West Chelsea Sales Signal a Coming-Out

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The New York Sun

In a matter of 36 hours last week, every available luxury condominium in a new construction on Tenth Avenue was sold out, and real estate professionals say the swift sale of the units signifies a coming-out for the West Chelsea neighborhood.


With the renovation of the Highline and a rezoning of the Hudson Yards pending, the Far West Side is one of Manhattan’s last underdeveloped neighborhoods. New Yorkers who missed the chance to buy in other areas are rushing to prevent making the same mistake again.


“This is one of the first big public recognitions that the Far West Side is profitable for investors,” said the head of residential development at the Real Estate Board of New York, Eileen Spinola. “Buyers who missed the beat with downtown, Harlem, and other hot neighborhoods are approaching the West Side with a vengeance.”


Vesta 24, the development at 24th Street and 10th Avenue, was in such high demand last week that even celebrity buyer Lorraine Bracco of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” was turned away.


“In my years of doing real estate, this is the fastest I have ever sold out a building,” said a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, Jim Brawders, who was the exclusive marketer of the building with his partner, Cay Trigg Blau.


The apartment has 22 units, and the sponsors and developers kept five for themselves, putting the remaining 17 on sale last Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, all 17 had contracts out, said Mr. Brawders, who expects the contracts on all 17 apartments back and signed by the end of this week.


Most apartments in the building are 1,421-square-foot units with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a terrace or balcony. While the lower floors were priced around $1.1 million, depending on whether the unit has with a terrace or a larger balcony, the upper floors sold for up to $1.34 million. The building has four full-floor penthouses that range in price from $2.6 million to $3 million and include wood-burning fireplaces, roof decks, and city views.


All of the units have stainless steel appliances, Miele cook tops and wall ovens, and Bosch dishwashers. The kitchens have moveable islands that can be removed during a party, and the bathrooms are finished in natural stone and polished concrete tiles.


The facade of the building is partly covered in wood. The building’s services include a 24-hour concierge and it is expected to be ready for occupancy by mid-summer.


As is often the case with new buildings, a list of clients who wanted to view the apartments had been compiled weeks in advance. And in a competitive market, sometimes those with bookings toward the end of the day were left empty-handed.


“I had an appointment at 5 o’clock to show a client one of the apartments, but by then, everything was gone,” Corcoran Group broker Gabriel Bedoya said.


The developers bucked a common trend that allowed them to sell out the building in such a speedy fashion. Rather than put a few units on the market at a lower price to test demand, and then raise prices if possible, the developers of Vesta 24, known collectively as the Vesta Group, which also includes Mark Blau of HuDu Development, kept the prices at a low base level.


Not only does this increase demand, but it speeds up the buying process. Every time a developer raises the asking price on a unit, they must send a letter requesting an amendment to the state attorney general’s office, which can cause delays.


“Most developers release a couple of units, then increase prices accordingly, which can take a few days,” said the head of Douglas Elliman’s new development group, Andy Gerringer. “In this case, the developers must have wanted to just cash out and be done, while most developers want to maximize the development by taking more time.”


Calls to Marsha LaTessa of the Vesta Group were not returned.


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