Conde Nast Inks WTC Deal

Aspirational magazine publisher Conde Nast has signed the long-awaited deal to assume over one million square feet of office space in One World Trade Center, which when completed will be the tallest skyscraper in the nation.

The lease marked the largest single tenant to be brought into Lower Manhattan in years. The project is being developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which sold an ownership stake to the Durst Organization. “We hope Condé Nast, at long last united into a single building, will be the catalyst for the rebirth of the downtown area,” Newhouse told a crowd of reporters and elected officials standing in the bare concrete, window-clad floor of the tower — one of the floors being leased by his company.

Such an act takes a major load off the back of the Port Authority, which is seeking to lease up a building that comes with a long list of challenges. One World Trade Center is surely worth far less that it costs to build (the tower was valued last year at $2 billion, while its construction price tag is over $3 billion). It undeniably causes anxiety over future terrorism among potential tenants. At present, there is just one other private tenant, for 190,000 square feet, signed on to the 2.6 million-square-foot building.

Thousands of clackers are surely sobbing in their Times Square cubes. Quick, somebody get three thousand feet of velvet rope to Ground Zero, stat!

NYC Condo Tower Bans Smoking

The residents of an Upper West Side condo tower have voted to ban smoking in their building, even if the unit owner has been doing so for years. It's the city's first such retroactive ban in a residential building.

Even smokers who moved into the building, the Ariel West, before the ban must abide by it. The building is one of the first in the city to approve such an extensive ban. (Several rental buildings introduced bans last year, but established tenants who smoked were not affected.) Owners in the building, a 32-story glass tower at Broadway and 99th Street, voted 47 to 3 to approve the ban late last month. There are 68 owners in total; 46 votes constituted the supermajority required to change the bylaws. “Even though people bought into this building thinking they could smoke,” said Gideon Stein, the president of the condo board at Ariel West, “people do not have a constitutional right to smoke.”

Enforcement of the ban will be performed by busybody old ladies, who will prowl the halls sniffing out infractions.

Transformer Apartment

Inspired by the space-saving furniture on yachts, a Barcelona man turned his 250 square feet apartment into a "Lego-style" living space.

Noisy Neighbors

After buying a new condo, a San Francisco man is upset because he wasn't warned in advance that his downstairs neighbor is into noisy leather sex. And now he can't let his ten year-old son move in.

Hagerty said all was well until he announced that he intended to remove the carpet and padding in his unit to help with allergies. The downstairs condo owner explained in an April 24 e-mail that he opposed the idea. "I am a sexual enthusiast and enjoy leather sex," the man wrote. "At times, it is possible and even likely that the sounds of leather sex will be coming from my bedrooms to your bedrooms without an effective sound barrier. While it is not my issue, you may find you need to explain things to your son as it could be confusing to him since it frequently doesn't sound as pleasurable as it is." "I just don't think it is appropriate for my son to bear witness to that," Hagerty said. But the neighbor says if Hagerty just left the carpet and pad on the floor everything would be fine. "My lifestyle shouldn't have anything to do with this," he said. "I could be singing Chinese opera in my bedroom."

The realtor who worked on the sale says he had no responsibility to disclose the sexual habits or noisiness of neighbors.

NYC: Better To Rent Than Buy

According to a real estate study quoted by Gothamist today, it makes more financial sense to rent in New York City: "The median list price (for the top 50 cities) is $140,201.37, but the median price for a 2-bedroom apartment in NYC is $1.3-1.4 million! Median rent (for the top 50 cities) is $1,871.65, but it's $3500-4000 in NYC for a 2-bedroom apartment." Commenters on the above-linked story complain that the study only looked at Manhattan. A lengthy breakdown by city is at the link.

42nd Street: Then & Now

The New York Times says that with this week's opening of a new 40-story tower at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, the 30-year remodel of Times Square is finally over.

The plan, to radically make over 13 acres, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, primarily fronting 42nd Street, outlived three mayors, four governors, two real estate booms and two recessions. It faced widespread derision in the beginning from jaded New Yorkers who were wise to grand plans. It faces occasional derision today from New Yorkers who speak of the old Times Square with newfound fondness. It embodied both the hubris of urban master planning and its possibilities, and showed the value of ripping up blueprints and starting over in midstream. And it has been a touchstone experience for a city that is now building, or trying to build, several multibillion-dollar projects, including ground zero, the Atlantic Yards, Willets Point and the Hudson Yards. “So often, people say New York can’t build large-scale projects anymore,” said Lynne B. Sagalynn, a professor of real estate finance at Columbia University and the author of “Times Square Roulette: Remaking the City Icon.” But, Professor Sagalynn said, “Times Square is an example of how a city was able to think on a grand scale and carry it out.”

There's a cool interactive slideshow thingy in the above-linked story.

Google Buys 111 Eighth Avenue

Google has agreed to pay $1.8B for its massive Manhattan office building, which looms over Chelsea and covers an entire city block. Real estate watchers say the move signals a rebounding in New York's long-slumping office space market.

“This decision is further evidence that large-scale buildings are trading once again,” said Ross Moskowitz, a real estate lawyer at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and a former city economic development official, “and high-end users are looking to take advantage of these opportunities.” The brick building, which covers an entire block bound by 15th and 16th Streets, already houses Google’s East Coast headquarters and 1,800 employees, as well as Lifetime Entertainment, barnesandnoble.com, Nike USA and Deutsch advertising. But at 2.9 million square feet, it has more space than the Empire State Building and plenty of room for Google to grow.

Closeted Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Buys $4M Loft In NYC Gayborhood

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken "Closet Case" Mehlman has bought a $4M loft in the heart of Chelsea, where he'll run into fellow tenants Lance Bass and Marc Jacobs in the elevator. Curbed reports:

Mehlman just paid $3.775 million for a 2,200-square-foot 2BR/3BA loft on the 17th floor, and according to the listing (still viewable on the rather spectacular website of broker/designer Fionn Campbell), that's the highest apartment in the building's best line. The apartment was only on the market for a month, and Mehlman paid $100k above the asking price. Aggressive move, but as his old boss would say, he's the decider.

Mehlman resigned as RNC chairman in 2006 one day after Bill Maher outed him on his HBO show. Mehlman claimed the resignation had been coming and was unrelated to Maher's comments.

NYC Declares Balconies Unsafe At 16 Buildings After Deadly Fall

Following the death of a Manhattan man after the railing on his 24th floor balcony gave way, NYC has banned residents at 16 buildings from using their balconies.

Inspectors have also found that about 800 building owners have failed to file inspection reports, required every five years, demonstrating the safety of their balconies and terraces. Teams have been conducting street-level examinations, with inspectors and engineers peering up at balconies with binoculars and entering buildings for physical inspections. They have found loose railings, crumbing concrete and unsecured railing posts. “Our inspectors and engineers have visited more than 530 buildings across the city to determine whether the property owners maintained the exterior of their buildings, including balconies,” said Tony Sclafani, the chief spokesman for the Department of Buildings. The enforcement effort is one of the most sweeping on balcony safety in years, and city officials said it was in its early stages.

And this being NYC, residents at the affected buildings seem more worried about their apartments' resale values than falling dozens of stories to a grisly death.

Realtors Association Approves Sexual Orientation Protections For Clients

The board of directors of the 1.2 million member National Association of Realtors (NAR) has approved a rule that bans its members from discriminating against clients based on their sexual orientation.

The board amended Article 10 of the Code of Ethics, which addresses "duties to the public." That part of the Code already prohibits realtors from discriminating against customers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Standard of Practice 10-3 was also amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in any advertisements for selling or renting property. The change, met with applause, was passed unanimously by the Professional Standards Committee earlier in the week. The measure will now go before the NAR Delegate Body for approval at NAR’s annual conference in November.

Some states and numerous municipalities already have laws that prohibit housing discrimination, but this move by the NAR is certainly welcome.

(Tipped by JMG reader Richard)

Afternoon View - Target Marketing

Opus Dei Buys $7.5M Manhattan Home

The secretive Catholic group Opus Dei has purchased a $7.5M townhouse near their opulent headquarters in Manhattan's posh Murray Hill.

The house was bought by the Rosemoor Foundation, whose Web site says it funds "cultural centers and activities whose origin and mission are inspired by the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei." The foundation bought the place from hedge-funder Albert J. Fitzgibbins III, a founder of Stonington Partners. A neighbor told us, "There were fears they would use it as a halfway house for the rehabilitation of pedophile priests." But a spokesman for Opus Dei -- which was scandalized in what many considered an inaccurate portrayal in "The Da Vinci Code" -- said the house would be used "as a residence for women where they would be offered philosophical, theological and spiritual guidance." Calls to Rosemoor and Fitzgibbins were not returned.

Opus Dei interior designers plan a gut renovation to make room for the self-flagellation stations and blood drains. Hardwood floors and granite countertops throughout!