Pie in the Sky – Or at least on the Ground Floor

Luxury high rises are popping up just steps away from restaurant chains like McDonald's. This is just the latest trend in New York these days when it comes to finding space.

by James R. Lindamood With real estate prices headed through the roof, it's becoming more and more common to see some of the priciest real estate in the city sitting right on top of the favorite hang out of the busy and the budget minded. The newest luxury high-rise by Philippe Starke is perched right atop a McDonald's restaurant. While the restaurant doesn't stick out like sore thumb (the only clue that it's there is a 2 foot by 2 foot sign), it still begs the question, “What were they thinking?” It's matches like these that having onlookers scratching their respective heads, trying to figure out whether this is actually the case, or if we're looking at some strange form or ultra-modern performance art. According to real estate brokers responsible for marketing the development, the proximity to the Golden Arches is not a major concern for buyers. Since fewer than 10 percent of the apartment space in the building remains unsold, the fast food megastore may very well have no impact at all. With prices ranging from $590,000 to $3.6 million, one must ask how the home of the .99 cent burger managed to find a home on the ground floor of such an ultra-lux apartment house. The simple answer is that the McDonald's franchise already owned the spot where the building went up, so if they hadn't sold, the project would have been a no-go. So I guess you really could say that the whole multi-million dollar development really did hinge on a Big-Mac.