Earlier this year, NY Post reported that AIG was trying to earn around $100 million by selling its 66-story Art Deco headquarters at 70 Pine Street in Manhattan (it actually sold to Young Woo for $150 million). Now it seems that the real-estate developer might have gotten a great deal. Young Woo will be turning the top 40 floors of AIG's 66-story headquarters near Wall Street into condo units. The Wall Street Journal does the math which shows that even including renovations and other costs the units could generate about $600,000 in profit each. This of course is providing that the Manhattan real estate market doesn't dip too much further down and eventually comes back up. Given that it will likely take the developer a while to prepare the condos for occupation and work up a snazzy marketing campaign, the timing might be ideal.

The Chicago Spire project may be floundering but Denver's Spire is nearing completion. The 42-story Spire condo tower in downtown Denver has seen many people put down deposits for the units. The developers are offering a $35,000 credit that can be put toward the purchase price or used to buy appliance upgrades, parking or extra storage. Prices start in the low $200,000s and go up to $1 million-plus for premium residences. The more expensive units are located in the SkyClub area on the top 10 floors as well as on the ninth floor where the exercise facility, pools, hot tubs, media room and sports bar are located. Most units have outdoor decks. The $175 million project should be ready for move in by the end of next month. The project is pursuing LEED certification and will get 100 percent of its energy from wind. A sustainable dry cleaner and a Hertz rental car facility with hybrid cars such as Toyota Priuses will be onsite.

If you have the world at your feet, why not have a home that does your bidding too. A duplex condominium at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City with SmartHome technology has been put on the market for $14.995 million. It is listed with Paula Del Nunzio, Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Brown Harris Stevens. The home's system integrates music, security, lighting, climate, window treatments and more and has internet-based remote support so that your home can be controlled from anywhere. Each room has customizable color touch screens with wall, remote and desktop controls. Invisible speakers are concealed behind the walls and ceilings, with iPod docking stations located throughout the apartment. The programmable lighting system offers a multitude of dimming and lighting scenarios.

The home's main entry is on the 48th floor and the floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of Central Park and buildings such as The Plaza and Sherry-Netherland Hotels. On this floor a guest bedroom or library with en-suite bath has views of Central Park. Also off the foyer is a large laundry room and a coat closet. Unlike some deluxe apartments, this one has a kitchen that actually seems made for use with twin Miele dishwashers, a Thermador range, Thermador refrigerator, Miele cappuccino maker, convection microwave and steam oven. Nearby an informal dining space has a 72" Perlick wine cooler, barstools and a banquet and just beyond is the formal dining room. Set beside the informal dining room is a bedroom with en-suite bath.

Upstairs on the 49th floor is the master suite which has his and hers baths with Kohler steam showers with a six-head jet system thermostatically controlled by Kohler's DTV panels both inside and outside of the shower. No need to go downstairs for a snack, a kitchenette with dishwasher and refrigerator sits at the top of the stairs. There is also a separate study or guest bedroom at the end of the corridor. The master bedroom is designed so that the bed is positioned perfectly so that Central Park views are the first thing you see in the morning for a very master-of-all-you-survey feeling. The listing is here.

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The headline on the website for the Tacoma Esplenade condo project says "navigate a new life" but that life may be snagged up in foreclosure. The Tacoma News Tribune reports that the $80 million Tacoma, Washington waterfront condominium project is facing foreclosure by late August unless the developer can find new sources of funding. The project is a nine-story building with 162 units, just ten of which have been sold.None of the retail spaces have been rented. The project was part of a larger plan to revitalize the formerly industrial area with new housing and a hotel. The hotel never broke ground and that land is now for sale. The owners of the Esplenade have until August 21 to escape from foreclosure but it will be a challenge, partially because of the building's low occupancy rate which makes it hard to get funding.

This week a dedication ceremony was held to mark the official opening of The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. The 48-story, 270-residence building is being called the most luxurious residential project ever built in the city. The residences have five-star Ritz Carlton amenities and the building includes a restaurant by celebrity chef Eric Ripert in the lobby. Units are listed from $500,000 to $12 million and offer amazing views like the one shown above.

Residences at Ritz-Carlton developer Craig Spencer told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he turned down a "$1.3 million all-cash sale from a buyer who wanted me to cut the price by $50,000." Spencer, whose Arden Group poured around $300 million into the project isn't planning to let the current economy dim his outlook. He says that 80 units have closed but that he'll likely lose half of 37 pending agreements for a variety of reasons, including the main issue plaguing so many top-tier luxury condos, the fact that jumbo mortgages have become scarce. Spencer says he can afford to wait, unlike other developers who have just a whisper of a cushion between projected sales and possible disaster, he has five years to completely sell out the building. The building is located on One Meridian Plaza where three firefighters died and 24 were injured in a fire in 1991 and a memorial will be placed by the entrance.

Thee 10,000-sq.-ft., $12 million penthouse will be a contender for the the most expensive condominium ever sold in Philadelphia. The current record is $7.678 million for a unit on the 46th floor of the Two Liberty complex. It's main competition will be the duplex at Two Liberty that is on the market for $30 million. Hopefully they will have better luck than the Ritz-Carlton residences in Boston are currently experiencing.

The Visioniare condominium complex in Manhattan's Battery Park City has received LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), marking it the only LEED Platinum condominium on the east coast. The complex offers energy savings of more than 40 percent and has a high-efficiency air filtration system that conditions, filters and supplies fresh air to each home. A water treatment system recycles water and provides make-up water for the HVAC system cooling tower. The 35-story curved-glass tower has 247 units with a rooftop garden, solar panels and a central heating and cooling system powered by natural gas. Units cost from $825,000 to $2,950,000.

Just what is going on at the Ritz in Boston? The Boston Herald reports on the condo glut at the Ritz Carlton Towers. The towers aren't part of the esteemed Ritz-Carlton hotel on Boston Common but are located in a steel and glass tower in Downtown Crossing. The complex currently has 40 listings on the market in a complex that is home to around 300 units. The listings are priced from $479,000 for a one-bedroom to $8.5 million for a penthouse with sweeping views of the city. That would be the condo owned by former Boston Red Sox hitter Manny Ramirez. It's already May and not a single unit priced over a $1 million has sold. The Herald article quotes a buyer's agent who says that the expensive condo units face competition from the W Hotel and 45 Province in a top-heavy Boston condo market with more million-plus condos than buyers. Right now banks are making it hard to get a "jumbo loan" which means that those who wants these units have to fork over a significant amount of cash up front. Ramirez has only had his condo unit on the market for a short while this time but it seems a price cut might be in order.

You can get a great deal on a condo in Maryland at the end of the month. Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Company will be holding the auction of 28 waterfront condominiums at The Residences of River Marsh on Sunday, May 31, 2009, at the Loews Annapolis Hotel. The new two bedroom units at the community in Cambridge, Maryland have minimum bids starting at $75,000, which is over 75 percent off the previous asking prices from $755,685. The Residences at River Marsh complex also has a marina with 150 boat slips, 18 hole championship golf and more. Previews of the properties are happening from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday throughout the month of May.

Controversial Boston real estate developer Don Chiofaro is running into resistance. His plan to raise what would be two of the city's largest towers has been the subject of ire for local residence who would hate to see their views obstructed and other do-gooders who don't want to sacrifice the character of the waterfront.

In his latest round of battle, Chiofaro heard criticism that the two buildings would simply be too large for Boston. Currently, the city's tallest building is the Hancock Tower, totaling 61 stories. It's followed by the Prudential building and Chiofaro's One International Place (Two International Place is not as high).

In an unusual show of restraint, the developer has not called his opponents "pirates."

Proponents are excited not only by the prospect of 860,000 square feet of office space, a hotel and 100 condo units but also the likely 4,000 construction jobs that would result from the $900 million project.

Even if he makes it past the locals, one problem remains: money. Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who hasn't been terribly sympathetic with Chiofaro in the past, has said that he'll require that the builder prove he has the financing lined up ... if the project gets that far. Five years ago, Chiofaro almost lost his crown jewel, International Place, when Tischman Speyer (the "gang of pirates" from New York) tried to foreclose.

This fight is far from over, but I wouldn't make plans to move into those new units yet. This could take a while.

A luxury condo project in Galveston, Texas is causing controversy. Last year we mentioned the Palisade Palms project, a pair of new towers on the beach that are selling for premium prices up to over $1.5 million. The project has sold well but as the Houston Chronicle reports, some want to know why the developers of the project were able to take advantage of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ) meant to bring jobs to the area after Hurricane Ike. Critics say that the TIRZ laws were meant to help the poor and not provide incentives for luxury businesses.

The article in the Chronicle lays out the arguments with strong words on both sides. Greg Leroy, the head of Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C., group that promotes corporate accountability calls using zones to build luxury homes "just another extreme example of the perversion of the program." Also two developers chair TIRZ boards that oversee the expenditure of tax money on their developments and control a majority on their board, a situation that one of the Houston Chronicle commenters referred to as the fox guarding the henhouse. Construction of luxury condo projects does bring money to an area and upscale buyers do stimulate the local economy but should the developers be able to take advantage of these types of programs to create properties that serve the upper tier of the community?

Today's home is another mansion in the sky in Miami. This home in Grovenor House is a five-bedroom home which includes a luxurious outdoor rooftop sanctuary that has a heated infinity edge pool, full service kitchen and walls of stone with flowing waterfalls, ample sunbathing areas and of course, a stunning view. The home has balconies and plenty of windows, spa-like bathrooms and a spiral wood and glass staircase. It's heavy on the beige and light wood but the built-ins in the living room are quite nice and given the gorgeousness of the outdoor area, why go inside anyway? This home is listed at $16.9 million.

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The condo market may be in the doldrums across the U.S. but there are still people buying. Someone just spent $7.678 million for a unit on the 46th floor of the Residences at Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia. The purchase set a record as the highest price ever paid for a Philadelphia condominium. The condo at Two Liberty Place is 5,850 square feet with 2,040 square feet of balcony offering some of the best views around. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the buyer may be H. Chase Lenfest, chairman and CEO of Lenfest Enterprises L.L.C., of West Chester, son of philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest.

Things must be good at Two Liberty, it is said that the record will only be in place a few weeks because another buyer on the 46th floor, allegedly millionaire and former Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox, is set to a pay a few hundred thousand more for his unit. Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora also has an apartment in the building, his home on the 52nd floor cost $2.5 million ($3 million-plus with the furniture). Sambora is letting his well-decorated pad serve as a model unit until the rest of Two Liberty is sold and then he will move in. Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels will also be moving into a three-bedroom unit which cost more than $2.2 million.

The top unit for sale is a $15 million penthouse on the 57th floor but a businessman from Brazil may buy the 56th floor below it and create one lavish bi-level residence.

There's some big trouble going on at The Residences at The Little Nell project in Aspen, Colorado. The Aspen Times reports that two more buyers in the pricey ski resort project have filed lawsuits to try to get out of their contracts. That brings the total to eight buyers with contracts for 10 fractional ownership interests in the project trying to get out and get their money back. The Residences at The Little Nell is a fractional condo project managed by the Aspen Skiing Co.'s acclaimed Little Nell Hotel. The latest lawsuits come from PFW Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas, corporation, and Retreat Properties Inc., an Alaskan limited liability company. The PFW lawsuit said the corporation's president and sole shareholder, Ivan Jack Miller, entered a contract in December 2006 to purchase a one-eighth interest in a four-bedroom condo and deposited $450,000. But the PFW lawsuit claims that the developers didn't obtain a full certificate of occupancy in time to comply with the contract. The city of Aspen has issued a conditional certificate of occupancy for the luxury condos which lets people live in the units but doesn't allow use of areas like a roof-top pool and spa, courtyard spaces, patios or a restaurant and dining terrace because those amenities aren't complete yet. Does this make it uninhabitable? The PFW lawsuit alleges that it does. The lawsuit by Retreat Properties asks for a refund of $270,000, a deposit on a three-bedroom condo.

The Residences at Little Nell has eight fractional slices per each of its 26 condos for a total of 208 shares. They start at $1 million each for a three-bedroom unit and are nearly sold out. The four-bedroom shares ranged in price from $1.25 million to $3 million and are sold out. It is unknown if some of the motivation behind the lawsuits is the desire to get out of real estate deals made in a more sanguine market.

The project has been plagued with construction delays. It was set to open this summer but had to pull some fancy footwork just to jet that conditional certificate of occupancy on November 30. The first owners will be able to stay in the units in February and the restaurant and retail areas are scheduled to open later in the year.

Another ambitious project on the Baja Peninsula has been announced. Naos is a $200 million beachfront high-rise condominium on the shores of Rosarito, Mexico. The project will include 394 units including one, two and three-bedroom apartments, beach and garden houses and penthouses. The property will include a spa, fitness center, tennis courts, three swimming pools, beachfront cabanas and a gourmet restaurant. Naos will also offer a variety of activities such as yoga classes, poker nights, pottery lessons and more. Units range from $300,000 to $800,000 and completion is scheduled for 2011.

A glamorous condominium project in Phoenix, Arizona has been placed into receivership. The Century Plaza project is an office building converted into condominiums. AZ Central reports that M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court saying owner Equus Realty was in default on its loan. A receiver has been appointed and will oversee operations of the project but Equus Realty will retain ownership. The building is completed and the receivership should not affect residents. Century Plaza is just one of several condo projects in the area whose developers are struggling with low occupancy levels and inflated condo prices. Prices at Century Plaza start in the high $200,000s and go up over $1 million.