(Michael Sofronski)
If you stop by the sales office at 1212 Fifth Ave., the newly redeveloped condo at 102nd Street, part of a full block of ground-up and converted real estate, you might find the construction crew using one of their more potent tools: a toothbrush.
Like a team of restoration artists at work on an Italian fresco, the 1212 Fifth crew are perched on ladders, scrubbing the moldings. Their aim is to restore the lobby to its original splendor by its expected December move-in date (the building was originally a rental in the 1920s).
Upstairs, the property, which faces Central Park, has undergone a gut renovation (with interiors by S. Russell Groves) to turn these apartments into something a little more modern and luxurious.
Few places can pull off prewar and modern in tandem quite like Fifth Avenue. “We wanted to keep the classical elements,” says Adam Rosenberg of Durst Fetner, which is developing 1212 Fifth. “It’s part of the character and charm.”
But the developers have also thrown in amenities like custom-made Italian kitchens and a 2,600-square-foot gym. (The building is also eco-friendly and striving for LEED certification.)
And the 16-story, 57-unit development is at a price point that one rarely finds on the park (the building is at the very edge of what could be considered the Upper East Side). An 809-square-foot one-bedroom starts at $735,000, which works out to just over $900 per square foot. The average price of units will be around $1,300 per square foot in total.
“When we set the prices, we set them at a place where people could recognize that value,” says Damon Pazzaglini of Durst Fetner. “It is obviously discounted from co-ops located on Fifth. We know we’re giving discounted value at an amazing Fifth Avenue location.”
The whole block is getting a shot of redevelopment, mostly being carried out by Durst Fetner. Aside from 1212 Fifth, Durst is in the middle of constructing, for the Mount Sinai Medical Center, a ground-up, 43-story, mixed-use office tower and apartment building (there should be 229 units in this complex, which are slated to hit the market early next year). A third building, a science center for Mount Sinai, is also going up.
All told, “nearly $1 billion worth of construction” will be spent on the block, Pazzaglini says.
And despite the fact that there are still bargains this far north, one is also starting to see prices edge up. The 2,689-square-foot penthouse at 1212 Fifth is going for $7.995 million — almost $3,000 per square foot. (“We do think there’s potential for upward pressure on price,” Pazzaglini says, diplomatically.)
And one needs only go up another eight blocks to 1280 Fifth Ave., the new Robert A.M. Stern-designed condo building that also houses the Museum of African Art, to see how well a developer can do above 96th Street.
In May, a 1,756-square-foot penthouse combo unit at 1280 Fifth Ave. went to contract for $3.1 million — which works out to a hefty $1,765 per square foot. Another combo unit also sold last week for a respectable $1,212 per square foot, moving the building three condos shy of having its offering plan declared effective.
“The area of upper Fifth Avenue is a tremendous value relative to prices on lower Fifth,” says broker Nancy Packes of Brown Harris Stevens, which is marketing 1280 Fifth. “Local and international buyers really are understanding that with properties of value, there’s very little left. To get the combination of scarcity and world-class address and Central Park views,” they have to go north.
Just don’t forget to bring your toothbrush!