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1) Midtown living means Times Square could be your backyard. 2) The gym at The Sheffield, a condo located at 322 West 57th Street 3) The Sheffield’s appealing pool
MIDDLE MARCH
Tourists beware: More families are flocking to live in Midtown
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ing to Pete Culliney of CityRealty, as reported by the n the last couple of years, toddlers, carriages and Daily News. On the rental side, Midtown East experibabysitters have become more commonplace in enced a slight decrease: a one-bedroom apartment Midtown Manhattan. Working parents with their was $3,646 in March, compared with $3,770 one year children are increasingly moving to this frenzied earlier. In Midtown West, however, rents soared from neighborhood that’s best known for banks, offices $3,877 to $4,058. and Broadway shows. Still, this represents a relative discount compared The perks of Midtown living are quite a few: For with other hip Manhattan nabes popular among young some working parents, it’s a faster commute to the families: A one-bedroom in Soho, for example, averworkplace, sometimes just a few blocks away; for ages $4,974 in rent, while a simiothers, it means the possibility to lar spread in Tribeca is $4,525. walk their children to school and Of course, living in Midto visit them during lunch breaks; For some parents, living in town means, well, living in Midfor others still it is the abundance town — where tourists, sidewalk of services and amenities availMidtown means less time vendors and pedicabs are conable within a short distance. commuting to work. stant fixtures. But increasingly, Ian Brandt and his wife moved new buildings are equipped to from Queens to Midtown after a provide tenants all they need fire damaged their house. They without having to leave home: gyms, heated pools, intended for the new neighborhood to be temporary, indoor basketball courts and pet spas. Another plus, but the family — which includes two kids, ages 10 families say, is the plethora of staff in these new months and seven — is now hesitant to leave. If before buildings; doormen, lobby attendants and concierges they were “Queens snobs,” they now appreciate what add an extra layer of security. Manhattan has to offer: “It’s nice to be able to walk But ultimately, it may be the real estate truism — out of your apartment and do what you’ve gotta do,” location, location, location — that sums up Midtown’s Brandt told the Daily News. appeal. Local resident James Healy, who operates a As families have started to settle in Midtown, the Ben & Jerry’s shop at Rockefeller Center, says he ofprices of apartments in the area have increased, even ten checks in on his teenage daughter when he has a though other factors may also be contributing to the free moment. And living in Midtown has been a boon rise. A two-bedroom co-op apartment in Midtown to her social life, too: “We tend to always be the meethad a median price of $988,000 in the first quarter of ing place because everyone can get to us,” he said. 2013, while it exceeded $1 million in the same period — Lucia De Stefani for 2014. For condos, the median price went up from $1.4 million in 2013 to $1.66 million this year, accord-
34 | Luxury Listings NYC | July/August 2014