new at 17 White / mezzanine + proper names in a Tribeca enclave

Unit 6A at 17 White Street was new to the market on Wednesday, asking through PruDE’s Ruth Hardinger and Michael Norton $3.75mm and $1,100/mo(!) for “2,533 sq ft” with 17 foot tin ceilings “stunning” architectural features and a host of proper proper names.

One Bed Wonder with sleep loft
Depending on how you feel about sleeping in a mezzanined “sleeping loft / home office” that is open to the living room, this is one very large One Bed Wonder, with a very large master suite. The layout makes ingenious use of the high ceilings by running a mezzanine above the kitchen and main level bathrooms; my guess is that mezzanine level is fully counted in the square feet claimed.

Long-and-Narrow, but more peculiar than classic
The footprint is a peculiar Long-and-Narrow, with the width varying from 9 to 17 to 27 to 21 feet, and windows along one long side, the south narrow side and (in the mezzanine only) on the north narrow side. That very large master suite has a windowed “dressing room” at the far end, which is probably a closet, as the only true closet there on the floor plan is a small triangle.

Speaking of very large, the kitchen with all those proper proper names covers the entire north wall, , 21 feet wide. Of all the peculiar things about this footprint, I read the floor plan as depicting the mezzanine as wider than the main level (above the kitchen and above the master bath). Finally, there’s no picture of the master bedroom, but the floor plan implies that the ceiling there is not so high.

income plusses and minuses
The listing has no information about how much of the maintenance is tax deductible, but notes that the coop derives income from an LLC. With such low maintenance (about 40 cents per foot) I have to wonder if they meet the IRS rules 80/20 and qualify for the beneficial tax treatment of a residential cooperative association. (January 16: IRS rules for coops ? beware the 80/20 rule.) If they qualify, they run a pretty lean operation with such low maintenance.

limited building history
No units have changed hands in the building in nearly two years. #4BC sold in January 2006 for $3.225mm for “4,150 sq ft”, in a transaction that seems to be outside our inter-firm system. Hardinger and Norton represented #4BC when it sold in June 2004 (can’t see a closing price, but the asking price was $3mm). #2A traded in November 2005 at $2.775mm for “3,100 sq ft” that sounds like a primitive artist’s studio (original asking price for that one was $3.4mm).

#PH5-6 at 9 White Street has been on the market for nearly 20 months (with 2 firms), starting at $5.95mm and $3,060/mo for “3,500 sq ft” of duplexed architect-designed space plus “800 sq ft” of planted roof terrace. They dropped the price a million bucks in January, changed firms in February, had a contract signed in March but have been back on the market since June, again at $4.95mm.

That’s not to say that someone who ‘only’ has up to $4mm to spend won’t find #6A at 17 White Street worth buying – at what price is (as always) The Question.

© Sandy Mattingly 2007