1. The Dillon, 425 West 53rd Street
What it is: Developer SDS Procida’s big project has 51 “flats” (studios to three-bedrooms), 22 duplexes, and nine triplex townhouses with their own street entrances. Has a zingy folded-glass façade; won an award from the American Institute of Architects.
Prices: Studios start at $550,000. Townhouses start at $3.5 million.
The strategy: The mix of units should help with the sales effort, since the project can attract a wide range of buyers, says Corcoran Sunshine’s Jen Hall.
2. +Art, 540 West 28th Street
What it is: An 88-unit “bohemia-nouveau” condo in West Chelsea.
Prices: $500,000 to $2 million.
The strategy: Technically a relaunch: The developers closed their sales office last fall and sat tight till now. “We opened in October 2008, which may have been the worst time to open a building,” admits Stephen Kliegerman of Halstead Property Development Marketing. He insists that the hiatus works in their favor, because buyers now like to see condos near completion.
3. 123 Third Avenue
What it is: A 47-unit development with one-, two-, and three-bedrooms at the corner of 14th Street. Residents have access to a four-season outdoor kitchen for grilling.
Prices: One-bedrooms start in the mid-$500,000s; the penthouses top out at $3.495 million.
The strategy: Says Elaine Diratz, managing director for Corcoran Sunshine Marketing, “Anybody building that type of product”—condos priced below the jumbo-loan threshold— “I think will do well.”
4. PS90, 220 West 148th Street
What it is: A 75-unit, six-story conversion of a turn-of-the-century elementary school near Hamilton Heights. Best amenity: a real workshop where residents can play This Old House.
Prices: $450,000 to $899,000.
The strategy: Kliegerman says he has “no worries about Harlem,” adding that projects there are “selling well” when carefully priced. “Most of the jobs in Harlem that have problems were overpriced to begin with.” Architecturally lively, too.
5. 1055 Park Avenue
What it is: Five huge apartments in a twelve-story development at East 87th Street. They’re fitted with “smart home” electronics that control everything from thermostats to speakers.
Prices: $9.3 million for a two-bedroom; $16.5 million for a huge triplex.
The strategy: Glass cladding on Park Avenue is a “unique opportunity,” says Adrienne Albert of the Marketing Directors, Inc. She’s aiming for buyers who want to live on Park without a co-op application. Asking prices are rarefied, but there are still a few Russian oilmen around.…
6. Ensemble, 345 State Street, Boerum Hill
What it is: A row of six newly announced townhouses, each about 5,500 square feet and equipped with its own elevator.
Prices: Between $3.5 million and $4 million apiece.
The strategy: “We’re not worried,” says the development team’s Hesky Brahimy about unveiling his project, despite the fact that the over–$2 million segment has stayed chilly of late. “It’s six, not 600.” We like their chances: Brooklyn buyers are brownstone buyers, and these houses come without century-old plumbing.