June 4, 2020
Looking Forward to the Future of Real Estate in NoMad and Beyond
As times remain uncertain for the economy as a whole, our businesses, and our personal lives, we have turned to experts in the field to answer our collective, burning question: what’s next? Leading New York real estate broker Nick Athanail, who specializes in residential sales, has shared his thoughts on the future of the industry.
As we have already seen from ongoing construction projects and new commercial deals in the works, things are not as bleak as one might fear. To let the numbers speak for themselves, Street Easy reported a spike in online activity in late April compared to the beginning of the month. Additionally, there were 216 contracts signed in Manhattan and 95 in Brooklyn last month. And while this may be a small number compared to last year’s signings, Nick stressed that prices have barely dipped — assuaging media-driven fears of immediate, drastic changes to the housing market, though the long-term effects remain to be seen.
Of course, much of the real estate industry’s progress will depend on the speed of our economic recovery. It is encouraging to know that leading financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and other Wall Street titans, are projecting the market will rebound as soon as the latter half of this year. Nick has taken this in stride, pointing out, “One thing is for certain, the market has existed since the 1600s. NYC isn’t going anywhere, and we will never be broken.”
There is concrete news that this optimistic view is not unwarranted. The ongoing advancements to Morris Adjmi Architects’ project on Broadway between 27th and 28th Street are proof that many still have great confidence in the market’s revival. Just last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was reviewing Morris Adjmi’s proposal to design a new 13-story office building at 1162 Broadway.
The building has been in planning for several years and originally was filed as a hotel but is now planned to be a Class A office building. Adjacent to the NoMad Hotel this Adjmi gem should be a wonderful asset to our neighborhood life and, and another fine addition its architectural heritage.
If approved, current plans reveal the building would also boast a ground-floor restaurant and cafe — an equally promising sign that NoMad is moving full steam ahead for a gradual reopening of its dining industry.