building at 2 Fifth Avenue

See the discussion at http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/14254-best-prewar-bldg-in-the-village-best-post-war.

No clue what a "fair price" would be, but it's been sitting forever, so less than the $5M they're now asking. There aren't many that big in the prime Village, so you can see them all. E.g. http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/386753-coop-40-50-east-10th-street-greenwich-village-new-york

You should repost this if Kylewest doesn't weigh in. He is the most knowledgable SE poster on the lower gold coast by far.

KyleWest, calling KyleWest.

Super ugly building, great views if facing south over park. This apt does not have south views. Seems overpriced despite the $2.5m in price cuts.

Lol. Thanks drdrd and scoots, but there are others who also know this niche (30_yrs..?). 2 Fifth is an interesting conglomeration of good and bad. See the link posted about. Location is A-1 and none better. With renovated Wash Sq Pk, this area--a nugget of the central Village--is Manh. living at its best in many people's opinion. And many apts have stellar views of the park or rooftops of the Village, city views, etc. As for layouts, many of the apartments are nicely configured for how we live today or can be made so with minor alterations.

Negatives are clear, though. Building is arguably the ugliest in the central Village. There is nothing whatsoever redeeming about it aesthetically. Many apartments have lousy views. Building is generally kind of dowdy and worn in the public spaces and elevators. Maintenance is relatively high and some amenities you may not want like little gym, children's playroom, library. Facade is getting what looks like major Local Law 11 work and I don't know how that is being paid for--assessment? maint increase? reserves that will have to be replenished? And while some layouts are quite good (granted the ceilings aren't very high -- maybe 8'3"?) many layout are poor with much wasted space, awkwardly configured bedrooms, strange combined units with astronomical maintenance for a not great end product. And finally, there is cost. The cost per sq/ft here is a lot. If you've got a great layout and view you can make an argument that the premium paid is worth it. But for a low floor, utterly average unit, I don't see why paying the premium for this building is worth it.

11 Fifth and 20 East 9th (Brevoort and Brevoort East) are also post-war bldgs of same general style but they at least pull it off a bit more handsomely (at least they aren't AS ugly). And they are stuffy but not dowdy inside.

It's been discussed elsewhere, but my opinion is that for a junior-four layout, other post-war buildings in the immediate vicinity offer better values than the majority of such units at 2 Fifth. $1.25MM for a one bedroom on the third floor above the driveway facing Fifth Avenue is just crazy to me--that was a sale from 2007. As for units the size you are talking about, I don't have as much experience and I'll have to leave others to offer comparables.

"As for units the size you are talking about, I don't have as much experience and I'll have to leave others to offer comparables. "

To my knowledge there are no "natural" units that size at 2 Fifth, so it's got to be some combination, and thus very hard to talk about, especially since it sounds like a very odd layout just from the description above with non-windowed "rooms". I'm assuming the OP is referring to 11A. I don't remember, but this apartment might have been featured in a NYTimes article about a decade ago? I know a similar one in 2 Fifth was.

KW: ceiling height varies a lot by floor in 2 Fifth: some floors are only 8'-ish, but some are closer to 10'ish