133 Second Ave., No. 8
1-Bedroom, 1-Bathroom
$950,000
Common Charges: $784
EAST VILLAGE — For some house hunters, a condo's shape and common deck took center stage this weekend, as they got a front row seat for a home in a development that used to house a historic theater.
The two-building complex includes the now-converted old St. Mark's Cinema and an adjoining formerly industrial building. Leah Goldfarb, an associate broker with Walter & Samuels, explained that she had overseen the building's rehabilitation from start to finish, saying that the Theatre Condominium, as the project is called, had made outdoor space a top priority.
Because the development included the cinema, the builders wanted to construct a raised deck and give it a theater-like vibe, Goldfarb said.
"It's very cleverly done. It could have been dreary, like this," said one woman of the deck, pointing to a nearby tar roof for contrast.
Meanwhile, some critiqued the length and layout of the foyer and bedroom starrring in Sunday's open house.
For one woman, an art director who declined to give her age, the sleeping area felt spacious — but not the right kind of spacious, she explained.
"It's really big," she said of the 25-by 8-foot suite. "But it's too long. The proportions don't make sense."
The woman also lamented that the bedroom window — though a sought-after amentity — was not at the right height.
Other house hunters, however, didn't seem to mind the setup and relished in perks such as the roof deck, in-unit washer-and-dryer and hardwood floors.
Goldfarb pointed out that many of the 1,045 square-foot condo's interior flourishes — such as high ceilings and room for appliances such as a dishwasher — were made possible by the building's previous use as an open commercial space.
"To me, this is true East Village," she said. "It was commercial, and then it was artist lofts. It wasn't built to be residential. It was built to be something else."
One prospective buyer, a 23-year-old English as a Second Language student who lives in the Financial District, wanted to know about upkeep costs.
"Are they solid, or are they going up?" the student, a native of Italy, asked Goldfarb.
He later told Open House Insider that he thought the price might be a little high but was not at all bothered by the bedroom's rectangular cut.
"It's very good, because there's also a window in the bedroom," he said, smiling. "The bedroom, it's very bright!"
