Kirkman Lofts, a new re-development project at 37 Bridge Street in Dumbo is 55% sold, according to building spokesperson. Sales launched in April 2011 and construction is expected to be complete this fall. Occuapncy is anticipated to begin at the end of 2011. “To date, every unit at Kirkman Lofts been sold for its full asking price and prices have increased three times since sales launched, making Kirkman Lofts one of Brooklyn’s most desirable places to live. Still offering competitive prices for real estate values in DUMBO, buyers are drawn to this one-of-a-kind building for its industrial-chic design and trendy location,” said Stephen G. Kliegerman, president of Halstead Property Development Marketing.

The building is comprised of 45 condominium residences in a mix of studios, one- two-, three, and four-bedroom homes. Remaining units range in size from approximately 861 to 2,803 square feet and in price from $625,000 to $2.4 million. According to Streeteasy, there are 7 active listings and 25 listings in contract:

Price per square foot range between $956 to $675 per sqft.

Previously:
{37 Bridge Street Nearly Complete, Now Known As Kirkman Lofts, 22Apr2011}
{Lightning Strikes 37 Bridge in Dumbo, 24Mar2011}
{37 Bridge St Gets Quiet, 17Dec2009}
{37 Bridge Street Update, 14Aug2009}
{Soundproofing Windows in Dumbo, 03Dec2007}

The folks from the new condo building at 109 Gold Street are hosting a seminar on renting vs buying in today’s market. The 33 unit building in Vinegar Hill became available on the market in March. According to Streeteasy, there are two units under contract and 6 active listigs. Has anyone seen the condo units in this building?

Seminar: Rent vs. Buy
Overview: A seminar regarding renting vs. buying in today’s market. Learn the benefits of owning and how to obtain a mortgage in today’s market.
Event Day: Thursday, September 15
Event Time: 6-8pm
Venue: 109 Gold Street, Brooklyn

About 109 Gold Street:

Construction is nearly complete at 109 Gold Street, a boutique 7-story condominium development comprised of 33 studios, one- and two-bedroom residences. Apartments range in price from $325,000 to $1,075,000 and in size from 478 to 1,269 square feet.

For more details and photos, go to 109gold.com

Previously:
{109 Gold Street Debut, 16Mar2011}

These four units are newly listed (past week) two bedroom rentals in Dumbo. The rental market in Dumbo remains brisk, as noted in January, but since then, a new rental building came on the market (25 Washington Street) and 220 Water Street will be a rental opening in January 2012. We’re still hearing from realtors that there are a limited number of larger units with 2 (with home office) or 3 bedrooms.

84 Front Street, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,093sqft, private balcony terrace. $3,980/mo. Listed by owner.

7 Old Fulton Street (Fulton Ferry Landing), 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1,015sqft, fireplace, 350sqft private roof deck. $3,750/mo. Listed by NY Casa Group.

1 Main Street, 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2,005sqft, corner loft with Brooklyn Bridge views. $7,900/mo. Listed by Sotheby’s.

135 Plymouth Street, 2 bedrooms. $4,300/mo. Listed by VLS Homes.

Related:
{Dumbo Is One of the Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods (Q2 2011), 16Aug2011}
{Find Rentals in Dumbo with Naked Apartments, 20Jul2011}
{Jimmy McMillan in Dumbo: Funny or Sad Truth?, 12May2011}
{Dumbo 1-2 Bedroom Rentals Most Expensive in Brooklyn, 23Mar2011}
{Rental Market in Dumbo To Stay Strong in 2011, Say Realtors, 13Jan2011}

If you’re in the market for a penthouse apartment in Dumbo but don’t want to spend $23 million, here’s a new listing at 30 Main Street offered by Sotheby’s. This 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom condo has great views of lower Manhattan and a spiral staircase that leads to a private terrace. The photos for this apartment are stunning, and looks like it’s in great shape. The interior square footage is 2,209 and 1,128 square feet of exterior space. Monthly real estate tax is $201 and common charges of $2,035 per month. Their offering this for $3,100,000 ($1,403 per sq ft), which is more expensive per square feet than recent sales in the building (approx $1,000 per square feet based Streeteasy data), but does not take into account the large exterior space – and that view. What do you think?

Sotheby’s listing for 30 Main St, PHF

 [+]

Here’s an oldie but goodie from Octupus Pie. Octopus Pie is an ongoing comic series about two women living in Brooklyn, NY – their jobs, social circles, and some problems. In this episode, the dialogue is about the Empire Stores and how Dumbo was named.

“You know why this neighborhood’s called Dumbo, right?”
“It’s an acronym, let’s see…District of Urbania’s Most Blatantly Overpriced, right?”
“Har har.”
“It was cheap in the 1970s. The artists who moved into these run-down factories named it.”
“They thought an ugly name would deter contractors from moving in.”
“Oh please, leave it to bohos to sanitize a scaary place and get mad when the yuppies arrive.”
“They meant well. I can’t blame them, really.”
“After all, Dumbo was always beautiful. It just took a bit of marketing for people to notice.”

And notice they did.

SoHo and Tribeca are the two most expensive neighborhoods in NYC (exceeding $2 million in median home prices for Q2 2011). But Dumbo is the forth most expensive neighborhood in NYC, according to a Property Shark analysis released today. Previous real estate reports already showed that Dumbo is the most expensive Brooklyn neighborhood. Property Shark says, “Surprisingly, Dumbo surpassed many high-end Manhattan neighborhoods and is in forth place with a median sale price of $1,075,000, 9% up from the median sale price recorded in Q2 2010, which was $990.000.” One realtor told us that “despite the overall market, it makes sense that Dumbo is so pricey due to the low inventory and higher demand. More families and finance industry professionals want to move to Brooklyn and Dumbo is a good option in terms of convenience and community.”

We’ve seen new developments in Dumbo such as 205 Water Street and 192 Water Street get strong attention from prospective buyers, but the Property Shark report also mirrors the tight rental market in Dumbo. As some real estate firms confirmed earlier this year, the Dumbo rental market remains strong in 2011. People who were priced out of Dumbo were looking at less expensive Manhattan neighborhoods such as Midtown and Lower East Side as early as 2008. The only other Brooklyn neighborhood in the top 10 for sales is Boerum Hill at number 10, with a medium sales price of $801.000.

(Q2 2011, Most Expensive Neighborhoods chart, Propertyshark.com)

Related:
{Find Rentals in Dumbo with Naked Apartments, 20Jul2011}
{1 Main Street Penthouse Back on the Market for $23.5M, 15Apr2011}
{Dumbo 1-2 Bedroom Rentals Most Expensive in Brooklyn, 23Mar2011}
{Rental Market in Dumbo To Stay Strong in 2011, Say Realtors, 13Jan2011}
{Early Census Bureau for Dumbo Isn’t Much of a Surprise, 22Dec2010}
{Priced Out of Dumbo? Try Manhattan., 26Nov2008}
{Dumbo is Brooklyn’s Priciest Neighborhood, 02Oct2008}

It’s premature to say that a decision has been made to repurpose the ConEd plant along John Street in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill as part of Brooklyn Bridge Park, but an article in the Brooklyn Eagle says that it’s not out of the question. After all, the original plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park was originally planned to stretch only betwee Piers 1 and 5. Pier 6 was added later because the Port Authority owned it. The plans for the park end at Jay Street and John Street. Related to the land near the ConEd plant, last week, politicians decided not to veto a residential building at the John Street plot, but reduced the proposed 17 story building to a 12 stories. DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance’s Doreen Gallo argued the following point in her editorial piece in the Brooklyn Paper.:

“The John Street site should remain public — a great open space to see the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges together on the waterfront. With the power plant closing this year, we should be looking at this site in its entirety up to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and not be thinking about the immediate real estate greed of the present administration.

Any building on the John Street site will eliminate this parcel and future Con Edison waterfront parcels to be considered part of the park and wall off the entrance of the surrounding communities of Vinegar Hill, Farragut and Bridge Plaza.”

A building on John Street could potentially close off the East-West access from Pearl Street towards Gold Street on the waterfront. The Brooklyn Eagle mentions that the ConEd plant in Vinegar Hill will be torn down, which Brownstoner mentioned last year, but for the land to become part of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, several pieces would need to come together for it to happen (environmental surveys, finances, clean up, etc). If the land were repurposed, it would be a nice way to connect the waterfront from the Navy Yards to Pier 6.

(192 Water Street)

(205 Water Street)

In addition to the 220 Water Street rental building being rehabbed for occupancy in January 2012, the other buildings on Water Street are being developed quickly. The 192 Water Street windows have been installed and the interiors are being prepped for occupancy in Spring 2012. We’ve heard that 8 of the 11 units in the building have already been sold.

The 205 Water Street building is being topped off in the next week. The windows have been installed and look pretty nice.

[UPDATE: Our apologies, the "topping-off party" is a private event for media-only.] However, a Toll Brothers rep sent us some additional information on the building’s amenities below.]

A Toll Brothers representative provided some additional details on the 205 Water St amenities:

205 Water was designed with a holistic approach that embraces the industrial past of the DUMBO historic landmark district while preserving the environment for the benefit of its inhabitants and the New York region as a whole. Projected to achieve LEED Gold Certification, 205 Water is the most ecologically responsible building ever developed by Toll Brothers, America’s Luxury Home Builder.

The lobby, staffed by a 24-hour concierge, features reclaimed Coney Island Boardwalk accent walls, double height architectural concrete walls and concrete floors with recycled steel plate in-lays.

The Reflecting Garden adjoins the Resident’s Lounge, which features a bar and a media room. The garden is comprised of indigenous landscaping requiring zero irrigation, reclaimed Coney Island Boardwalk decking and concrete planters.
We are anticipating opening for sales in September.

(Reflecting Garden at 205 Water Street)

(Lobby at 205 Water Street)

Very cool.

Previously:
{205 Water Street On Schedule for mid-2012, 08Jul2011}
{Neighborhood Sales Launch at 192 Water Street, 07Jun2011}

220 Water Street building (aka 201 Front Street, 54 Bridge Street on NYC DOB) has just released a website, 220Water.com. The site states that the building will be open for residents in January 2012 and is a rental building of studio, one and two bedroom loft apartments.

GDC Properties, LLC is the project’s owner and developer. 220 Water Street is located between Front, Bridge and Water Streets in Dumbo (within the historic district). The 220water.com website is currently a registration page but according to GDC, they “will soon outline the project’s floorplans, pricing and availability, apartment features and property amenities” through the website. According to the developer, “some of the many amenities that complement the loft residences include a soaring, sky-lit lobby, fitness center and yoga room, self-park garage, rooftop lounge with outdoor kitchen, and cold storage for grocery deliveries.”

Below are a few photos we took this morning:

(Corner of Front and Bridge Street)

(Corner of Bridge and Water Street)

The registration page has some more details about the building features:

Coming in early 2012…..a genuine DUMBO rental experience. 220 Water Street is a unique collection of spacious studio, one and two bedroom apartment homes highlighted by large windows, tall ceilings, premium finishes, and beautifully accented industrial features. A glass canopied central atrium, roof deck with summer kitchen and lounge seating, on-site parking garage and fitness studio are just some of the amenities you will find in this creatively restored 19th century manufacturing building. Register now for more information on 220 Water Street. We will keep you updated on our progress and availability.

There’s also a sign on the outside of the building for ground level lease for a cafe, restaurant, or retail for 4000 square feet, available in the fall 2011 (call 877-733-3215). The 1905 built building retains its original exterior brick design (per the historic designation description). We think the 41 or so units will rent well given the design; though no word yet on prices. What do you think?

(Photo courtesy of The Real Deal)

Previously:
{201 Front Street Gets New Scaffolding, 04Oct2010}
{201 Front Street Building Activity, 15Jul2009}

The retail storefront at 59 Front Street (in the 57 Front Street building) has been vacant for over 3 months since the check cashing location closed in April 2011. The new sign in the window says it is 1,243 square feet for $45 per square feet. Not sure if this space allows for a food option, but that’s one idea that we could use in Dumbo. What would you like to see there?

Previously:
{Check Cashing at 57 Front St Closed, 20Apr2011}