The Social Network
This month The Real Deal magazine reports on some of the most influential technology entrepreneurs’ NYC pads.
I found interesting how Sean Parker, Napster and Facebook cofounder, once reportedly described his character in the movie The Social Network (played by Justin Timberlake) as a “morally reprehensible human being”. The thing is that his bachelor pad called Bacchus House, bought in 2012 for $20 million and featuring an indoor pool, a private garage and an entire New York subway car, isn’t helping him avoid comparisons with his movie persona.

Hudson Yards and Surroundings
The area called Hudson Yards, which is located in the far West Side of Midtown along 10th and 11th avenues in the west 30s, is known to be scheduled for major real estate redevelopment over the next decade.
Besides new office towers that will be built, another kind of property seem to be attracting the interest of all major NYC real estate players in the shorter term.
Since the rezoning that happened in 2005, several hotels amounting to roughly 3,000 rooms have been built in the area that goes from 8th Avenue to 12th Avenue and from West 30th to West 42nd Street. But so far these new projects have been relegated to the edges of the area, specifically towards Times Square.
The shift in interest is beginning to favor the area closer to the rail yards of Penn Station in order to welcome the surging demand brought in by tourists, workers and business travelers. The number of projects that are planned at the Hudson Yards will completely transform the area in a brand new super modern neighborhood.
Developers are taking duly note of the prices that the Best Western Convention Center Hotel at 522 W 38th Street is able to charge for a room, often around $350 a night, and moving swiftly towards construction of new hotels in an area that will soon command even higher prices.
For notable example: the largest parcel (26-acre) in the area, slated for development and owned by Related Companies and Oxford Properties, alone will be the site for the construction of 12 towers amounting to about 13 million square feet. The buildings will comprise a mix of commercial, condo, hotel and rental units.
And the list goes on.
Good news for this section of Midtown is also that the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is staying. Last year Governor Cuomo was actively campaigning for the abandonment of the Javits Center for a new center in Queens. That didn’t happen. The $463 million renovation scheduled to be completed in 2013 will make the Javits Center ever more useful to New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world.
The redevelopment of the West Side continues, and we are excited to see how this area will evolve in the coming months and years.

This is it for today, dear readers.
I am always available to answer your questions and provide you with more information on New York City real estate. I am looking forward to assisting with buying, selling or renting a piece of the Big Apple.

Warm Regards,
Riccardo Ravasini