Looking for a fresh start in 2019? Consider moving to one of these hot spots.
Localize.city, a real estate platform that provides insights for every address in New York, looked to all things shiny and new to compile its annual list of New York City areas to watch in the coming year (presented here in random order).
The number of buildings and residential units under construction — the data here reflect development in progress as of Oct. 10, 2018 — played a role, but Localize.city also analyzed new elements that make these neighborhoods livable: parks, transit upgrades, cultural amenities, shopping, dining options and more.
Greenpoint
Some 42 buildings are under construction in Brooklyn’s northernmost ‘hood, with 1,754 units in progress and even more in the pipeline. The most attention-grabbing addition is 40-story condo tower The Greenpoint, which will be occupied early this year, but Localize.city notes “no fewer than five major developments are underway.”
The first market-rate building of the Greenpoint Landing megaproject, One Blue Slip, started leasing last summer, with rents starting at $2,600 per month for studios (higher than the current neighborhood median of $2,400 for a one-bedroom).
Not to mention Amazon’s HQ2 in Long Island City will be just two stops away on the G train. But it wasn’t the new development that attracted Corcoran broker Rachel Field to Greenpoint; it was the fact that Greenpoint offered a home similar to what she grew up in, with a basement and a backyard for her two children to play in.
In 2015, Field bought a townhouse on Newel Street, and while the location is removed from the waterfront hubbub, it’s two blocks from a newly designated “opportunity zone” — a program created in 2017 to encourage development in underinvested areas.
“I think the amount of development we see there is going to be exponential in the next couple of years,” says Field, 48, noting that it will be “good for the property values, but maybe bad for the overall feel of Greenpoint.”
St. George
Staten Island’s flagship town of St. George is set to be an entirely different place by the summer of 2019, as two major developments are set to open by the middle of the year. There are 120 units under construction in the North Shore neighborhood, with all but a handful of them coming to the residential building at Lighthouse Point, Triangle Equities’ mixed-use project located south of the ferry terminal. Twenty percent of the units will be available through a city-run affordable housing lottery. Retail options, an office building and a gourmet grocery store will open in the fall, while work on a Westin hotel will also begin later in the year.
The other new addition to the neighborhood is Empire Outlets, New York’s first outlet mall, set to open this spring. With 100 stores, a 190-room hotel and dozens of dining options, the development should lure visitors and future residents alike across the harbor — at least, that’s what developer BFC Partners is banking on.
Melrose
Development in Melrose, a neighborhood in the South Bronx, started heating up a few years ago, and it’s reaching a fever pitch, with 19 new buildings under construction, most of which are designated affordable. The biggest game-changer for the area is La Central, a massive five-building project with 992 apartments, a 50,000-square-foot YMCA, green space and retail. Three of the buildings, with a combined 660 units, will open in 2019.
Bronx Commons, being developed by WHEDco and BFC Partners, is also set to open this year. It will add 305 affordable rental apartments to the neighborhood, but the crown jewel of the development is the Bronx Music Hall, the new permanent home of the Bronx Music Heritage Center. Other amenities nearby will include Melrose Commons Park, an acre of brand-new public space. Consider the affordable prices: Melrose is the cheapest area on this list, with a one-bedroom costing $1,595.
Hudson Yards
Related Companies has masterminded a new neighborhood tucked into the northwestern crook of the High Line in the West 30s. Author William Middleton moved into the Abington House, a rental on West 30th Street, in May 2017, and his sixth-floor apartment looks directly onto the construction site. An architecture buff, he was drawn to the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building, but it’s the March-opening amenities that will likely make him stick around.
Among the things debuting: a public plaza, a 1 million-square-foot shop-and-eat area (with Neiman Marcus) and 25 other food and beverage concepts. The 88-story condo 15 Hudson Yards begins move-ins this month, while the supertall hotel-condo tower 35 Hudson Yards will open later this year. “It’s going to change so much when everything opens,” says Middleton, 57. The neighborhood is not cheap — the median one-bedroom rent is $3,475 — but with Amazon heading to Long Island City, there’s speculation that Hudson Yards’ towers, at the westernmost stop on the 7 train, will attract well-paid tech execs.
Financial District
Downtown Manhattan has been bursting with new residential development for the better part of a decade — and it’s not slowing down any time soon. Nearly 1,000 units across 11 buildings are under construction in the southern tip of Manhattan. A handful of these developments are at the high end. Among them, the redevelopment of Art Deco landmark One Wall Street, which will create a whopping 566 units with prices averaging $3 million.
New rental apartments are underway at 3 Platt St., 20 Broad St. and 19 Dutch St., just to name a few. They won’t come cheap: Median rent for a one-bedroom in the area clocks in at $3,900. The neighborhood is also in for some new dining options — restaurants from the likes of Jean-Georges, David Chang and Andrew Carmellini will open at Pier 17 in 2019 — and standout new architecture is on its way; David Adjaye, Rafael Vinoly and ODA New York all have buildings in the works.
Downtown Brooklyn
Seven new buildings are on the rise, including Morris Adjmi’s 211 Schermerhorn St., ODA New York’s 10 Nevins Street and Brooklyn Point, a 68-story tower in the City Point development that is Extell’s first project in the borough. It was the allure of a totally new neighborhood that drew dentist Gary Nord to Downtown Brooklyn three years ago.
“I had been living in the West Village in an apartment that was beautiful, but it was old and falling apart,” says Nord, 34. “I just wanted to live in a new area, with new construction and amenities.” He and his partner moved into a new rental building and promptly fell in love with the neighborhood. So when Brooklyn Point launched sales, they saw it as an opportunity to plant permanent roots. The couple purchased a one-bedroom on the 38th floor with south-facing views for $1.38 million. The Center for Fiction is set to open in January, while a mile-long stretch of the Brooklyn Greenway will debut in the spring.
Astoria
With Amazon setting up shop in Long Island City, Localize.city urban planner Alon Goldstein predicts that development in nearby Astoria is only going to pick up speed. Right now, there are 71 buildings under construction with a total of 1,958 residential units. A large chunk of these come from the Halletts Point megaproject on the East River, which will open its first building in the spring. Near Socrates Sculpture Park, plans are underway for a three-building rental project. The median rent for a one-bedroom in the area is $2,000. New residents will benefit from renovated parks and a new food hall. Plus, renovations on the N and W subway lines should wrap up this year.
Jamaica
Two years after the state put $10 million toward kickstarting development in this swath of Queens, the neighborhood is finally seeing a building boom. More than 1,300 new residential units are under construction across 14 buildings, the biggest of which is The Crossing at Jamaica Station, with two FXCollaborative-designed towers adjacent to the AirTrain station that have a total of 669 units for low- and middle-income residents.
More affordable housing is available at the 379-unit Alvista Towers, where move-ins recently started. The debut of a 324-unit building from the Chetrit Group brings more market-rate pads. The Long Island Rail Road station is adding a new platform by the end of the year that will allow for more frequent trains to and from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
East New York
Of the nine neighborhoods on this list, East New York has the most units under construction: 2,264 across 44 buildings. The Christian Cultural Center and the Gotham Organization are planning a 2,100-unit project. Many of the buildings on the way are fully affordable, including a 403-unit rental at 3301 Atlantic Ave. developed by Phipps Houses (the first part of a 1,200-unit project). Median rent for a one-bedroom is $1,600. Also, the first phase of Shirley Chisholm State Park, to be NYC’s largest state park, will open on Jamaica Bay over the summer.