Even in a city that doesn't sleep, West 27th Street in Chelsea has long had a reputation for staying up late. That rep came courtesy of a bunch of clubs that, for a decade, set the pace for late-night revelry in a neighborhood that was, for years, Manhattan's club capital. Of course, no party lasts forever, and with those clubs closed -- and with Manhattan's club scene now doing its things behind the velvet ropes of the Lower East Side -- West Chelsea's former club capital has become something more upscale, a lot less messy and generally much more... residential. In the Wall Street Journal, Laura Kusisto notes that the stretch of West 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenue, formerly the site of several notably noisy nightspots, has recently been home to a different kind of boom -- this time, as the home to some new luxury condominium development. With promising new Chelsea condominiums as 200 Eleventh Avenue, 245 Tenth and 133 West 22nd leading the way -- and with giving the neighborhood some high-gloss glamour (and some high-end green space) -- it looks like the party may not be over in West Chelsea just yet.

For nearly 45 years, Toll Brothers has prided itself on -- and marketed itself as -- being America’s top “luxury home builder." From golf course mansions to poolside townhouses, Toll Brothers created an ever-increasing empire, if one that -- until a few years ago, at least -- was confined largely to the 'Burbs. That changed in 2008 with the arrival of Toll Brothers City Living, a branch of the company specializing in housing in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Hoboken and Philadelphia. Of course, as anyone who followed Manhattan real estate -- or the economy, or anything else -- could tell you, '08 was an especially inopportune time to be starting a real estate business. Unsurprisingly, Toll Brothers City Living got off to a rough start with Northside Piers, and later that year Robert I. Toll, chief executive of Toll Brothers, claimed that New York City had “joined the rest of the country” and was no longer a place to buy homes. Toll even pleaded with Congress to subsidize the prices of homes because of the number of clients cancelling contracts. But that was 2008, and this is 2011 and, thanks to a batch of new construction condo listings, Toll Brothers is showing all appearances of being back in force.

Recently, New Construction Manhattan noted that changes in zoning could have a on a neighborhood. It’s no secret that, square foot by square foot and new construction Manhattan condominium for new construction Manhattan condominium, New York City is one of the nation’s most expensive cities in which to buy an apartment. But, as anyone who has searched Manhattan apartment listings recently knows, condominium prices in Manhattan -- while not exactly cheap anywhere -- are highly variable from neighborhood to neighborhood, and even between neighborhoods that share borders. In practical terms, this reveals some practical conclusions -- averaging prices for Manhattan studio apartments, one-bedroom apartments, and two-bedroom apartments reveals that Tribeca condo listings are the priciest in Manhattan, while Harlem is home to the cheapest. That may not surprise you all that much, but other revelations -- for instance, condos on the Upper East Side are less expensive per square foot than apartments in the East Village or on the Upper West Side -- may elicit a head-shake or a whaddaya-know. These numbers didn't come out of nowhere, of course -- these are established neighborhoods with established brands. But what happens when, as recently happened in North Tribeca, an old section of an established neighborhood gets a new life thanks to a new zoning designation? The answer, we think, is something very promising indeed.

We know: browsing Manhattan condo listings can be intimidating, actually buying a Manhattan condo includes a fairly daunting number of steps (luckily, there's a Buyer's Guide for that), and the world of can seem all too exclusive. Add it all up, and Manhattan real estate investment can start to seem like an expensive, experts-only affair, and one that only people with years of experience can hope to do successfully. Luckily, it isn't. To prove as much, please note that fact that Vanilla Ice has been doing it successfully for years. Visitors to Vanilla Ice’s new real estatewebsite, are greeted, naturally, with the sound of Mr. Vanilla's “Ice, Ice Baby.” It's funny, but it's not a joke. Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, has made millions of dollars purchasing and flipping homes. Van Winkle has spent 16 years purchasing, improving and selling real estate across the country. He even has his own show on the DIY Network, “The Vanilla Ice Project.” On the show, Vanilla Ice does everything from creating a spa-like environment in a master suite to staging the home for sale. Now, Vanilla Ice believes that he can teach you something about real estate investing. This may or may not be true, but lord knows that if Vanilla Ice can invest successfully in real estate, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to find the right condominium on the Upper West Side. The truly surprising part is this: Ice might be onto something.

The neighborhood of SoHo, or Southof Houston Street, is known as one of the most popular -- and one of the priciest -- neighborhoods in Manhattan, alongside the trendy high-rise condos of Chelsea, the stalwart and pre-war Upper East Side, and raucous Greenwich Village. Back in the day SoHo was a haven of artists looking for low rents in the manufacturing district’s industrial work spaces. But now this NYC neighborhood is known less for its poor artists and more as a growing district of affluent families, lush boutiques and converted condo listings. With the demand for SoHo residences at a peak and many artists fleeing to cheaper pastures, some SoHo dwellers are crying foul about an old law that requires residential lofts to be set aside strictly for certified artists. SoHo residents say the law is -- wait for it -- certifiably nuts.

If you follow Manhattan real estate, you are familiar with The High Line. And if you don't follow Manhattan real estate, and are in town for a convention or to see the sights or check out Anything Goes on Broadway or whatever... well, welcome to the New Construction Manhattan blog, and we'll presume you're also familiar with The High Line. After just a few short years on the West Side, the winding, lushly landscaped park that runs on the former freight train tracks above 10th Avenue has become both one of Manhattan's must-visit venues and one of the . While Chelsea condo listings were, truth be told, doing pretty all right before the High Line went from random-old-elevated-train-tracks to hugely popular public park, the arrival of the park gave a huge boost to apartment listings near the High Line, and helped occasion the development of such blockbuster, star-architect-designed high-end condominium listings as HL23, +Art, 456 West 19th Street and Nouvel and Chelsea Modern. And with the opening of the High Line's second stage -- which will run from 20th Street all the way up to 30th Street -- on June 8, the High Line looks likely to work its real estate magic again, this time for North Chelsea and the emerging and highly promising Hudson Yards neighborhood bearing the goofy-ish nickname The Linc.

After the 2008 market crash the prices of one-bedrooms and studios recovered fairly quickly, but the two-bedroom has held out until now. According to The Real Deal, by 13.4 percent since March, but the inventory of two-beds has grown much slower. True to the laws of economics, the ever-present high demand of Manhattan real estate coupled with a low supply means that prices of Manhattan two-bedrooms has hit a new peak -- and the competition to secure one is getting fierce. The New York Times interviewed Tracie Hamersley, a senior vice president of Citi Habitats, whose two-bedroom listing in Murray Hill closed at the asking price after only a single week on the market. It was the buyer’s third attempt at securing a two-bedroom.

As we have written often here at New Construction Manhattan, there's a reason why Manhattan condo listings remain in high demand, whatever the state of the economy, the NYC real estate market, the phase of the moon, or any other salient factor. That simple reason being that Manhattan condominium listings are located in Manhattan, and therefore have an advantage no luxury condominium listings anywhere else can match. But while it's easy to understand the high-gloss, high-culture appeal of SoHo condo listings or the old-Manhattan graciousness of Upper East Side condominiums, what of Roosevelt Island condo listings? For one thing, they're not even on Manhattan (although for our purposes we consider them as such), and are instead located to the east of Manhattan, in the middle of the East River. For another... well, for a long time, Roosevelt Island wasn't exactly a high-profile part of the NYC condo scene. But things change fast in Manhattan real estate, and things have changed for the better in Roosevelt Island, both thanks to and the rise of some very appealing new construction condominiums on Roosevelt Island. Once saddled with the less-than-flattering nickname "Welfare Island," this former backwater in the middle of the East River is an afterthought no longer, thanks in large part to a boom of new construction luxury rentals and condominiums. And here's the biggest sign of Roosevelt Island's rising prosperity: People are actually moving there. Quickly and in serious numbers.

Imagine walking through New York City in the 1920s. What was different? Well, cars rolled around on what looked like bike tires, women had just received the right to vote, prohibition was in effect, and it was notably harder to find a decent wi-fi signal. But while the Manhattan skyline was notably lower during the Coolidge Administration, the brick and limestone apartment buildings -- today's sought-after pre-war apartment buildings -- were then, and still are, high-style standouts. Which perhaps has something to do with why so many new construction Manhattan condominiums are opting for a look that hearkens back to Manhattan's architectural heyday. Yes, today's classic-style luxury condominiums tend offer all kinds of modern conveniences and luxuries -- the LEED-certified 456 West 19th Street, for instance, pairs classic lines with floor-to-ceiling windows. When it comes to Manhattan condominium aesthetics, though, everything old is seemingly new again.