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Open House Agenda: 3 Apartments to See This Weekend

By Donna M. Airoldi | March 20, 2015 7:19am | Updated on March 20, 2015 8:07pm
 Live/work apartments with open houses this weekend.
Live/Work Apartments
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MANHATTAN — The number of people who work from home is on the rise and dedicating a portion or an entire room of one’s apartment as office space is common.

But some people need a true live/work environment, where they can separate the two via a private office entrance or with the workspace clearly separate from the living quarters.

These three apartments with open houses on Sunday offer just that.

440 E. 79th St., Apt. 1E, Upper East Side/Yorkville
3 Bedrooms/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 675 square feet
$599,000
Maintenance: $1,581 per month
Open House: Sunday, March 22, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Lowdown: This maisonette, which has been in the same family for 56 years, was used as a psychiatrist’s office, said Anne Ellington of Douglas Elliman. The seller dedicated one of the three bedrooms as her office and the other two as part of the live-in apartment space.

“As a live/work space, it’s been great for them,” Ellington said, adding that the apartment has a private entrance on 79th Street just to the right of the doorman building’s main entrance.

The seller installed shades to pull down and cover the kitchenette, since it’s part of the open living space that was used as a waiting room during office hours. There also is a security camera in the hallway and monitors in every room.

“All three bedroom/offices face north onto 79th Street, and two look onto a little garden,” Ellington noted.

Oak flooring is throughout and there’s a large Art Deco-style bathroom. Building amenities include a roof deck, fitness center, laundry room and garage.

Location: The pet-friendly Gregory House sits between First and York avenues, with John Jay Park along the East River less than three blocks away. A post office is around the corner, as is a branch of the New York Public Library. The Northport, NY–based Maroni Cuisine restaurant, which home delivers hot pots of pasta, is opening a second location on East 77th Street.

Closest transit is the 6 train at 77th Street and Lexington Avenue. The first phase of the Second Avenue subway, currently scheduled for completion in December 2016, will have F and Q stations at 72nd and 86th Streets.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “Most properties are not zoned for live/work, and it’s difficult to find in the city,” Ellington said. “Also, at $599,000, it’s very good value.”

67 Hudson St., Apt. 1B, Tribeca
2 Bedrooms/1 Bath
Condo
Approximately 992 square feet
$1.315 million
Common Charges: $672 per month
Real Estate Taxes: $893 per month
Open House: Sunday, March 22, 2-3:30 p.m.

Lowdown: The seller of this two-bedroom apartment initially converted it into a medical office when he bought it, changing it to a professional certificate of occupancy. In 2010, he reconverted it to a residential space. However he recently learned that the contractor never converted the certificate back to residential, said Steven A. Sumser of Stribling.

“That’s why it needs to be an all-cash sale,” Sumser noted. “The title company found it after we had an accepted offer.”

An interested buyer “could get a professional mortgage, not a residential one, but they’ll pay a higher interest rate,” said Lee Ann Jaffee of Stribling, who is co-representing the property with Sumser. For someone looking to use it as a live/work space, “a therapist would be perfect.”

The “extremely quiet” pre-war apartment, with high ceilings and a washer/dryer, is “laid out nicely and in move-in condition," Jaffee said.

The living room faces west, the bedrooms face north. Even though it’s on the first floor, the unit “does get some light and faces Staples Street, which is a lovely cobblestone street, quaint and almost feels European,” Jaffee said.

Common amenities include a planted roof deck and bike storage.  

Location: The Whitehouse Condominium, built in the 1880s as a dispensary for a hospital that was across the street, is in the landmarked TriBeCa Historic District, near high-end restaurants, Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond and other shops. It’s about three blocks to the 1, 2 and 3 trains at Chambers Street and another block over for the A and C.

Why put it on your open house calendar? Aside from being already legally recognized as a live/work space, “you have a two-bedroom in the heart of the most desirable area at a very reasonable price,” Sumser said.

118 Forsyth St., First Floor, Lower East Side
2 Bedrooms/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 2,200 square feet
$2 million
Maintenance: $1,300 per month
Open House: Sunday, March 22, noon to 2 p.m.

Lowdown: This classic, downtown loft, built 100 years ago, is a stunning space with 12-foot ceilings, exposed brick, two walls of windows, and basement-level space that can be used for storage or as a recreation room.

Other than updating the kitchen and adding central air, “the seller didn’t do much to it and left it open,” said Ariel Tirosh of Douglas Elliman.

The large chef's kitchen separates two living areas. The sellers use the “great room” space toward Forsyth Street as a bedroom, but it could work as a private office as there’s a separate double-door entrance that leads to the sidewalk.

“It’s currently sealed, but can be opened, Tirosh said, adding that the unit is very quiet and not on a high-traffic street.

The seven-unit co-op is self-managed, which keeps the maintenance low. The co-op is “working on a roof deck and elevator for the building, which should be completed later this year,” Tirosh noted.

Location:  The apartment sits just east of Sara D. Roosevelt Park between Broome and Delancey streets. Nolita is just a couple blocks west. The large-scale Essex Crossing development is going up nearby.

The B/D trains at Grand Street, the J/Z at Bowery and the Delancey Street F/M are all within a few blocks.

Why put it on your open house calendar? This is a “unique space in a visually striking building,” Tirosh said. “The space is so massive, you can [create] two or three bedrooms and they’ll all have a window. There are a lot of options.”