Page 8 - New York Cooperator March 2019

8 THE COOPERATOR
— MARCH 2019
COOPERATOR.COM
COOPERATOR.COM
H
edge fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin now has 238 million reasons to love his lat-
est real estate purchase.
The New York Times
reported in January that Griffin, the founder of the invest-
ment company Citadel, recently paid $238 million for a New York City penthouse. It is
considered the most expensive home in the United States ever paid by someone.
As described in the report, the penthouse located at 220 Central Avenue South mea-
sures 24,000 square feet consisting of two combined apartments. The building, which is
under construction, is designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects and developed by Vor-
nado Trust Realty.
Griffin’s purchase, which was confirmed by a spokesperson, breaks the previous record
of the most expensive home bought in America—a $137 million abode in the Hamptons
that was sold in 2014, according to Miller Samuel, CNN reported.
Before buying the New York City penthouse, Griffin has previously made splashy home
purchases worth millions of dollars in parts of this country and London, the
Times
report-
ed. He purchased an apartment in Miami for $60 million, breaking a record for the most
expensive in that city, and also paid $58.75 million in Chicago, another record-breaker
there. CNBC reported that Griffin bought land in Palm Beach, Florida for over $200 mil-
lion with plans to build a home there.
Griffin founded the Chicago-based Citadel – which currently manages $28 billion –
in 1990, and reportedly has a net worth of $9.9 billion. In addition, Griffin has donated
$700 million, according to
Inside Philanthropy,
to such institutions as the Field Museum of
Natural History in Chicago, the University of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and his
alma mater Harvard University.
n
David Chiu is an associate editor at The Cooperator.
Cooperator.com From
H
aving weathered some local opposition, a condo project in development on the
site of a former public library in Brooklyn Heights has taken the next major step
forward.
Curbed
reported that sales were recently launched for One Clinton, a 38-story, 133-unit
condo tower located where the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library
once stood. Prices for the apartments range from $1.08 million for a single-bedroom unit
to $5.26 million for a four-bedroom pad.
Architecture and interiors firm Studio DB is designing the condos, which reportedly
will feature white oak flooring, custom cabinetry, marble-covered bathrooms, and traver-
tine entryways. Amenities will include a fitness center, an outdoor communal space, and a
26th-floor “sky lounge.”
In partnership with developer Hudson Companies, which purchased the site, the
Brooklyn Public Library had earlier announced a new library to be built alongside the
residential project – with proceeds from the sale being allocated toward repairs for ex-
isting Brooklyn libraries, as well as the addition of 100 new affordable housing units to
nearby Clinton Hill. Although backed by the City Council and the local community board,
the One Clinton project was met with push-back from neighborhood groups. Some locals
were nevertheless wary of yet more public land falling into the portfolios of private com-
panies, while others felt that by building the affordable housing in Clinton Hill rather than
Brooklyn Heights itself, developers were effectively segregating the neighborhoods
,The
Brooklyn Paper
reported.
Michael D. D. White, a member of the group Citizens Defending Libraries and a critic
of the development, told
The New York Times
last year: “The developer is coming to clearly
enrich himself at the expense of the public.” Meanwhile, Peter Bray of the Brooklyn Heights
Association supported the project, highlighting the upgrades to the existing libraries as an
appealing factor.
The new library is expected to open in 2020 and fill out 26,000 square feet with a reading
room, a public co-working space, and a community room with a 150-person occupancy.
As an additional part of the project, Hudson is building a STEM Lab that will be operated
by the Department of Education, according to
Crain’s New York Business.
n
Mike Odenthal is a staff writer at The Cooperator.
Visit Cooperator.com
for related news, articles and videos.
Brooklyn Heights Condos at Former Library Site Go on Sale
Sales Recently Launched for One Clinton
BY MIKE ODENTHAL
M
anhattan’s residential co-op and condominium market ended 2018 on a down
note, a change from the more stable picture it displayed in 2017, according to
Corcoran’s 2018 fourth quarter report.
“Market-wide closed sales declined as potential buyers grappled with a confluence of
factors that created uncertainty in the market,” said the study. “Buyers’ concerns included
rising mortgage interest rates, tax-law reform, volatility in the financial markets, foreign
capital restrictions, and political distractions. As a consequence, many prospective buyers
are choosing to wait on the sidelines until prices adjust to a more accessible level and other
market factors calm.”
Buyer’s Market
The good news in the study is the condominium resale market. According to Corco-
ran’s report, the median price for Manhattan condo resales of $1.350 million remained
unchanged over fourth quarter 2017, but strangely the median price per square-foot de-
creased from $1,443 to $1,428 – approximately 2 percent year-over-year. This discrepancy
is attributed to the fact that “a greater number of resale condo sales occurred within histori-
cally less expensive and older condominiums versus the same time period last year,” said
the report.
The median price for Manhattan co-op resales showed similar results. A positive change
of 2 percent over fourth quarter 2017 was indicated, but there was a drop in median price
for co-op resales from $845,000 to $810,000, representing a 4 percent decline from third
quarter 2018 to fourth quarter 2018, for reasons similar as explained above for condomin-
ium sales. According to Corcoran, average co-op resale price mirrored the decline. Price
figures responded to fewer sales in lower-cost neighborhoods as well as buyers returning
to the resale co-op market in search of value.”
“If things are priced correctly, they sell,” says Julie Leedes Bienstock, a broker with
Halstead. “It’s taken a while for sellers to get on board with the fact that the market has
changed. If priced correctly and it’s good product, it moves. Buyers in this market are mo-
tivated by value, and value doesn’t mean discount. It means the space gives them what
they’re looking for, without doing a ton of work. There’s also no urgency right now.” That
Manhattan Co-op and Con-
do Market 2018 Wrap-Up
Sales Fell in 4Q 2018, Says Corcoran Report
BY AJ SIDRANSKY
Billionaire Buys NYC Pent-
house for $238M, the Most
Expensive Home in the U.S.
Citadel Founder Kenneth Griffin Makes a Huge Real
Estate Splash
BY DAVID CHIU
continued on page 22