Overview

Visually, the Sky House, a 55-story, 139-unit condominium under construction on 29th Street between 5th & Madison, resembles a fashion model: tall, very thin and full of sex appeal. Wedged in a nebulous non-neighborhood sometimes referred to as Curry Hill, the Clarett Group’s latest development will tower over everything around it except The Madison Belvedere, a 400-unit rental building across 29th Street that stands 50 stories high. About half-built, Sky House already dwarfs The Little Church, the tiny, struggling Episcopal church (see photo below)that sold its air rights and rear auxiliary building to Clarrett, enabling the creation of the tower’s thru-block parcel.

FXFOWLE Architects, of The Epic and The Helena, designed (and re-designed) the slim, brick and glass building with just three units per residential floor. With the slender, warm exterior, the architects have largely achieved their stated objective, to create a tower that “gracefully responds to its surroundings,” a pleasant mish-mash of churches, Beaux-Arts, early 20th century and mod 1960s office buildings. Single-floor 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom layouts predominate, but 3-bedroom units with oversized (1000 sf) private terraces or duplex layouts are also available. With little to obstruct the views (for now), residents will have views either of the city skyline, including the Empire State Building and Chrysler Buildings, or the lovely but postage stamp-size Little Church garden at the tower’s base.

Amenities

Standard luxury amenities come, well, standard at Sky House. A 24-hour doorman and concierge service will attend the lobby bedecked in hardwood and slate, and an on-site state-of-the-art fitness center will keep residents fit and trim. Storage can be had – for a price, naturally. With a nod to the family-minded, the developer has also planned a children’s playroom, perhaps to let residents know that they aren’t in Midtown anymore.

One unexpected “amenity” arises from the building’s tiny footprint: relative privacy and the chance to know the neighbors. With only three units per floor, residents will not likely have to contend with the heavy foot traffic, anonymity and institutional feel that tend to plague buildings with larger floor plans.

Interiors

Hardwood floors throughout each unit warm up the totally acceptable but antiseptic interiors and nothing-special 9-foot ceilings. Units start on the 6th floor, the first six housing lobby, amenities and The Little Church’s new parish house, but any unit below the 12th floor is unlikely to have much of a view, unless it overlooks the church garden to the west. South-facing units will also have The Madison Belvedere’s 50 stories to deal with.

Master bath floors are clad in black or beige marble, depending on the floor, but every master bath has black granite countertops, cherry wood vanities and contemporary polished chrome fittings and fixtures by Grohe. Kitchen fixtures and appliances hit all the requisite luxury notes – cherry wood cabinetry, granite countertops surrounding under-mounted sinks, glass tile backsplashes, and KitchenAid Architect Series appliances. All units are wired for T-1 internet connectivity and have full-size washers and dryers.

Units & Pricing

One and two-bedroom units are much more common than three-beds, presumably because smaller units tend to sell more easily. Most of the three-bedrooms are the same size as a large two-bed, and some of the two-bedroom units are being marketed as “convertible” to a three-bedroom. Asking prices vary depending on unit size and floor, with higher floors and corresponding clearer views reasonably assumed to command higher prices. Price points range from a low of $1,120 per square foot for a 1,596 square-foot 2-bedroom unit with 2.5 baths to a high of $1,600 per square foot for another 1,600 square-foot 2-bedroom unit with 2.5 baths.

The Sky House does qualify for tax abatements, so real estate taxes are minimal (~$100) for the time being. Common charges, while not abnormally low, are not exorbitant either, and are estimated at approximately $1 per square foot.

Location

For the moment the area surrounding Sky House retains its flavor as a favorite for owner-operated and import-export businesses (rugs, silk flowers, accessories) instead of the ubiquitous retail boutiques, cafes and supermarkets that serve other sections of the city. In walking the immediate neighborhood, in fact, I did not see any grocery stores or supermarkets to fill those everyday needs. That said, with scaffolding erected around virtually every building in a 2-block radius, several condominium towers among them, it is safe to conclude that new residents are in for a change of scenery. Moving east from the site this becomes more obvious: a Bo Concept store is located two blocks away at the corner of 30th & Madison, and boutique Hotel Thirty (30 East 30th Street) seems to be doing a brisk business.

What the immediate location lacks in amenities and sizzle, it makes up for – in spades – in convenience and easy transit to both the east and west sides. Access to the 6 train is located around the corner at Park & 28th Street, and the B, D, F, V, N, R and W lines can all be found at 34th Street and 6th Avenue, and the PATH terminus is located at 33rd and 6th Avenue. Penn Station (34th & 7th) provides access to commuter rail and Amtrak as well as the 1, A, C and E lines.

Investment Potential

High-end finishes will come and go, but location is forever. For a New Yorker who actually lives and commutes within the city, this location will continue to make sense for a long time to come. What it currently lacks, notably neighborhood amenities, can and will catch up to meet new residents’ daily needs. Let’s face it, the unit layouts are plain vanilla, but that means residents can define their own living environment rather than letting an (invasive) environment define them, a phenomenon that too often happens with celebrity-endorsed and heavily branded luxury developments. Location makes up a larger proportion of this development’s price, at an average of $1300 per square foot, than its wow factor would seem to warrant, but for that very reason, as a longer-term hold, Sky House should maintain its value very well.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 9:23 am and is filed under Blogroll, Sky House - 11 E. 29th 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.