did the Zen sell a walk-up loft at 464 West Broadway?

or was it the price?
I still don’t think it was the feng shui that got the Manhattan loft 45 Crosby Street #5S sold back in February (February 25, was it feng shui that got 45 Crosby Street sold?), but the recent sale of the 4th floor at 464 West Broadway might have had something to do with all that Zen.

Here was the babble:

Granted, it is hard to see Zen, in a listing, in photos, in a floor plan, or even in the physical space. Does "square and simple with numerous possibilities for change" qualify? What if the "square" refers only to the main room in a (truly) Long-and-Narrow footprint that — to make it livable for most folks — would require reconfiguring the interior walls (the back windows are all in the kitchen or dining room)?

Maybe it is the simplicity of clean lines and a lack of adornment. Or (more likely) it is the combination of the potential and the asking price that could lead the right buyer to tranquility and contentment.

zen, explained
For this space, I am willing to believe that there may be something truly ‘serene’ about this space, the lack of tangible evidence from the listing notwithstanding. After all, the seller was the Soho Zen Buddhist Society, and the floor plan suggests that the space was not used by the Society as a residence. The buyer (a natural person) obviously felt comfortable enough after walking up the 3 flights of stairs that it made sense to buy this "1,600 sq ft" loft for (one of) the "numerous possibilities for change".

The loft came to market in September at $1.295mm and the sellers were patient enough (ha!) to wait for a buyer until the contract in January. They were also flexible enough to negotiate a 12% discount, closing at $1.15mm. The sellers were also modest enough to realize that they could not base their price directly on the February 23 sale of the 2nd floor at $1,652,573 (a 14% premium over the asking price), which was not only 2 flights of steps closer to the street, but in newly renovated, triple mint condition.

So maybe it was these sellers’ attitude that was zen-like, rather than the space itself. Or maybe, the sellers’ attitude imbued the space with serenity. If so, will that serenity remain after a renovation? I doubt that, but then I just may not have the right attitude of acceptance.

© Sandy Mattingly 2010