Overview:

Element, located at 555 West 59th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue, is a 33 story all-glass luxury condo that will contain 198 units. It is nestled in Lincoln Square, one of the most rapidly-developing areas in the city, along with 10 West End Avenue, The Hudson, and 245 West 60th Street. It is being developed by Brack Capital, Continental Venture Realty, and COALCO international. 50% of the building are 1 bedroom condos, 30% are 2 bedrooms, and 20% are 3 bedrooms. Occupancy is scheduled for September 2007 (originally it was June).

Price Range:

Currently available units range from $792,000 to over $5 million for the penthouse. One bedrooms have sold for as low as $745,000 and go up to $1.2 million. Two bedrooms run from $1.1 million to $1.9 million. Three bedrooms start at $2.075 million. The average price per square foot is $1,175 – higher than its next door neighbor 10 West End Avenue but not surprising for a brand new, amenity-laden glass construction. The sponsor requires 20% down, which can be split into two payments of 10%, with the second payment being made upon closing.

Common charges range from $550 – $650 per month for most units, and taxes are low, usually $80 – 200 per month, because of the 421a tax abatement.

Concessions / Extras:

The sponsor does not negotiate or offer any concessions. The sales office is unwavering about this.

There is a 421-a tax abatement.

Interiors:

All units in the Element will have 9’6″ ceilings and floors made of white oak. The kitchens are open, with Sub Zero and Bosch installations. One bedrooms will have pass-through kitchens. The bathrooms have limestone tiling and 66″ long Zuma soaking tubs. One bedroom bathrooms have shower-tub combinations; two bedroom master baths have separate shower stalls and twin sinks. There are washer/dryers in all units.

Amenities:

Amenities are where Element pulls ahead of all the other new condos in the area. Here’s the list:

- 24 hour Abigail Michaels concierge services

- On-site Parking

- Cold Storage

- Resident’s Lounge (which can double as a screening room)

- Exercise Room (dubbed “The Fitness and Well Being Spa”) with locker rooms, sauna & steamroom

- Basketball and squash courts

- Indoor/Outdoor children’s playroom

- 60 foot mosaic-tiled lap pool, whirlpool, and children’s pool

- 12,000 feet of landscaped outdoor space, including a sundeck, great lawn, garden, and outdoor lounge.

Outdoor Space:

About 60% of the units at Element have a balcony. Balconies are available in all types of units.

Pet-Friendliness:

The condo board will have to vote on this once they are established, but there’s no reason to believe small or medium-sized pets wouldn’t be permitted.

Location:

Element is located in a quickly-growing area the Sales Office refers to as Columbus Circle West. It is also known as Lincoln Square because of its proximity to Lincoln Center. The building is a ten minute walk from the AOL Time Warner Center (which, for those who don’t know, is an elegant mini-mall with the best Whole Foods in the city inside of it) and Central Park, and is just an avenue away from Hudson River Park, which is quite beautiful.

The nearest transportation is at Columbus Circle. The subways that run through there are the A,C, B, D, and 1 trains. There is also the 57th street crosstown bus.

The nearest gyms are the one in the building, the Crunch on 64th and West End Avenue, the Equinox in Columbus Circle, and the New York Sports Club on 61st and 9th. The fitness-oriented will also appreciate the West Side Highway’s 6 mile-long bike and jogging path just one avenue away.

Element’s immediate vicinity is pretty much a 24 hour construction area right now, with a new building being put up across the street, 10 West End Avenue completing construction right next to it, and John Jay reconstructing their gym and pool behind it. There is also an old warehouse for sale one block away, and a parking lot owned by Extell over on West End Avenue. This bodes well for the future, but for the next year or so, the area will not be settled.

In general, Element is located in an area that reminds one of its position on the border of Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper West Side. Car dealerships make up most of West End Avenue below 59th street, and uptown until about 66th street there are mostly low-lying industrial buildings and community homes. On the bright side, you have Columbus Circle and Central Park nearby, as well as Lincoln Center. The amount of luxury condos being built, combined with the Trump condos uptown to the west, will probably make this one of the hotter areas to live within 5 years.

Investment Potential:

Most real estate professionals agree that buildings in this area are a good investment because the location is in a state of redevelopment. The bevy of condos coming to the area will almost certainly attract more retail, food stores, and other staples of west side residential living. There are some in the opposite camp that believe that West End and Amsterdam avenues in this vicinity do not have as great a potential for change as other spots in the city due to unmovable structures like the Con Edison plant on 58th and West End, the car dealerships in the area, and the schools. They consider the area a little too “far west side.” The naysayers do have a point, but as anyone who’s lived in Manhattan a while knows, sooner or later, every area becomes hot and gets developed to the hilt.

As an investment, the Element falls behind 10 West End Avenue a smidgen simply because its price per square foot is higher. However, its amenities make up for its higher PPSF.

The Bottom Line:

A great family-friendly luxury condo in a booming area.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 9:21 pm and is filed under Blogroll, Element Condominium - 555 West 59th Street. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.