Department of Resurrections: New Life At New Construction UWS Condo Linden 78

Posted on Mon, 11-01-2010

The Upper West Side's Linden 78 has just about everything a new construction condo listing is supposed to have, from a wide-ranging suite of amenities to a prime location -- at, you guessed it, 230 West 78th Street -- to a host of elegant condominiums for sale. What Linden 78 has not enjoyed, though, is luck. Few Manhattan condo listings have been as star-crossed as Linden 78, which saw many residents back out of their contracts during the Manhattan real estate market’s bleakest hours back in 2009, due to construction delays. There was never anything wrong with the building – quite the contrary, in fact, as Linden 78 had appeared poised to become one of the Upper West Side’s most sought-after new construction condominiums. It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.We noted the first stirrings of life at Linden 78 here at the New Construction Manhattan blog , but things were still pretty parlous until recently. All of which makes this bit of good news that much better -- Linden 78 is back on-line and once again selling apartments. Which means that Linden 78 has not only reclaimed its spot among the best of the best Upper West Side condominium listings, but has become one of the biggest and best comeback stories in NYC real estate. Linden 78's problems always had more to do with the state of the real estate market than with the apartments for sale. Like many new construction condominiums, Linden 78 missed some deadlines during its construction; unlike most NYC condos, though, Linden 78 missed those deadlines when the NYC condo market was struggling mightily and the general economic mood fell somewhere between "mild panic" and "sheer terror." Given that context, the results were unsurprising. As resident after resident took advantage of their right of rescission to back out of their condo contracts, Linden 78 slipped into something like a coma. "Missing the outside date doesn't always mean the project is in trouble, since construction delays are common," The Real Deal's Candace Taylor wrote . "And when the real estate market was booming, buyers of new condos often didn't mind delays because they knew the apartment was increasing in value. But with homes losing value in today's market downturn, buyers are looking for every opportunity to get out of their contracts." As the NYC condominium market has returned to health, though, buildings like Linden 78 -- which had everything but good fortune going for it -- have seen a similar reversal of fortune. Linden 78's sales office is open once again and closings are happening at a healthy clip. What changed? Nothing, really: the apartments for sale at Linden 78 are every bit as appealing as they were back in 2009. The difference is that the market for NYC luxury condos has turned around over the past year-plus. Apartment sales stats are one thing -- and an important thing -- but if you're looking for an illustration of the comeback in Manhattan real estate, Exhibit A is right there at 230 West 78th Street.

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