- Topo de um empreendimento no Bairro Chelsea em Nova York (parece-me ser uma montagem mas mesmo assim está interessante):
When it comes to neighborhoods in New York City that have unique character, it is tough to beat Manhattan’s west side. The West Village, long a haven for artists, bohemians and free thinkers, is prime real estate today with everything from charming townhouses on secluded, tree-lined streets to minimaliststyle high-rise condos that line the West Side Highway along the Hudson River. Cottagefeeling retailers and cozy restaurants also dot the winding streets, catering to individuals who embrace diversity. Once considered a decadent gay neighborhood, the West Village is now a place for families and even the most conventional transplants. “It’s a more mature crowd, not as cutting-edge” says Larry Bogante of DJK Residential. But forget about finding a deal in the West Village, Bogante notes, citing vacancy rates at less than half a percent and one-bedroom rents in the $4,000 per month range, perhaps the most expensive in the city.
As higher rents, tight spaces and pricey real estate pushed many villagers to move slightly northward, Chelsea gained popularity in the 80s and 90s. Much of the West Village’s gay population relocated to this once-highly industrial and somewhat-dicey area. Hardly the case today: Chelsea has an artsy identity. The majority of Manhattan’s avant-garde art galleries reside between 9th and 10th Avenues in the 20s. Sixth Avenue, once seedy, now boasts high-end retail shops and sleek, new condominiums. Near all forms of mass transit, as well as the Flatiron and Union Square neighborhoods, Chelsea is perhaps one of New York’s most exciting areas.
Slightly north, Hell’s Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, occupies the west side between 34th Street and 57th Street from 8th Avenue to the Hudson. Though it has been undergoing a slow gentrification since the 1960s due to its proximity to Midtown, its steady growth was given a boost when a young and gay crowd began to flock there in the 1990s for its closeness to Broadway theaters, restaurants and burgeoning nightlife. Rents in Hell’s Kitchen drop slightly to about $3,200 for a one-bedroom, says Bogante.
Completed in 1905 and renovated a century later, Columbus Circle is an excellent transportation hub with five subway and five bus lines servicing the area. Time Warner’s headquarters, located on the site of the old New York Coliseum, opened in 2004 and has been a catalyst, says Bogante, for an eclectic neighborhood that continues to evolve west of the Circle. “It gave a wake-up call to the whole area,” Bogante explains about the Time Warner building. “Now there’s one development after another.” 60 Columbus Circle, for example, houses more than 200,000 square feet of office space, luxury condos, and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was a harbinger of ritzy projects such as the Sheffield where residential real estate runs approximately $1,500 a square foot.
The quickly changing Manhattan real estate market can only ensure that the westward migration will continue, so buyers seeking property should be aware. According to Bogante, when it comes to the city’s real estate, “You blink an eye and it’s gone.”
http://www.villagevoice.com/
0.0075 seg. NEW