In our Weekend Wrap, we wondered if the glass tower had lost its charm in the eyes of, well, everyone. Obviously more are coming, but as it turns out, the backlash against our translucent friend appears to be growing. This time around, New York magazine's S. Jhoanna Robledo takes aim:
Could the glass-is-king trend have finally peaked? A few brokers say that their buyers are reacquiring a taste for the traditional. “People are going back to resales, to prewars,” [Corcoran broker John] Gasdaska says. (According to a Corcoran market report, condo prices were flat last quarter.) And why not? The traditional charms of prewar buildings, says Warburg Realty’s Frederick Peters by way of reminder, never went away. “They’re just built more solidly,” says Peters, who also lauds their “wasted space, which can be a good thing. The foyer, the butler’s pantry—they make the apartment feel spacious and generous.” (New condos are often hyperefficiently laid out.) Unsurprisingly, a handful of high-profile developments such as 15 Central Park West, 110 Central Park South, and Barbizon 63 are incorporating prewar touches like long galleries, crown moldings, paneled doors, and grand foyers.That's two mainstream New York media references in the past week. One more, and we have an official trend on our hands. Time to buy stock in terra cotta.
· Crown Molding Is King [NYMag]