Elegran Edge
The Real Estate Blog

Elegran agents got an early look at the stunning, recently renovated Oriana at 420 East 54th street.

Although the Garment District hasn’t been known for its flourishing fashion impact as of late, it has been announced that it will not be going through the name change process. For about a year, the garment district has been planning to rebrand the rectangular section of Manhattan, which included, at the time, a different name.

If you thought rooftops were only for bars, BBQ's, sun-bathing, and rooftop gardens, think again! While New Yorkers are hurriedly getting about their busy weekday, the rooftops of Midtown Manhattan are raving about a new kind of buzz. This one’s the real thing, buzzing bees! 

As Michael Bloomberg’s mandate is coming to term on November 5th, it is time for him to push through his last projects - one of the most important being the rezoning of Midtown. Indeed, Midtown East is ageing, most of its constructions are around 70 years old, with low floor-to-ceiling heights and numerous interior columns, they are not fit for office purposes. The Department of City Council has been working on the project for two years and their desire to rejuvenate the 73-block area surrounding Grand Central Station is now official. 

We know it today as the MetLife building. If we rewind fifty years back, however, we’ll find it being called the Pan Am building instead. Located on 200 Park Avenue, the 57-story tower was constructed atop the Grand Central Terminal. Construction of the building began back in 1958, was completed in 1962, and was opened to the public on March 7th, in 1963. Although difficult to miss, a fifteen foot-tall sign was added to the top of the building as an indicator of Pan Am’s presence within.  

It’s been silent in Turtle Bay (for the most part). Hushed meetings go on within the United Nations as residents stroll the streets, passing by many deserted construction sites. These sites were being set for new luxury condominiums, but were abandoned due to financial issues which hit developers deep. Alas, the volume is about to increase in Turtle Bay as an upsurge in demand of new residential buildings is calling construction to commence. 

The newest proposed project for Midtown East is a giant office building only a single block away from Grand Central Terminal. Spearheaded by the SL Green Realty Corp. and to be designed by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the new project is in the planning stages largely due to the Bloomberg administration’s push to rezone the area around Grand Central. Under the current zoning today, about 1 million square feet would be allowed. If Bloomberg’s rezoning plan goes through it would give SL Green the rights to build a tower nearly 1.4 million square feet in size. What more might the new zoning laws do to the neighborhood around Grand Central should they pass?

We’ve all seen the signs—the temperatures have been falling, stores have been upgrading their window displays and party invitations have started making the rounds. Yes, the holiday season is upon us and New York’s Grand Central Terminal is getting in on the action by opening its annual Grand Central Holiday Fair. As the only holiday market in the city that is run indoors, New Yorkers from all over the city are expected to congregate at this historic location over the next few weeks to check out what this fair has to offer.

With Fashion’s Night Out happening tomorrow, we expect to see a lot of foot traffic outside retail stores all over the various Manhattan neighborhoods, but we are especially keeping an eye out on that rich stretch of glitz and glamor on Fifth Avenue. Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue is a shopper’s dream-come-true, with brand names jostling for attention as they, literally, stock up next to each other north of 49th Street. But with retail space above 49th Street becoming hard to find, top notch retailer wanting to be a part of the action have now set their sights a little lower, by moving down Fifth Avenue between 42nd Street and 49th Street.

We’ve previously mentioned how NYC is constructing gardens on their roofs in a bizarre but ultimately beneficial movement for the city. But now, Manhattan has a rooftop structure that beats out even the strangest of urban rooftop gardens. At 117 East 57th Street exists a puzzling structure of glass and stacked houses that resembles a sort of greenhouse, though certainly the greenhouse of the future. Located 55 stories up off the ground, the structure is a series of connected glass houses and rooms that absolutely towers over Midtown East. And oddly enough, yes, this is actually an apartment.