1) 48 Bond Street has more going for it than shiny glass and an indoor lap pool. This former DDJ is one of the few major developments being brought to market by two women. Architect and Yale Professor Deborah Berke and developer Romy Goldman are bringing a female touch to the Ian Schrager block and six units have sold since coming to market three weeks ago. [Posting/Jeff Vandam]
2) With the real estate market apparently heating up, coop and condo residents are bristling under the hustle and bustle of weekend open houses. Many high end buildings are passing rules to limit or outright ban open houses altogether, and while some sellers fear it could negatively impact their final prices, brokers stress that it's just a another minor NYC real estate inconvenience and nothing that a strong market can't overcome. [Closing the Door/Vivian S. Toy]
3) Gansevoort Hotel owner Michael Achenbaum is ready to sit down and talk turkey with Andrew Berman and other MePa business owners over the ginormous signs being built on the hotel, but this battle is not close to being over. It seems Keith McNally has persuaded his fellow restaurateurs to also stop accepting reservations from the Gansevoort's concierge, including Spice Market, Florent, Cafe Cluny, Spotted Pig, Inn at Little West 12th Street, the Waverly Inn and Lotus. Despite the MePa freeze out, GH COO Elon Kenchington says "the sign will remain there for the duration of the 20-year contract." [Page Six/NY Post]
4) An interior designer spent 25 years looking for a new apartment to call home. After numerous near misses, he finally found his dream home, a 2 bedroom apartment with views and outdoor space at the probably sold out 325 Fifth Avenue for $1.42 million. [The Hunt/Joyce Cohen]
5) Post editor Andy Wang is shopping for a new home and blogging along the way. In his first report, he checks out the open house madhouse at Novo. It was priced right but its distance from the subway turned him off, with Wang saying "it just seemed too far away to consider." More promising was a visit to 'Magic'-al One Hanson, which received brownie points because it's "right in between all the downtown Brooklyn redevelopment as well as the planned Atlantic Yards developments." [Sunday Shopping/Andy Wang]