Thank you to everyone who was able to attend my recent client event.
Georges Berges has placed his gorgeous gallery in SoHo, keeping a tradition of cutting edge contemporary art in that neighborhood alive and well.
Not to mention an amazing photo of Prince right before he became a rock star, in 1977.
And a lovely number of pieces by Michael Hafftka and John Phillips.
Georges Berges’ lovely SoHo gallery
And so, again, we talk about how art and real estate go so well together.
As art goes, so goes the real estate market.
The assets are “correlated,” as they say.
Art Walls seem to be what are selling best.
One of the biggest improvements from the last real estate cycle to this one, beyond the upgraded appliances, finishes, and general design – is the ceiling height.
I wrote about 160 Leroy and 100 East 53rd Street both touting their art walls.
Aby Rosen went a step further and put a $7mm Basquiat on the wall for you to imagine in your unit!
I thought this month that I would break out my market thoughts into the conceptual (this post) and the dollar-driven (next one).
Let’s think about the conceptual for now.
Do you like what’s being built right now?
New York seems to be at a critical juncture: Will it continue to consider itself Gotham, this 1920’s and 1930’s concept?
Will it embrace the new, what’s taking place in Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and 57th Street?
I believe that New York will split the difference – always you’ll find those value engineers making average buildings, or projects that reflect what is already here.
West 57th Street Pyramid
Competing are the traditionalists like Robert Stern,
who still are creating gorgeous things like 20 East End and the 70% sold out 30 Park Place, the Four Seasons building in Tribeca/Financial District.
Competing with that is the rediscovery of Ralph Walker and the conversion of all his telephone building designs into residential:
Walker Tower, Stella Tower, 100 Barclay.
These traditionalist architects
or developers leveraging the peak of those different eras and updating them.
Then you get architects like Bjarke Ingels doing amazing designs on the West Side on 57th Street, or Christian de Portzamparc doing the new MoMa tower at 53 West 53rd.
You have Zaha Hadid doing the Highline, Herzog & deMeuron making another go, Soo Chan as well.
Almost every great architect of today is all over.
Art and Fashion and Design beget Home Decor and Architecture.
The marriage and subsequent design babies are popping up everywhere.
The city is changing, growing taller.
Design-oriented new anchors the old in place.
Megatowers are considered and fought
– and depending on a butterfly’s wings in Singapore, and the local economy, may sprout and grow in a few years.
Whether you hate a building, love it, or want it somewhere other than in your backyard, the battle is on for the heart of New York.
We bemoan the building boom of the 80’s when such awful buildings happened.
Aren’t we happy that acclaimed experts are using New York City for their experiments?
When I try new music, I usually try to occupy myself with something else while it’s on.
If the music grabs my attention, then it may be something special.
I feel the same way about the buildings and design we are seeing.
Some of it, but far from all of it, is just noise.
Nice apartments, solid homes, places to hang your hat for a year or so.
Some special apartments and remarkable buildings being built will become iconic.
We are witnessing the most important addition to New York City in 80 years.
Our “art walls” are the streets of New York.
Our canvasses are the the streets – you will walk new paths, if only to pass this building or that, because it makes you feel good, special, bigger, taller, confident in the shadow of architectural genius.
See you in December – Scott