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If you're looking to buy a condo in Dumbo, then boy have we got some good news for you. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has given architecture firm ODA's design for 10 Jay Street a thumbs up. DNAinfo reports that by the end of this month, the last commercial tenant left in the building will bid the space farewell so the space can be converted to condos. The commission was reportedly won over by the design "because it honors the building's history as a sugar refinery" by using "oddly shaped glass pieces in the façade to represent the crystal-like shine of sugar" as well as brick and steel, which echoes the building's manufacturing past. How sweet it is! Crews begin demolition and renovation in May and the condos should be ready by middle of next year, so start saving those pennies.

Before a young Al Capone packed his bags and headed to the Windy City to make a name for himself in Chicago's organized crime circuit, he cut his teeth in Brooklyn, where he was born and bred. Capone and his family lived at 21 Garfield Place. He would go across the street to the poolroom at 20 Garfield Place, where his dad taught him how to play. That building still stands today, but not for long. DNAinfo reports that "plans are underway to build a four-story, eight-unit apartment building with a penthouse on Garfield Place between Fourth and Fifth avenues." Yep, we're losing another colorful piece of New York history, even if it’s a little notorious, because the buildings at 20 Garfield Place as well as 18 Garfield Place are going to be demolished to make way for the condo project. DNAinfo references an urban legend that claims Capone hid "riches inside the walls of one of his homes on the block." Nothing's ever come of it, but on the off chance no one has checked the poolroom, well, the demolition crew may have a shot at finding a nice surprise! Who doesn't love a bit of treasure?

Photo by Nicholas Strini for Property Shark.

Considering the hefty price tags on some of the ultra-luxury units in super posh condos being constructed all over the city, you kind of expect a lot of bang for your buck — if you're one of the lucky buyers, of course. And developers are looking to deliver just that. Take one of the apartments planned for 53W53, an ultra-luxury residential tower being built next to the Museum of Modern Art. Well, take all of the apartments in that building. Each apartment's layout needs to accommodate the unusual architectural elements of the asymmetrical, 1,050-foot tower designed by Jean Nouvel, reports The New York Times, which will "taper as it rises like a shard of glass." So how do you figure out how the pieces of this very expensive puzzle will ultimately fit together? In the case of 53W53, you build a full-scale mock-up of a $10 million apartment in an industrial section of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and start working out all the kinks. The Times explains that the prototype functions as a lab of sorts, so developers can troubleshoot "most of the challenges posed by the building’s unusual design." How cool is that? 

How do you like this frigid weather? Early this morning, it was one whole degree Fahrenheit in Central Park. You might have to get used to it because it looks like there's more extreme weather in our future thanks to climate change. Brooklyn Magazine reported that a dispatch from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office says the five boroughs are about to get swampy and more… underwater. According to the mayor's report, projected sea levels will rise 11 to 21 inches by the 2050s. Park Slope can actually become an island. Does that mean there's a Survivor: Park Slope in our future? Okay, okay, a more serious question. What's the mayor doing about this grim news? "He’s vowed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and has a plan in place to gird the shoreline of the city against future extreme weather events," according to Brooklyn Magazine

Move over, Williamsburg. Epic Commercial Realty CEO Yona Edelkopf believes Prospect-Lefferts Gardens is the next big things in Brooklyn. Why? Edelkopf said in a statement quoted by DNAinfo.com that the neighborhood is getting a lot of "continuous attention" from investors and developers thanks to larger-scale condo and rental developments in the area. Just last week, a parking lot at 227 Clarkson Avenue sold for $1.35 million to Brookland Capital, a developer that plans to build condos on the property. DNAinfo adds that "the lot is one of more than a dozen development and construction projects in the area, where the local community board has been considering controversial changes to zoning rules meant to regulate the building boom." 

If you think supermarket options are few and far between in Clinton Hill, then bad news. It looks like the Key Food on Lafayette Avenue is going the way of the dinosaur. According to DNAinfo, "Slate Property Group is in the process of buying the building at 325 Lafayette Avenue," and it looks they plan to demolish it to build condos in its place. The spokesperson for the owners of the Key Food told DNAinfo she could not give any more information beyond confirming the building was in the process of being sold. Nothing's set in stone just yet — the entire project is in the planning stages — so there is a chance, however great or slim, that the new developers might reserve space in the new building's ground floor for the grocery store. But until a definitive decision is made, neighborhood folks will remain anxious about the possibility of losing a convenient grocery store option. Who can blame them? Fewer stores means less competition and prices that inevitably creep upward. And if you don't have a car? Fuggedaboutit. Get ready for longer walks.

It's no news that prices in Bed-Stuy have been on the rise and then some. Just ask all the people who have as many as four roommates and still find their share of rent creeping close to the $1,000 mark. And what about buyers? Well, with the neighborhood's historic brownstones hitting record numbers, some agents say buyers are looking at condos as alternatives, reports DNAinfo. Halstead Property real estate agent Morgan Munsey said Bedford Avenue would soon become a "condo canyon." Why? "Fourteen studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments will soon go on sale at a new 'boutique condominium development' at 1188 Bedford Avenue." With units at 1188 reportedly going for up to $825,000 — nearly a grand per square foot — it certainly looks like the condo boom is alive and well in Brooklyn, and Bedford Avenue it the new condo hot spot. Sure, $825,000 is hardly chump change, but it's a lot more affordable than dropping a million on one of those brownstones.

Park Slope's architecture is most certainly one of the factors that make this area of Brooklyn such a desirable place to live. The buildings in this neighborhood have character — even those that fall into disrepair. Such is the case with the five-story building at 187 Seventh Avenue, at Second Street. It was once owned by Dorothy Nash, reports The New York Times, who "also operated the Landmark Pub [there] until the late 1990s. [She] moved out at some point." Covered in graffiti, dilapidated and with most of its roof missing, it was considered an eyesore by many. Luckily, Sugar Hill Capital Partners, the developers who snapped it up for $4.2 million in 2013 after it was threatened with foreclosure, has decided to invest an additional $6 million to restore it and build four three-bedroom condos, along with an elevator, lobbies, and retail space. According to The Times, the condos, "called 2ND7TH, will be completed in the fall and went on the market this month, with prices starting at $3.198 million." 

Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark.

Prices in Brooklyn continue to skyrocket, and more of the locations that make Brooklyn so charming and engaging to new residents continue to disappear. Even landmarks have to make way for all those new condos. And another one just bit the dust, reports the New York Daily News. The historic Brooklyn Lyceum on 227 4th Avenue — which was originally a public bathhouse and most recently a performance venue — is going condo. According to the Daily News, former owner Eric Richmond fell behind on mortgage payments, which opened the door for real estate developer Greystone. The developer snapped up the Fourth Avenue landmark for $7.6 million at a foreclosure auction in October last year, and will be converting the space into high-end townhouse-style homes. Alas, no more eccentric musical acts by independent artists. But there is a silver lining: the building's "celebrated façade, which still features stucco and terra-cotta dolphins dating back to the building's bathhouse days, will remain intact."

Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark.

A condo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has instituted a policy that requires buyers to pay $1,500 capital contribution charge. According to one of the condo's unit owners, "the bylaws do not give the board authority to require a capital contribution in this situation. In my view, it is essentially a flip tax." What if future boards decide to increase the fee? Is there a way to nip this in the bud? The unit owner reaches out to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times for some advice. Kaysen explains that the bylaws must give the board explicit permission to collect a capital contribution such as this $1,500 charge. If not, "then the board has certainly overstepped its boundaries" and essentially amended its bylaws — which it can only do if two-thirds of the unit owners vote in favor. Good news for the concerned unit-owner, right? Wrong. Kaysen adds that "the board could probably enforce the rule without a vote." And what if a buyer doesn't want to pay? Well, then, the board can block the sale. What are the odds you'll go to court over 1,500 bucks?

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