122 Newton Street is a boutiquy condo building I toured back in April well before it was finished. Well, good news – it’s been finished and is available for your buying pleasure starting at $900k and change. Shane had guessed the approximate cost at around $1.2 million while the Developer’s Group called it $1.1. Not too shabby lol.
So what was the final product? See the before and after pics after the jump!
On Saturday, in addition to 128 and 122 Newton Street (only 1 was ready to rent though!), we saw 110 Kent Street. This one I had seen on Craigslist listed with Prudential but didn’t pay attention until Shaun, this new broker from Bond NY we met while re-viewing 182 Huron (I know, I’m behind on blog posts) sent it to me. It has everything I personally would love in a space: it’s in a brownstone, beautiful block, in the center of Greenpoint and…just looks NICE. Really, really nice. So we went off on Saturday to view it and I have to say, even though it was just a 2 bedroom with 1 bath for $2,800 + broker fee, I was very excited.
Pics and details after the jump.
When we were standing outside, looking up at the guys painting 128 Newton, the building we had just checked out, we noticed the smallish (in comparison) building next to it that’s still under major construction. It’s clearly been developed by the same company that’s responsible for 128 Newton and the Manhattan Avenue Condos – Tahoe Developments as it had the same gray brick exterior (can’t even imagine the wholesale discount on those particular bricks, heh). It appears to be 122 Newton based on cursory Google research. We figured why not see it even though no one was showing it and it was far from done?
Extensive pics after the jump.
On Saturday we checked out a few more places. One of them was for an advertised 2 BR/2BA, 1,000 sq feet condo on 128 Newton aka The New Condos in North Williamsburg via Corcoran that was available June 1st, as follows:
Jaw-dropping, modern, BRAND NEW construction on sought after McCarren Park. Residence features thoughtfully designed open-plan designer kitchens, private balcony, designer bathrooms with deep soaking tub, floor to ceiling windows, hardwood floors, central heat and air conditioning, dishwasher, and washer/dryer hook-ups. Elevator opens directly into the 1000 square foot apartment!
It was listed for $2,950. The address sounded vaguely familiar but I’ve seen sooooo many listings with these features that at this point I think I may be confused. Not surprising since The Developers Group created most if not all of these buildings around McCarren Park- I think they’re referred to as gray zombies on blogs. But it had parking, looked sleek and modern and even though we were sure space for a desk could be challenging, given it was slightly larger than the 36 Eckford penthouse, we sallied forth to take a look.
So, post 240 North Henry, we went to see an advertised 2 BR/2 BA 1,200 square feet condo loft at 82 Guernsey Street, advertised for $3,200/month. I had seen this apartment listed back in January for $3,400/,month, so it seems that 2 BRs/2 BAs around $3,500 are moving verrrrrrrrry slowly, if at all. Now that I know the area much better, I knew I liked the location. It’s close to McCarren park, near the Nassau G station and still a walkable distance from the Bedford L stop. That’s key because 2 trains can sometimes be a real drag, mostly at off hours and the weekends. And, even more importantly four our commute, PS 31 is really close. Awesome.
We were let in to the unit 3B by the departing tenant. It’s a nice, not tall building done up in gray and white. The elevator is one of those that brings you straight into your apartment. We walked into a spacious living area with the high ceilings, modern kitchen and hardwood floors: all of which I would love to get in my next apartment.
Time has flown by! I’ve spent the days busily hunting down listings and trying to find the right space for the family. This move is important because we’ll be putting down roots until middle school. Overall I’ve been excited with Greenpoint because a lot of the listings show gorgeous places. The downside is the lack of 3 bedrooms – every real estate person I’ve talked to has shook their head and pointed to Williamsburg. But while the places like The Jacksonia look beautiful, the zoned schools scores, like PS 132, don’t compare favorably to the Greenpoint elementary schools, PS 31 and PS 34. In addition, the pricing hasn’t dropped off as much as everywhere else, making it seem relatively inflated.
For a bit we considered possibly moving to Park Slope *shudder* and braving the somewhat rabid parents there, but we are going to potentially have to make a 2 bedroom work, which means no office door. I saw the listing for a “2 BR Modern Masterpiece” and I dragged Shane out the same day to view it, even though it had only 1 bathroom. A 2 BR/1 BA duplex for $2,500 seemed like a decent deal, and it was at 240 North Henry – just across the street from 235 North Henry, which we had seen. We had liked the area so off we went.
Last week I told Kristina from Bridge Realty that we were interested in 185 India but was told that someone was interested in actually buying it. Can’t knock that! It’s been on the market since 2007. The realtor, Kristina, is the nicest – she called back to tell me that she was going to check out a place that was potentially better than 185 India. I stressed that the home office was important and that, even though 185 India was strictly a 2 BR we were going to convert the walk-in closet into Shane’s office. She said she’d report back to me on whether or not this place was better.
She called me the next morning saying that this place was much better than 185 India. It was a 2 BR/2 BA duplex with a private roof deck at 182 Huron for $3,000. So off we went.
Seen on Craigslist today: 2 BR in Greenpoint, “Open Offers”. And guess what? It appears to be 184 Eagle Street, the former condo turned hostel.
So our favorite commenter has returned with great news :
Well Citispaces talked the original developers into finishing the building, paying the contractors (the previous company/buyers had yet to pay anyone including citispaces), hiring a new building management company, and honoring our leases. We’re suppose to move in (to finished apts) by April 15 with all of April’s rent free of charge. Keeping our fingers crossed that our apt will be ready. We’ve gotten keys and are being promised lots of things. Remaining hopeful.
Congratulations to you all, and we do wish nothing but the best for you. I still have high hopes for that building, and now that things have been sorted, it looks like a great resolution to a really scary situation. Let us know, and maybe we’ll meet up with you guys for a celebratory cookout on the roof!
So we’ve been getting advice from many places, but we figured we’d try to track it all here. If you’ve read this synopsis, this makes much more sense.
What do you think?
Poll after the jump
[/caption]