Once a fringe neighborhood housing art galleries and little more, Chelsea has become one of the most in-demand and bustling neighborhoods in Manhattan, a bridge between Downtown cool and Midtown convenience. Here are our favorite available properties in the neighborhood that art created.

Where: 144 West 18th Street, 4-W
Size: 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom
Asking: $3,850,000
Listed by: Win Brown

This is what many people move to Chelsea for: a huge airy loft with the high-end finishes of a luxury home. Located in the Chainworks Building, which dates back to 1888, this 2,688-square-foot condo has a 40-foot-long living/dining area that’s perfect for entertaining, and a decked out Archlinea kitchen to make cooking for the guests a pleasure. Great layout aside, the building also offers an outdoor lounge with a grill, a rooftop sun-deck, a bike room and more.

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Lofts are perhaps the most New York way of living. Airy and spacious, they are the romantic manifestation of the city’s transformation from industrial grit into a chic urban utopia. High ceilings, wide open spaces and cast-iron never go out of style, and here are three of our favorites.

Where: 200 Mercer Street, 2-A
Size: 4 bedrooms/4 bathrooms
Asking: $4,500,000
Listed by: Patrick Mills and Evan Greenberg

This SoHo triplex makes the best use of combining the loft style with a more traditional, townhouse-like layout, creating a common area that is expansive and open but still allows the privacy of a separate floor for bedrooms and an informal media room. What really makes the place special, however, is the third level which simply consists of a large bedroom or office and a huge private outdoor terrace.

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A record-shattering $88 million sale at 15 Central Park West has brought new attention to the Upper West Side. The area has long offered a quiet and idyllic environment for people seeking a certain level of understated elegance from their neighborhood, but aside from John Lennon and “Seinfeld,” it has never attracted as much attention as other ‘hoods. Here are our three favorite CORE listings in the area.

Where: 270 West End Avenue #12-E
Size: 3 bedrooms/3 bathrooms
Asking: $2,399,000
Listed by: Doron Zwickel

West End Avenue, hugging the coast of Manhattan, is as graceful as a stretch can be, and we love this duplex. It’s a luxurious and contemporary move-in-ready apartment located in the type of classic pre-war building that defines the neighborhood. The blend of old and new synthesizes and creates a special home that also happens to be enmeshed in the oasis of Lincoln Center, Riverside Park and, of course, Central Park.

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Best Place of the Week: 220 Riverside Boulevard
New York Daily News (12/16)
The Daily News named this 3,000-square-foot condo (right) in the Upper West Side’s Trump Place its “Best Place of the Week,” and it’s not hard to see why. CORE’s Emily Beare told the paper, “You see the George Washington Bridge to the right, and you can see through the kitchen and see a beautiful view to the left. Wherever you are in the apartment, you see amazing views.”

House of the Day: Chelsea, Storage, Space
Wall Street Journal (12/15)
A cool apartment in Chelsea with high ceilings, private outdoor space, all sorts of added storage and a “hiding space” behind the kitchen was the subject of a great Wall Street Journal “House of the Day” slideshow. CORE’s Stuart Sussman and Tom Postilio have the listing at 246 West 17th Street.

Just Sold!
New York Post (12/14)
The $1.6 million sale of a 2-bed/2.5-bath condo in SoHo’s Urban Glass House at 330 Spring Street made the Post’s weekly roundup of big sales around New York City. CORE’s Adrian Noriega had the deal.

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It’s impossible to sum up Colin Cowie with just one title, but “master of ceremonies” is a start. For over 25 years the South Africa native has been known on these shores as the party planner to the stars, and that love of hospitality and design has turned Cowie into much more than an event planner. He is now a lifestyle guru, interior designer, product developer, television personality and best-selling author. Cowie recently sat down with CORE Managing Director Emily Beare (who sold Colin his first home in New York City!) to discuss holiday entertaining tips, his favorite neighborhood stores for picking up party supplies, his ideal Manhattan kitchen, and more. It’s all in the latest CORE Talks video, seen above.

Celebrity party planner, interior designer and lifestyle guru Colin Cowie sat down this week with CORE Managing Director Emily Beare for an upcoming CORE Talks webisode. The two chatted about Colin’s entertaining “must-haves,” trends to watch and, of course, his tips for throwing a great holiday bash — even in a tight New York City living space. Look for the interview on the CORE Blog next week, and to learn more about Colin’s expanding empire of entertaining, check out his website.

Where: 213 West 23rd Street
Size: 5 bedrooms/4.5 bathrooms/6,000 square feet
Asking: $8,950,000
Listed by: Emily Beare and Christian Rogers

It might be too chilly to gather with family and friends out on the 7,000 square feet of outdoor space that comes with this triplex penthouse, but no need to worry: 6,000 square feet of indoor space should do the trick. The spacious and sleek kitchen in this Chelsea masterpiece has ample counter space for cooking one of the longest kitchen islands around, so there’s plenty of room for side dishes. And when everyone needs to take a nap after the feast, 5 bedrooms should cover it. That’s not all though, we’ve got two more Turkey Day treats!

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Where: 650 Sixth Avenue PH-C
Size: 3 bedroom/3 bathroom/2,134 square feet
Asking: $4,995,000
Listed by: Kirk Rundhaug, Mark Lynch & Ryan Fitzpatrick

The Cammeyer is one of our favorite buildings since it straddles the border of Flatiron and Chelsea, two of downtown’s most dynamic neighborhoods. And this penthouse in the pre-war loft building (which was once the world’s biggest shoe store) is one of its crown jewels. Open space, sun-drenched interiors and top-of-the-line finishes? That’s a given. It’s the two terraces that make this apartment really shine. And the penthouse action is only getting started…

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What’s New is a weekly look at one of CORE’s most striking new listings.

Where: 220 Riverside Boulevard, #29-A
Size: 4 bedrooms/3.5 bathrooms/2,962 square feet
Asking: $5,950,000
Listed By: Emily Beare & Christian Rogers

Ask a New Yorker about trying to find a great family-size apartment in the city and you’d better bring along a snack, because the tales of disappointment and heartbreak may take a while. Rarely do budget, size, location and building quality come together in one perfect package, and many buyers start thinking it’s Westchester or bust. But don’t pack those bags just yet. We’d like to bring your attention to the above condo at Trump Place on the Upper West Side. The nearly 3,000-square-footer has room for an entire big-city clan, and an 824-square-foot terrace for a private taste of the outdoors. Those Trump amenities are nothing to sneeze at, either. Oh, and about those yachts?

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Welcome to Ten, CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher’s rapid-fire interview series with prominent CORE agents. Read on to find out how this week’s subject deals with being on the hot seat.

I met Emily Beare five years ago when she joined CORE to work on our project at 520 West 19th Street, a high-profile West Chelsea condominium designed by Annabelle Selldorf and located steps from the High Line. She sold that project out in record time, and has built a business and reputation that is one of the best in the industry. Now she’s a busy Managing Director at CORE, but she still found the time to chat with me about her career.

1) What did you do before going into real estate?
Believe it or not, real estate is actually my fourth career! After studying art history and photography in college, I worked for several years at a museum and with photographers, before a total departure to work on the Commodities Exchange trading gold. After I got married, my husband started his own watch business. He handled the creative, while I ran the business end for 15 years.

2) Why did you go into real estate?
I was at a point in my life where I wanted to do something different and my daughter, Elizabeth, suggested I get my real estate license. I always had a passion for real estate and I was already involved with sales and marketing so it seemed to make sense. My friends and family all encouraged me…telling me I would be great at it since I loved working with people.

3) Who is your mentor?
In my personal life, I would say my mother and my grandmother. They were not only very strong career women, but also amazing mothers who knew how to do it all at a time when not many women were in the work force. In business I would have to say it is you, Shaun. You have been an inspiration in your knowledge, creativity and your focus and of course, your endless support.

4) What is your greatest daily challenge?
Trying to sleep past 5:00 AM. (more…)