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 #513, which first aired on July 3, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.

CORE CEO Shaun Osher has the difficult task of convincing a developer to ditch his current plans for a new condominium in order to achieve the highest possible sales prices. Although he is an expert when it comes to new construction and converting buildings to luxury residences, Shaun has to go the extra mile to show developer, Eldad Blaustein, what buyers look for in condos in TriBeCa.

After touring Eldad’s soon-to-be converted building at 93 Worth Street, Shaun decides to take him on a tour to explain his ideas for the building. Shaun shows Eldad some typical TriBeCa lofts and also takes him on a walking tour of the surrounding neighborhood to get a better idea of what buyers appreciate and look for when purchasing in the area.

In the end, Shaun’s hard work pays off and Eldad agrees to change his planned layouts to mirror Shaun’s suggestions. Also, Eldad awards Shaun with a deal to market and sell the condos at 93 Worth Street once they’re completed. Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information on 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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A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

Walker Tower photos by David Dunlap for the New York Times

“Downtown Prices Are Set to Get Lift”
Wall Street Journal
Last week’s launch of sales at CORE’s Walker Tower development in Chelsea may prove that “ultrawealthy New Yorkers will pay some of the highest prices in the city for a spot in the funky neighborhood,” the Wall Street Journal reports. With 25% of Walker Tower’s 50 ultra-luxury condominiums already in contract, that certainly looks true. Read on for more about the project, including analysis from CORE CEO Shaun Osher.

“Developer in Chelsea Honors a Great Architect While Redesigning His Work”
New York Times
Veteran journalist and architecture historian David Dunlap explores a different path regarding Walker Tower’s launch, focusing on the complexities of the $200 million restoration and renovation of the pre-war Art Deco building, and explaining how new elements “were based on existing decorative motifs found in the building entrance and lobby or on archival drawings showing how Walker’s design evolved.” Also check out Dunlap’s great photos of some of Walker Tower’s original design flourishes.

“Walker Tower, 25 percent sold, gets a warm welcome from residential brokers”
The Real Deal

“Walker Tower: Historic Icon + Modern Luxury Will Cost You”
New York Observer

“See The Views From Walker Tower’s Opening Party”
Curbed
Completing a week of Walker Tower media mania, the building’s launch party and early sales success are covered online by The Real Deal, the Observer and Curbed, including some excellent photo galleries.

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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 #512, which first aired on June 28, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.

In the latest episode of “Selling New York,” CORE’s Tom Postilio is given a duplex penthouse listing at 211 East 51st Street by CORE’s CEO himself, Shaun Osher. With all the responsibilities that come from being the boss, Shaun’s extremely busy schedule doesn’t allow him all the time he needs when given an exclusive penthouse listing by developer Henry Justin, who specifically wants him to sell it. In order to make sure that the penthouse is put on the market in the best possible light, Shaun enlists the help of Tom, a founding CORE agent and now a Managing Director at the firm.

With the penthouse just a few weeks away from going on the market, Tom has the difficult task of pulling a launch event together and making sure that Shaun crosses all of his to-dos off of the pre-event checklist. After some minor hiccups, including construction and staging delays, Tom and Shaun host a successful launch event in a fully furnished (and finished) property. Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information on 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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Society continues to classify achievements by category. We create hierarchies and measurements like The Biggest, The Richest, The Strongest, The Longest, and the list goes on…

The Real Deal is the only widely read trade publication for real estate in New York, and every year they publish their brokerage rankings with data they collect. This year CORE was named the top boutique firm in the city, and while I don’t pay too much attention to awards or other companies’ business models, I must admit that it is rewarding to be recognized in the industry. Especially in the category that compliments our business model.

When Jack and I started our company in 2006, our business model and objective was clear and simple: Build the best real estate company in the city! Best by our standards meant a company with the highest ethical standards, professional conduct, creative marketing, and productive team of agents. We went about building a company that was designed for the agent (and having been a top agent for many years, I had a deep understanding of what I needed to support and grow my business, and what I felt was missing). We continue to grow CORE as a company with resources designed to build and support our agents’ business under the umbrella of our brand.

I am grateful to my incredible team of agents, and the smartest, hardest working management and support team in the city. I’m really looking forward to continuing our mission.

Shaun Osher is the founder and CEO of CORE.

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

“Big Deal: Trophy Hunting”
New York Times
CORE chief executive Shaun Osher commented on the wave of “trophy apartments” for real estate columnist Alexei Barrionuevo’s piece on the most desired high-priced apartments in town. Barrionuevo also highlighted CORE’s new Chelsea development, Walker Tower, where sales will begin this month: “Several brokers said they were waiting for new downtown developments that will provide fresh trophy penthouses to challenge uptown’s dominance. Projects like Walker Tower in Chelsea (at 212 West 18th Street), where a two-floor, 12,470-square-foot penthouse is expected to list for $94 million later this summer.”

“Patience Pays for Chelsea Flipper on West 17th”
Curbed
Tom Postilio’s and Stuart Sussman’s sale at 246 West 17th Street in Chelsea (above) was featured on Curbed, which wrote, “Market timing helps, but patience and resolve seemed to pay off in this case.”

“Billionaire discounts $21.5M Fifth Avenue spread”
The Real Deal
Michael Graves commented on the tremendous amount of interest in the luxury segment of the real estate market for The Real Deal’s story on Seagram heir Charles Bronfman, who is marketing his full-floor apartment at 810 Fifth Avenue for $21.5 million.

Go West!
The Observer’s Luxury Rentals
Elizabeth Kee was interviewed on the growth of Midtown West in the Observer’s bimonthly magazine on the luxury rental market. (Please see page 15 for the story.)

“Just sold!”
New York Post
Michael Graves’s sale of a small Upper West Side condo at 595 West End Avenue was featured.

One of the greatest living American architects, Robert A.M. Stern is also the only contemporary architect to have designed two buildings along Central Park: 15 Central Park West, the two-tower limestone complex regarded as the most successful condominium of all time, and 1280 Fifth Avenue, home to the Museum for African Art and, above, the residences of One Museum Mile. CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher sat down with Stern, who is also the dean of Yale University’s School of Architecture and an accomplished architectural historian, to talk about the unique design of One Museum Mile, the history of Central Park, and the similarities and differences between Stern’s pair of buildings along New York’s most iconic park. For more on Stern’s work, visit his firm’s website, and for more on One Museum Mile, click here.

Located on the border of two of downtown’s best neighborhoods, SoHo and TriBeCa, and within strolling distance to the Hudson River, Renwick Street is an anomaly: An under-developed and practically unknown block surrounded by some of the most expensive and in-demand real estate in New York City. Some big plans for 15 Renwick Street dissolved when the economy soured, but now that the high-end market is soaring again in Manhattan, a comeback is in the cards. The Real Deal reports today that New York-based residential real estate firm Izaki Group Investments has taken control of the development site, and has tapped CORE to head sales and marketing at the property. (The two are already working together on the condo conversion of TriBeCa’s 93 Worth Street.)

A boutique condominium development will break ground this fall, and CORE CEO Shaun Osher added, “We are very excited to be working on another project with IGI on one of the last remaining undeveloped lots in this exciting neighborhood.” We’ll have more details on 15 Renwick Street in the months ahead.

Last night, sadly, our family at CORE, our industry, and the world, lost a very special man. An authentic man who was a leader in our business for many years. A man I was proud to be associated with, and honored to have as a part of what we have built.

From the first time I met Michael, almost 15 years ago, his energy and zest for the business, and life, was inspiring. His leadership and understanding of marketing was invaluable to the people around him, and he made a huge positive impact on everyone he worked with and for.

In an interview with Michael one year ago, I asked him how he would like to be remembered. His answer to me was, “As a guy who tried to do the right thing.” Well Michael – you were truly that… and that is how the people who knew you will remember you. We will miss you.

Shaun Osher is the founder and CEO of CORE.

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

Reba Miller joined CORE as Senior Managing Director of Sales last year after owning her own company for almost 30 years. She is an industry icon, and I am enjoying getting to know her as someone who works side by side with me. She has a sharp sense of humor, a unique sense of fashion, and a style all of her own.

1) How long have you been selling real estate?
27 years and then some!

2) How did you get involved in the business?
My father had retail stores and was a “jobber,” buying, negotiating, and reselling. So real estate was an easy fit for me.

3) How has the industry changed in that time?
The firm of Whitbread-Nolan was one of the premiere companies at the time, and the entire business was based on books of 3 x 6 index cards inscribed with each type of apartment that the firm had to offer. Your books were your listings and the pay phones were your form of communication!

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

Photo: Nico Arellano

“House of the Day”
Wall Street Journal
At 72 Reade Street, an “airy, 3,360-square-foot apartment in Tribeca [that] still bears remnants of its industrial past,” listed by Michael Graves, was a Wall Street Journal House of the Day. Photo above, and check out the complete photo slideshow on the WSJ website.

“A tale of two markets”
The Real Deal
“In a still-difficult economy, developers are increasingly tailoring buildings to suit the needs of serious buyers,” The Real Deal reports, and that includes building “supersized” apartments into new developments. The list of supersized new buildings includes Walker Tower, where apartments average 3,000 square feet, and where CORE will launch sales next month.

“Best place of the week: 55 White St.”
New York Daily News
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s spectacular triplex listing at 55 White Street in Tribeca “has the kind of grandeur that evokes library scenes from movies like ‘The Music Man’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’”

“Houses of the Week”
New York Post
A turn-key condo loft at the crossroads of Chelsea and the West Village, listed by CORE Managing Director Vickey Barron, was highlighted by the Post.

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