« Walkabout with Montrose: Faces I Remember Street Clutter in Brooklyn? »

September 15, 2009

The Novo Sells Out

After almost three years on the market, the Novo, Shaya Boymelgreen's monument to mediocrity at 343 4th Avenue in Park Slope, is sold out. As The Real Deal pointed out when it broke the news yesterday, since the building was more than two-thirds sold out by the time Lehman Brothers collapsed, it hasn't faced some of the financing hurdles that new developments have over the past year. When all was said and done, the average price per square foot paid for apartments in the building was $671. Amazing.
Boymelgreen's Novo Condo Sells Out [TRD] GMAP
Should We Feel Sorry For Novo Contract Holders? [Brownstoner]
C-of-O Woes for the Novo? [Brownstoner]

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/11425

Comments

Wow - that thing looks like......nah nevermind.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at September 15, 2009 11:08 AM

Curbed seems to be getting the scoop on Brooklyn before Brownstoner a lot lately.

Posted by: broker at September 15, 2009 11:14 AM

boymelbankrupt.

Posted by: antidope at September 15, 2009 11:31 AM

My wife and I actually looked at this building a year or so ago.

I totally agree about its look. We did not like it but there where a lot of things going for it that really put the look factor in the back burner.

It was beside a good local park! Great for kids and pets!
2 min walk to the heart of 5th Ave.
School zone
Decent walk to subway
Finishes where decent
Price (at that time) was compareable (the last units got good price cuts)

Location is still king in RE.

Posted by: crimsonson at September 15, 2009 12:26 PM

that's the nicest candle factory i've ever seen

Posted by: duckumu at September 15, 2009 12:29 PM

Didn't Novo get zoned out of PS321?

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 12:38 PM

"Location is still king in RE"

Thats why I bought a cardboard box on President St.

Posted by: dittoburg at September 15, 2009 12:41 PM

What is amazing???
I have been sying for years that all the Brownstoner moaning about ugly architechture=lousy sales is pure bunk!

The exterior design is probably one of the last considerations that people consider in buying an apartment....guess what, residents probably see the exterior less than everyone else.

People care about location, space, layout, features and then most of all price -> these units were priced below the prevailing price in the area and the area is extremely sought after (5th Ave, 321 corridor) so = Sales.

While I certainly hope for better architechture in the future (and ground floor retail) - the sooner you people realize that exterior aesthetics are close to irrelevant as a business consideration, the quicker you'll have a grasp of the real world.

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 12:42 PM

Novo sales are impressive. What are the boundries for PS 321?

Posted by: landlord at September 15, 2009 1:30 PM

"Thats why I bought a cardboard box on President St."

Compared to the Flatbush hobos - you are doing well!

Posted by: crimsonson at September 15, 2009 1:43 PM

bravo fsrq

i searched size, layout, price, central air then location when shopping for a condo. as i was looking at only new construction, i figured that all the finishes would be decent.

the exterior was of zero concern. in fact, the best "exterior" i saw was a terrific red brick industrial building that had been turned into condos - mattered way less though then the unworkable, i mean disturbing! layout and no central a/c.

Posted by: wine lover at September 15, 2009 1:44 PM

fsrq is spot on...

Posted by: 7182713 at September 15, 2009 1:45 PM

its been a while but my recollection of 321 boundaries are PPW, 4th ave, north side of 5th street and south side of Union down from PPW to 5th Ave(?) where it cuts over to south side of President down to 4th Ave

Posted by: sweetlou at September 15, 2009 1:48 PM

It's important to me personally to have a home that makes me feel good when I see it as I walk up the block. That said, fsrq is right. I don't assume that my taste and priorities are the universal standard.

Posted by: basementalist at September 15, 2009 2:01 PM

> People care about location, space, layout, features and then most of all price

Agreed. While I would enjoy an attractive exterior to the building, it's pretty much last on my list after all of the above.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 2:08 PM

Are all these people under water right now? Any flips or resellers yet?

Posted by: kuroko at September 15, 2009 2:09 PM

Glad so many agree - I know it wont last....

But since I am feeling good now let me brag in the face of boylemgreen's imminent bankrupcy....I predicted that four years ago....

On September 28, 2005 right here on Brownstoner at 4:57pm:

Bolymegreen is clearly stretched way too thin and will be the 1st to collapse when the bubble goes pop. Not only are they swampped with complaints regarding their already completed developments in Dumbo and PS, they have numerous stalled projects including 2 holes on 4th avenue (@ 4th Street and 2nd Street), this hole at Atlantic and State, at least one stalled project in Dumbo (off Jay St) and at least on in NYC- 50 Broad St. Not to mention they just bought 14 Wall St and apparently have projects in Florida - 4 yrs ago Bolymegreen was a tiny operation (see recent NYT article), my guess is that unless the market keeps bailing them out, they will be a small outfit again

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 2:15 PM

http://www.ps321.org/resources/school-information/ps-321-zone-map

321, 39 and 124 are all highly regarded PS. 321 is obviously the local favorite.

Posted by: crimsonson at September 15, 2009 2:16 PM

speaking of schools and 4th Ave. I know I'm risking a beat-down here, but...

has anyone looked at the insideschools.com stats of racial breakdown in the local primary schools? PS 124 is reported as 14 W; 13 B; 69 H; 4 A. Where are all those hispanic kids coming from? All the strollers seem to have white kids in them.

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at September 15, 2009 2:54 PM

joe, the Hispanic kids live in the low rise rent stabilized buildings all up and down 4th and 5th Avenue. Most of them have been there for multiple generations, long before PS became 'gentrified'.

Posted by: denton at September 15, 2009 3:04 PM

oh. gracias denton. well, I guess some exposure to spanish will be good for my ninos.

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at September 15, 2009 3:13 PM

> All the strollers seem to have white kids in them.

That's because the non-white families tend to make the kids walk on their own sooner. I see South Asian toddlers crossing Ocean Parkway without a parent even holding their hand. Just say no to mollycoddling!

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 3:25 PM

Joe I dont know what strollers you are looking in but PS 124 is zoned South of 9th (north to 6th when your West of 4th) and West of 5th Avenue.....except for a few new building this area was and REMAINS predominantly hispanic.

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 3:26 PM

Ditmassnark - "That's because the non-white families tend to make the kids walk on their own "

I assume you are trying to out Troll Rob with this stupid and baseless post - congratulations you succeeded

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 3:28 PM

> I assume you are trying to out Troll Rob with this stupid and baseless post

Not at all. I could be wrong, but I have noticed this pattern.

Do some field research and get back to me with your own observations.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 3:35 PM

Huh. I'll take another look. I'm sure you guys are right. another race thing I didn't realize: in PS282, my zone in the north slope, it is 95% B and H. I guess my kids are in for a little more brooklyn than I realized!
So fsrq what's the deal there, does the zone go across flatbush?

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at September 15, 2009 3:38 PM

re: schools. people on this website seem to know what they're talking about. (they seem a little obsessive though):

http://www.brownstoner.com/forum/archives/2007/02/just_outside_ps.php

Posted by: joe_the_bummer at September 15, 2009 3:45 PM

just look at insideschools.org - they have zoning maps there.

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 3:45 PM

ditmas - your personal (and maybe unintentionally) biased anecdotal observations are meaningless, but since you want to break everything down by race (and seemingly at the same time critic the "gentrifying" white parents and their spoiled children) - please keep in mind that urban minority children are far more likely to be fatter than their white counterparts (this is fact not anecdotal) - so maybe the reason you dont see minority kids in strollers is because they are home eating.....(this part is my attempt to be a troll too)

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 3:53 PM

Mr. B.;

Since you already have a column with one regular poster (Montrose), I propose a new weekly column:

"Kickin' Ass With FSRG!"

I'd read it.

I'm happy to hear this news about the Novo, as I live directly around the corner from it.

Posted by: benson at September 15, 2009 3:56 PM

> your personal (and maybe unintentionally) biased anecdotal observations are meaningless

Oh, woe is me. How shall I go on living when fsrg finds my anecdotal observations meaningless? No longer shall I trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 4:03 PM

Good news about Novo, though. I have a friend who lives there, and am glad to hear they have sold out.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 4:15 PM

fsrq-
boymelgreen is bust bc he overstretched in israel. as much as i don't appreciate his business dealings (don't get me started...), he did start a pullback from the brooklyn condo market before most everyone else. he may have a couple pieces of land around, but i'd have to guess he got out basically ok. manhattan, he cut a deal with africa-israel, but i think they both lost their shirt. florida, yes, he was there, so you can imagine what happened. i don't know what he had there.

but israel is where he bought a big company with leverage that brought him down.

he may not be poor, but he won't be developing much in the future.

Good call, btw.

Posted by: antidope at September 15, 2009 4:16 PM

Your personal anecdotal observations are meaningless not because I say they are....but because you can't support a statement like the one you made:

"That's because the non-white families tend to make the kids walk on their own "

Based upon what you see walking around; and while sometimes a personal anecdote is interesting, amusing or insightful - when you make broad sweeping generalizations based upon race, then they are mostly distasteful and stupid.

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 4:23 PM

This building looks so much like the public housing one a few posts below that I did a double take.

Posted by: columbiatch at September 15, 2009 4:27 PM

Antidope

You are correct that BG was one of the first developers who cooled his heels wrt Brooklyn. However, I doubt that he made much money on many of his Brooklyn projects, which certainly didn't help his situation. His operation was really inefficient, partly due to their very fast growth. They grew too quickly, and were in over their head. It took them years to wrap up some of their Park Slope projects, due to recurring problems.

Posted by: benson at September 15, 2009 4:30 PM

antidope - he overstretched everywhere - Manhattan, Florida, Banking, (and Israel too).

He is the poster child of the most recent RE Boom in NY - go back and read that NY Times profile of him (from circa 05 or 06) - essentially he is/was a small time operator, who didnt realize his success came far more from the market then from any acumen he had. His "exit" from Brooklyn wasnt the product of any great market timing, but rather his hubris that he (and Lev Leiviev) were "Manhattan" developers....

Posted by: fsrg at September 15, 2009 4:31 PM

> Your personal anecdotal observations are meaningless not
> because I say they are....

But - as you say in even more words - because you say they are.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 4:34 PM

fsrg - On further reflection, perhaps the statement was a tad distasteful. Consider it retracted.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 15, 2009 4:45 PM

I think FSRG's statements were even more distasteful, so you're good, snark.

Posted by: Heather at September 15, 2009 6:45 PM

benson, i'd like to agree with you bc he was hugely inefficient and a crappy quality "developer" but he hit the lower 5th avenue corridor condo boom pretty right and, in the absence of the numbers, my hunch is that he made real money. we'll never know and it doesn't matter since other bigger issues wiped him out.

fsrq 431p, spot on -- market covered all his deficiencies.

back in the day of the NYT profile i remember thinking he was like a two-bit donald trump (is that redundant?)

Posted by: antidope at September 15, 2009 10:54 PM

I went to the NOVO for the 1st time this past weekend for a birthday party in their club lounge...

I have to say, the Novo really is the nicest (large) building in Park Slope.

I was truly blown away by how nicely they finished it inside, and outside (love the new grass meadow in Byrne Park)

I wish I had a gym like that in my building...!

Posted by: ArtofYen at October 7, 2009 5:32 PM