Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 16th, 2013

The New York Times ran an article for this weekend’s REAL ESTATE section talking about the ‘Downtown Spring awakening’:  150 Charles Street, the Witkoff Group developed, CookFox-designed building in the West Village achieved over HALF A BILLION in sales in 4 weeks, certainly a record for New York real estate, and possibly globally. Unlike any other building, the buyer dedication to the West Village has been rather astounding with about 1 in 5 buyers opting to buy, where traditionally its 1 in 20-25 buyers/appointments who actually buy in new developments. Aside from the super-desirable location, separated from the West Side highway by a buffer zone of townhouses, buyers have resonated unlike any other time because of the beautiful, contextual design, the host of amenities including parking, a drive-through drop off, almost 40,000sf of pre-planted landscaping that is maintained by the building (a first), a 75ft swimming pool, 3,000sf gym, playroom, lounge, juice bar, service elevators…..and the list goes on. Add to this the fact that there are about 80 different floorplans (out of 91 units)so each apartment represents its own unique experience within the building, sensational views of charming Village street-scapes, the Hudson River and park and panoramic Southern and Northern skylines. The finishes are highly customized by Alan Wanzenberg and of a caliber never seen before in the West Village: they are elegant, classically contemporary in style and designed to transcend fashions and of-the-moment trends. A building of this caliber can never be reproduced ever again in a location of this stature, making the building a true collectors item.