Citizen360, Anbau’s new condo tower on the Upper East Side, sits at the intersection between affordability and luxury, making it an anomaly in a neighborhood known for having older and wealthier residents.
The area known as Yorkville, which stretches from 71st to 90th Street between First and Second Avenue, continues to attract more working-class residents that have been priced out of downtown apartments, a situation upon which Citizen360 hopes to capitalize
“It’s still in that affordable luxury tier of buildings,” said Gabe Kellermeyer, the project director at Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, noting that prices start at $1.4 million.
“Sort of the high-end, we’re at the very bottom, but it’s still attainable for a lot people. And it appeals to a lot of buyers.”
Kellermeyer, who described the property as “contextual” to the look of the neighborhood, said that the pricing was influenced by the area’s demographic shift and the signs of a slowdown in the luxury condo market.
“I think that we understand who the buyer would be for this neighborhood. And we know what the price thresholds are for those people. So we specifically sought to build a building that was within a certain price range because that’s what would appeal to the buyers in this neighborhood,” he said.
While Kellermeyer considers price to be one of the property’s main selling points, he assures buyers that finishes were untouched by efforts to keep cost down.
“For the price point, I think what we’ve done is pretty great,” he said. “Buyers really love the finishes. It’s been received really well.”
The interiors were designed by New York firm Clodagh, which previously worked on 295 Park Avenue South and Abington House near the High Line. The firm endowed the interiors with “spa-like” features, with components such as smoked walnut doors, white oak flooring and Persian White Pulido countertops. The master bathrooms also contain custom Apaiser countertops, teak vanities and Saint Louis limestone walls.
Kellermeyer said that the size of the apartments provide the building a competitive advantage.
One bedrooms start at 915 s/f. Meanwhile, the lone four-bedroom unit in the building, unit 27A, offers 2,862 s/f of space.
“These are larger residences compared to the other properties on the market up here, which are conversions that are smaller. There are a lot of conversions going on in the neighborhood. So this is a nice opportunity to own a piece of property up here that’s new,” he said.
Outside, the building, which is located at 360 East 89th Street, is adorned with a “signature woven window design” from ShoP Architects.
“They did this really interesting facade design. They were trying to keep things contextual to the neighborhood but, you know, give it a little bit of a modern twist,” Kellermeyer said.
Another selling point for the building is the amenities, which cover two full floors and amount to more than 7,000 s/f.
One of the more unusual features of the building is the multimedia room, which provides residents with a space to do things like mix recorded music and edit photos.
The property also contains a fitness center with a yoga studio, a screening room, an art studio and a residents’ lounge.
While the property provides a relatively affordable entry point to condo ownership, Kellermeyer also presents it as investment opportunity.
He said that the neighborhood is up for a revival with the completion of the Second Avenue subway, and the building is an opportunity for buyers to buy a portion of the neighborhood before prices start moving up.
“This is a really great time for buyers to get in before this boom sort of happens. But the whole landscape of this neighborhood will change once it’s complete,” he said.
Prospective buyers have a choice of 84 apartments. These range from one to four bedrooms, and cost anywhere between $1.4 million to $14 million. The building is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2017.
