Walt Frazier Buys Three Harlem Penthouses

Walt Frazier, the N.B.A Hall of Fame player who was known as “Clyde” in his heyday as a point guard for the Knicks, closed on three Harlem penthouses Thursday, for $2.4 million, according to the developer of the new condominium building, known as 381 Lenox Avenue.


Ken Regan/NBA Photos
Walt Frazier
Since retiring from the Knicks in 1977, Mr. Frazier has become something of a real estate aficionado — or at least he has indicated that was his intention — after recently buying a five-acre property with 10 houses on St. Croix, and saying that he believed the investment would net him millions in profit. He is also a commentator on the MSG Network, providing analysis on Knicks games.

Mr. Frazier, 65, bought the entire seventh and eighth floors of the Harlem building, at 381 Lenox Avenue and West 129th Street, with a total of 4,600 square feet and another 2,500 square feet of terraces, according to Michael Davis, a managing director at the Plymouth Group, a real estate investment and advisory company.

Mr. Davis was hired in 2008 to rejuvenate sales in the building after the housing crunch, at a time when sales at many new residential developments in the city were stalled. Mr. Davis said the 19-apartment building, which was begun in 2005, is now almost sold out, with only three apartments still available.



This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 24, 2010



An earlier version of this article contained an outdated reference to the building. It is known as 381 Lenox Avenue and not the Lenox Grand.

Harlem School Landing $20m from Goldman Sachs

A fund created by Goldman Sachs is giving $20 million for a charter school and community center in Harlem.

The donation to the Harlem Children's Zone is the largest ever by the Goldman Sachs Gives fund.

Harlem Children's Zone President Geoffrey Canada said yesterday that the gift -- coming ahead of the release of the documentary "Waiting for Superman," examining five families in a charter-school lottery -- will enable his organization to build a school and community center in Harlem's St. Nicholas Houses.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/landing_pot_of_goldman_8De5gF1sZXoMMwbuf5fNiI#ixzz0znyubwOo

Columbia University Seeks More Space in Inwood

Columbia seeks more space in Inwood
September 03, 2010 11:30AM

Columbia University is seeking to acquire more land along the Harlem River to legally construct a new sports complex at Broadway and 218th Street in Inwood, DNAinfo reported. A city law requires property owners on the Manhattan shoreline to set aside a predetermined percentage of the land for public use when building a new structure, but since Columbia doesn't have the required amount, it is asking the city to allow it to acquire and develop additional space. To build the planned five-story, 48,000-square-foot Steven Holl-designed Campbell Sports Center, the school would normally have to set aside 180,000 square feet of additional city-owned public waterfront space, according to Wayne Benjamin, Community Board 12's land use chair. But Columbia representatives -- who say that the existing buildings and fields would make it difficult to meet the requirements -- are drafting a new proposal that would increase the amount of public waterfront access to 37,000 square feet, from the 26,000 it proposed in May. Community response to the plan has so far been mixed, with some residents concerned about increased traffic, but generally excited about the prospect of new waterfront access. Once Columbia receives a response from the Department of City Planning later this month, it will formally present its plan to the board. [DNAinfo]

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/discovery-channel-s-construction-intervention-hits-harlem-eatery-just-wingin-it

The New MGP Amphitheater

Downtown has Madison Square Garden. Now uptown will have Marcus Garvey Park Amphitheater.

http://harlembespoke.blogspot.com/2010/03/introducing-new-mcp-amphitheater.html

** want to upload rendering photo of the space***

Harlem Bakery Transforms into Restaurant

Settepani Cafe and Bakery, on Lenox Ave @ 120th street, is being transformed into a restaurant and lounge with Southern Italian cuisine.

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/harlem-bakery-settepani-cafe-bakery-transforms-into-restaurant-at-196-lenox-avenue

Going Green and Saving Green

There seem to be more planters and planted areas in front of buildings of all kinds all over town, and as spring approaches, we will be able to see more and more evidence of the greening of New York City. These are the obvious signs, as some of the 50,000 or so acres of undeveloped open space in the city becomes another flower bed or community garden.

So, aside from making everything look pretty, what other benefits will arise from planting gardens, retrofitting insulation and building ever more green buildings? More plantings bring more oxygen into the air: cleaner air, healthier people – there is great savings potential there. Along with mitigating climate change, all of these efforts will save money over time, far beyond their initial costs: by increasing the amount of planted space in Manhattan, we reduce storm water runoff to the sewers, and the filtering action of soil in a healthy environment cleans the water as it travels through. Better natural water filtration takes a part of the burden off water treatment facilities.

The greening of buildings means more than environmental bling – the expensive solutions like wind turbines, solar panels and roof gardens. It also means updating HVAC systems, more and better insulation, and feedback metering to help save energy. In some rental buildings, just the replacement of lighting fixtures in hallways, the use of compact fluorescent bulbs, replacement of outdated kitchen appliances and updating heating systems has brought about significant energy savings. Buildings that take every possible measure to retrofit and find efficiencies can expect energy savings up to 20%.

Architects and developers are beginning to work together and more buildings are being planned and built to conform to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. Architects working on these buildings have been able to show developers that building to these standards is no more costly than conventional construction, and indeed, such types of construction are ever more in demand. In the New York Times Real Estate Advanced Search, there is now a checkbox for “Green Building”!