you want an authentic loft? 265 Water + 35 White qualify, both new(ish)
right time to use overworked words
Two new listings fit my paradigm of “authentic” Manhattan lofts, though they are very different from each other. (Only one uses “unique” in the listing, which I can forgive. See October 15, 2006: unique ain’t what it used to be / more than 100 “unique” lofts in Manhattan??)
The 3rd floor at 35 White Street has 12 foot ceilings, 11 huge windows along one long and one short side, in an industrial building re-purposed for residential use (legally) about thirty years ago. There’s no real floor plan up (yet) but it seems to be pretty open space, “1,750 sq ft” set up as 1 bedroom plus den, with two baths. (Is that a column or drapery in the 4th photo?)
The amazing thing about this loft, however, is its serendipitous location looking northwest over the corner of the very wide Church Street and White Street (just east of the Tribeca Grand hotel and just south east of the old AT&T headquarters), with open views of the Empire State Building.
Part of its authenticity — to me — is the gritty location. This part of Tribeca is like a peninsula. The hotel and the huge AT&T Building, the wide Church Street (terminating in 3 blocks at Canal Street), and the even wider (beginning of) Sixth Avenue cut off this block from the main parts of Tribeca to the west.
Nothing “uber” about it, and I am not ignoring the finishes, but this is a classic Tribeca loft. It is all about The Space. Asking $2.1mm and $2,550/mo.
The 2d floor traded 17 months ago, but city records don’t show the price (ask was $1.55M for that “untouched original” space). The 4th floor traded in May 2005 for $1.75mm (the former studio of Barnett Newman).
The quoted size is an awfully fair measurement, probably recorded in the original offering plan. City records show the building dimensions as 25 x 75 feet (1,875 sq ft). Subtracting the stairwell and elevator shaft should get you pretty close to the quoted 1,750 sq ft.
Open House Sunday, Sept 30 from 12 – 2 PM
The 4th floor at 265 Water Street is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. The Seaport area buildings had very different mercantile usages than the Tribeca buildings, and many are older (this one is from 1879, our data base says). The neighborhood is certainly not for everyone, but if it appeals to you this is a great space-for-dollars play, oozing with charm.
Asking $1.25mm and $1,400/mo (with a short assessment) for “1,650 sq ft”, this has maple floors, original columns, exposed beams and sprinklers. Consistent with the price, it looks as though it is in pretty primitive condition, with no website bragging about the finishes. Ceilings don’t look very high, but it definitely qualifies as a “loft” building. With a manual elevator!
They are counting on some general market price appreciation with this one. It has been offered for sale in 2003 ($875k), 2005 ($1.3mm) and for two months this year ($1.2mm). The Market has not liked any of those prices (yet).
The 3rd floor sold three years ago for $875k and the same agent who has the 4th floor sold the 5th floor five months ago for $999k (that was billed as a bring-your-architect “first generation” loft — nice locution, that!).
© Sandy Mattingly 2007
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