● ARTIMUS
Closings underway at Circa
Circa Central Park, the new condominium at 285 West 110th Street on Central Park (pictured top) has officially started closings.
“We have been excited to hit this milestone and are proud to welcome the first wave of residents to Circa,” said Elaine Diratz, Managing Director of Town New Development, the exclusive sales and marketing firm on the development.
Developed by Artimus and designed by FXFOWLE Architects, the 11-story building features a tiered profile of one- to five-bedroom apartments – many with private terraces – and a curved glass façade, offering floor-to-ceiling panoramic views of Central Park, Morningside Park, and the skyline.
Amenity spaces include a fitness center, resident lounge, a landscaped courtyard, rooftop terrace, 24-hour doorman, and cold storage.
For younger residents, there is a children’s playroom, a tween room with gaming console and a study room plus bicycles, picnic baskets, and remote control sailboats for the park.
The building also has an on-site resident manager, underground parking, electric car charging stations, bike and private storage, and a pet washing station.
Circa will soon release a few terraced apartments overlooking Central Park. Sizes range from 3-5 bedrooms with immediate occupancy.
● TACONIC INVESTMENT PARTNERS
Developer tuned into buyer demand
Taconic Investment Partners has released images of the new model units at 525W52, a new two-tower luxury rental development in Hell’s Kitchen.
The units were designed and staged by ASH NYC, which created five model units for the project, crafting a unique brand and story in each of the condo-quality residences.
525W52 curated customized playlists for each model based on the customer-type they envisioned it for. For example, the playlist for a two-bedroom modeled for an empty nester couple includes Elvis Costello, Abba and Whitney Houston, while a one-bedroom modeled for a single woman in her 40’s includes Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant and The Cranberries.
With a total of 392 apartments, 525W52 was designed by by Handel Architects and co-developed by Mitsui Fudosan.
The Marketing Directors is leading leasing and pricing starts at $2,730 per month for a studio and goes up to $6,900 for a two-bedroom home with a terrace.
● F&T GROUP, ROCKEFELLER, AECOM
Designers give penthouse the Commons touch
With closings underway at Flushing Commons and with Phase I at 98 percent sold, developers F&T Group, Rockefeller Group and AECOM Capital have unveiled a penthouse model residence and debuted the first amenity spaces at the residential building.
Phase I includes a 17-story building with 14 residential floors located at 138-35 39th Avenue, as well as a 12-story office condominium building, located at 38-08 Union Street.
The buildings have been designed by Perkins Eastman, with landscape architecture by Thomas Balsley Associates and interiors by Shim Projects. AECOM Tishman is the builder.
The new 16th floor model residence, also furnished by Shim Projects, is a 1,588 s/f three-bedroom, three-bath home and is available for $1,998,000.
“While Flushing Commons sold in record time, we wanted to save the penthouse for when the building was complete and buyers could really see the incredible potential in our penthouse collection,” said Helen Lee, executive vice president of F&T Group, who oversees marketing and sales for Flushing Commons.
“Shim Projects did such a beautiful job on the amenity spaces that we brought them in again to oversee the model residence design.”
Flushing Commons is expected to be completed in two phases. The 1.8-million-square-foot, transit-oriented, mixed-use development is set to include residential, office, retail, parking and community space.
It will feature five buildings surrounded by a 1.5-acre, open-air public plaza, Downtown Flushing’s first public outdoor space.
● LEFRAK
Ellipse running circles round the competition
LeFrak announced the first move-ins have begun at Ellipse, a 42-story luxury rental tower in Jersey City’s Newport community.
LeFrak has been developing the Newport neighborhood for more than 30 years, and Ellipse is the company’s premier project, . Since launching leasing in April, the building has been nearly 60 percent leased.
“We are thrilled to welcome the first residents to Ellipse,” said Richard Wernick, Executive Leasing Director at LeFrak. “The community’s enthusiastic response to the building has been very encouraging, and we’re excited for our tenants to experience these incredible residences with one of a kind views.”
Ellipse’s oval shape and glass façade were designed by Arquitectonica. Situated on the Hudson River waterfront, the building offers unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline and Hudson River, from every residence.
The 381 residences, range from studios to three-bedroom homes, as well as five penthouse apartments, including two four-bedroom homes with floor-to-ceiling windows, oak plank hardwood floors, washer/dryers, multi-room climate control, and walk-ins.
A 24,000 s/f amenity packages includes co-working space, multipurpose lounge and game room, gym, playroom, outdoor pool and terrace with barbecue area and fire pit situated above the adjacent parking garage.
Nearby Newport Green is a 4.25-acre park that features the only urban beach on the Hudson River in addition to a 17,000 s/f playground, turf field, and boardwalk.
LeFrak is handling leasing in-house. Prices start at $2,600 per month for studios.
● DMG INVESTMENTS
Developer tops out Cliffside condominiums in Jersey
DMG Investments has topped out One Park on New Jersey’s Palisades cliffs.
The upscale condominium building rising in Bergen County’s Cliffside Park has reached its 14-story pinnacle high above the Hudson River waterfront with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline.
The construction milestone follows the opening of an onsite sales gallery where Halstead Property Development Marketing (HPDM) is previewing the collection of 204 residences. 
The building is scheduled to be completed in fall, 2018.
Designed by Architectura, One Park has a glass curtain wall and private outdoor space for every home.
One-, two-, three- and four-bedroom residences are priced from $495,000.
Interiors by boutique design firm, VLDG Inc. feature kitchens with chef-caliber appliances, the finest fixtures, and magnificent views. Bedroom suites have floor-to-ceiling windows and bathrooms feature a freestanding sculpted tub and open shower.
The building has an Aquatic Center featuring an indoor 55-foot heated pool with adjoining outdoor sun deck, sauna and steam rooms; and roof deck with grilling stations, fire pits, and outdoor movie theater.
There’s also a fitness center with private Pilates room and squash court, a golf simulator, children’s playroom, a pet spa, guest suites and a secure parking garage with a fully-automated Unitronics system.
