The Oliver Cromwell: Upper West Side

The Oliver Cromwell 12 West 72nd Street

The Oliver Cromwell - 12 West 72nd Street

Architect Emory Roth completed this distinctive 30 story ornate building in 1927. Located mid block on West 72nd Street off Central Park West, the building converted to coop in 1984. There are 172 apartments.

The tower, has a buff brick façade above a rusticated, three-story stone base and terra-cotta window surrounds in Italian Renaissance fashion at the fourth, fifth, sixth, 15th, and 26th through the 29th stories. The building has setbacks at the 16th, 19th, 20th, 21st 27th, and 29th floors.











It is very similar to Roth's Carlyle Hotel on the east side. The Oliver Cromwell is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is a pet friendly building and allows pied-a-terre. It has a garage, garden , storage and laundry room. Maximum financing allowed 75%,

Apartments range from 400 square foot studios starting at $300,000 to 700 square foot one bedrooms from $575,000 to 2 bedrooms from 950,000 to 3 and 4 bedroom tower apartments and penthouses up to $4.5 million.

Available Apartments

In Memory of Laurie Manny

It is with deep sadness that I'm writing this post. Laurie Manny, a friend and wonderful human being died an untimely death this week.

Laurie, a native New Yorker has been a real estate broker in Long Beach California since 2001. I met Laurie through blogging. She encouraged and inspired me from her first comment.

Mitchell - What wonderful material you have to write about.  

The only thing I miss about New York, is Manhattan.  I adored it.  I just went back through your many posts and find myself almost needing to get onto a plane and come back for a visit, for a fix.  Great Stuff,

Thank You,

Laurie

Laurie Manny (Long Beach CA Real Estate)

Laurie quickly became the queen of the real estate blogosphere. She mastered the art of SEO (search engine optimization) by staying up late reading and learning and implementing it.

I would post a blog in the morning New York time and Laurie was still up and would leave a comment. Seeing her face and her kind comments made my day. Laurie wrote and published the LongBeachRealEstateHome.com blog and lauriemanny.com.

Her blog is listed on the nyc Blog estate blog roll under Long Beach Real Estate - Downtown Long Beach Condos. The anchor/link text keywords that she wanted because she knew SEO.

In fact, the reason the blog roll on this blog is not on the home page is because Laurie advised me that google preferred back links deep in the blog and the anchor text had to be related to the content because google penalizes for too many too fast and unrelated back links.

I never was much interested in SEO. When I write blog posts, I don't think about key words and meta tags, I just write about Manhattan but I gained SEO knowledge and tips just from knowing Laurie.

It is believed Laurie died of Salmonella poisoning from contaminated eggs. She missed a listing appointment. Laurie would never miss an appointment unless something was wrong. She was found in her home. Life is too short. We never got to have a slice of pizza at Ray's when she came to NY.

We lost a friend, colleague and mentor but the planet lost a wonderful, strong, kind person. My thoughts and prayers are with her parents, brother and sister in New York and their families.

RIP Laurie Manny

Riverside Boulevard - Manhattan's New West Coast

      

Riverside Boulevard is perhaps the most exciting new community in Manhattan. The new west coast extends along the Hudson River from West 59th Street to West 72nd Street on 92 waterfront acres, formerly occupied by the Pennsylvania Rail Road yards.

Donald Trump bought the property back in the 1970's. The buildings range from 30 to 40 stories, and the waterfront park covers 23 acres. Design standards imposed variations among the towers, and the street plan respects the existing West Side grid. The first building was completed in 1998.

Trump Place 240, 220, 200 Riverside Boulevard

The four Trump Place condominium buildings (120, 200, 220 & 240 Riverside Boulevard) front the Hudson River along the northern most boundary adjoining Riverside Park. Trump also built rental buildings located at 140, 160, and 180 Riverside Boulevard.

Trump Place was one of New York City’s first projects to offer a unique mix of richly diverse luxury amenities such as English billiard rooms, European spas, tranquil libraries & reading rooms, screening rooms, and sky terraces offering spectacular views.

With the 25-acre Riverside Park South offering waterfront bike paths, picnic and sporting areas, and an enormous public recreation pier, Trump Place completes the all inclusive lifestyle like no other neighborhood in New York. In 2000, seven acres of land stretching from 68th to 72nd Streets was added to Riverside Park, called Riverside Park South.

In 2005 The Carlyle Group and Extell Development Company purchased a large tract of land and three apartment buildings from investors and Donald Trump for $1.76 billion. The transaction included a tract of land, which is bounded by 59th and 65th Streets and West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard, and three existing apartment buildings.

Extell developed The Avery, The Rushmore and The Aldyn. The Avery was completed in 2008 and The Rushmore in 2009. The Avery is sold out and only a few sponsor units are available at The Rushmore. However, there are currently resales available at both buildings. The Aldyn, now selling.
The buildings will be joined by several additional residential developments (Riverside Center) taking shape in the next few years.

    

The Avery 100 Riverside Boulevard

The Avery, a 32-story building with 274 one-to-three bedroom residences, has views of the Hudson River and Riverside Park between 64th and 65th streets. Avery features a state-of-the-art fitness center that overlooks a large children's playroom, a gaming room, Abigail Michaels concierge service, an onsite parking garage and an unprecedented partnership with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The Rushmore 80 Riverside Boulevard

The Rushmore's 16-story base gives rise to two soaring towers standing 43 stories tall. The Rushmore will offer its 289 residences world-class amenities, including La Palestra Fitness and Wellness Center, indoor lap pool, screening theater, private sundeck and an exclusive partnership with Kidville, NY.

 The Aldyn 60 Riverside Boulevard

The Aldyn, a new luxury residential 40 story building has rental apartments on the second through tenth floors and condominium apartments from the 11th floor through the 40th floor. The Aldyn Residences, Athletic Club and Spa includes 40,000 square feet of amenities overlooking the Hudson River. Sports lovers and athletes will love LA PALESTRA Athletic club & Spa designed by Roman and Williams

The properties of Riverside South have some of the best amenities in New York City. The selection of apartments includes everything from small one-bedroom residences to large combinations with big ter

Riverside Park South, designed by landscape architect Thomas Balsley, spans from 62nd to 72nd street connecting Riverside Park with Hudson River Park. 

The park offers a balance of recreational opportunities and amenities that reflect the culture of the Upper West Side, including an amphitheater, athletic facilities, community gardens, sunning lawns, café terraces and public art. Other aspects include a boardwalk that spans four city blocks, a bicycle path stretching from The Cloisters to the tip of Manhattan and Pier I stretching 750-feet into the Hudson.

Email me for current available apartments

Central Park West, Upper West Side, Manhattan

The Upper West Side is home to some extraordinary buildings. Landmarks of Art Deco, Beaux Arts, or Gothic Revival architecture, the great apartment buildings of Central Park West and the side streets on the Upper West Side are lined with trees and 19th century townhouse mansions and brownstones.

Some of Manhattan's most famous and desirable residential buildings, many are located on Central Park West on the Upper West Side. The Dakota El Dorado, The San Remo Apartments,  The Oliver Cromwell,  The Langham, The Kenilworth, Hotel Des Artistes The Beresford and The Ardsley all feature spectacular apartments.

iPhone photos Courtesy of: Mitchell Hall

FHA Loans: No Big Deal in Manhattan

There has been a lot of hype lately about FHA loans. There have been numerous articles not only in respected publications like the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal, but in blogs and websites  from lawyers and lenders.

Many seem to confuse Manhattan with the 4 other boroughs that make up the City of New York. There are many single family houses in Queens and Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island.

In Manhattan about 75% of available housing is in rental buildings. Of the approximately 25% of housing available for ownership about 70% are cooperatives.

    * FHA does not give loans in Coops. The remaining apartments for sale in Manhattan are condominiums.

    * Most Manhattan condos (approx: 98%) have "first right of refusal" 
FHA does not give loans in buildings where there are any "restrictive covenants" right of refusal is a restrictive covenant.

In all of Manhattan there may be about 15 condominiums that have applied and been approved for FHA loans. They are new developments primarily in "fringe" neighborhoods or "up and coming neighborhoods," They are usually in new construction buildings that have had problems selling units.

FHA is a government agency that insures the loans issued by private lenders. The government guarantees the loan payment to the lender if the borrower/home owner defaults. FHA loans traditionally are for people who have less than 10% for a down payment. FHA loans allow 96.5% financing (3.5% down) and for people who don't have good credit scores.

Because of all the hype people qualified for conventional loans are asking about FHA loans. An agent called me about about one of my coop listings. He told me his buyers are very qualified and they are pre-approved for an FHA loan. I said "that's nice but FHA doesn't give loans in coops and even if they did the coop has a minimum down payment requirement".

Interest rates are at all time lows. There are many loans out there today. Call a mortgage broker or mortgage banker located in Manhattan. Make sure you tell them you are looking at buying a coop or a condo in Manhattan. Manhattan is a tiny densely populated island. It is important to understand Manhattan housing. Everything is different here.