Where: 440 West End Avenue, 1B-2B
Size: 8 bedrooms/5 bathrooms (post-combination)
Asking: $4,495,000
Listed by: Vickey Barron & Mara Isbey

Currently two separate corner units totaling over 3,700-square feet, these co-op apartments have a townhouse feel at the pre-war 440 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side, and are waiting to be combined into what could be a grand duplex. Why do we say a townhouse feel? Because the lower unit includes an optional entrance from the street, creating a townhouse feel in a full-service building. This canvas is far from blank: hardwood floors, high beamed ceilings and prewar details abound, and for a buyer seeking value, this much space for under $5 million in a prime part of the Upper West Side will be too good to pass up. Here’s a look at the building’s classic Georgian facade:

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A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

“Not Far from Pratt, Renovated Rental Asks $4,300/Month”
Curbed
CORE’s Win Brown and Doug Bowen are listing for rent a beautifully renovated duplex apartment in an Italianate row house dating back to the 1850s (above), located in a newly designated historic district in Brooklyn. Writes Curbed about the property, “The quality of the renovation, a gracious floor plan, and a private office add to the desirability.”

“Score for Core: A BHS vice prez joins the firm”
The Real Deal
Jarrod Randolph’s move to CORE was covered by The Real Deal, which noted that his $15.8 million penthouse sale at the Lucida last year was the highest price per square foot paid in the well-known Upper East Side building at that time. For our interview with Jarrod, click here.

“Selling New York S5E8: Chilly Reception & Hot Houses”
Curbed
Still hungry for information about last week’s episode of “Selling New York” after reading our recap? Curbed has an entertaining summary, featuring quite the photo of our Tom Positilio.

Today CORE is thrilled to announce that Jarrod Guy Randolph has joined the firm as a Vice President and Associate Broker. With a successful decade in the business, Jarrod’s personal contributions to new development projects have resulted in sales valued at over $400 million, including at notable projects such as 84 Bedford Street, Starck Downtown (15 Broad Street), River Lofts, Ariel East and Arial West, and The Lucida. Jarrod’s efforts were recently recognized by Forbes, which named him to the magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” list.

“Jarrod is the epitome of what we look for in a CORE agent and the new development and resale opportunities we offer are the perfect fit for his business model,” said Reba Miller, CORE’s Senior Managing Director of Sales. “His knowledge base, commitment and passion for his career and clients is apparent to everyone he comes in contact with. He is a thoroughbred of an agent and we can’t wait to watch him grow his personal brand at CORE.” Jarrod, an NYU graduate and patron of the arts — he is currently a board member on the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Generation Advance, and has previously been involved with the American Ballet Theatre — answered a few questions about his career, and why he decided to join CORE.

1) How did you first get into real estate?
I began in real estate working as an assistant for my best friend’s mother’s boss at age 16, and I fell in love. This was in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where I grew up. She was the sales manager for Weichert Realty, and I did mostly administrative tasks and comparable reports. However, I received recognition for the “Land Bank” catalog I created. It was a book of all the large parcels of land in the county and who owned them. My boss took that information and successfully listed and sold many large tracks of land to major developers in the region. From that experience there was no looking back. Real estate became my career.

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HGTV’s “Selling New York” follows CORE agents as they navigate the country’s most competitive—and compelling—real estate market. Here’s our behind-the-scenes look at Episode #508, which first aired on March 15, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.

In this week’s episode of “Selling New York,” titled “Deal or No Deal,” CORE Managing Director Tom Postilio had to breathe new life into a listing at the Chelsea House, a condominium development at 130 West 19th Street in Manhattan, in order to entice potential buyers to visit. When Tom originally put his listing on the market he thought it would be an easy sell because of its great Chelsea location and the building’s great amenities. However, after multiple showings, Tom realized that visitors found the apartment to be dark and cluttered, not to mention the brick wall views.

Luckily, Tom had a plan and convinced his seller to take out everything and stage the apartment. After a quick meeting with Susan Goldstein from Studio D, they agreed to use furnishings and lighting that would brighten up the space. The staging was successful and the apartment immediately got interest. Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information about what didn’t make it into last night’s episode of “Selling New York” and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling!

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With 5 seasons (and counting!) of “Selling New York” under our belts, CORE agents are no strangers to the television spotlight. So, when HGTV, the network behind “SNY,” approached CORE’s Adrian Noriega about film one of his listings for a brand-new series, it was a no-brainer. And how’s this for a unique idea: Heard of man caves? Well, this new show is all about mom caves. HGTV’s “Mom Caves” stars designer Matt Muenster and Beth Stern (aka Mrs. Howard Stern) as they team up to create incredible spaces specifically for moms. As the show’s website says, “We’ll design and build the ultimate space for Mom, a place where she can kick back and relax with her friends or family and do what she likes to do best.”

Producers have been on the hunt for creative inspiration for “Mom Caves,” and the bright color-palette and sun-drenched rooms of Adrian’s listing at 15 West 20th Street fit the bill. Beth Stern was taken by the combination of reds, pinks, and oranges that the homeowner used in the apartment — a recent Wall Street Journal House of the Day — and felt that the décor would inspire her “moms.” To see this property, check it out here, and stay tuned for the upcoming episode on HGTV!

Between Daylight Savings Time and the (unofficial) arrival of spring marked these past few sunny days, we’re getting excited about properties that are perfect for warm weather. Whether it’s the outdoor space, the view, or both, these are the penthouse properties we think will be be hot this summer.

Where: 7 East 17th Street, PH
Size: 5 bedrooms/5 bathrooms
Asking: $7,095,000
Listed by: Emily Beare

5,400 square feet of private outdoor space. We could just leave it at that and move on, but there’s so much more to talk about. This huge 5,700-square-foot Flatiron District loft is one of a kind, taking up the entire top floor and allowing for a totally customizable floor plan. The 19 windows are going to let in plenty of sunlight, but the roof deck is a game-changer that just needs a little bit of vision to be turned into one of the most spectacular private outdoor spaces in the city.

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Where: 422 East 72nd Street, 28/29C
Size: 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms
Asking: $4,250,000
Listed by: Alison Abovsky

A compromise on location and design is typically one of the hazards of searching for a large family-size apartment with private outdoor space. But this duplex at 422 East 72nd Street breaks that mold, offering four bedrooms spread over 2,900 square feet with a terrace on each level. The building, The Oxford Condominium, is in a serene corner of the Upper East Side, and the apartment was created from two units, connected by a staircase and completely renovated by architect Peter Wiederspahn. A contemporary combination without the headaches and hassles of doing the job yourself? Now that’s what we call a turn-key home. Every room is flooded with sunlight and offers expansive East River and city views, and for the price, $4.25 million, the amount of space is truly impressive. No compromises required.

A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

“Dial C for Condos”
New York Times
CORE’s Walker Tower project, the conversion of a classic pre-war Art Deco telephone building into 53 luxurious residences, made a splashy debut in the New York Times over the weekend. The paper wrote: “The developers say they are sparing no expense in the furnishings and finishes. The 12- to 15-foot-high ceilings will be coffered. Radiant heat will course through French-oak herringbone floors.” Curbed and the New York Observer also weighed in on the initial Walker Tower details, and The Real Deal added that CORE’s Emily Beare and Vickey Barron will head up the sales team.

“Stalled LIC condo set to hit market in April”
The Real Deal
Walker Tower wasn’t CORE’s only big reveal last week. Long Island City’s One Murray Park was also unveiled on the CORE Blog, and The Real Deal spoke with CORE’s Doron Zwickel about the launch of sales. Curbed also shared the initial details about the project, which is the first new LIC development in over a year.

“House of the Day”
Wall Street Journal
Adrian Noriega’s colorful loft listing at 15 West 20th Street was spotlighted by the Wall Street Journal, which explains that the design is inspired by an Indian color palette. Click through for an excellent slideshow.

Photo by Michael Toolan

Given today’s big news about Walker Tower, we thought we’d share another photo taken at the building last fall–a deleted scene from the November unveiling. Above is a north-facing view from one of the lower floors at Walker Tower, and though this shot is taken through an old window (they’re all being replaced with bigger and better versions), we just love how the iconic Midtown skyline is framed like a painting.

JDS Development's Michael Stern and CORE CEO Shaun Osher in a Walker Tower penthouse. Photo by Fred R. Conrad/New York Times.

We’ve received an incredible amount of interest in Walker Tower ever since we pulled back the curtain on this beautiful pre-war building last November. Today we can finally say more. As the New York Times reports in its Sunday edition — the story is online right now — the ultra-luxury condominium conversion of this Ralph Walker-designed Art Deco skyscraper in downtown Manhattan will soon be hitting the market through CORE at prices of around $3,000 per square foot, with penthouses approaching up to $10,000 per square foot. The average size of these massive homes, there are 53 in total, will be approximately 3,000 square feet. The building, located at 212 West 18th Street in Chelsea, is being developed by JDS Development and Property Markets Group, and the process of turning a 1929 telephone building into a 21st century residential icon is intricate and complicated. The Times‘ C.J. Hughes touches on the transformation:

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