dueling $4mm open houses at 217 West 19 Street + 32 West 18 St

Chelsea or Flatiron? space or views?
My guess is that there will be about a 65% overlap between open house visitors on Sunday to 217 West 19 Street 9^th floor and 32 West 18 Street #2B. The open house times overlap, they are both right around $4mm, one’s a little larger and the other a little smaller than 3,000 sq ft, they were both finished from the high end of the catalogue, and they are in new-ish condos.

views + terrace in new listing
217 West 19 Street 9^th floor was new to market last weekend and was “designed for the most discerning buyer” (see the listing for the bling-bling verbiage). That’s all good, of course, but it will earn its money (or not) because of the 52 feet of north windows (that bright needle is the Empire State Building) and another 52 feet of south windows (windows are 10 feet tall). And the south wall has a full length balcony. There are not many lofts with this length of glass and this kind of view behind that glass.

They are asking $4.1mm and $2,703/mo (condo) for “2,611 sq ft”.

Open House Sunday January 20 from 1:30 to 2:30 PM

more space, fewer windows, amenities, longer history
Head east from Chelsea to the land known as Flatiron for 32 West 18 Street #2B (Altair 18), which has been for sale since October, starting at $4.6mm, dropping to $4.2mm a month ago, and has been at $3.995mm since Monday, with $5,186/mo (condo). The photographs here can’t compare to those at 217 West 19 Street, perhaps because this one was shot without furniture. (The condo was converted just last year and this unit has not been lived in yet.)

For the $3.995mm you’d get “3,292 sq ft” with “everything you expect” from architects Cetra/Ruddy (including a 23 foot long Rosewood kitchen), but you won’t get any views to speak of (2d floor) and only 4 windows at each narrow end. Altair 18 has an attended lobby (217 West 19 Street does not), with monthly expenses commensurate with a high level of service (concierge, La Palestra gym, roof deck with cabana).

The original contract for #2B was signed in October 2006 and this unit was among the first units to close, in August 2007. The then-buyer-now-flipper paid $3.45mm then and is (at least) approaching the point of pain by dropping the price to $3.995mm, considering just the big ticket round trip transaction expenses (transfer taxes on both transactions and commission on the sale).

Open House Sunday January 20 from 12:30 to 2 PM

I would love to hear from anyone who gets to see both units.

© Sandy Mattingly 2007