But it’s not just privacy and security; convenience is key, especially for families who are increasingly lured to Manhattan by the larger three- or four-bedroom apartments and new schools like Avenues—indeed, Harlan Berger says 35% of Jardim’s units have been purchased by buyers with children at that nearby élite school, which his own daughter also attends. Suburban buyers might take for granted something as simple as the bundling noisy children into the car without braving a busy street, but in Manhattan such handiness is a rarity. “In an age of Uber, convenience is a big deal,” adds Corcoran’s Julie Pham, “As a mom myself, I can go grocery shopping in a car in the rain and get, grab the stroller from the trunk and still stay dry. It’s also a safety thing—you don’t have to tell your kids to watch out for the car or the bike when they get out.”
There’s also a less concrete allure to motor courts: in a city where developers want to wring maximum value from every square foot, there’s an extravagance in leaving such a large space empty. It tacitly telegraphs a developer’s largesse and indulgence, at least according to Alon Alexander’s twin brother, Oren. He is a sales executive for 565 Broome. “A regular developer might squeeze a retail site, or extra amenities like a larger lobby, from that space but a driveway is the definition of luxury,” Oren says by cellphone, “It’s space where you don’t typically get it.” Jasmine Mir, CMO of Corcoran Sunshine, puts its more simply. “Buying a penthouse at the top of a building is one thing, but the sense of extravagance and luxury associated with having space at street level in a congested place like New York? It gives an amazing sense of wow! to any arrival, a real grandeur,” she says by phone from her office.
At Jardim, Berger acknowledges the concession he made—driveways “do take up space does take up space that could be a bigger lobby of even rentable retail”. Hey says it’s worth it, though, for the impact it offers long-term: it’s a shared asset that encourages neighbors to get to know each other. “When you build a condo building, eventually you hand it off and the condo board becomes a community, so you’re physically creating a way for people to interact in a way that doesn't normally happen.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.