Dive Brief:
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Toll Brothers is planning to build two, 15-story mixed-use towers in New York City’s Hudson Square neighborhood, Real Estate Weekly reported. The connected buildings will sit atop a shared podium and include 208,365 square feet of residential space and 2,812 square feet of commercial space.
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To make way for the new complex, the builder will tear down an existing two-story commercial building on the property, which it purchased in 2012 for $56.5 million.
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The project, at 77 Charlton Street, is part of Toll Brothers’ City Living division, which includes a handful of luxury condominium properties in New York City, Hoboken, NJ, and Bethesda, MD.
Dive Insight:
Following several years of robust activity, the luxury multifamily category is slowing down amid an oversupply of pricier homes versus a shortage of mid-range and affordable units that are currently in high demand.
The news of 77 Charlton comes a few months after Toll Brothers reported an 18.5% revenue decline for its City Living division in fiscal year 2016, according to The Real Deal, though overall profits were up for the company. CEO Doug Yearley told investors that City Living is now focusing on the $2,000- to $2,500-per-square-foot price point.
During the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, City Living signed 33 fewer contracts compared to the same period in 2016 as the ultra-luxury sector in its primary market, New York City, slows. Yearley told investors it is responding to the shift with caution — it has stepped back from land-buying in the city and is focusing on joint ventures.
City Living is just one segment of Toll Brothers’ increasingly diverse portfolio, which along with the luxury communities it has long been known for also now includes a line of lower-priced single-family homes targeting millennials, its Apartment Living division and student housing.
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