Condo Blog - A Non-Corporate Blog From CondoDomain HQ

(Photo above:  Museum Tower, Dallas TX)

Calling all Real Estate Developers and Sales & Marketing firms:  Spruce up your new condo development on the leading condominium website - CondoDomain.com.

We have done our very best job to keep our website up-to-date with the most current information and multi-media, but we can never do the job of your marketing team.

The marketing team just updated their project - Museum Tower - in Dallas, TX and it looks so much better than the job we did.  Check out the new gorgeous renderings and updated photos, and we are posting their video soon too!

Developers/Marketing Firms: Remember posting your condominium development on our website is 100% free. We take pride in having the most informative urban real estate website out there….so if you are on our site, please contact us to update it.  If you don’t see your new condo development on the site - please go ahead and add it for free!.

Live in 4 cities:  Atlanta Condos | Boston Condos | Charlotte Condos | Dallas Condos

Coming Soon:  Baltimore Condos | DC Condos | Philadelphia Condos | San Diego Condos

Candy Spelling, widow of the television producer Aaron Spelling, is downsizing.

After nearly 20 years in The Manor, a 56,500-square-foot French chateau-style home known for its size and extravagance — it includes a wine-tasting room, a bowling alley, a silver room, a china room and a well-known gift-wrapping room — she says she is ready for the next trophy property: a condominium.

“People say, How can you move from The Manor? There’s no place like it,” Mrs. Spelling said, sitting in the library with leatherbound scripts of every episode of Mr. Spelling’s shows, from “Charlie’s Angels” to “7th Heaven.”

But a condo, she said, “is no different than a house, maybe even better.”

Mrs. Spelling is the most conspicuous buyer in an ultraluxury condo market that is new in the sprawl of Los Angeles, where wealth and fame have usually spelled out “estate,” not apartment living. But real estate experts say a New York-style luxury high-rise lifestyle is creeping into the wealthiest echelons, fed by trends like people looking to own more than one home, foreigners drawn by the weak dollar to invest in Los Angeles, and new residential buildings being designed by celebrity architects like Robert A. M. Stern, Richard Meier and Jean Nouvel.

Mr. Stern designed The Century, the 140-unit building under construction where Mrs. Spelling recently bought the top two penthouse floors — 16,500 square feet — for $47 million.

That’s $2,848 a square foot, if you’re counting.  CONTINUED>>>

Source:  NYTimes

Coming Soon our LA Condo website.

25 Bond is The Ultra Luxury!  Check out these pics on one of NYC’s best tastes…

Oh…and there is still one unit left for a cool $8M if you got it!  Interested?

Past Posts on 25 Bond: See them all here

Online real estate broker Redfin Corporation today relaunched its popular Sweet Digs blog with a new analytical format designed to give consumers insights on prices, inventory levels, bargains and open houses in San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Seattle neighborhoods. Redfin plans to launch Sweet Digs for Southern.

California and Boston later this summer.

The new format is the result of a ruling from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), a broker-owned database of Seattle-area listings, which closed Sweet Digs on May 15; the NWMLS ruled that Sweet Digs’ in-person property reviews violated rules against advertising another broker’s listing.
According to a Redfin survey of more than 300 Sweet Digs subscribers on what data would be “very interesting,” 63 percent chose price reductions, 62 percent past sales, 61 percent inventory levels; in the same survey, 61 percent said the open house reviews were “very interesting.” Continued on Press Release of visit Redfin Corp Blog

Sign up for Sweet Digs Here (Boston, LA, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle)

Speaking of “SWEET DIGS,” Mr. Zilbert still has the Sweetest Digs of them all way down in South Beach! The branded “Beachhouse” is a voluptous $6M Il Villagio Miami Beach Condo from Heaven!

Developer and philanthropist Steven Belkin is well known about town for his business acumen, incredible generosity and ownership of the Atlanta Hawks. Belkin was the sole bidder last fall when Boston mayor Tom Menino was looking for someone to develop a skyline-changing building. If all goes as planned the building at 111 Federal Street will be 1,000 feet tall and 80 stories with 1.3 million square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It will also include an enclosed one-acre Town Green on the ground floor and a rooftop garden complete with trees.

Source: Greater Boston TV.com

Steve - Don’t forget a residential component.

Scenario - Imagine you go to a fine real estate firm to hire a fine real estate agent so they can present your fine $1.4M home…and then a few weeks later after you sign the contract…you go to check your mail to see how your marketing piece came out for your home and it looks like THIS!!!! (large view).
I would loose my mind! We have removed the agents name and picture as this is just so bad. I am speechless that this nonsense is still going on.

An announcement for ManhattanWest, a condo project in Vegas, is marketing hers and his units.The development offers “amenities crafted for specific male and female demographics, while also offering a ‘mix and match’ option for those wanting to enjoy the best of both worlds,” according to the announcement. For women there are the Diva units and for men, the “M-Series.”

The manly M-Series units feature a set of ” ‘guy-friendly’ upgrades designed for guys by guys,” including a ceiling-mounted HDTV projector that can deliver an 8-foot to 10-foot picture (tuned to the Spike network, presumably?), a “built-in, stocked wet bar” (24-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbons included?), a surround-sound speaker system, and a pair of half-sized dishwashers (but men don’t wash dishes, right?). Continued…

Source: Inman News Blog

Our Pal Philippe Starck from London based design development firm YOO is on the loose again in New York City…this time in Gramercy Park!  After 2 super successful development (Downtown by Starck and the Jade), Starck is on to his third new condo development.  Victor Homes Development is behind this New York Condo.  Also, by the looks of the temp website, units will range from $500k to $2M+.  Contact Mr. SHVO for more questions (and let him know condoDomain sent ya).  Thx!

So for this new project on Gramercy Park - check out www.GramercyStarck.com

P&S Signed Today! Now that I am officially “in” … we will tell you a bit more about one of the coolest properties in downtown Boston. This sleek sexy new condominium brownstone has 3 floor-through units. #3 is mine , but 2 are still available. The project is a complete gut rehab so all 3 units will be bran-spankin-new. Walls of windows, custom kitchen’s and living layouts, these South End condos are made for true city-living.  In unit amenities are the best of the best and nothing was held back on…this developer went ALL OUT!

When I first walked the building about a month ago I got that lower Manhattan feel.  I felt like I was in a new construction private brownstone….similar to hmmm, Tribeca.  Lined on a great city-street with the hustle and bustle of active people and fun spots to scoop into at anytime of the day or night.
Anyway, 2 units have killer deck’s off the kitchen and the penthouse has killer ceiling height, sky-lights and a “secret detail” only visitors and guests will ever get to know.

Interested in these units … let us know and we will hook you up with the broker. Expect to pay some $$$ but they are worth every penny.  If you are looking for a unique piece of Boston Real Estate in one of the hottest neighborhoods (South End), let us know.

Hey…if you decide to buy…we will be hallway-neighbors (I am a quiet neighbor, well it doesn’t even matter because of the sound proofing that was installed.)

Looking forward to sharing more on my experience with this exciting new South End Condo.  Wish me luck!

No, we are not talking about a yard sale.

We have all been to a hotel where we love a piece of furniture or decorative item and wished we could just buy it (unlike the towels we just steal).  Well, now more and more hotel’s are doing this.  The W Hotels which have led the industry in creative luxury overnight-stay’s is now allowing you to live it year round in your own home.  Of course you could always buy a condo-hotel from Starwood Group and have it be done,  but we are talking about going shopping for that cool, hip modern furniture that is always so hard to find and having it delivered to your own home.

Visit The W Hotel Store:  They have everything from footwear and music to bedding and furniture.  Pretty neat right?

We took a few days off this week and kicked back at The Standard in Miami. Got to hook up with Kamal Hotchandani from the elite ever popular Haute Living Magazine, Joey Goldman from Goldman Properties Miami and also a blogging friend from Aventura, Peter Santiago.

Took a little cruise of downtown Miami’s waterfront and all the new condo development. Passed by one of my all time favorite buildings - Ten Museum Park. Enjoy the pic’s.

Ten Museum Park Rendering from website.

We got notice today that “something wonderful was being cultivated in Soho.” The message was delivered via a little white box addressed to condoDomain.com. Inside the box was an interesting looking bag placed comfortably in a bed of grass. “Garden in a bag” a little tag gives you a preview of whats inside.

Ok…so we needed to do some digging before we opened this bad right? A few google searches later we find Curbed’s take on Soho Mews and the SOHOMEWS website. Although a nice shinny flash website, their is very limited amount of information…other than its located at 311 West Broadway and that the Sunshine Group is marketing the condominiums.

Well, Soho Mews: We understand Life’s Cultivated. We like lofts, townhouses and penthouses! So send us some more details!

Any others get this package…let us know what the surprise is so we know its safe to open!

As for Sunshine - so far so good…we are loving the creativity on this one! Although you do have some competition when Tony Goldman goes to market with his 25 Bond. Stay tuned….

Congress Street or Summer Street — which will be the coolest?

Two development teams are competing to create the new “main street” in a reinvigorated neighborhood of old wharf buildings across the Fort Point Channel from downtown Boston.”Summer Street is the spine,” insisted Tony Goldman, who has done stylish urban redevelopment before, in New York’s Soho and Miami’s South Beach, and now has a portfolio of 11 brick buildings, clustered around Summer, that he’s intending to develop.

A block to the north is Congress, the center of a chunk of buildings owned by Berkeley Investments Inc.

“Congress is going to be where a lot of restaurants and stores are — the heart of the whole district, where people want to hang out,” said Young K. Park, Berkeley’s president. “Summer is much too wide, much too trafficked,” he said. Continued…

Source: Boston Globe

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We are so excited to see this development neighborhood built…in our opinion it is all going to be awesome! Each property has put up their temporary website. Goldman’s - www.BostonWharf.com and Park’s - www.fp3boston.com. Park does though have his fair share of work cut out for him to stand next to Goldman’s not only experience in leading neighbohoods such as SOHO and South Beach to worldwide status….but his creativity & passion that he put into every pieces of his product will be tough to top. Hes wanted to do a project like this in Boston his whole life…and now he finally has got his shot.

Above Left to Right - RG Kahoe, Kelly Chase, Tony Goldman from the  Goldman Properties team and Tony Longo from condoDomain

Got a sneak peak email from Goldman Properties Managing Partner Albert Price today. He shared with us that the 25 Bond Street website is live as of right now!

If you are truly looking for a ‘one of a kind’ home in Manhattan 25 Bond has just 2 units left. Check it out at www.25bond.com and if you have discrete inquiries about the property which spans 100′ of street frontage on Bond Street in New York ….then contact them!

More to come 25 Bond soon!

[ Schrager Goldman Dance on Bond Street ]

Currently I am deciding if I am going to buy a deeded parking space for my new condo. I have been going back and forth. I really don’t even want a car, let a lone a parking space too. Well, below is a ‘like kind’ option. What are you thougths?
This past April, right in an alley near my office, a single open-air parking space sold for $250,000 setting a new city record. Even though the housing boom is over, the average price for a downtown space rose 16 percent, to $92,810 which is more than double the 2001 average according to a recent Boston Globe article.

Source for picture and article: Sold: 1 open-air parking space in the Back Bay for $250,000 By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff

Other THINGS you can buy with $250,000!

1. NetJets Membership worth more than 35 Hours of flight time.

2. Studio or Pre-Construction one bed (very small) beach front Miami Condo.

3. Ferrari F430 (but then you have to park it)

4. 34′ Pursuit Center Console with trip 300’s on the back.

5. Sony 3D Motion Simulator for you hard core gamers.

Guys/Gals…give me some help.  What should I do?  Parking or No Parking?