The Oculus Condominium – 50 West 15th Street

Overview

After literally bumping into the Oculus Condominium on the street, we’re beginning to think the developer, Alchemy Properties, is smarter than its peers. Their buildings have boutique feels to them, excellent finishes, amenities packages, and… wait for it… reasonable prices! How do they keep prices 10-20% below neighboring buildings? We’re not sure, but it may have something to do with principals Ken Horn, Joel Breitkopf, and Gerald Davis’s strong backgrounds in law, acquisition, financing, and marketing. If they can acquire properties and renovate them at costs slightly lower than other developers, they will continue to sell out their projects, as they have with each one except Oculus and the nearby Indigo. Do we smell a young Gary Barnett in the making? Extell became really good at land acquisitions a few years back which they leveraged into a major presence in the New York condo market. Read the rest of this entry »