Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan
Call it cliche to add Hell’s Kitchen to an “up-and-coming neighborhood” list, as people have been doing so for the past umpteen years, but we can’t hide from the fact that this former Irish slum is finally making it to the big time — and it’s doing it with style and some absurdly large residential complexes.
Once Related’s new 440 W. 42nd St. project and Two Trees Management’s new 900 unit project, Clinton Park (770 Eleventh Ave.), are completed, they will join the ranks of 505W37 and Silver Towers, among other developments that have brought class to the area.
With average rent for a one-bedroom unit around $2,900, according to StreetEasy.com, the area isn’t cheap (and residents complain of a lack of laundromats). Nevertheless, with the extension of the 7 train to 34th Street and 11th Avenue, it’s looking like the combination of Hudson River views, proximity to Broadway and access to public transportation will be an easy sell for a long time.
Ridgewood, Queens
The L train is at it again as a breeder for new artist neighborhoods; and this time, Ridgewood is the beneficiary of the gentrification bug spreading east. With three galleries popping up — Outpost, Famous Accountants, Regina Rex — and new condo developments hitting the market (such as The Times BLDG, and High View Estates), the hood has finally started to get the attention of the public that has been so enamored by the maturation of Williamsburg and Bushwick.
But whatever you do, don’t compare it to either of those hoods, as locals will argue that Ridgewood has a rich history and established community unlike the other two that had to be developed a lot from scratch.
“People will go east if the price is right,” says Aptsandlofts.com president Dave Maundrell, who marketed the Times BLDG, a new condo that started sales in October. “[Ridgewood] has the cache and coolness of Bushwick, but with a residential neighborhood that [people] don’t need to wait to develop. Everything is in place.”
FDB, Harlem
With close proximity to Central Park, easy access to plenty of public transportation and the mere fact that it resides on the precious real estate gold mine that is Manhattan Island, many are surprised that it has taken Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Harlem’s “gold coast,” this long to become the next hot neighborhood of the city.
Now the underdeveloped lots along 8th Avenue and drug problems that ran rampant for years have finally made way for a thriving retail corridor between 110th and 120th streets. And there’s a thriving condo market. Halstead Property currently markets eight new condo buildings in the area, such as 2280 FDB and The Lore, and executive director of development marketing, Stephen Kliegerman, has watched the growth since the company started work on its first condo building on 112th Street in 2001.
“Our first building had squatters and drug dealers,” Kliegerman says. “People that are priced out of the Upper East and West Sides have a great opportunity to stay in NYC with high-quality finishes and amenities. The neighborhood is safe, you just need to re-educate [people].”
