The top 10 most expensive Bronx condos

Susan Goldy, Susan Goldy Real Estate
TOP CONDOS IN THE OUTER BOROUGHS
Riverdale commands nearly all spots
Buyers of high-end Bronx condos want to be close to Manhattan, but not too close
BY SARAH RYLEY
ll but one of the Bronx’s top 10 most
expensive condominiums are in the
lush, hilly neighborhood of Riverdale, seemingly cordoned off from the rest
of the city by the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, Van Cortlandt Park and the Major
Deegan Expressway.
They range from a $1.545 million apartment lined by floor-to-ceiling windows at the
sleek new Solaria tower, to a $1 million apartment that practically hangs over the Hudson River, facing the New Jersey Palisades at
an older building on Palisade Avenue. The
one exception to Riverdale is the borough’s
seventh most expensive condo, on City Is-
A
land, a far-flung, 230-acre fishing-and-bedroom community of 5,000 in the Long Island
Sound mainly accessible by a single bridge.
Access to mass transportation, elite public and private schools, a smattering of tidy
shopping and dining options, and attractive
scenery have long made Riverdale a desirable
option for New Yorkers more interested in
peace and quiet than a flashy urban lifestyle
— at condo prices significantly lower than in
Manhattan.
Susan Goldy, who owns a prominent
real estate firm in the area by the same
name, said condo buyers “tend to be people downsizing from larger homes in Westchester, who want to be closer to Manhat-
The Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North Railroad station
in the Bronx is used by Riverdale residents.
Joseph Korff, developer of the Solaria.
He said the project’s views are protected.
tan but don’t require Manhattan.”
Inversely, she said, families from Manhattan, or families transferring from out-of-town
to work in Manhattan, are attracted to Riverdale’s abundance of nature and top schools.
“Sometimes the city is just a little too much for
them; they need that blend of suburbia.”
Picturesque single-family homes comprise a large part of Riverdale’s market. Storybook mansions can run up to $4.5 million
in the estate area west of the Henry Hudson
Parkway, to as low as $625,000 in North
Riverdale near the College of Mount St. Vincent, according to Trebach Realty.
Luxury condominiums are a relatively
new phenomenon (most of the older multifamily buildings are co-ops). Prices range
from around $300,000 to $1.5 million, up
from $150,000 to $1.1 million three years
ago, according to brokers.
Two of the Bronx’s priciest condos are actually townhouses, part of the Hayden on
the Hudson development, which has a large,
crescent-shaped tower as its centerpiece. It
was finished in the 1980s and is nestled on a
private hillside road across from Riverdale
Park. Each of the townhouses has a private
yard and access to the development’s pool,
gym, tennis courts and nature trails. Such
townhouse-style condominiums are scattered throughout Riverdale.
Bradford Trebach, a broker for 25 years
and also vice president of Bronx Community
Board 8, said 15 new buildings have either
been recently completed or are slated for construction in Riverdale.
“This has been the biggest building push
in Riverdale since the building boom in the
1950s,” said Trebach.
It’s also one that has met with fierce resistance. Community Board 8 led an effort to
“prevent overdevelopment by the contextual
downzoning of large parts of Riverdale and
Kingsbridge,” he said. “And we advocated to
create the Fieldston Historic District, which
is a large area of high-end homes in Central
Riverdale.”
He said Solaria, Riverdale’s tallest building at 20 stories, “made it by the skin of its
teeth … if Solaria had been just a few days late
in completing its foundation, they would not
have been able to build.”
The top 10 most expensive Bronx condos
Address
Neighborhood
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
Riverdale
Riverdale
Riverdale
Riverdale
Riverdale
Riverdale
City Island
Riverdale
Riverdale
Riverdale
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
Hayden on the Hudson, Douglas Avenue
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
The Boatyard, 1 Deepwater Way
Hayden on the Hudson, Douglas Avenue
The Solaria, 640 West 237th Street
2521 Palisade Avenue
Price
Indoor sf
Bedrooms
$1,545,000
2,010
1,730
1,730
2,952
1,906
1,906
1,750
2,941
1,446
1,508
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
$1,465,000
$1,400,000
$1,395,000
$1,300,000
$1,200,000
$1,140,000
$1,100,000
$1,070,000
$999,000
Sources: Property Shark, Ark Development, Port of Kall Realty, Trebach Realty. List includes only closed sales.
66 September 2008 www.TheRealDeal.com
Sale date
Feb. 7, 2008
Feb. 28, 2008
Feb. 6, 2008
Aug. 23, 2007
Jan. 28, 2008
Mar. 13, 2008
Jan. 23, 2007
Jun. 15, 2005
Jan. 30, 2008
Dec. 13, 2005
Solaria developer Joseph Korff, principal
of Arc Development, pointed out that as a
result, many of the views from his tower are
protected.
Solaria claims six of the top 10 slots, but
it hasn’t sold too many more of its 66 units
even after two years on the market. Korff said
30 percent of the building’s apartments are
sold. But, according to Property Shark, a real
estate data Web site, sales for only nine units
have been recorded, just enough for a condo
offering plan to take effect.
Korff noted that he recently revised his
sales strategy, and is considering revising
it again, to include more events and direct
marketing. “I think people don’t know about
Six of the top condo sales in the Bronx were at the
Solaria, Riverdale’s tallest building at 20 stories.
Riverdale, they don’t really appreciate the
neighborhood,” he said.
In response to tightened lending practices, Korff has also engaged in “more creative
solutions without giving up value,” in effect
allowing a buyer to move in early even if he or
she is having trouble selling their home.
A prominent broker in the area, who
asked not to be named, said buyers are deterred by the high price points at the Solaria,
coupled with a lack of deeded parking and a
defined dining area. Instead, most of Solaria’s
floor plans adhere to the more modern trend
commonly found in new Manhattan developments, in which the kitchen is separated
from the living and dining area by an open
breakfast bar.
While that creates a bright, airy effect,
particularly with the Solaria’s floor-to-ceiling
windows, the broker said it’s a deal-breaker
for many Jewish families who, as part of their
faith, hold large family dinners every Friday
in observance of the Sabbath.
The broker estimated that roughly 10,000
of Riverdale’s 45,000 residents are Jewish.
“Solaria is across the street from a major
Orthodox synagogue, one of the largest in the
city, the Riverdale Jewish Center, and it could
have had tremendous appeal for that reason,”
Continued on page 172
PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE REAL DEAL BY SARAH RYLEY