Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

24K Gold and Swarovski Crystal-Studded Rego Park Condo Selling For $1.3M

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | June 1, 2015 5:55pm | Updated on June 2, 2015 7:08pm
 The apartment is located Millennium 99, a luxury condominium at 63-36 99th St.
Rego Park Apartment Known As Jewelry Box Listed for Sale for Nearly $1.3M
View Full Caption

QUEENS — A new condo featuring door handles made of Swarovski Crystals and adorned with a 24-carat gold leaf mosaic in the kitchen hit the market for $1,288,886 — marking what might be historically the highest asking price in Rego Park, experts said.

The owner of a nearly 1,500-square-foot apartment at Millennium 99, a luxury condo at 63-36 99th St., invested $150,000 to make her home "very sexy and sleek," after purchasing it for $875,000 in 2013, said Harold Valestin, a broker at Nest Seekers.

For instance, the owner, a jeweler who asked to remain anonymous, added 24K gold leaf mosaic tiles to the kitchen and painted some of the walls with Swarovski Crystal dust, said Valestin, the broker for the home. The master bath is also decorated with gold-plated fixtures, he added.

"It’s one of the most well done homes in Queens and it could compete with some of the best in the city. Everything is sparkling," said Valestin, who noted that the owner had dubbed the home "Jewelry Box" for its opulence.

The two-bedroom, two-bath apartment also features floor-to-ceiling windows and heated floors throughout, he said.

In addition, water in the entire apartment, including the shower, is filtered by a water purifier and one of the bathrooms includes a Jacuzzi tub, he said.

The listing is the most recent example of changes coming to the neighborhood, experts said.

“Rego Park is becoming one of the next rising stars of Queens,” Valestin said. “A lot of people know Long Island City, they know Astoria, they know Forest Hills — now Rego Park is strongly becoming a competitor to those neighborhoods.”

The asking price of the Millennium 99 condo is comparable to that of several apartments currently on the market at The Aston, a new luxury condo in Forest Hills, a neighborhood traditionally pricier than Rego Park.

At the same time, the price is much higher than other condominiums in "old developments" in Rego Park, which experts said are “in a different category all together.”

The average price for other two-bedroom condominiums with two bathrooms listed in Rego Park so far this year is $687,236, according to data provided by Exit Kingdom Realty, a Forest Hills-based real estate company.

Rego Park's shopping options is one draw for prospective buyers, experts said.

“The neighborhood right now has a really good mix of the big-box stores as well as the small businesses,” said Vincent Koo of Exit Kingdom Realty, adding that the area also provides easy access to several highways and public transportation.

“I think that’s what’s driving the demand in Rego Park,” Koo said. “There is also a demand for great amenities, great design and great finishes."