Ask A Broker: Just Saying Yes to Condo Developments

There has been a change of attitude on the Upper West Side about real estate development. More and more, neighbors, community boards and historic preservationists are saying yes to condominium conversions and construction. There's the new story being added on top of 498 West End Avenue, the Extell/Megalith deal at 36-40 West 66th Street, and the projected transformation of 206-210 West 77th Street from a Hertz garage into a luxury Condo high rise.

An artist's rendering of the latter project can be viewed on a site called newyorkyimby.com. (The "YIMBY" stands for "Yes In My Backyard.")

The website NYCurbed reported that the swift approval for construction of an additional story on the former rental building at 498 West End came as a surprise, given that the Landmarks Preservation Commission had given the owners of the behemoth Apthorp building a hard time when they asked to do the same thing.

Before the condominium project at 36-40 West 66th Street could move forward, Congregation Habonim had to agree to sell its property. As part of that deal, they will get a synagogue condo unit inside the new building, but it is too early to say how many neighbors would be sharing the property. Estimates on the size of the new building once completed, which is projected for 2018 or 2019, range anywhere from 150,000 to 400,000 square feet, according to The Real Deal.

The Naftali Group has plans to convert the former Hertz garage building on West 77th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam, into 25 "enormous" family-sized condo units, plus commercial space, across 18 floors. The plan for a 185 foot tall building was made possible by the fact that its address lies in between historic preservation districts. And in a neighborhood that typically experiences a housing market tighter than a marine's bed sheets, expect more such transformations in the nearby future.

Mike Mishkin is the CEO of Love Where You Live Realty and iLovetheUpperWestSide.com