Ageloff Building in East Village

The sister Ageloff at 172 east 4th always seemed to be a little better maintained to me, but I haven't been in either in quite a while. be wary of square footage claims as in both these buildings historically SF has been even more grossly exaggerated than the usual broker mark-up. And there are a number of units with Pullman kitchens in both buildings (I think; i know in 172 e 4th).

11I - a not too big 1 BR sold for $715,500.00 8/28/2008.

I think this is EXACTLY the type of building which is ripe for a plummet in a down market.

8D went for $580,500.00 8/17/2004

AboutReady found out that that apartment is currently owned by a member of the Strokes. I think it 2-br is priced well for current market. I'd be seriously considering an offer if my personal balance sheet was in better shape. The bathroom situation is weird, though.

REO, why do you think this particular building would tank in a down market?

REO - thanks. What's a pullman kitchen? Also, it looks like some of the D line are 1BRs while others are 2BRs making the comp tricky. Why do you think this building would be more vulnerable? Price wars among a large inventory?
EVNYC - yeah I just googled and saw the Strokes thing. Actually he had it on the market for $1.2MM in August 2008 and it went into contract!! It vanished for a while and now is is back... I am just wondering how much $$ one would need to invest to lose the weird day glo color vibe.

It's not in a really pleasant part of the EV - I mean stand on the corner and look around; it's not "charming" at all right there. Plus the lower Avenue A area has been a real hotbed of neighborhood activism from being over-run with out of control late night bar activity. but also, based on history - the last time the market crapped out these REALLY crapped out, and I'm a big believer in history repeating itself. But also look at the building: yes, it's a prewar "doorman" (hahaha) apartment building, but if you put it on West End Avenue everyone would complain that it was the armpit of the neighborhood. What you also have is that the discount for living there is not commensurate with what it 'should be' for being in it's rather tawdry location. What often happens is that on the way up, there is a compression of price differentials between good and "not as good" neighborhoods. As such, you don't get enough of a discount as you "should" for the location differential. On the way down, the opposite happens: they is often a "flight to quality", where the gap goes from being too small to too large.

Also, I think the acceptance of Coop Village (Grand Street) has eroded the uniqueness that Ageloff Towers, which at one point was "well, if you want to live in a real apartment building down here, you have one choice: Ageloff". Now, there's thousands of people with fairly similar units not that far away in an area which has gained in it's acceptance vis-a-vis Avenue A and 3rd St, and they all paid 8,000 for their 2 BRs which mean that even if the market TOTALLY tanks they can dump their units at a HUGE windfall profit.

A Pullman kitchen is a kitchen which is sort of a "closet kitchen" not in a separate room, but as part of one wall of a room or foyer.

http://www.luxist.com/2009/05/19/strokes-guitarist-puts-his-nyc-apartment-back-on-the-market/

Did anyone go to this Open House tonight?

Damn! That's a beautifully-decorated apartment! I generally hate all-white, but the accents are amazing.

I dig this listing especially the kitchen. I think it's price pretty well priced. I would take it as is with furniture and all. Whoever decorated that place did a great job. Not to mention the lemon pasta from Supper around the corner.

Do you think it's worth 900K? 850? 800?

I didn't realize Halstead also had the listing (Corcoran has had the listing).
It did go into contract last year but the buyer lost her job and backed out (that's what the broker told me back in Jan).

I've sold in this 3rd Street building before -- maybe as a result I like it better than 30 Years does. Ageloff Towers is a pair of beautifully detailed prewar buildings, more like London Terrace than most of Co-op Village -- if I remember rightly, the one-quarter of Co-op Village that is a pretty 1930s building is a HIKE from the subway.

However, I still don't think the 3rd Street building has gotten around to having a common roof deck, which I think the sister building on 4th Street does.

You certainly are in the land of bars and restaurants, which is not for everyone. And I too don't understand that bathroom situation, since there's no way this apartment as originally built would have had that many baths.

Anyone who wants something smaller, check out our listing on 4th Street, also prewar: http://www.99east4.com/

Yes, the owner there is flexible on price.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

I agree with 30yrs_RE_20_in_REO. As far as location goes I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for a couple looking to raise a family. Otherwise if you don't mind an area with lots of bars and people partying on the weekends the apt looks good.

I lived in the area in my early 20's and loved it. Now that I'm 10 years older, I prefer a quieter area.

Where are the subways in this location??

Subway access not bad. You have the E & F trains on Houston and 2nd Ave, the # 6 train on Bleeker and Lafayette or Astor Place, and the R&W trains at 8th Street and Broadway.

I actually really like the building's location, A and 3rd is one of these areas that feels very 'neighborhoody' to me, with lots of nice little restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and this is one of the only, if not the only deco building in the EV.

Amenities are nice (deck, bike storage, beautiful lobby, no real doorman, but a 24-hour elevator operator, who takes packages...), maintenance is pretty low and includes electricity.

On the downside, there are a few projects all around and the school in the back of the building can get pretty noisy, also some of the lines looking out to the back of the building are very dark.

The building trades very high as compared to its neighbors (esp the 172 east 4th side). 899k for this place is a decent deal, altho the current configuration is not exactly optimum (see floorplan here:
http://img.streeteasy.com/nyc/image/16/2956516.png)

I don't know if it has a whole lot more to go down before somebody bites.

NYCDreamer, there's no E train at the 2nd Ave stop, it's the F & V. Closest access to the 8th Ave lines is a tranfer at W 4th. The 8th St and Astor Place stations are a hike from Ageloff for a daily commute, but the 1st Ave entrance of the 2nd Ave station is pretty close.