After two decades of planning and years of delays, the Hunters Point Library is finally opening in Long Island City.
This new branch of the Queens Public Library was first proposed for the neighborhood in 1999, but it took more than 10 years for concrete plans to materialize.
The road here was bumpy, to put it lightly—and when all was said and done, the total cost of the library was more than $40 million.
Dennis Walcott, the president of the …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
Closings are underway at Paramount Miami Worldcenter and and it appears to be a quick success for the developers.
More than 100 condo units have been closed as of Monday (9/23), Miami-Dade county records show.
Closings began in late August and were interrupted by Labor Day (Hurricane Dorian also closed many businesses during that week), but buyers are now quickly making their final deposits and taking possession of their condo units.
More than $500 million in units were sold prior to …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
Excluding mergers and portfolio deals, cross-border investment in the Big Apple has dropped off noticeably since the boom years, according to data from Real Capital Analytics.
Foreign buyers acquired just under $8 billion worth of commercial property in the five boroughs in 2017 and $9.5 billion last year, down from about $20.2 billion in 2015 and $15.8 billion in 2016.
“Ultimately, there’s really no way to get back to where investment was in 2015 and 2016 without a significant Chinese …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
South Beach alleys could be “botanized” with trees and plants, covered in solar panels, and be rebuilt with covered walkways and rainwater collectors, an analysis from a planning firm says, in a report called The Space Between. The proposal would be guided by the tenets of “tight urbanism”.
The initiatives would increase property values, make the city more pedestrian friendly, and reduce the urban heat island effect, among other benefits.
The study identifies three types of alleys in South Beach, …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
Miami-Dade County
Residential sales in Miami-Dade County rose 6.6 percent in May, year-over-year, to 2,796. Single-family home sales increased by 10.2 percent to 1,355, while condo sales increased 3.5 percent to 1,441.
Despite the uptick in closings, total sales dollar volume fell in May by about $20 million to $1.3 billion. While the sales dollar volume of single-family homes was up to $716 million, condo sales dollar volume dropped down to $585.2 million.
Single-family home prices have been increasing on …
by Riccardo Ravasini Is this a fake recovery or a real one? That’s the question.
The second quarter of 2019 was probably an odd one because the new transfer and mansion tax rates kicked in starting July 1st, which means there are now higher closing costs for buyers of luxury properties. It follows that there was a rush to buy this kind of properties before the July 1st deadline.
This specific incentive is now over, so let’s see what happens. For …
by Riccardo Ravasini