Some Developers Remain Bullish

As we have talked about before, some new Manhattan developments have not been moving inventory like they hoped. But others are full steam ahead with their plans to bring more condos on the market.
I just found out Anbau Enterprises has secured financing for a $52M condominium project at 120 West 72nd Street. The 16-storey, 24-hour doorman building will offer fewer than 30 units (a combo of 2BR’s and full floors) for occupancy in late 2007. The developers are also planning a 4,000-square foot first floor commercial space and a recreational center for residents at the garden level. Although the location is just steps from Central Park, it is also on a very commercial block that desperately needs some residential presence.
I am curious to see how developers react to the cooling marketplace. The big players like Related seem to be hedging–with hybrid projects that combine condominiums with rental units. It will also be interesting to see if any of these new development projects try to do what was unthinkable a few years ago when the opposite really started happening: to convert some condomininums to rentals given the current and projected strength of the rental market.