Chelsea Mercantile vs Stratus

Bush strategist Ken Mehlman lives at Chelsea Mercantile

Everyone wants a view. You can work around a clumsy layout, even if you have to do/buy things you normally wouldn't. But the lack of view has deterred lots of my buyers from the Chelsea Mercantile.

Thanks Seacrest

The republican must like the low property taxes. Stratus is just low temporarily by abatement.

Chelsea Mercantile- REALLY LOW COMMON CHARGES and one of the best run buildings in the city

I tend to hear the 'best run building' thing a lot, any solid examples?

Also, anyone wants to compare on build quality and location?

alphataru,
I live there! if i have any issue whatsoever the handymen (and very competent at that) come in within the hour- And it's a HUGE building with a lot of units! I had to live in my old loft (prior of moving here) with a broken window for almost 2 weeks!- Many celebrities live here- They could live anywhere! A fashion designer recently has sold his penthouse to upgrade to a bigger unit and still bought in the building- Location? I live here because i believe it to be a safe spot- Would rather live more west, but i feel very fortunate not to have bought in the Heywood- remember seeing a believe the 2nd floor of the D line and now i would have no view at all! I also liked Loft 25 but didn't like the high common charges and facing the project- The Mercantile is to me a solid investment

Thanks for the info, seven.

Could you care to comment about the immediate neighborhood? I took a quick look down 7av between 23rd and 26th, doesn't seems like there's much going on, do you find the location convenient? Are there enough good restaurants within walkable distance? Anything lacking in the area?

I'm pretty interested in the building, probably going to wait until higher flood units become available before I take the plunge though.

Really appreciate your feedback :D

One more thing, does the building support outside venting kitchen hood, or is it recycled air?

Good question..I really don't know..But Bobby Fly lives in the building and you know he must cook!
PLENTY of good restaurants in the immediate area, especially south on Seventh, Il Bastardo, Le Zie, Elmo, etc. I cannot think of anything the area is lacking of The only thing i wish that it was a little less busy, especially during the day time hours-

Another good thing about the Mercantile Very- good reserve- The hallways are in the process of being renovated, a 2 million dollar project and we had no assessment whatsoever- Still plenty of money in the reserve- Hope this helps!

"Stratus is newer, more unreasonable layout, and has a great view. "

Actually, I think mercantile has much more wacky layout. First of all, multiple banks of elevators. Some way back hidden. Its a maze to get to some apartments from the front lobby. Then, some of the apartments are cut weird because of the multi-building thing. I've been in some strange ones.

Stratus seems to be more cookie-cutter. Not saying thats great, but the apartments seem to be more standard, less wasted room.

otherwise, i think the descriptions are basically right. mercantile is more "solid" as an older building, but its a conversion and suffers from the fate many superlarge floor plate conversions have.

Take any comments with a grain of salt coming from someone who calls Il Bastardo/Elmo good restaurants..the good restaurants are either further west ie Cookshop or further east ie 11 Madison

I was thinking the same thing.. Elmo?

The views at Stratus are great, but everything else is inferior to Mercantile. The low carrying costs at Mercantile cannot be beat.

Ha, I missed that but totally true. Elmo! Anyone checked out Eatly yet? I agree, you either want to be east or west, not on 7th.

I don't think you can say "everything else is inferior to Mercantile". The layouts, for one, as I noted above. Also, balconies at the stratus on a lot of apartments. And the windows are bigger, if you like that sort of thing.

And the amenities. Stratus has a basketball court, I love that. Tough to compete with the new buildings on that.

dont forget limelight shops, as well as a number of good restaurants in upper teens and 20's between 5th and 6th. oh and trader joes. so overall we are very pleased with what has happened in the 'hood in the last few years. and i am obsessed with eataly.

elmo is not a bad place. i am a big fan of their fish tacos. not every restaurant can be 5 stars.

Le Zie is a great italian restaurant. very underrated. so is le singt verde.

limelight was good in concept, bad in execution and will most likely be closed this time next year. Elmo is a just a plain hot mess...losing B&N for TJ's is not my view of improvement, Gracious Home is closing, area is now full of Holiday Inn Express's and Hilton Garden Inn's, Onyx is a failure with empty retail for 2+ years...it can be said it is better than year's ago, but hardly great...just walk down the sidestreets b/t 7th/8th b/t 23rd and 30th and you will see

"dont forget limelight shops, as well as a number of good restaurants in upper teens and 20's between 5th and 6th. oh and trader joes. so overall we are very pleased with what has happened in the 'hood in the last few years. and i am obsessed with eataly."

Don't forget the giant homeless shelter down the block.

I agree that limelight just isn't that good. I can't see how that thing stays.

I've lived in Chelsea, and I work for a Chelsea-based brokerage, and I'd say price point is a question here.

The penthouses at the Mercantile do so have views, and at the higher price points I don't think there's anything better in Chelsea. The Mercantile is indeed very well run, and you have access to some pretty great amenities -- I like the fact that you can access the garage from inside the building.

For a standard one-BR, though, you're stuck with the Mercantile's lack of views -- and I'm surprised no one has pointed this out -- outdated kitchens. For a million, you might do better in the Stratus, or in another new condo building like the Onyx (though that's stretching the boundaries of Chelsea).

So if OP can give a price range that will help. Also -- I'm assuming we're focusing on condos? Because Chelsea Gardens and London Terrace are two of the best buildings in Chelsea, but they're co-ops.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

unfortunately B&N could not survive in most places. look at its UWS location. and trader joes is a great addition. Onyx is on 28th and 8th. that area is completely different from where the stratus and mercantile are located. look at all the new development on 22nd, 21st. they have become pleasant blocks. Gracious Homes is way overpriced. i am glad its gone. maybe something better will open in its place.
26th street has Ainsworth, Black Door, and my favorite Tillmans. so not bad. 25th street has Blue Dog. a great little cafe.
I moved into the area 5 years ago, and most of these places were not around back then. The area has gotten a lot better.

the homeless shelter is not yet a done deal. and if it does open, so be it. its not the only one in the city. other areas have managed.

and whatever your thoughts about limelight, it is still better than having an empty space. 17th street between 5th and 6th has some really good restaurants. Rye, Basta Pasta, Aldea, BLT Shack/Fish. ABC Kitchen is not too far away. Bouqeria is on 19th. Lots of great restaurants on 9th avenue as well.

yea, i am happy with the 'hood.

"and whatever your thoughts about limelight, it is still better than having an empty space."

Sorry, it's not.

I'd prefer empty space over a mall that's attracting a very undesirable clientele.

what undesirable clientele? i go there every few days and the crowd seems pretty normal to me. i love the gelato there.

and it has a lot more character than what normally opens in other areas (a bank or a duane reade).

"what undesirable clientele?"

Overprivileged, overentitled rich (or rich wannabe) stick-up-the-ass white women. Many of them pushing strollers.

The entire neighborhood needs fumigated.

oh you're one of those who prefers the days of old, with crack whores on every corner. its not like this area had a lot of positive character 10 years ago.

i like the idea of strollers. that means the area is becoming a neighborhood. and some of these moms are HOT!!

The only thing "hot" about these moms are their HUSBANDS, most of whom are latent homosexuals anyway (why else would they move to Chelsea??).

ok, well that just dumb. atleast now i know with whom i am having this discussion. i am going to end it right here.

> 26th street has Ainsworth, Black Door, and my favorite Tillmans. so not bad.

Don't forget hill country, hog pit, la pomme, gstaad right on the other side of the street.

"Overprivileged, overentitled rich (or rich wannabe) stick-up-the-ass white women. Many of them pushing strollers."

Yeah, damn mothers. Who needs them anyway?

BTW, there are really not a lot of strollers in the neighborhood, relatively speaking. Seems like its a huge pocket for singles, especially the new buildings on the older flower district lots (including stratus)... i think all the others are rentals.

"Rye, Basta Pasta, Aldea, BLT Shack/Fish. ABC Kitchen is not too far away. Bouqeria is on 19th. "

Yeah, I like those too, but I consider 23rd the dividing line between the sections. Of course, olive garden and outback in the same building! ;-)

By the way, any residents want to comment on the difference between N and S towers? Which is the better tower, and are apartments in the south very far from the elevators?