New Development | 20 Year Tax Credit | 3 Buildings | 599 Units | Summer 2020
There are not many new large-scale projects on the waterfront in Manhattan, the most famous ones on the west side are Waterline Plaza and Hudson Square.
Building Information
3 new buildings in an open community
599 units (total)
Delivery in summer 2020
Most of the units are 1 to 4 bedrooms (and some studios)
One of the buildings is a rental building (not for sale)
1 bedroom Price: from 2.25 million
2 bedroom Price: from 3.6 million
3 bedroom Price: from 4.87 million
4 bedrooms Price: from 7.2 million
Location
Waterline Square is located on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, between 11th Avenue and 12th Avenue, extending from 59th Street to 61st Street, and is actually a 15-minute walk to the subway station.
Generally speaking, houses with water views in Manhattan are usually at least a 12-15 minute walk to the subway. This is mainly because the New York City subway is planned to be in the middle of Manhattan. Because of this, if buyers want a waterfront home, they need to consider the extreme climate of New York in both winter and summer, especially in winter when the ocean breeze is still strong at the water’s edge.
Most of the residents who live here are car-oriented and the building provides dedicated transportation to and from the subway.
Most of the higher-end restaurants are located on the Upper West Side, next to Lincoln Center, and in Midtown West, plus Waterline Square has planned for Cipriani and supermarkets to be located in the future.
Nearby universities include
John Jay College of Criminal Justice – 3 minutes walk
Fordham University – 10 minutes walk
Columbia University – 10 minutes by car
New York University/FIT – 15 minutes by car
Planning
Waterline Square is a very rare master plan in Manhattan. While new developments in Manhattan are generally small plots of land that are compactly located next door to each other, the developer of Waterline Square has taken the largest parcel of land (5 acres) on the west side near Midtown and planned three residential towers designed by three different prominent architects to surround the park (2.6 acres) and underground facilities in the middle.
The distribution of the three buildings can be divided into two for-sale condominiums located on the Hudson River waterfront and one residential building reserved for rent by the developer in the back, with prices and views varying depending on each building. It is important to note that due to the recession of the past few years, the developer decided to reserve a portion of both Building 1 and Building 2, which were originally for sale, for rent.
One Waterline Square
Address: 10 Waterline Square
36 Stories | 56 Units | Bigger units in boutique building
Richard Meier Design – Pritzker Prize Winner
Mostly large units with water views
Two Waterline Square
Address: 30 Waterline Square
38 stories | 160 units | Small to medium-sized units
Cohen Pedersen Fox KPF Design – New York Local Architecture Firm
The building has a larger footprint, and there are significant differences in views and prices between the east side and west side.
Three Waterline Square
Address: 645 W 59th St
23 stories | 118 units | Rental building is the main plan
Rafael Viñoly Design
The building is not for sale, all units are for rent
Facilities
Due to the large size of the building, the facilities are very good, but because there are 3 buildings with 599 units in common, the swimming pool may be a bit crowded during peak hours. There are common facilities in the basement of the building, and there are separate facilities in each building. What is very special is that the ground floor of the building has 2-3 floors of high ceilings. This is particularly prominent in facilities such as basketball courts and tennis courts, and it can be said that no other developer has made such a large-scale design on the ground floor.
Sports & Fitness Facilities
Tennis Court
Full-Court Basketball
Indoor Soccer Field
Squash Court
Rock Climbing Wall 30-Foot Rock Climbing Wall
Indoor Half-Pipe Skate Park
Golf Simulator
Gym Fitness Center
Pilates Studio
Boxing Studio
Yoga/Barre Studio
Swimming Pool & Spa
25-Meter, 3-Lane Lap Pool
Children’s Pool Separate Children’s Pool
Hot Tub
Changing Rooms Men’s and Women’s Locker Rooms
Steam Rooms
Sauna Rooms Saunas
Massage Treatment Rooms
Leisure & Social
Waterline Great Room with varied seating and work stations
Party Room
Enclosed Catering Kitchen
Bowling Alley
Games Lounge including ping pong, billiards, and foosball
Cards Parlor & Lounge
Screening Room/Performance Space
Business Center
The View
After all, it is located in the first row of the west side of Midtown, so overall the water view of Waterline Square is quite good. The whole design of the first building has a good orientation from the west to the north and the southwest to the north of the second building also has a good view. The whole city view is relatively ordinary, after all, there are many high-rise buildings around.
House type and interior
Overall, the interior and layout of the building are very high-end, the design is also to take more conservative, color palettes and materials, the layout is also quite square and simple, especially inside a few more square and good orientation of the household type is particularly worth considering.
Gaggenau home appliances (refrigerator, stove, wine cooler)
Exterior hood
Pedini kitchen design
Customized marble and wood
Floor-to-ceiling windows
Pros
Great views
20-year land tax exemption (20 years equals $25-$1 million savings)
Many facilities
Excellent architectural and engineering team
Continued improvement in the surrounding living environment
Well planned community
Large restaurants and supermarkets
Cons
Rental properties available in the community
Distance from the subway (common problem with water view houses)
Strong sea breeze in winter at the water’s edge
Conclusion
8.5/10
Waterline Square I think is still a good choice, there are not many residential projects of this type nearby, the only comparable one is Hudson Square, and the overall planning and location of Waterline Square is much better than Hudson Square.
To be honest, if you simply want to buy a new water view house, you don’t have to pick the west side of Midtown, you can also consider the west side of Downtown, such as 111 Murray, etc. But the feeling of the two lots is different, especially the first row and the second row of the view is still different, plus the second row of Manhattan may still be blocked in the future, which is why this type of house in Waterline Square is so rare. This is why Waterline Square is so rare.
The only one I can think of is One West End’s 20-year tax credit, but the view is still very different from Waterline Square.
In the May 23, 2020 market, there is basically a lot of room for negotiation for this type of high end property, so if buyers are interested, please feel free to reach out.
Listing Credit: Corcoran
