Converting Loft | 2 Bedroom

hey there- check your buildings regulations and alt agreement- I'm an arch in the city and have a great interior GC that does amazing work-
let me know and we can touch base
best

You do need an architect. Will each future bedroom have windows?

the office has three large widows (47"wide) equally spaced

That sounds doable. One bedroom will be narrow though since there is one window in the middle. Long and narrow room is not ideal layout but I do believe it will increase value for the apartment. Just one more thing, windows to be considered as source of light and air need to be 30 feet away from the lot line or facing the street.

I disagree that adding these bedrooms will add value to this apartment, because the bedrooms would be too small for the higher end buyer (I mean $2 mill to $5 mill) and you destroy the reason people seek out lofts in the first place. Some of us adore lofts, and we're willing to pay extra for them.

If you're really sure you're selling within 10 years, and want to maximize ROI, my humble advice is to build walls that are relatively easy to remove, so when you go to sell, you can show the original floorplan and your new floorplan, with an estimate for restoration of the original. You see a lot of ads out there now like that.

In fact I would use temporary walls if you know you'll need to sell in a couple of years. They make great ones now, and you'd save a bundle by not hiring the otherwise essential architect.

I would also definitely skip the built in cabinets too--unless custom built by a real and skilled carpenter. Instead buy huge big furniture, you can get it for good prices at places like FIND, or Reclamation, or a bunch of other places in Brooklyn. When it comes time to sell, you can sell that stuff too.

I have seen so many dated, poorly conceived, ugly built ins, and tastes change fast; and your taste is unlikely to match that of future buyers.

It's always a little unfortunate when people who really needed something else end up buying a loft and can't live a loft lifestyle, to me there are never enough lofts (with elevators!).

I understand we all want to save money by using temporary walls or pressurized walls. Just want to offer another point of view, see point 4 in the link: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/renter_tips.pdf
You building board can stop you from doing that without permit. Of course most people won't get caught. Just saying the risk is there.

I am finding more and more people are needing permits to knock down or build new walls

22 inside width is plenty for two bedrooms. 11.5 for master and 10 foot for second. Virtually all lofts on a 25 foot lot have it. It will certainly be value added. Just have nice closets and bathrooms.

thank you for all these comments. can someone provide a rough estimate of a cost for this?