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Flatiron Loft That Could Fit Sit-Down Dinner for 32 Intrigues House Hunters

By DNAinfo Staff on August 29, 2012 8:25am

By Jessica Glazer

Special to DNAinfo.com New York

10 E. 18th St. #5N

$2.75 million

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom 

Common Charges: $1,275

Taxes: $1,795

FLATIRON — The most alluring feature of this 2,874-square-foot loft in the Flatiron District was its long layout.

But to use the space well, a buyer would likely have to make renovations.  

"It's a very raw space with lots of options," said a broker scouting apartments for her client.

She stood in the center of the living room with Christopher Moseley, of Rutenberg Realty, the broker showing the apartment on Sunday, as they discussed different possible layouts. 

They talked about swapping the locations of the bedrooms and living room, and where it would be easiest to add a second bathroom.

"All the walls can come down, none of them are load bearing," Moseley said.

The building was originally a sewing factory built in 1903. The hardwood floors creaked as one walked across them, and light streamed through walls of windows on either side. The current owner and his wife, who have been in the apartment since the 1970s, have a good bit of history there themselves.

"We've had Thanksgiving dinners here with 32 people in a sit-down!"  Emile Schreiber, the current owner, said.

Although they are ready to move to a smaller space, it will be hard to leave. "I'll miss the neighborhood. The guys in the firehouse are some of the best neighbors," he said of Engine 14 down the block. "At night they wait until they are a few blocks away to turn on the siren." 

A young couple with a child who attended the open house, saw the potential in the apartment, but they weren't quite sold. "It just would take too much work and renovation," said the wife, who works at Dwell, an architecture and design magazine. 

"It needs some work, but that's the nature of it," said another prospective buyer, who liked the abundance of light and windows but who would make a number of changes if he moved in. 

This wasn’t news to Moseley. "You have to have the appetite for renovation," he said.