartment building at the corner of Broad and College streets has all the necessary approvals, and construction is scheduled to start in the spring.

Massachusetts-based Hajjar Management Co. received approval Wednesday from the town's planning and zoning commission and its redevelopment agency. The Design Review and Preservation Board also issued a favorable opinion on the project.

"They say they want to start construction as soon as spring begins," Planning Director Michiel Wackers said on Friday.

He said the planning and zoning approval came with a condition that Hajjar officials meet with the Design Review and Preservation Board to go over the materials that will be used on the exterior of the building.

Hajjar only needs to apply for a building permit before it can begin construction.

The company owns the 12-story MiddleOak office tower, and will build the new apartment building on a vacant lot next to the tower.

The $20 million project will include 3,400 square feet of retail space on the first floor and a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments on the five floors above that.

Each unit will be between 570 and 1,150 square feet, with rents ranging from $1,100 to $2,300 a month, Hajjar said last year.

"It's been a longstanding goal of the city to bring high-quality housing that can attract a diversity of income downtown," Wackers said. "We want downtown to be home to a broad range of Middletown residents."

The common council on Feb. 3 approved an incentive plan for the project that will freeze taxes at the current level for seven years and caps building permit fees at $142,600.

Read more here:
Downtown Middletown Apartment Proposal Wins All Needed Approvals

Residents of a Garden City apartment building say they had to scramble to find new places to live Wednesday.

Horry County code enforcement officials deemed the building in the Cambridge Apartments complex to be unfit for occupancy Tuesday, and tenants in four of the eight units were given 24 hours to move out.

The tenants say the sudden eviction caught them off-guard.

"All we can do is look for another place to live," said tenant David Brouwer.

The Noble Company manages the property, serving as agents for the homeowners association.

Company representatives told us Thursday they gave the owners of the condo units repeated notices, starting January 22nd, that the front stairwell would need to be replaced, and that during the construction, the tenants would have to vacate for four days.

The managers say the tenants, for whatever reason, wouldn't leave.

Manager Jennifer Harmon says at one point, the contractor put up plywood over the front to try to keep the tenants out so the work could get started, but the tenants took the plywood down.

"Unfortunately the tenant in one of the units began removing those boards, and so the contractors put them back up, they took pictures again of both the before and the after, and the tenant took them down again," said Harmon.

Harmon says it got to the point The Noble Company asked Horry County Code Enforcement to step in and condemn the front of the building, to force the tenants out so the delayed work could begin.

Visit link:
Apartment tenants say sudden eviction was surprise, company says they had repeated notices

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- The LaSalle hotel has been vacant for nearly 15 years but is now one step closer to reopening its doors to the public as an apartment building. The Redevelopment Commission approved an agreement to help in renovations.

The new developer, Real America, checks in weekly on the location and has a strong background in projects like this. The Redevelopment Commission approved a budget of $1.8 million to help with construction costs of the roof, windows and elevators. While it seems like a hefty investment, it's one that will help the city's future.

"It certainly would have cost the city a considerable amount of money to demolish a building and it's an historic structure," Scott Ford, Department of Community Investment said. "I think the ability to return it onto the tax rolls and introduce new residents downtown, and rehabilitate a jewel in our heritage. I certainly think it's worthwhile."

"The building has sat empty for 15 years so to have it back on the tax rolls is a big win for tax payers," Chris Fielding, Director of Business Development said. "But also to see it really become a thriving landmark in the downtown is huge for the vitality of downtown."

The former developer, Great Lakes Capital out of South Bend, had the initial winning bid but hadn't started work on the actual building in nearly a year.

The apartment building will have 67 units and parking in the lot next door between it and the Morris. There are 90 available parking spots. Construction is expected to begin in April and last 12 to 18 months.

Continued here:
LaSalle Hotel one step closer to opening as apartment building

Deveraux Developments Chief Operating Officer Jamie McDougald has some clarifications to make regarding prefabricated modular units.

Submitted photo

The Strathmore -- a 24-unit condo complex in Reginas Cathedral area -- is seen. This Deveraux Developments complex earned the 2013 Regina and Region Home Builders Association Multi-Family Complex of the Year award, beating out traditional builds for the commendation.

Passionate about the work that his company does, Deveraux Developments Chief Operating Officer Jamie McDougald has some clarifications to make regarding prefabricated modular units.

Last month, the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region issued a request for proposals for a three-storey, 22-unit apartment building comprised solely of prefabricated modular units.

The tender had sparked opposition from the Prince Albert Construction Association, which notes in a letter to the health region that the criteria listed in the tender eliminates local contractors, subtrades and suppliers.

McDougald said that if the health region goes with a prefabricated module build they will get their apartment complex built faster and less expensively than with a traditional build.

Deveraux Developments has introduced more than 1,000 modular multi-family units in Regina over the last five years, he said.

In 2013, their The Strathmore complex -- a 24-unit condo in Regina -- beat out traditional builds to earn the 2013 Regina and Region Home Builders Association Multi-Family Complex of the Year award one of a handful of commendations the company has earned in recent years.

The bulk of builds are done indoors, offering a factory-controlled setting that isolates materials from the outdoor elements.

Read more here:
Deveraux Developments espouses benefits of modular builds