Last night, we stopped by HJ Development’s condo conversion at 211 E. 51st St. to take a peek at some of its available units and a wine tasting with sommelier Bill Bendelow. Here, he shows off some selections with HJ’s Kimberly Mancini; all the wine groups tasted were made from the same grape, one in old-world style and the other new. In the spirit of the recession, all were priced under $20.
Save on wine and you may be able to buy one of these units. HJ’s Josephine La Pietra, with Halstead’s Charlie Cheng and Honor Realty’s Connie Kim and Linda Chang, tells us that the one to three-bedroom units range from $600k to $2.5M (and just under $5M for a penthouse). Despite the slow condo market, she reports that HJ recently closed on two and have another closing in two weeks. Since it kicked off sales in May, 40% of the 73 have sold, and 22 families have moved in.
HJ counsel Ian Fishkin (with HJ namesake Henry Justin and Halstead’s Cheryl Nicholas and Fern Todman) tell us that although the development and general contracting firm isn’t building right now, it’s looking at new projects in Manhattan—it especially loves historical conversions (211 was built in 1958). It’s also been contacted about taking over other development projects that aren’t performing well.
