Realty News (Published 1979) (2024)

People who want to rent an apartment in a new luxury high‐rise tower in Manhattan will have to pay more for it than ever before, but in exchange they will receive apartments that are, on the average, roomier than the new apartments they could have rented in 1977.

That is the principle conclusion of a study of all new Manhattan luxury buildings completed in 1978, many of which still have ‘for rent” signs out.

“New apartments are very expensive and the demand seems to be extremely strong,” said Yale Robbins, a 30‐year‐old housing consultant, who is now preparing a detailed market survey of the 2,570 luxury apartments in the nine h:gh‐rise buildings completed last year.

According to Mr. Robbins's soon‐tobe published study, 34 percent of the new apartments are studios, 48 percent are one‐bedroom units, 17 percent twobedroom units, and only 1 percent (actually three apartments in a single building) are three bedroom units.

In each category, he said, asking rentals were substantially ahead of those sought in the 3,000 high‐rise apartment units completed in 1977.

The average asking price for a new studio apartment in 1978 was $517‐amonth, compared to $394 for new apartments available the previous year. For a one‐bedroom, the average monthly rental in 1978 was $725, compared to $541 in 1977. For two‐bedroom units, it was $1,218 compared to $844 in 1977. The three three‐bedroom apartments, all located at 850 Fifth Avenue, are renting at $2,000 a month. In 1977 threebedroom apartments were offerred at an average rent of $1,085 a month.

Mr. Robbins warned, however, that in many cases asking rents in the new luxury buildings he studied last year are even higher today.

“After a good percentage of the apartments rent at the asking rents, the asking rents tend to go up,” he said. “As the number of available apartments decreases, the rent tends to increase.”

If it is any consolation, new apartments offered last year are substantially larger than those available in 1977.

A new studio in 1978 averaged 557 square feet compared to 435 square feet in 1977. One‐bedroom units averaged 724 square feet in 1978 compared to 660 square feet in 1977. Two‐bedroom apartments averaged 1,192 square feet in 1978 compared to 1,162 square feet in the previous year.

Yet despite these increases in size, 1978's crop of new luxury housing is Continued on Paged, Col. 4 still smaller in size than otherwise comparable luxury housing completed between 1967 and 1977, Mr. Robbins said. An analysis of a sample of 2,500 apartments completed during the 10year period showed that last year's new one‐bedroom apartments are still 15 percent smaller than those included in the 10‐year sample, while two‐bedroom units are 5 percent smaller. Studio apartments are nearly comparable in size.

Mr. Robbins said that much of the decrease in size is a statistical aberration, based on recent real estate history. During the mid‐1970s, two of the largest apartment developers in Manhattan, Christopher Boomis and Hyman Shapiro, facing serious financial difficulties, were forced to abandon a series of projects in mid‐contructions. Most of these projects, which tended to have smaller rooms than most “luxury” apartments built during the preceding decade, were finally completed in 1977 and 1978, creating a statistical drop in the size of new apartments. Nonetheless, he said, renters shouldn't expect new apartments to be larger next

“Small size is a sign of the times,” he said. “If builders continue to increase apartment size they are going to have to charge so much they will price themselves out of the market.”

When you disregard the effect of size on price by looking at figures on annual rentals per square foot, Mr. Robbins said, new one‐bedroom and two‐bedroom apartments in 1978 were still substantially more expensive than in 1977, while the prices for studios were stable. One‐bedroom units averaged $12.02 per square foot in 1978 versus $9.83 in 1977, an increase of 22 percent. Two‐bedroom units averaged $12.26 per square foot in 1978 and only $8.71 in 1977, an increase of 40 percent. Studios rented for an average of $11.14 per square foot in 1978 versus $10.88 in 1977.

Mr Robbins's 1978 study, “Residential Contruction in Manhattan: Comprehensive Market Survey,” includes floor plans for apartments in each building, measurements of square footage in each apartment, asking rents and other related information. The 140page report costs $395, including four quarterly supplements.

Citicorp

The Army Times Publishing Company is moving from the Pan Am Building at 200 Park Avenue to the Citicorp Center on Lexington Avenue between 53d and 54th Streets.

It has leased about 4,000 square feet of office space on the 59th floor for 14½ years at an aggregate rent of more than $1.6 million, or about $27.60 a square foot a year.

Lower in the building, Ammirati, Purls AvRutick Inc., an advertising agency, has leased 13,000 square feet of office space for eight years at an aggregate rent of more than $1.5 million. It is moving from 919 Third Avenue.

Brokers: Martha Burton and John K. Lord of the Peregrine White Company (Army Times) and Michael Elkin of Interactive Properties Corporation (Ammirati).

Restaurant

Mary Rae Finneran has sold the former Patricia Murphy Restaurant building at 12‐14 East 49th Street to Ir ving and Murray Riese, major owners and operators of restaurants in the city.

The sales price for the 42‐foot by 100foot, two‐story building was $1 million. The restaurant closed several weeks ago.

Broker: Sidney Morrison of Helmsley‐Spear Inc.

Farmers’ Market

Union Marketplace Inc., has leased the 183,000‐square‐foot, one‐story building at 2445 Springfield Avenue in Union, N. J., for a farmers’ market.

The 10‐year lease from Murray Construction Company has an aggregate rent of more than $3 million. The building was formerly used by Valley Fair, a department store.

Broker: David Ferber of the ‘Louis Schlesinger Company of Clifton, N. J.

Books of Interest

The Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago,” by Hans M. Wingler, the MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 58 pp. $17.50. A comprehensive hisory of the highly influential “school” of design that emerged in Germany shortly after World War and emphasized technology, industrial design Ind the unification of the arts “under the primacy of architecture.” Profusely illustrated with important documents, manifestos, letters, sketches, speeches, articles, architectural plans, craft designs, draw: and portraits of its masters as Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Albers, Paul Klee, Laszlo Moholy:;agy, Lyonel Feininger and Wassily “:Candinsky. $17.50.