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 313, which first aired on September 1, 2011. For more SNY epilogues, click here.
Shaun Osher (L) and Centaur Properties' Harlan Berger (R) keep watch over the sculpture installation.
In New York City, 45 days is hardly enough notice to get a dinner reservation, but in this week’s episode of “Selling New York,” entitled “Moving Deadlines,” that’s the brief amount of time the CORE team — including agent Maggie Kent, Chief Operating Officer Brittley Jarrell and founder and CEO Shaun Osher — is given to launch a new 53-unit luxury apartment building in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and it took almost that many people to get the building, 305W16, ready for its sales launch and grand opening party. And what a party it was! After a few weeks of intense design, staging and marketing work, 305W16 kicked off with an incredible rooftop party that unveiled the building’s massive daisy sculpture to a crowd of over 600.
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!
1) Putting a 34-foot-tall sculpture on a New York City rooftop is not as easy as it looks. The “Selling New York” cameras were there to capture the awesome sight of a crew using a huge crane to hoist the daisy sculpture, titled “Perhaps,” onto 305W16’s roof, but a lot more work went into the process than just renting a crane. Numerous permits were needed from NYC’s Department of Buildings, the street outside had to be temporarily closed to traffic and the roof itself had to be reinforced to support the 6,000-pound sculpture. For more on “Perhaps,” check out Shaun Osher’s interview with the artist who created it, Rob Buchholz.
2) Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate with party plans. Though the 305W16 launch party was an amazing spectacle and a huge success, it was almost canceled at the last minute. Some nasty weather, including a tornado watch, was circling New York City that day. Luckily the skies cleared up just in time and the event went on as planned. Would the daisy sculpture have survived a tornado? Well, Hurricane Irene just blew through New York City and “Perhaps” is still standing right where it’s supposed to be, atop 305 West 16th Street.
3) Last-minute finishing touches? More like last-second! There was plenty of drama this week regarding the CORE team rushing to get the building ready in time, but there were even more last-minute preparations going on behind the scenes. The entire lobby was redesigned three days before the launch event, and welders were working on the roof leading right up to the party. No word on whether they stuck around for a drink.
4) The building’s famous neighbor? Google it. The neighborhood surrounding 305W16 is becoming a big draw for technology companies seeking office space, and it’s no surprise why: Google’s New York City headquarters is literally right across the street. In fact, some apartments at 305W16 are positioned just right to take advantage of the Google HQ’s (not-password-protected) wi-fi network. Shhh!
5) The Daisy Building is now in bloom. The episode ended with a brief update on how sales are going at 305W16, but ever since filming wrapped in June it’s been a busy summer at the building. Buyers have signed contracts for over 50% of the apartments, and some residents started moving in this week! Even some rock stars have stopped to smell the roses daisies.