MANHATTAN – Though recently renovated homes may have higher price tags, they are move-in ready, which many buyers find appealing. These three properties — two Manhattan co-ops and one Brooklyn townhouse — have all undergone gut renovations.
529 West 42nd St., #6F, Midtown West
One Bedroom/One bath
Approximately 1,050 square feet
Co-op
$1.095 million
Maintenance: $2,257 a month
Open House: Sunday, Jan. 31, 12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Lowdown: The owners of this apartment completely gutted it after buying three years ago.
“They wanted an airy, open and spacious loft,” said Nest Seekers International broker Linda Ho.
One of the owners worked closely with his brother, an architect, to design a “dramatically different apartment," Ho said. They replaced old parquet floors, a fireplace and an outdated kitchen and bathroom, turning the unit into “one big open space with a bedroom nook."
The bedroom is separated from the rest of the apartment by a solid wood sliding door. Glass panels in the door were included to let light into the bedroom.
The owner, who owned a restaurant in San Francisco, also designed the kitchen and dining area with an eye toward entertaining.
“The owners are total foodies and love entertaining,” said Ho. “There's shelving in the kitchen that doubles as a bar, which is great for parties.”
The dining area can accommodate a 10-person dining table, she said.
An old dressing room is now a nursery space that could also work as an office, Ho said. Although it doesn't have a window, the owners built an interior window that looks out into the living room.
The owners also built a platform in the master bedroom for the bed to accommodate storage underneath. The platform will be included in the sale, although Ho said that a buyer could easily remove it.
Location: The building is half block from the restaurants lining 10th Avenue and two blocks from the Hudson River Greenway. The closest subway is the A/C/E at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “This is a great price point for 1,000 square feet, as well as a quality renovation,” Ho said.
250 West 15th St., #2E, Chelsea
Studio/One bath
Approximately 500 square feet
Co-op
$595,000
Maintenance: $761 a month
Open House: Sunday, Jan. 31, noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lowdown: This junior alcove studio truly has an architect's touch: one of the owners is an architect who teaches at the University of Hong Kong.
The architect understood "tiny spaces" and came up with "ingenious ways" to design this roughly 500 square foot unit, said Corcoran broker Paul Gavriani. That includes building a platform in the bedroom that holds the bed and can be “lifted with one finger."
A glass wall in the bedroom lets light into the adjacent bathroom. There are also tall custom closets to maximize storage space.
Although the owners intended to use the apartment for visits to New York, they barely stayed here, said Gavriani. “It's all brand new and ready to go."
This co-op building is friendly to international and pied-a-terre buyers, which is rare for a co-op board, Gavriani noted.
Location: The building is within walking distance of 17 different subway lines. The A/C/E/L trains at 14th Street and 8th Avenue are closest, located right around the corner. There's also a CitiBike docking station outside the building, he said.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “It's a convenient location and priced well,” he said. “This is an especially good deal for someone looking to buy a weekend apartment.”
100 Harman St., Bushwick
Five bedrooms/Three baths
Approximately 3,000 square feet
Townhouse
$1.399 million
Taxes: $186 a month
Open House: Sunday, Jan. 31, noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lowdown: Although this three-story Bushwick townhouse was renovated by a developer, “it doesn't look like every other townhouse flip,” said Corcoran broker Brooke Safford.
The developer purchased the townhouse as a "total wreck." The gut renovation, which just wrapped this month, played up interior details like parquet wood floors, coffered ceilings and exposed beams that “have that warm, brownstone feel,” said Safford.
The developer opened up the parlor floor — which has 12-foot-tall ceilings — by installing nearly floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the back, near the kitchen. A glass door leads onto a patio, with stairs descending into the backyard.
“It's so lofty and bright,” said Safford.
The townhouse is configured as an owner's duplex above with a two-bedroom, one-bathroom garden rental below. The rental apartment is a bonus for a buyer looking for some extra income, she said. Or the property could work for an investor who wanted to rent out both apartments.
This will be the second open house for the property. So far, Safford said, “We've seen transplants from Williamsburg and the city — people looking for more space, especially private outdoor space."
Location: This townhouse is four blocks from Myrtle Avenue, the main drag of the neighborhood, "where everybody wants to be in Bushwick,” Safford said. It's equidistant from the Central Avenue M train and the Kosciuszko Street J train.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “The prime location and the uniqueness of the townhouse design,” said Safford.
