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May 31, 2011
Now renting: luxe condos built for the global rich
AP via CBS Moneywatch.com
Due to a glut of glitzy condo towers and the need to appease skittish lenders some developers have found a new use for the gilded, clubby preserves once meant for buyers who could afford the seven-figure price tags. They're renting them out and offering all of the perks normally reserved for the elite. The hand-watered grass roofs and outdoor movie theaters. The heated, valet-attended porte-cocheres. The pet spas offering canine cardio and play dates for your puppy.
And developers have found that renters —reluctant to buy in a still-unsteady market— are embracing them. One marketing banner flapping against a ritzy, new rental building in New York says it best: "Repent. Rent. Repeat."
Frank Gehry's crumpled, stainless-steel skyscraper in Manhattan--the tallest residential tower in the world--was originally supposed to include 200 sprawling condos along with 700 rentals. Now all of the critically-acclaimed building's apartments are for rent. The units, whose rents start at $2,630 for a 600-square-foot studio, are even rent-stabilized --meaning rents are regulated so tenants will only see small annual increases. There's even an option to pay extra for decor hand-picked by Gehry, including Capellini's Rive Droite armchair, Jonathan Adler's Claude Drawers and Blu Dot's Swept Sofa.
"People are liking the fact that they don't have to commit to a mortgage and a large dollar amount to live here," says MaryAnne Gilmartin, executive vice president of Forest City Ratner, the building's developer.
NoLandGrab: 'Cause God knows, $2,630 a month for a 15' x 20' box is a bargain anywhere.
Posted by eric at May 31, 2011 1:16 PM