Day spa January
Nine winter retreats, The Lantern House, 50 W 66th, an idyllic Sonoma lodge, Koloman, Sicily, Ketchy Shuby, MORE
REAL ESTATE • In Contract
Loosening up
The long-awaited unclenching of Manhattan’s housing market got a jump start last month, when signed contracts and new listings both ticked up over last December. The rise in new listings was the largest since March ‘22, per Elliman. Meanwhile, the median price on closed sales increased in Q4 for the first time since 2022.
A record percentage of those sales were all-cash deals (68%), as the luxury segment continued to push upward (despite the tricky rate environment). In Q4, the median luxury sales price increased to $6.125M, 5% more than last year and 28% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The new year kicked off with some big new development contracts, including a couple of 3BRs at The Lantern House and 50 W. 66th St. (recently crowned 6sqft’s 2023 Building of the Year). On the resale side, a classic 22’-wide townhouse on Waverly Pl. traded after a year on the market.
→ 50 W. 66th St., 40W (Upper West Side) • 3BR/3.5BA, 2816 SF condo • Closing ask: $16.5MM • 145 SF private loggia with Park and river views • Monthly taxes: $4331; common charges: $4317 • Brokers: Janice Chang & Timothy Hsu, Elliman.
→ 515 W. 18th St., 1904 (Chelsea, above) • 3BR/3BA, 2167 SF condo • Closing ask: $7.475M • River views, High Line courtyard • Monthly taxes: $5839; common charges: $3327 • Broker: Corcoran.
→ 156 Waverly Pl. (Greenwich Village) • 8BR/8BA, 6072 SF townhouse • Closing ask: $8.75M • 1839 Greek Revival, 9 fireplaces • Monthly taxes: $3142 • Brokers: The Eklund | Gomes Team, Elliman.
NYC REAL ESTATE LINKS: $49M One High Line penthouse in contract • NYC developers filed plans for 9,909 housing units in 2023, a 78% drop • Hochul calls for revival of expired 421-a tax abatement • Manhattan’s 10 priciest condo projects of 2023 • 10 neighborhoods to watch in 2024.
GETAWAYS • Sonoma
This post first appeared in our sister publication, FOUND LA. Looking for a little more West Coast in your life? Subscribe to FOUND LA, with new issues dropping each Thursday.
Wood and water
Last summer, the historic Sea Ranch Lodge completed a multi-year renovation, offering travelers another reason to visit the idyllic Sonoma coast community it anchors.
Incorporated in the 1960s with the notion of “living lightly on the land,” Sea Ranch comprises 10 miles of rugged coastline, redwood forest, and hundreds of distinctive timber-framed homes designed to meld with its surroundings. The oasis for nature, design, and architecture heads is remote — an hour and 45 minutes’ drive from Sonoma County Airport and a solid three hours from SFO — but the trip’s well worth it.
Rooms at the revamped lodge are decked in red cedar, oak, and fir, with plush furniture and big windows looking out onto the Pacific. In place of TVs, a fireplace, a set of binoculars, and a pair of walking sticks. Outside, the coastal bluff trail winds past tide pools, windswept flora, and clusters of private homes.
The Lodge is also home to a bar, lounge, restaurant, and café, the only food and drinking establishments in Sea Ranch proper. If one tires of the middle-of-the-road fare, there’s a trusty seafood shack in Gualala, one town north, in addition to a weekend barbecue stand outside Surf Market.
With its cozy, convivial atmosphere (the bar is a popular haunt for locals), the Lodge is a fitting shelter for first-time visitors. For return visitors, a Sea Ranch home rental to fully immerse in the pleasures of this tranquilizing community might better do the trick. –Emily Wilson
→ The Sea Ranch Lodge (Sea Ranch, CA) • 60 Sea Walk Dr.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Maria Sharapova’s guide to Santa Barbara • NYT’s 52 places to go (Baltimore!) in 2024 • 10 more from the WSJ (Kansas City!) • A guide to skiing the Rockies this winter • Should you take your toddler on safari?
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
Back to school energy
KYLE BERGMAN, festival director & founder, Architecture & Design Film Festival
Neighborhood you live in: Midtown
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I don't think of my life in terms of weekdays and weekends but rather worktime and playtime, and they can happen at any time of the day, and on any day of the week. Early January has the same energy as just after Labor Day. I’m spending my Friday previewing films for the 2024/25 film festival season. We always start in the fall in New York City, and then travel the festival to LA, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, and overseas to Athens and Mumbal.
Where are you dining this weekend?
Friday night I'm going to Koloman. My mom is originally from Austria, so I’m quite keen to check out the elevated Central European fare there. On Saturday night I’m going to a good friend's annual birthday pizza party at her brownstone in Brooklyn, where everybody is making delicious and unique pizzas. It's cooking chaos, and totally fun.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Friday night after dinner I'm going to Speakeasy Magick at the McKittrick Hotel. I’m always blown away by up close and personal sleight of hand tricks. I'm also planning on going to see the Es Devlin exhibit at Cooper Hewitt. I already saw it once and can't wait to go back.
Any weekend getaways?
On Monday, I'm heading up to Vermont for about 10 days. I can work from my Vermont house and also soak in some crisp, cold nature. While I’m there, I’ll also do some work for the charity that I volunteer at all year long, America is Calling, which is an ongoing effort to encourage Gen Z and under 35 voters to get to the polls and vote in every election.
What was your last great vacation?
Right after Thanksgiving, I went with my dad and an old family friend to Sicily (above) for an eight-day eating extravaganza. We had so much great food, but there were two standout meals: One was at a French-Sicilian restaurant called Monsu in the dense medieval town of Ragusa and the other was at CiCala, a small local hangout in Palermo with an amazing and unique selection of natural wines. The owner of CiCala was so passionate and generous with sharing the wines he loves with everyone that the entire place was like a big party.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Saturday Night
NYC Winter Jazzfest, multiple venues, Fri & Sat @ 6p, two-day Marathon VIP Pass, $205 per
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Lucille Lortel Theatre (Theater District), Sat @ 730p, closing night, orchestra, $344 per
Jerry Seinfeld, Beacon Theatre (Upper West Side), Sat @ 7p, orchestra, $213 per
CULTURE LINKS: Plan to bring NYC's first pro soccer stadium to Queens wins key backing • 10 art shows to see in January • First exhibit at Jack Shainman’s new Tribeca gallery opens today • ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ will end its Broadway run in April • Roman and Williams are luxury’s default designers of atmosphere.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
Nine day spas for those long winter weekends, a vibe-y new bar and lounge on the Soho/Nolita border, and 10 favorite restaurants from new subscribers.
