The Riverhouse

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/939-thoughts-on-the-riverhouse-in-bpc?page=1

what kind of deal did you get? I'm also interested in the Riverhouse...

Thanks, NWT. I saw that thread before I posted my question. It appears that none of the commenters own at the Riverhouse or, if they do, they stopped posting a year or so ago when they moved in.

I am an owner of multiple units that we are combining there. Very pleased with the interaction with the building on punchlist items, etc. They have moved to resolve the construction issues (which weren't bad to begin with) in an efficient manner. Of course there are some small things that I would have designed differently, but the common spaces have come together reasonably well for what they are.

I live in Solaire currently while we go through our integration of the units, and think the area is great and when I go check on our unit in RH, front desk staff are excellent (as they are at Solaire).

RH lawyers were a bit fussy about their procedures, but we got into a good dialogue with the selling company and the seller's in-house lawyers on a few items before closing, and had limited issues going into the close.

What else can I tell you? Happy to email as well, but my answers wouldn't be any different.

I also have been posting on the main thread so you can see comments there - I think you will find I have been evenhanded and have expressed what they could have done better as well as what I liked.

Lorenzo, what was the draw to this particular building? Why not visionaire?

We thought a lot about the two side by side - and my wife and I both were working at a place that Visionaire would have been a better commute (obviously marginal but the difference between walking and taxi). (Since then, that has changed and we by and large prefer the transportation acccess of the RH).

For us, the strengths of the RH were: 1 - we got a terrace unit, which Visionaire doesn't offer, but I am not sure how many of those remain; 2 - we BY FAR preferred the northern BPC location - we go to whole foods all the time for shopping and like to walk into Tribeca - also the playgrounds for our son are a lot better on north BPC - once again, its not like they are miles apart, but for every day life, we just didn't like south BPC nearly as much; 3 - we are completely off the west side highway and unobstructed views to the river - its very quiet and very few cars; 4 - apartment layouts worked better for us

To be evenhanded, what we liked at Visionaire was: 1 - common spaces seem to be more thoughtful - they weren't built out when we were looking and I keep wanting to tour them at Visionaire (although its not like I can do anything about it), but the pool table bridge at RH seems silly to me, the gym is really pretty at RH but not the best layout, and I haven't compared the pools, but the RH pool is not all that functional for real swimmers I suppose (which I am not so once again don't care - it will be a good splash pool for our son), and the Visionaire terrace seems nice, but I haven't seen it live and its moot with our terrace. I like the Solaire and the Visionaire is I think the same group of buildings, so that was comforting, although the RH has done a really nice job with the management team there too.

In the end, the main issues for us were the north BPC location was dominant; the layout/terrace was not available in Visionaire; and any differences in common elements (which again I am not sure about) ended up a lot less important.

Now that we are starting the integration of our units, I have been very happy with RH. We are also going through a mortgage refi, and I feel great about the financial condition of RH vs Visionaire. I am not totally sure what is happening at Visionaire, but with the head start RH got, and what I understand is the construction loan out the way and through the major mortgage lender milestones of apartments sold/closed, that I haven't had a lender issue with RH on either the first mortgage or our refi.

Its also been nice meeting unit owners, a few with kids, because we all end up at the parks in front of the building.

Long winded message but we spent a lot of time on the decision and I know its a tough one (we also looked at 101 Warren but couldn't get anywhere near trading Hudson for West Side Highway). Happy to post more if helpful.

lorenzo -- thank you so much. exactly the type of info i was looking for. if i might ask, what sort of things were the sellers lawyers "fussy" about?

stlblufan- i looked at RH and ended up in the Visionaire. If you would like my thoughts happy to share

Stlblufan - it may have been somewhat unique to us because of how we were combining the units. We had an evolving punchlist and the lawyers wanted the punchlist process to be followed to the letter of the contract, which would have been fine I suppose but I was more comfortable with a more flexible punchlist process given how our situation was evolving. There were other small things - an instance where we were extending the closing per the contract, but the building didn't have tco in time anyway, so whether it counted as using our contractual extension, things like that - but honestly nothing got contentious at all. You can imagine, as we closed at the height of the stock market plummeting, we were very cautious, and the building's team worked with us every step of the way. There was also one of the Sunshine brokers who was fantastic at coming up with constructive solutions to our concerns (and I know I have said this a few times, but those concerns were really around what we were specifically doing to our units).

Not that you have asked, but happy to put you in touch with our salesperson for the seller (senior in their organization), our lawyer on the contract, or our mortgage and heloc bankers (who were fantastic).

I will add one other comment - there has been a lot of mention about relative valuation of BPC vs elsewhere; impact of PILOT; impact of common charges. We had two appraisals done for our mortgage, did a lot of comparative checks both in Tribeca, the WSH super-condos, and around Central Park, and all of these came out very favorably for RH. The appraisals were the most objective, and while there are aspects of the methodology I would argue with, they were by and large thoughtful about comp sales, and were supportive of the valuation we got at RH (meaning they concluded the proper price/sq ft for the apartment was reasonably higher than what we paid, which was consistent with our comparative checking). Also because of all the noise in the markets, we had two real estate agents come in just before we closed to validate our pricing, and they agreed that our pricing was good. I felt from when we first looked at RH that their pricing + charges was a very compelling proposition for the unsurpassed views & location, so I feel very good about that part of the RH equation.

Lorenzo, thanks again for the insight. The PILOT/cc issue is something that I've been struggling with, especially since I won't have the impressive views it sounds like you have. I'll have a north view into Teardrop, with some river over the west wing. Still, I love the area and the building. I'm in the Verdesian now.

I would much appreciate the names of the salesperson and your bankers. I'm all set on the lawyer. Many thanks.

Midtowngal - I've looked at the Visionaire and am interested in your thoughts on the two. The primary reason I haven't given the Visionaire too much consideration is its location at the south end of BPC. I feel much more "connected" being on the north side of the WFC. Close to the subways, Whole Foods, etc. But -- I'm interested in your thoughts. Thanks!

Will start by saying they are both great buildings so in the end it comes down to personal tastes... will share why i selected the visionaire (and btw my concern was also the location).
It just worked out for me that i was able to get a better layout with an amazing view at a better price, but again depends on what you are looking for. The pool/gym ect at the visionaire is amazing and if you look at the website it looks EXACTLY the same in person. I was amazed how it turned out as i bought before it was finished. I liked the kitchen and bathroom better in the visionaire and it seemed less ....child focused.
Like you i was concerned i would feel disconnected being so far downtown but it is really lovely and gives you a great excuse to walk. I work in NJ so walk to the PATH everyday and it seems to take 3 seconds because it's such a pretty walk. The 1 and the 4/5 are right here so that's great.
Again, i think it just comes down to small personal preferences. Hope this helps, let me know if you would any additional info and best of luck in your new place!!!

The Riverhouse is close to Tribeca, Wholefoods and WFC. The Visionaire is much closer to subways though.The Rector Street stations of both the 1 line and R/W lines are a 3-min walk from the front entrance; the Bowling Green station of 4/5 takes about two more minutes to walk to.

in general, if you're going to buy a view, you want the best view you can buy, so if you're looking at the water I think about how much water you're getting for your $$ rather than thinking about building A vs. building B.

If you're not buying a view unit, I agree that it comes down to taste, but the neighborhoods feel very different to me. RH feels like an extension of Tribeca (competing with 200 Chambers/101 Warren) and Visionaire/South BPC feels more removed and more suburban. Not saying that one is "better" than the other, just different.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

stlblufan - will email you w/in next 24 hours.

on subways, the express red line (2/3) and of course local (1/9) are very close to RH. Express red gets me to times square (work area) in minutes - as fast as taxi door to door generally. When WTC area re-opens, will be a great transport hub. In general, and true for Visionaire, when that site opens (and W Hotel and 4 seasons, assuming they all open), will be great for restaurants etc. Also nice thing about RH, assuming they open, are the two piers just north of BPC, and all the tennis courts, volleyball courts etc that are coming - that should be fantastic and was one of the reasons we invested. Assuming it all happens!

i should add, seeing her comment here, that front_porch (aka ali) was very helpful to me as well and went beyond call of duty as we were choosing what to do on RH.

Anyone know why the taxes at RH are SO much higher than at Visionaire?

Horrible taxes and ground rent....one of the worst in Battery Park City.

I thought that the monthly charges were too high.

I'm trying to get a better understanding of the Common charges and PILOT taxes at RH and I'm wondering the pace at which they will increase over time. Has anyone researched this? And if they do increase at a greater pace than other condos in BPC and elsewhere in Manhattan, how will that impact resale values?

LiamOscar...it's all in the OFFERING PLAN...ask to look at it, or have your attorney read it.

stlblufan, could you close at the riverhouse?

@shah -- yes, I closed

I thought the Riverhouse was a hotel built by Michael J Fox. :)

stlbufan,i would appreciate your thoughs on riverhouse,i just put offer on apartment and also one at millennnium.i live near rv and prefer area,however you get more bang for bucks at millennium.

stlblufan, could you get contingency clause? sorry for asking.