Page 4 - CooperatorNews NY July 2022

4 COOPERATORNEWS — JULY 2022 COOPERATORNEWS.COM PULSE Industry Pulse Appointments & Transitions James Anderson Joins MGS The law firm of McCullough, Gold- berger & Staudt, LLP (MGS) in White Plains announces via press release that it has hired James Anderson as counsel. According to the release, Anderson joins MGS from his own private practice, James R. Anderson Law Office of Harri- son, where he focused on litigation and real estate, representing clients in con- struction, commercial leasing, commer- cial/real estate contract, cooperative cor- poration and condominium association, and brokerage commission disputes. “We welcome Jim to McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt and are excited to have an attorney with his level of experi- ence and skill joining our excellent group of lawyers,” says Seth M. Mandelbaum, the firm’s managing partner. “Jim’s famil- iarity with the community is an added strength that will round out our already seasoned team of attorneys.” Prior to starting his own firm, An- derson served as counsel for the Yon- kers firm of Smith, Buss & Jacobs, LLP, where he practiced general commercial and real estate litigation in the state and federal courts. He also served as an as- sociate with the New York City law firms of Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer LLP; McDermott Will & Emery; and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP. “I am excited to be joining a first- rate firm with expertise that fits so well with, and complements, my experience and interests,” says Anderson. “I hope to contribute meaningfully to meeting the needs of McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt clients, and I’m sure the firm will bring great value to mine.” Anderson is a member of the New York State Bar and is admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar Asso- ciation. He received his law degree from New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. Finance Upper East Side Co-op Obtains $85M Refinance Commercial Observer reports that the owners of an Upper East side co-op building have secured an $85 million debt package to refinance the asset. According to the outlet, First Republic Bank provided the loan for 230 East 73rd Street. The borrower was listed in prop- erty records as 230 East 73rd Owners Corp. in care of Halsted Management. Hayden Schofield, who is listed as the owner and board president of 230 East 73rd Owners Corp., did not immediately return a request for comment, says Com- mercial Observer. Located in Manhattan’s Lenox Hill neighborhood between Third Avenue and Second Avenue, the 1937-built prop- erty has a health club and rooftop ter- race. The prewar building, which was designed by Emery Roth, also includes an elevator and a full-time doorman, the outlet notes. Six apartment sales have occurred at the co-op during the past 12 months, re- ports Commercial Observer, with an av- erage price of $1.4 million. In 2020, four apartments sold at an average transac- tion value of $1.5 million. Industry News The Folson Group Accepted into NYC Accelerator Service Provider Program In a press release, New York City co- op and condo consultancy The Folson Group announces its acceptance into the NYC Accelerator Service Provider Pro- gram, which allows the company to be a partner in the city’s efforts to decarbon- ize buildings in compliance with the Cli- mate Mobilization Act. According to the release, the Accelera- tor Program provides access to various benefits and resources designed to help co-op, condo, and multifamily property owners increase their energy efficiency by reducing their energy and water con- sumption. The Folson Group’s services include energy and water reduction, reduction of general operating and construction costs, and construction project management. “This partnership agreement marks the beginning of a joint commitment to help every NYC co-op and condo owner live in a greener, more sustainable, and more affordable building,” says Folson CEO and co-founder Tina Larsson. Trends Condo Buyers Continue to Upsize in NYC Mansion Global reports that even sec- ond, third, and beyond home buyers are looking for more space in their New York City apartments as the desire for com- modious condos continues well into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the search to accommodate more activities at home such as working, din- ing, exercising, and entertaining, buyers are gravitating to larger apartments—es- pecially in Manhattan, where the pied- à-terre market is most robust. Contracts for units with three or more bedrooms are well above pre-pandemic rates, notes Mansion, with the median size of resale condos consistently increasing since 2016. Median condo size has jumped 16%, from 956 square feet in 2016 to 1,123 square feet by the close of 2021. Melanie Estrada, sales director for One United Nations Park condominium, has seen multiple buyers upsizing their units. “Buyers found that their needs changed during the pandemic,” she tells Mansion, “and they want larger layouts even if they keep the same number of bedrooms. \[Or\] people want a second bedroom with a door to close to use as an office or to take a conference call. They also want space, light, and air from mul- tiple directions.” Four-bedroom duplex units with a den, 20-foot-high ceilings, and more than 3,800 square feet of living space have been the most popular units, de- spite their price tag of $6.45 million or more, according to the report. In new developments, too, realtors are seeing the reversal of a long-stand- ing trend where smaller units would sell first. Now, they say, it is the larger, more expensive units selling quickest, espe- cially if they have private outdoor space. At Vandewater, a new 33-story con- do tower in Morningside Heights, eight of the approximately 100 buyers so far chose to upsize their units, reports Man- sion. Peter Denby, sales manager at the project, tells the outlet, “We’ve had three two-bedroom buyers upsize to a three- bedroom and three one-bedroom buy- ers upsize to a two-bedroom. The other two buyers switched to a larger floor plan with the same number of bedrooms, in one case a one-bedroom and in the other a three-bedroom.” Many purchasers who had a contract on a unit upsized when they were able to see the models and because interest rates were low, he says. At the recently refurbished Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, senior director of sales Dan Tubb has seen the upsiz- ing trend in both pied-à-terre purchases and new primary residences. “We’ve transitioned into a new market since the pandemic,” he tells Mansion, “but the de- sire for outdoor space and more interior space to work and entertain at home will continue.” Transactions Neil Patrick Harris Sells Harlem Brownstone for Record $7.1M Television, film, and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris and his husband ac- tor David Burtka recently sold their five- story 1908 Harlem brownstone for $7.1 million, setting a record for the historic neighborhood. According to a press release, the 8,000-square-foot home includes five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half bathrooms, along with 12-foot ceilings, light-filled spaces, and original wood- work. Harris and Burtka bought the town- house mansion at 2036 Fifth Avenue in 2013 for $3.6 million, according to reporting by The Real Deal. They reno- vated the home with Los Angeles-based interior designer Trace Lehnhoff and New York architect Jeffrey Povero to in- clude a ten-seat home theater, a chef’s kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, a rec room, a wine cellar, a workshop, and a gym. The parlor-floor salon sports an updated vintage bar salvaged from a Connecticut hotel. An office on the top floor is accessed by a secret door that opens by pressing the eyeball of a magi- cian on a vintage poster—Harris’s per- sonal touch, according to the release. “I come from a Scooby-Doo mental- ity,” Harris told Architectural Digest in a 2015 profile of the home, “where there are secret doors and the eyes on pictures move.” The outdoor spaces include a deck off the kitchen with a built-in gas grill and a larger furnished roof deck with a wooden pergola and another built-in gas grill. A third outdoor area includes a terraced garden. The purchaser is reported to be a local New Yorker. Vickey Barron of Compass had the listing. n Please submit Pulse items to Darcey Gerstein at darcey@cooperatornews.com