“Escape from New York,” the cult movie from 1981, has come to have added meaning in the Covid era, with thousands of New Yorkers relocating to Fairfield and Westchester counties.
The title is getting an unintended echo with the opening of Escape, the newest luxury residential building in Stamford”™s Harbor Point. Pre-leasing has already begun at the 435-unit complex at 880 Pacific St., with expected occupancy as early as Feb. 1.
The Escape name is meant to evoke what Ted Ferrarone, co-president of developer Building and Land Technology, told the Business Journal is the “streamlined elegance of the most sophisticated super yachts, featuring resort-style amenities, and a flexible indoor-outdoor lifestyle. Escape is a tailor-made luxury residential building meticulously designed to allow you to let your guard down and establish a life enveloped in creativity and quality experiences.”
BLT has “absolutely” seen a marked increase in Harbor Point inquiries from New York City since the pandemic began, Ferrarone said. Pre-Covid, New Yorkers represented 15% of total new leases, while over the past summer and fall, those residents represented 35% of total new leases. Over the summer, BLT saw more than twice its historical leasing volume at Harbor Point, with approximately 1 in 3 new residents coming from New York City, he said.
In addition, Ferrarone said, at Allure ”” Escape”™s sister building, which opened in 2019 ”” “We leased up in record time and saw about twice the demand from New York City residents that we have seen in other Harbor Point buildings.
“We are also seeing an increasing demand from downsizers and empty nesters who are selling their homes and taking advantage of the ”˜live, work, play”™ environment at Harbor Point,” he said.
The new complex offers one- to three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom penthouses spanning 701 to 4,455 square feet, with water views. Apartments include floor-to-ceiling windows, wood plank flooring, Silestone countertops, and full-size stainless-steel appliances. Other amenities include a fitness center, pool, screening room and a climate-controlled wine-tasting room with private bottle storage, as well as a game room, café, fireplace lounges, and basketball, pickleball and shuffleboard courts.
BLT started promoting Escape on Nov. 1, and now has about 700 people on the waitlist. Virtual tours began on Jan. 2.
With the new building, BLT has finished more than 4,000 apartments in Stamford”™s South End, welcomed nearly 30 retailers and restaurants to the neighborhood and created more than two miles of public waterfront access and 20 acres of new public parks.
“We have seen strong demand for Harbor Point apartments since we brought our first building online over a decade ago,” Ferrarone said. “The waterfront has always been an attractive feature for our tenants, and now that most people are spending more time at home, we are seeing even stronger demand for waterfront residences.”
Ferrarone stopped short of saying the Harbor Point properties sell themselves, but added, “The location, top of the line amenities and draw for people to live, work, and play in the Harbor Point community certainly help in these efforts, but of course every building has its own personality and marketing campaign, which are all part of the Harbor Point ecosystem.”
Looking ahead, Ferrarone said that BLT has another two apartment buildings under construction on the Stamford waterfront, and is in the midst of construction of Charter Communications”™ new world headquarters for Charter Communications. It was also involved with the December opening of Sema4”™s new 70,000-square-foot clinical lab at 62 Southfield Ave.
