not many true artist lofts in Tribeca (one fewer as 145 Chambers Street sells at $821/ft)

and they say there are no Manhattan loft bargains left

The “1,700 sq ft” Tribeca loft 145 Chambers Street #2 just sold for $1.395mm, which I’ve already told you in the headline is $821/ft. (And by “just sold”, I mean yesterday, as StreetEasy says and our database confirms; StreetEasy doesn’t have the clearing price yet, but we know it was $1.395mm, just a modest discount off the ask of $1.45mm.) I can quibble with the punctuation and capitalization in the broker babble, but not with the essential truth: “one of the last authentic Artist’s Loft’s in Tribeca”.

Every time one of these babies sells, that’s one fewer, as these lofts are certain to be upgraded, most likely fully renovated.

The loft was marketed with no interior photos, but this floor plan screams “authentic artist loft”:

no rooms, a few closets, kitchenette along the front windows

The loft is very loft-y: wide open, with no load-bearing elements, and 12 ft ceilings. The south windows are claimed to be 10 ft high, sun-flooded, and “quiet”, which is quite a trick for second floor windows over Chambers Street in an otherwise primitive loft. The six-year old unsuccessful listing (ask was $995k; The Market was unmoved) has four interior photos, which present a portrait of the live-work space of the working artist. This one is my favorite:

note the single bed ( left) + that only two sun-flooded south windows are in the public space

This artist led a spartan, if bleached, existence.

those were the days!

There must be an interesting story about this 4-unit 5-story building, as the second floor seller was obviously here long before the building became a coop in 2010. And the deed record for the 5th floor sale in 2011 reveals the 2nd floor owner as that seller, so the “legendary artist known for his cutting edge light sculptures” must have dabbled in real estate, as well as cutting edge light sculpture (as he is identified in the broker babble, as well as being the 2nd floor owner for 40 years).

If he was an owner in the 1970s, he must have been part of “145 Chambers Street Corp.”, which was the seller in 2007 to “Chambers Chamber LLC”, and that LLC begat “Chambers Chamber Owners Corp.” (the coop) in 2010.

As an artist, The Google does reveal him as renowned (if not “legendary”). His official bio on his website is here. And here’s a 1989 review of two solo shows of (then) early works and (then) contemporary works from the New York Times, both in the Soho that was then a center of the arts world, at the Leo Castelli Gallery at 420 West Broadway and at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery at 99 Greene Street. Sigh ….

what can you (have you been able to) get for $821/ft in Tribeca?

Needless to say, $821/ft is a rather unusual value for a Tribeca loft, “authentic artist” or not. I just scrolled through my Master List of downtown Manhattan loft sales without finding another in Tribeca last year at that level. Same with the 2014-16 version of the Master List, at least as to publicly marketed Tribeca lofts, except for

• a Sandy-drowned first floor loft at the US Sugar Warehouse (79 Light Street) that I hit in my April 21, 2015, 2013 buyer of damaged Tribeca loft gains $500,000 by demolishing it, after it sold at $773/ft
• the massive (“3,500 sq ft”) loft at 466 Washington Street that I hit in my October 16, 2014, quiet & “quintessential” northwest Tribeca loft in move-in condition sells at $843/ft, after it sold for $843/ft when it was in the process of losing views to adjoining new development
• the 3rd floor loft at 145 Chambers Street that sold in similar condition for $704/ft in July 2015 (with upper kitchen cabinets installed across a window!)
• the first floor (and below) loft at 13 Jay Street that sold at $777/ft in June 2014 with two (small) windows and a skylight
• another first floor (and below) loft (at 41 Worth Street) that sold for a staggering $502/ft in  June 2014

A rather unusual value for Tribeca, indeed.