John Murray House - 220 Madison, opinions?

Have seen apartments in that building- apartments are not great, but it is "prewar", though not grand prewar. Lobby looks a little dated, as do the hallways.

If the apartment faces Madison, on the plus side a high floor will have a nice view of, and over, the Morgan Libray. On the minus side, traffic, especially bus noise, can be loud. May not be important to you, but supermarkets are fairly far away. OTOH - restaurants are within easy distance (loud after work bars are lining 36th street)

Sellers seem to price high, initially, then respond somewhat to market reality. Check the comps to get a feel.

area is great ...very convenient and quiet on weekend......there is a large 1 bedroom on the 2nd floor that i saw but it had NO light and access to a roof.....so you couldnt leave windowns open..but great price./

I used to own in the building on the 15th floor and, even up there (and in the back), it was incredibly noisy.
Other cons: You have to go over to Third Ave for just about everything, the Super is useless (considers himself a retired "gentleman" above doing work), and the other shareholders have a very WASPy/cold demeanor.
The pros: The roofdeck is lovely and rarely used, the views (especially in the back/South can be incredible), the building is very-well maintained and clean, and the building, because of when it was built, has a lot of the best features of prewar AND postwar buildings (plaster construction and real hardwood floors -- rather than sheetrock and roll-out faux-wood -- but huge closets, large bathrooms, and good floorplans).

I looked there also at the PH which needs a LOT of updating (large wrap around terrace is too narrow to do much with but offers nice views.) We already live nearby and are not too crazy about the 'hood to be honest. As others have mentioned, no easy food shopping (we use Fresh Direct which requires planning ahead.) There are restaurants in the area but nothing too exciting. It's not a very interesting area and you have to walk to get to any parks (Bryant Park is the closest) or other activities.

We do have friends there and they are very happy (it's a pied a terre for them.) They said they board was very friendly - I would be too if any cash buyers came my way these days!

lo888 -which penthouse did you look at? There are two on the market now, and I was curious about the smaller one.

Hi, thanks for all your comments. The apt i am looking at needs updating, and is on a high floor (not listed here), curious if anyone has a rough idea on what would be a good deal $/sqft? Am definetley interested in paying for significant upgrade, but am worried that if the building is not desireable, may not make too much sense on resale....

Have yet to check out the noise factor, that will be next...

any advice on pricing in this building per sqft? Thanks!