The Laurel Condo: A Triathloners Dream...But For Everyone?

Please note that this is Toes posting, not Noah!

I haven't written about any new developments in a while. In all honesty, they've kind of started to blend together. Once you've seen 50 new developments, you almost feel like you've seen them all. I finally made it to the Laurel Condominium yesterday and I was really impressed with the quality of the building and apartments. But (as is typical for Manhattan) you get what you pay for! The lower floors are $1,500/sq ft, higher floors closer to $2,100/sq ft. If you want a penthouse with a terrace, for $13 Million, you can get 4,073 sq ft with a 3,127 st ft private terrace.

I don't want to repeat what's already been said, so you may wish to visit the NY Condo Blog to get the full spectrum about the Laurel. But I will cover a few things they didn't touch upon...

In Brief:

Laurel Condominium
400 E 67th Street, corner of 1st Ave
Design by Costys Kondylis; Developed by Alexico Group
~ 35% sold, sales office opened early December
Closings summer/fall 2008 (which probably means fall/winter 2008)

Amenities:
- 50 ft Lap Pool
- 2 Custom Designed Resistance Pools
- Fitness Center (more like a fitness center on steroids, this one has everything)
- Steam Room & Sauna
- Lounge
- Children's Playroom (They call it the "Toddler's Craft Clubhouse" - Barf!)
- Game Room (pool table, foosball, arcade)
- Conference Room/Dining Room/Catering Kitchen
- Screening Room
- Garage (for an extra charge, of course)
- Doorman/Concierge

Likes:
- LEED certified design (bike storage/bike racks, water-efficient landscaping, construction waste management, recycled content construction materials, low-emitting materials, local manufacturing, design maximizes exposure to daylight which promotes energy conservation)
- Bought the air/development rights over neighboring buildings so most views are protected
- Tasteful kitchens and baths: they are simple, classic and mostly white - it would be pretty hard for someone to hate them (good for resale)
- Stove/oven vents to the roof (usually air is recirculated)
- Wine fridge built in to all but the smallest apartments
- TV built into the bathroom vanity mirror!
- Heated bathroom floors

Kitchens:
- White marble + white lacquer cabinets, Sub Zero + Gaggenau stainless steel appliances
- Convection and steam oven
- Electric induction cook-top
- Wine fridge
- Garbage disposal (in Manhattan, these are pretty much only found in new construction)

Question to Urban Digs readers: Will someone with radiant-heated floors please write in and tell us if you use this feature? Should developers bother? Or is a bath mat sufficient to keep your toesies warm in the winter?

Question for UrbanDigs Readers #2: If you love to cook, please explain what the benefits are of having a convection and steam oven and an electric induction cook-top and a natural gas cook-top. It seems like total overkill to me since (like many Manhattanites) I don't cook. I suppose if you love to have catered parties in your apartment or if you are a chef, it is wonderful. But if you are using the apartment as a pied a terre or you enjoy sampling the amazing cuisine we have in NYC and dine out every night... I suspect you could care less?

Question for UrbanDigs Readers #3: Do you have a screening room? Does anyone actually use it?

Dislikes:
Not sure how many people will really buy into the Triathlon Training Center concept. I have done a few triathlons myself & I am training for one now, so I love the idea... But I wouldn't be willing to pay for it. A 496 sq ft studio is on the market for $750K. The living area is 12 by 20, the rest of the apartment is bathroom, kitchen, and hallway (marketed as the "gallery"). There are other new developments / conversions where you easily can get 600 sq ft for the same price. If you aren't big into triathlons, you probably care more about the size of your apartment than about the pool and fitness center. Still, for the athletically inclined, this is your dream building.

Sample Availability:
Studio:
6A: 496 sq ft, $750,000 - Common Charges $398/month, Real Estate (RE) Taxes with 421a $45/month
One Bed:
9D: 1,100 sq ft, $1,620,000 - CCs $882/month, RE taxes w. 421a $99/month
2 Bed/2 Bath:
11B: 1,276 sq ft: $2,160,000 - CCs $1,023/month, RE taxes $115/month
3 bed/3 bath:
25A: 2,285 sq ft, $4.875,000 - CCs $1,833, RE taxes $206 (without the abatement you'd be paying a nice $3,505/month)

Buyers, please make note of:
- No shower door or rod in the 2nd bathroom (see my post about small details that sometimes go missing in new developments). This seems to be the trend in the 2nd baths in new developments.
- Ceiling heights are lower below the 15th floor than they are above the 15th floor
- To get a view of the river on the east side of the building, you need to be above the 15th floor
- Studios and most one beds are below the 15th floor
- Most apts with terraces are already sold (except some of the penthouses)
- The square footage is calculated from the midpoint of the wall to the window (as it should be for a condo). The square footage does NOT include your percentage ownership of the common areas (Noah wrote about double counting common elements), which is something a few developers are doing these days which I feel is very misleading to buyers.

The marketing package about the building is beautifully done (and must have been really expensive). However, I almost died laughing when I read about the "Duravit Starck 2 Series wall-mounted water closet with dual flushometer." Hello, people, it's a toilet. Ahhhh, real estate marketing at its finest!

The sales office was organized, and the salespeople were extremely knowledgeable about the building, which is better than I can say about a lot of new developments. I give the Laurel two very big thumbs up if you have an unlimited budget & you don't mind being on 1st Avenue in the 60s (not the most exciting place to live - trust me, I live nearby!).

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