building at 345 East 56th Street

That unit looks good but I think I'd be excited about the units with the terraces; we're all different. I don't know anything one way or another about the building. I LOVE the area!

1st ave can get noisey around the bridge. Make sure you face west.

Does the noise factor diminish as you get higher in the building? For example, if you have a terrace on the eighteenth floor overlooking First is it still terribly noisy?

I am the original poster. The discussion seems to be changing. My intent was to point out the sq. ft price is around $700 and the maintenance is I think average. Isn't $700/sf these days low? Was wondering if there was some "dark secret" about this building.

Things seem cheap in the building...still no info?

19e is 799k for a conv 3.. Why so cheap?

Perhaps personal circumstances are forcing a "priced to sell" strategy to generate a lot of traffic or the lower price is to make up for the $2K monthly maintenance.

Althea Ffrench
Salesperson, Triumph Property Group

er - looks as if this apartment needs full renovation. Also, bedrooms are on the small side. Not every apartment in Manhattan sells for $1,000/ft.

full renovation or not.....you can get a conv. 3bed for under 1mil....with a 2k maint....if so please send me a linnk...thanks

19E is in contract. Listed as 1300 sqft but from floor plan really closer to 1150-1200 sqft, bedrooms are small. Seems to be unrenovated. Still an attractive price in a very convenient and stable neighborhood.

I have researched this building in great detail. My advice would be to STAY AWAY. The Board of this building is terrible, they deny or make unreasonable requests of applicatants. This is why the apartments sell at such a cheap price. (owners have to keep lowering them) The Board thinks this is a Park Avenue or Sutton Place building, when in reality it is simply a 1950's/60's white brick building that is just average, if not slighly below average. The Board is doing a disservice to the buildings current owners. My attorney actually told me to back out of the deal I was in after the Board made an unreasonable reqest. He said I would regret living in this building when I go to try and sell my unit eventually. Until the Board is overhaled in this building stay clear of it. I am just trying to be helpful, but I you don't believe me just do some reseach and you'll see for yourself. Also, the store in front has been vacant for almost a year, not sure how that is affecting the finances of the building. Just to be clear, the opinions expressed here are mine and they are just opinions.

Good luck in your searches

bscny, what was the unreasonable request made to you by the Board?

I have lived in this building for almost 9 years - a very well run building, and exceptionally well maintained. The board is conservative, but reasonable, and the staff is excellent.

The corner can be noisy sometimes - so, units facing east are noisy around dinnertime/evening rush hour. Neighborhood is excellent, if a bit dull, but it is very centrally location, so you can get anywhere from here. LGA in a cab is about $20.00 and you can be there in 20 minutes early in the AM.

Maintenance has been creeping up, based on property taxes, the price of energy and union salaries, but the reserve is healthy, and there are no "dark secrets." Also, don't forget, central air is included in the maintenance, so there is no big electric bill in the summer - you stay nice and cool for no additional money.

Laundry room is pretty new, the roof deck is almost completed, and hallways were redecorated about 2 years ago. Units with terraces are few, but the terraces are very nice - I know, because I have one. Good sunlight, plus electric outlets and a water facuet on the terrace make it into an extra room in the nice weather.

I am not sure what the issue was with bscnyc, and I don't want to know. For others considering the building, it has been and continues to be an excellent place to live. Hope to run into you in the elevator some day soon!

(DISCLAIMER - I don't sell real estate or any other related services.)

I could not disagree more with your comments Lanzz, although as you are a owner I understand your desire to try to redeem the building, however any prospective buyer will surely see for themselves when they go visit the building that it is certainly not up to par with other area buildings. It's interesting that you said the hallways were redecorated... if you call that a redecoration, I would hate to see what the laundry rooms looks like. Additionally, the CHEAP prices in this building speak for themselves. As for the Board, they are the main reason why the apartments are not selling at competitive prices because of their ridiculous demands. (I was asked to put an additional 5 years of maintenence in escrow, which I walked away from) The person who was most hurt was the person I was buiying the apartment from who then had to find a new buyer at an even lower sales price. If I were you, I would demand to speak with the Board becasue they are negatively affecting the value of YOUR investment. Additionally, I am a extremely well qualified canditate, and was happily accepted by another building's board in Sutton Place and the building is by far superior to 345 East 56th Street. I will again urge any prospective buyers in this building to do their OWN research and think real hard before making any offers at this building. Again these are my opinions and my experiences.

I don't care for Sutton, the area is deserted at night.

bscnyc: "I have researched this building in great detail....... Also, the store in front has been vacant for almost a year, not sure how that is affecting the finances of the building."

I guess you didn't do enough "research" to know the stores aren't owned by the co-op therefore the fact that the store is vacant has no effect on the finances of the co-op. That seems like basic research for a buyer; so the rest of your research is suspect.

"I was asked to put an additional 5 years of maintenence in escrow. Additionally, I am a extremely well qualified candidate"

If "extremely well qualified candidates" are being asked for 5 years maintenance, no apartments would sell. Currently only 7 apartments are for sale and 2 of those are in contract.

needsadvice: "I don't care for Sutton, the area is deserted at night."

One man's medicine is anothers poision. For me the neighborhood is great, tons of convenient shopping, access to the 59th St bridge in 2 minutes, walking distance to the theater district and virtually all of midtown. There's a reason the Sutton Place area has always been in demand and continues to be.

P.S. Check out 2nd Avenue in the 50's on a Friday or Saturday night, I wouldn't call that deserted.

RealEstateNY - Perhaps you should do some reseach like read the "OM" offering memo in case you don't know what that stands for... The space is owned by the co-op and leased to the store operators, Blockbuster, etc. Additionaly, even if the space was sold by the co-op the owner would still have to pay maintenance to the building. Hence if the owner is in financial trouble they may not be able to pay their bills. Don't question my research RealEstateNY as you'll just embarrass yourself.

RealEstateNY - for you to say "the fact that the store is vacant has no effect on the finances of the co-op" is the most ridiculous remark I've heard in a while. It's thinking like that which created the real estate bubble.

Actually apartments are slowing selling at deep discounts comparative to the area, because this building is troubled. I would not invest in this buidling.

Seems like you are just a typical real estate agent trying to make a buck.

On another note, buyers should also make sure to find a trustworthy broker and make sure you always watch out for your own interests, as you can see there are for too many brokers out there that don't have their client's best interests in mind.

bscnyc: This building is a Cond-OP, all retail space is owned by D'Agostino who pay's their share of the maintenance. The vacant store has absolutely no effect on the finances of the co-op. Go back and do some more research. LOL!

It's a cond-op. The condo consists of these four units, with their share of the CCs:

..3.0% Garage
..5.8% Supermarket space
..2.2% Bank space
89.0% Residential co-op

The co-op pays its share of the CCs from the maintenance collected from its shareholders.

If an owner of any of the four units isn't paying its CCs, then the condo has to slap a lien on them, and the other unit owners have to cover the arrearage in the meantime, just like any condo.

bscnyc: "simply a 1950's/60's white brick building"

You couldn't even get the color of the building right, how sad. Is that an example of your in-depth research??

Stop responding you're making a fool of yourself. LOL.

Garage is owned by the Co-op, all retail space is owned by D'agostino's. As I said and NWT agreed, it's a cond-op.

I suppose if you enjoy the smell of bengay and D'Agostino rotisserie chicken wafting through your south-facing windows and like tacky hall decor and an even worse lobby then this is the building for you!

hghDDD: Everything is a trade-off unless you have an unlimited budget.

Large 2 bedrooms/2 baths with dining alcoves that many convert to an office or nursery and 30 ft living rooms for under $1 million, with doorman and one block off Sutton Place are a deal in this market.

You'd be surprised how convenient D'Agostino's can be on a cold and snowy Winter's day.

Didn't understand the bengay comment?

Roofdeck is opening up this Summer.

We have lived in this building for 2 years now. We have rented in this neighborhood for many years and were so happy to find our apt. We were able to get a good deal on a 2br which we converted into 3 bedroom. The apartments are extremely oversized. Frequently when people come over for the first time, they always comment on how spacious the apartment is. Initially, we also had our reservations about the price per square footage being less than " average" . Our real estate attorney researched the building thoroughly and found it to have solid financials. As previously mentioned , the store space is NOT owned by the co-op ,as this was also a concern for us. As for the board, We were forewarned about them being a bit strict, however, this purchase went very smoothly and we experienced no trouble with the board and did not feel like they were overly cautious or selective. I mean it is a co-op after all and they have to be somewhat selective in order to avoid having drug dealers or female or male escorts as neighbors., don't ya think?

I looked at this building recently, apartments are VERY cheap, but I can see why. The building is not very attractive and after reading an excerpt from the financials it does not appear to be in the best financial health. The store on the first floor has been empty for literally years now. Also with the Whole Foods coming soon, the food store will probably go out of business too. This building looks very cheap from the outside and the hallways are ugly. The layouts of the apartments are nice though no views. Very loud as well.

As other have pointed out above, the vacancy of a retail space in a cond-op ownership structure is unlikely to impact the financials of the residental co-op. Even if the space is never let (unlikely) and all lien attempts are fruitless, the absorption of common charges by the other tenants in the condo is probably pretty insignificant.

$600 Psf seems to be the value of coops in ME, so seems kind of rich to me

Wait for a building in poor finacial condition, less.

Oh shoot, forgot about the whole foods, now I'm confused

Hi Brooks, mid afternoon slump?

ba294
about 3 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse I think the fair price for far east Midtown should be $600psf in this given market. Anything over that for a crummy old coop without W/D is crazy. On the otherhand, I'd gladly pay $1500psf for prime UW & UES condos with some amentities.

York and 1st? same shit.

$600 psf is a rather odd blanket statement, in my view, even if we're talking about the decidedly unglamorous Sutton area. To each his own.

I must say, whoever is doing the research on the first floor property needs to know that the the empty store space as well as D'agastino's are owned by D'agastinos and NOT the building. Please be confident in your research before you post garbage on the discussion thread.

And for the record, the Board did not request 5 yrs in escrow. Maybe the person who posted that had poor credit and the board was taking appropriate precautions

I'm pretty confident this place is a dump

The store had been leased to TD Bank which will open this Spring. Roof deck opened last year.

As to Sandy, eventhough Sutton Place is right on the water, no flooding, no damage and never lost power. It pays to live in established areas.

"I'm pretty confident this place is a dump"

Hey Frack, it has to be better than that neighborhood you live in, up in the Bronx. LOL!!!!!!

Oh sh!t you live in that dump. Sorry

"you live in that dump"

Who said that??

My advice would be stay clear of this building. There are many better options out there in the same area. Lots of old stuffy people and looks rather old/run down inside and out. The cheap prices can be tempting, but they are cheap for a reason. Folks, it doesn't get anymore clear than this - you get what you pay for...
Just remember when you go to sell, it will always sell below market as well. Also, someone else mentioned food store downstairs, I also did hear a rumble that they might be closing soon as well given the new Whole Foods around the corner.

bscnyc: Are you still making a fool of yourself when you didn't even know it was a cond-op and didn't even know the color of the building. By the way TD Bank is opening in the old Blockbuster space in the Spring and if your "rumble" is correct, which I doubt, D'agostino is the owner of the store and will either sell it or rent it out.

OMG, you are a little unbalanced "RealEstateNY." I understand you are a broker in the building, but give it a rest. I am just giving advice to others who may be looking. That's great that you say a bank is moving into the empty space. After over 2 years of being emtpy, I thinks it's about time. I'll believe it when I see it though. And I'm not sure to your reference that I don't even know the color of the building. What color is it then??????? Clearly it's what is commonly called a white brick building. There were many of them built during the 1960's, (mostly for working class families) As someone in the industry you should know that. I don't even work in the R.E. industry, but I'm sure I know more than you. Try again "RealEstateNY"

When it was popular, white and light-colored brick was more expensive than red or brown.

If you have an example of low-income housing in white brick, please tell us where.

bsc: Sooo Sad. LOL!!!!!!

Original owners of some of those white brick buildings in the East 50's were the Helmsley's.
Mafia contractors and sub-par work was allowed.

When the ventilation system in my former condo apt in that neighborhood was finally repaired (due to DOB inspectors orders):
They discovered that there was no duct attached to my bathroom vent. At all. Never was installed originally.

Truth - that would've made a great scene in "The Queen of Mean":

HH: "Lee, it's imperative that the ducts be attached to the vents! Yes, yes, I know we're over budget, but don't worry - you can still expense your bras from Lamston's!"

LH: "Oh Harry, don't be ridiculous. Only the little people need bathroom ventilation."

NWT, you are right! Never seen any buildings in "The Projects" made with white brick. Still standing by my statement that this is an overall great building. We lived in a Glenwood building next door for many years and I must say , I don't see a difference in the type of people in either building. As for the comment about a bunch of "old farts living in the building" , I think that is true for every building in NYC. Curious what the BS in bsnyc's name stands for, oh, yes its self explanatory.

walpurgis:
LOL!!!

White brick actually was considered for the projects back in the 60's, but fierce local opposition quashed it before it could even commence.

it was felt that use of that particular hue was downright discriminatory, sending the wrong message when so many bricks of color were readilly available.

Again, the building wasn't erected as low-income or working-class housing. Back then, just like now, anything with a doorman was called "luxury." This one ranked slightly above middling among the hundreds of postwar buildings along the avenues. The two markers nudging it above the average are the 13'-wide living rooms and the wall ovens.

White brick was just a style. As the NYT article says, the issue today is not the color but whether the brick was glazed.

I don't know the building's finances or why they'd want five years of maintenance in escrow from you. Since you've got the financials, why not give us some numbers and say what your lawyer thought was deficient? That'd be more useful than descending to complaints that the shareholders are too old for you.

bsc:

"you still want to insist that the building is not white brick?"

Are you color blind?? Check out the Picture on Easystreet, does that look WHITE? LOL!!

"Shall I let the board at 245 E 54th in on your little game?"

You must be delusional, do you think you personally know everyone on this board?? LOL!

"a family there was trying to sell to move to the suburbs and it took them almost 2 years to get a deal done at a very unattractive price to the seller."

Appropriately priced apartments sell quickly in this building and all others.

"I was asked to put an additional 5 years of maintenence in escrow"

If the board requested 5 years maintenance from you, you must have a horrible credit rating. You're lucky they even considered you.

As I said before, if 5 years maintenance was required, no apartment would sell. Note that there are only 3 apartments for sale out of 140, not a bad ratio.

Just an update, latest asking prices are around $1,000 psft based on the REAL square footage, prices have come a long way in 2 years.

One or two units on the market now with nice big outdoor space - not a bad time to look at the building.

I looked at 20E when it was on the market 18 or so months ago. There's a reason there are no interior shots: it needs a complete renovation -- prior tenant appeared to have been there since the building was built. Other than that, it's a nice layout. Wasn't wild about the step up to the terrace, which, because it was above floor level meant the railing blocked a bit of view when you were sitting in the living room. Glad to see it's in contract, and hope somebody will fix it back up. Overall I liked the building, and the unit was on my short list of possible places.

Update: D'agostino's finally moved out but still owns the space, Morton Williams supermarket moved last month. TD Bank moved into the old Blockbuster space a couple of years ago.