Hive mind: Birds and bees become haute amenities at NYC condo buildings
Let’s talk about the birds and the bees … of residential real estate The latest spin on green amenities is landscaped areas with beehives that produce honey for residents and spaces that attract migratory birds. “Now, instead of just having pretty gardens for residents to spend time in, buildings are being more deliberate about the kind of nature experiences they offer,” said Corcoran real estate agent Tara King-Brown. “[Birds and bees] should be celebrated because they’re signs that warmer weather is ahead.” First to the bees. New York City had 326 registered hives in 2020, according to city’s Department of…
Date 2022-06-10
Author Shivani Vora
Consumer Reports signs lease for first Manhattan office
Consumer Reports has signed a two-year lease for a 8,189 square-foot office at the Durst Organization’s 675 Third Ave. The teeny-tiny lease is notable because it will be the first time the venerable product- and service-testing organ has ever had a Manhattan office. The satellite location in the recently upgraded tower will give Consumer Reports staff easy access to their Yonkers headquarters via Metro North from nearby Grand Central Terminal.
Date 2022-06-01
Author Steve Cuozzo
Consumer Reports Takes 8K SF in Midtown East for First Manhattan Outpost
Consumer Reports is testing some new digs in Manhattan The nonprofit research and product testing organization signed a two-year lease for 8,189 square feet on the second floor of 675 Third Avenue to establish a satellite office in the borough, Commercial Observer has learned. Asking rents were $72 per square foot, according to landlord the Durst Organization. “This is a plug-and-play solution with furniture [and] a very high-end, forward-thinking trendy premises, which attracted Consumer Reports given that this is their first Manhattan-based office location,” said Durst’s Lauren Ferrentino, who handled the deal in-house for the landlord with Ashlea Aaron. “It…
Date 2022-05-27
Author Celia Young
Power 100
#9 Douglas Durst and Jonathan “Jody” Durst Chairman; President at Durst Organization Last year's rank: 5 The name “Durst” has been one of the stalwarts of New York City real estate since the family patriarch, Joseph, purchased his first building in 1915. His grandsons, Douglas and Jonathan “Jody” Durst, have been through enough that they can deal with something like a pandemic without losing their stride. While they control a substantial residential catalog, the Dursts said that their Manhattan-based company’s commercial portfolio in particular is going “gangbusters.” That portfolio boasts total or partial control of skyscrapers such as 1 Bryant…
Date 2022-05-16
Author Mark Hallum
The first retail tenant for Durst's new LIC rental tower: a brewery
Finback’s original brewery is also in Queens, further east in Glendale. Its second opened in Gowanus in the summer of 2020. Both are in relatively industrial, simple spaces. The Long Island City location is, by contrast, brand new, with big glass windows “It’s much more finished,” said Basil Lee, co-owner of the brewery chain. “Our focus is on making a nice space, upping the finishes and the design.” Durst is financing some of the build-out. Lee said the location would brew interesting small batches, using mixed cultures and fruit grown on Finback’s own upstate farm. There will be beers made…
Date 2022-04-28
Author Cara Eisenpress