News In NYC, front doors are for rich people only

[Czcibor]

I've got a different thought:

The status grants Extell the aforementioned tax breaks and the right to construct a larger building than would ordinarily be allowed.

So first gov limits the supply and later fights heroically with too high prices?

 

[Travis_King]

I've got a different thought:



So first gov limits the supply and later fights heroically with too high prices?

The height of newly constructed buildings is strictly controlled in NYC, especially in the high demand areas. People who pay top dollar want height, but If you want to build a high rise with only residential units, you're going to have a tough time. But if you include in your building permit application a few floors of commercial space, you can get away with extra floors. Problem is: if you are paying 12 million for a penthouse condo, do you really want tons of people coming into your building visiting Wells Fargo or tons of foot traffic from clients visiting the financial group that moved into the 4th floor? Probably not. So adding commercial space to get those penthouses up in the air may not pay off.

However, if you get that extra height because you added subsidized housing, AND that housing is basically completely separated from the luxury condos, you've got the best of both worlds. Good business plan on pretty much all fronts.

 

[WWGD]

The height of newly constructed buildings is strictly controlled in NYC, especially in the high demand areas. People who pay top dollar want height, but If you want to build a high rise with only residential units, you're going to have a tough time. But if you include in your building permit application a few floors of commercial space, you can get away with extra floors. Problem is: if you are paying 12 million for a penthouse condo, do you really want tons of people coming into your building visiting Wells Fargo or tons of foot traffic from clients visiting the financial group that moved into the 4th floor? Probably not. So adding commercial space to get those penthouses up in the air may not pay off.

However, if you get that extra height because you added subsidized housing, AND that housing is basically completely separated from the luxury condos, you've got the best of both worlds. Good business plan on pretty much all fronts.

Can't you also have the best of both worlds by having separate entrances/elevators for businesses and for rentals? Maybe have the low-end condos share the entrance with businesses? If the businesses are facing the street, it is not that big of a deal, since , while high, foot traffic to businesses like delis, supermarkets is not extreme. Besides, I think many appreciate the convenience of having small businesses nearby, so they can just walk out and have a slice of pizza, or an espresso , and are willing to pay the price of having foot traffic around. I have seen this be the case in many fancy/expensive buildings.

 

[Travis_King]

Can't you also have the best of both worlds by having separate entrances/elevators for businesses and for rentals? Maybe have the low-end condos share the entrance with businesses? If the businesses are facing the street, it is not that big of a deal, since , while high, foot traffic to businesses like delis, supermarkets is not extreme. Besides, I think many appreciate the convenience of having small businesses nearby, so they can just walk out and have a slice of pizza, or an espresso , and are willing to pay the price of having foot traffic around. I have seen this be the case in many fancy/expensive buildings.

The commercial space almost exclusively goes to banks and financial firms (or lawyers, or some sort of thing like that). You almost never see high rises turn into shopping areas. The thing is, unless you are in the financial district, developers don't really build these types of buildings. The turnover is ridiculous; small firms that start up and can't afford madison ave so they go to the upper west side and then fizzle out in a few weeks owing a year and half of rent. So in areas that aren't financial districts, they don't really rent out commercial space, because as nice as it sounds, people who rent condos don't want to live above businesses. There's something psychologically...irksome...about it; people don't like it.

When I say commercial space, what I mean is that they have a first floor lobby, then several floors which are rented to various businesses that do not require foot traffic (so no delis, supermarkets, trinket shops, etc), and then the condos. These are luxury apartments. They have a lobby, a doorman, a lounge area, all that. There are thousands of apartements above delis in the city, but you'll never see luxury apartments above a Vacilios's Greek Market. Nobody will pay 5+ million if their apartment is above a deli.