Correction to Visionaire Sales Post

In response to our post just moments ago, a reader was quick to point out that recent sales for the Visionaire (of which there have been many) are incorrectly classified as sales in the 9-story Riverwatch building, an older rental property located near the Visionaire. This should help with our comps search....

Is it Just Us or Has the Visionaire Not Closed a Single Unit This Year?

In our quest to determine what a reasonable price would be for the newly unveiled Liberty Luxe and Liberty Green we decided to head over to Streeteasy to get some comps for the Visionaire, a luxury building in an (arguably) less desirable Battery Park location.

So...surprised we were when we discovered that there actually appear to be no recent comps according to Streeteasy. In fact, the Visionaire, which we always thought was comparatively healthy seems to have not closed a single unit in 2010 (it's JUNE folks) and has done little this year except pull various listings off the market.

Is it us? Streeteasy? Or is more trouble brewing in BPC?

Party Like It's 1925

Check out this online collection (via a Streeteasy thread) documenting old floor plans and brochures from buildings throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. Not surprisingly, downtown was comprised mostly of office buildings back in the day, highlighted as an example in this neat brochure describing 99 John St to prospective tenants . Today, 99 John is living it's third life as an office building turned rental building turned condo building.

Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green Finally Reveal Themselves!

We've been waiting with baited breath for a look at Battery Park's final two residential towers currently being built on the last plot of residential-zoned land in North Battery Park City. Liberty Luxe, a 32-story tower and Liberty Green, a 22-story tower are set to join developer Milstein's previously constructed 1980s South Battery Park "Liberties" (Liberty Court, Liberty House, Liberty Terrace, and Liberty View). The rental arm of Milstein (Milford Management...oh so clever) professionally manages a good number of units in the South BPC Liberties so we can't help but wonder whether Milstein will also only sell a portion of Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green.

Anywho, on to the good stuff. The Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green website has been tempting us for months with a "VIP" form to fill out but no other information. Sometime over the past week however, Milstein put up actual building info with pictures of bathrooms, kitchens and common areas. You still kind of have to sneak by the pesky VIP form however, by clicking the newly appeared "Enter Site" link in the lower right-hand corner on the otherwise unchanged homepage.

So...the good?
-Looks like Liberty Luxe (the taller of the two at 32 floors) is going to have a rooftop pool! (ooooh, we likey) and Liberty Green (22 floors) is going to have a decked out roof deck
- The bathrooms and kitchens look nice - we like the bright finishes.
- The pictures of the views are spectacular although we suspect are available from fewer than 25% of the apartments

And...the bad?
- No Prices or Floorplans! Come on peeps...don't make us sit through the sales presentation just to get a price list or a glimpse of the square footage. With (we think) over 300 apartments to sell, Milstein has to price VERY aggressively in order for any of us who need a mortgage to actually be able to move in this decade. Let's not forget the plight of One Rector Park and other high profile BPC disasters.

Finally...the unknown?
- The dreaded ground rent! On the minds of any purchaser in Battery Park, we can't wait to see what Milstein has negotiated for the new Liberties. The South BPC Liberties have always had low ground rents for the area, a testament to Milstein's negotiating capabilities. Will Liberty Luxe/Liberty Green follow suit?