2 new on West 20 Street / building yin vs yang at 15 W 20 + 9 W 20

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so close yet…
These two new Manhattan loft listings could hardly be closer to each other. The units are nearly the same size, with very similar layouts. Neither brags about light or views. But the dollar differences are rather … err … dramatic.

the boutique experience at Altair 20
#8A at 15 West 20 Street (Altair 20) is new to market this weekend through PruDE’s Lisa Gilroy, asking $3.25mm and $3,869/mo for "2,259 sq ft" in this 2006 newly constructed condo where the first closings were last August.

Altair 20 was one of the recent high finish + high service buildings, where 17 units have to support the La Palestra fitness center, doorman (not overnight?), and cabana style roof deck. Hence the hefty common charges. This looks to be the first flip; the original sales price for #8A was $2.6mm but they raised it to $2.675mm before the contract was signed for $2.625mm and it closed in June 2007. (#9A traded at $2.725mm in July; #7A for 2.525mm also in July.) [UPDATE 12.14.08: the loft was taken off the market in May after price drops in March ($3.095mm) and April ($2.995mm); clearly, The Market was not biting]

This unit looks to be in original condition, with the standard high-end finishes including an “ultra chef’s kitchen” (with wine cooler + coffee system + plate-warmer), cherry floors and radiant heat in the 3 bathrooms. The layout is classic Long-and-Narrow with 2 bedrooms in back, a windowless den/study and plumbing on both sides in the middle. The interesting layout choice in this unit is the kitchen has a path-through, but is otherwise closed. How un-lofty!

The building was gutted in 2006 (an old office building??) and has some loft characteristics, including ten foot ceilings (in most of the unit) and 3 structural columns. The windows are tall, but not terribly large (3 in back, only 4 in front), with not much to see form the 8^th floor. The joint building website (with Altair 18 at 32 West 18 Street) is still up and full of breathless promotion, here. (There are many additional details about the kitchen and baths in that website, beyond what is in the listing description.) You will see that they were (and are) selling the ‘boutique’ experience.

Open House Sunday February 24 from 12 to 2 PM.

who’s the faux loft competition for 9
The 6th floor of 9 West 20 Street is not at the bling-bling end of the loft spectrum that Altair 20 aspires to, but it is a classic loft building repurposed in 2001 for residential. This one is said to be "2,152 sq ft" and is asking $2.499mm and $1,913/mo (condo) for a triple mint loft for people who are "tired of faux lofts".

Sheila Lokitz of Corcoran promises pictures soon, but the floor plan is classic Long-and-Narrow, with plumbing in the middle and enough windows on one long side to have a 3rd bedroom and a windowed bathroom. (The footprint is very similar to #8A at 15 West 20 Street, in fact, though the window here makes a 3^rd bedroom instead of a den/study.)

It is hard to directly compare finishes without pictures of this one, but the major difference here is easily expressed: $1,913/mo in common charges and taxes vs. $3,869/mo at Altair 20. And the $750k in asking price for (essentially) the same size space.

a window on The (current) Market
The 8^th floor and the 10^th floor both sold last Summer for $2.661mm, both well above their asking prices ($2.395mm and $2.495mm, respectively). The 8^th floor was said to be “architect designed”; the 10^th floor other claimed very high finishes and to be “sun-filled”. If the 6^th floor finishes are at all comparable, this $2.499mm asking price will tell us a lot about The Market if it lingers. [UPDATE 12.14.08: it more than lingered; after dropping to $2.399mm on May 1, out data-base shows that it was taken off the market in June; but there is ambiguity about that, since Street Easy shows a deed filed in June (but no price reported) while Property Shark shows no deed]

[BOTTOM LINE as of 12.14.08: as the 6th floor finishes do seem to have been comparable to the neighbors’ units on the 8th and 10th floors that traded at $2.661mm in 2007, the fact that #6 did not sell even off of the reduced $2.399mm did tell us "a lot about The Market"]

First showing will be at the Open House Sunday February 24 from 12:30 to 2 PM.



© Sandy Mattingly 2008