By Kim Velsey 8/29/12 7:34pm

Manhattan Transfers

11 Photos

Thomas Kren Sell Tribeca Triplex Loft.

Deaccessioning: Guggenheim Guru Thomas Krens Sells Tribeca Loft for $6.3 M.

During his 20-year tenure as the director of the S0lomon R. Guggenheim foundation and its global network of museums here and abroad, Thomas Krens courted controversy by selling off older pieces in the collection to buy new ones. It appears that he does not approach offloading real estate with the same equanimity.

After briefly listing his 4,450-square-foot Tribeca triplex for $5.5 million in 2005—generating rumors that he was not much longer for the Guggenheim’s top spot—Mr. Krens took the condo off the market, and there it stayed for the next seven years. Read More

By Kim Velsey 8/02/12 4:01pm

Starchitecture

14 Photos

The view from the penthouse

How the 0.1 Percent Lives: Touring the Gehry Penthouses

Inside the penthouses of 8 Spruce Street, the fact that the building was designed by Frank Gehry seems incidental. At 850-feet-high, the weirdly angled windows and sleek finishes blend into the exquisite (and exquisitely dull) good taste of thousands of other high-end apartments around the city. It is the view that dominates.

A set of rooms, in the end, can only have so many permutations, but the view from a tower that rises 76 stories above lower Manhattan—its developers say that it is the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere—is unique, the trump card that New York by Gehry is counting on to collect $60,000 a month for the largest penthouse and $45,000 a month for the two smaller ones.

“For this type of renter, it’s kind of understood that it has to have a good layout. But layouts are subjective,” said Clifford Finn, the president of New Development Marketing at Citi Habitats, the agent for the building. “There’s no question that anyone would walk in here and not like these views.” Read More

By Kim Velsey 7/25/12 4:14pm

Manhattan Transfers

11 Photos

Katy Perry Sells Tribeca Pad

Katy Perry Kisses Tribeca Condo Goodbye For $2.6 M.

When it came to the two-bedroom penthouse at 65 North Moore Street, pop princess Katy Perry was hot and cold. While Ms. Perry rushed to scoop up the “romantic duplex” right before her marriage to Russell Brand in 2010, she was more than willing to let it go by this winter, even taking a small loss on the property.

Two years after paying $2.68 million for the airy downtown duplex, Ms. Perry seemed ready for a fresh start following her split with the raunchy British comic. She put the condo on the market in February, listing it for $2.75 million with Prudential Douglas Elliman broker John Prince. City records show that Ms. Perry has now sold the condo for $2.62 million. Read More

By Kim Velsey 7/23/12 6:30pm

Manhattan Transfers

Preppy. And pristine.

Ralph Lauren Exec Jackwyn Nemerov Sheds Tribeca Pad

Keeping an apartment in the city, while almost as de riguer as country club membership among the corporate elite, is not for everyone. And it appears that Ralph Lauren’s executive vice president has decided she’d prefer to live full-time where the polo ponies roam, in Greenwich.

Jackwyn Nemerov and husband Neal, who heads up the Nemerov Charitable foundation, have sold their 22nd floor condo at 101 Warren Street, cashing the two-bedroom in for $4 million, according to city records. Read More

By Jess Schiewe 6/15/12 4:23pm

Developing Situations

Don't let these pretty lights distract you from the rampant development that's taking place in Tribeca. (Flickr, Garrett Cox)

How to Make It in Tribeca: Be Sleek Yet Just Historical Enough

Historic designations are like monkey traps (yes, these exist): they work in the beginning, but eventually their intended targets learn how to out-smart them. Case in point: development in Tribeca.

For years, the neighborhood’s “historic designation has helped preserve [Tribeca’s] architectural character and low-density environs,” the Wall Street Journal writes, but developers are increasingly finding ways to get around the zoning restrictions.  Spurred in part by buyers’ high demand to live in the low-density, somewhat remote area, brokers and developers have lined up a number of new projects that are set to open in the next 18 to 24 months. While some of these new projects are loft and warehouse conversions, most of them are ground-up construction projects.  And boy are there a lot of them.

Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/12/12 2:58pm

Manhattan Transfers

12 Photos

Skyloft Penthouse

Skyloft Penthouse Back on the Market, Asking Sky-High $48 M.

Do you hate exterior walls? Would you prefer high-performance glass instead? Do you have $48 million to spare? Then you’re in luck because the skyloft penthouse is back on the market!

The 7,493-square foot duplex penthouse at 145 Hudson Street is the perfect home for scofflaws who hate the idea of laying low. Not only is the penthouse’s size in violation of landmarks regulations (it had to be partially torn down to fit a smaller footprint, although it still managed to get 7 more feet of airspace than it should hvae), but it is currently owned by ex-con William Duker. Mr. Duker, who pleaded guilty in 1997 to defrauding the FDIC, paid $30 million for the property in 2008 (a downtown record at the time). Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/07/12 6:53pm

Manhattan Transfers

5 Photos

Pruitt's new pad

Extra! Extra! New AP Chief Gary Pruitt Heds To $4.3 M. Tribeca Pad

Taking the top post at the Associated Press isn’t Gary Pruitt’s only big move—he’s also inked a deal on a 3-bedroom Tribeca condo.

Mr. Pruitt and wife Abby are leaving Sacramento and McClatchy behind for an airy space at 101 Warren Street. The Pruitts plunked down $4.3 million for the pad, a little over the $4.29 million ask, according to city records. The couple signed the contract just two days before AP broke the news of his hire in March.

The apartment, which has been on the market since late last year, has taken a price cut since it was initially listed with Corcoran broker Heather Cook, so we’re not sure why the couple was willing to pay over ask. Maybe another late-on-the-scene buyer materialized and Mr. Pruitt was afraid of getting scooped? Read More