AVONOVA: Pre-War Condo Conversion
AVONOVA, a pre-war condo conversion on the corner of Broadway & 81st, recently opened its doors for a broker's open house tour. Here are the details...
Building
219 W. 81st St
Built in 1911
12 stories, 117 apartments
Dec 2007 / Jan 2008 closings
Some rent stabilized / rent controlled tenants remain, so only 40 apts are being released at this time. Market rate tenants are being offered the option to buy, so as leases come up, more apartments may become available.
Amenities
Doorman
Fitness Center
Resident's Lounge
Playroom
Courtyard
Roof Terrace
Owner Storage & Bike Storage
Apartments
The usual Pre-War details (9.5 - 10 foot ceilings, crown mouldings, hardwood floors)
Viking appliances
Washer/dryer in all units
Window a/c units
Pricing
1 bedrooms (544 - 849 sq ft) - $735,000 to $1,165,000
6J is $755K for 544 sq ft. CCs are $364; RE Taxes $177 (Total is $542, less than $1/sq ft)
2 bedrooms (1,006 - 1,518) - $1,465,000 - $2,045,000
8D (2 bed, 2 bath) is $1.98M for 1,494 sq ft. CCs are $956 and RETs $465 (Total is $1,422)
3 bedrooms (1,763 - 2,117) - $2,175,000 - $2,995,000
6K (3 bed, 2 bath) is $2.975M for 1,763 sq ft. CCs are $1,388. RETs $676.41 (Total $2,064)
Broker Feedback
AVONOVA's apts have windows in almost every room (including the baths) and the windows are larger than in many other pre-war buildings. I was not the only agent to comment that the master baths have "too much going on" from a design standpoint. There must be 5 different types/textures/colors of tile, marble, and mosaic glass work, which for me was just too much for the eye.
Toes Says: Please take note that some bathrooms do not include a shower door or shower rod. It is left up to the buyer to install what they prefer.
I heard mixed reports from different sales agents at the building as to whether the developer is going to redo the hallway floors. The current hallway flooring looks like a pre-war rental building's floors, not floors for a luxury condo.
Keep an eye on how much of this building is going to be owner-occupied. With so many rent stabilized/controlled tenants, if there isn't a high enough owner-occupancy rate, it is likely that in the current credit environment some lenders may not finance in this building.
My favorite quote from the marketing brochure, "The kitchens in AVONOVA present owners with a quandry: to cook in them or to gaze at them." BARF! Yes, the kitchens are great (definitely plenty of cabinet space although some of the cabinets are not very deep & will quickly become "junk drawers"), but I highly doubt anyone is going to sit around gazing at them.
Overall, the brand new luxury condo feel had started to wear me down a bit, so AVONOVA was kind of refreshing. After you've seen 20 new developments, most of the buildings that are being built from the ground up feel like a big, stale box. So many buildings have 200+ apartments that have exactly the same cookie-cutter layouts & finishes. The kitchens and baths are exactly the same size in the studios as in the one bedrooms and sometimes as in the two bedrooms (cheaper for the developer to have to order the same size appliances and cabinetry). And many new buildings feel like large, impersonal hotels. So there is something charming and comforting about a pre-war building with new finishes.
A few months ago, I had a $1M+ UWS (70s - low 80s) one bedroom buyer who wanted a pre-war building but he didn't have the reserves to qualify for a co-op. Since co-ops make up almost all of the pre-war inventory on the UWS, there were only 3 pre-war condos on the market at the time in his price range! With so few pre-war condos available on the Upper West Side, AVONOVA should do well.
Looking forward to hearing your comments!
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Comments (6)
What do you think about the Merrion Condo, 215 West 88th St?
Posted by Anonymous | October 3, 2007 1:33 PM
Just curious about the person who wanted a 1M one bedroom but did not have enough reserves.
HOW much reserves does one need in this case or was it simply a matter a the buyer just willing to carry more debt than they are able to handle? Just trying to guage how qualified buyers really are in this price range
"A few months ago, I had a $1M+ UWS (70s - low 80s) one bedroom buyer who wanted a pre-war building but he didn't have the reserves to qualify for a co-op"
Posted by uwsider | October 3, 2007 2:40 PM
The buyer had NO reserves. He took a 90% loan, a 10% HELOC, and a 5% loan from his firm to pay the closing costs. He would have NEVER gotten into a co-op!
Posted by Toes | October 3, 2007 3:44 PM
I haven't been to Merrion Condos yet, but I heard that they were very nice and they were selling very fast when they first opened. Interested in your thoughts if you had seen them. The other recent pre-war conversion on the UWS was the Olcott and I was kind of disappointed with the building - the layouts were very choppy. My buyers felt that the apartments were very overpriced in comparison to the resales we had seen in the area.
Posted by Toes | October 3, 2007 3:46 PM
Toes,
I'm surprised the buyer can EVEN get a mortgage on those terms "these days"... sounds to to me he's just a speculator who can get an easy loan...
"The buyer had NO reserves. He took a 90% loan, a 10% HELOC, and a 5% loan from his firm to pay the closing costs. He would have NEVER gotten into a co-op!"
Posted by uwsider | October 3, 2007 5:13 PM
I saw this unit, 6J. My feeling was that it's a lot smaller than 544 ft2. And the price, at 755K, isn't that too expensive? We are talking about 1400$/ft2...
Posted by Tom Hagen | January 12, 2008 12:22 AM