The Azure - 91st Street and First Avenue

wow, i used to live on 91st between 1st and 2nd about ten years ago when i first moved to new york, it is amazing that a website can now call it "in the heart of the upper east side" when back then they didn't even call it the upper east side (i think that stopped at 86th street), they called it yorkville!

i haven't been up back in a while, but i think i remember an abandoned building on 91st and 1st SW corner, is that where azure is??

there's a thread on wirednewyork about this building. it's a joint effort between the city's educational construction fund and DeMatteis. It will contain a middle school. We need middle schools desperately in our city, but I'm not sure I'd like personally to live on top of one.

The city leases the land to the developer at very low rates on the condition that they also build the school. There are a number of problems - the biggest two are that you dont own the land (Azure is a co-op with condo bylaws) and the developers are the lowest bidders for the contract - I wouldn't expect to see Related/Extell/Trump building one of these, at least until the idea takes off. ak8 - you are right - it's nowhere near the heart of the upper east side, the area is pretty shitty. The sales broker said "you'll see we're 30 to 50 percent cheaper than our competition ... like the Lucida or the Brompton". On that basis I dont see why she didnt say they were 80% cheaper than 15 Central Park West. Given that the lease eventually resets to market rates and then expires in 70 years, it's a co-op, it's over a school and it's in the 90's on 2nd ave I'd say it's overpriced. It's about $1,100-$1,150/ sqft on lower floors.

This building has a lot of positives. Gifted & talented middle school entrance is on 92nd St, while Azure entrance is on 91st St. All finishes, including subtleties like HVAC units and flooring, are top of the line -- developer went for quality over gimmicks (e.g. bathroom vanities with actually space on the countertops, high end appliances, dramatic windows, high 9'6"-10' ceilings). Factoring the $500 psf pricing differential versus other new construction (e.g. Brompton with its low 8'6" ceilings & Laurel with its somewhat equivalent location & lesser views on First Ave 12 blocks south, although it does have that cool triathon training pool), Azure is an unbelievable value. Unlike other new construction projects, Azure is not charging for combinations (compare $200K at Laurel), which coupled with the local amenities (Asphalt Green sports club, Ballet Academy East, Champion Tennis Club, 92nd St Y, Diller Quaile & Mary Ann Hall Music Schools, Art Farm, NYC Public Library with Childrens Programs, Carl Schurz Park, Top Public & Private Schools, etc etc) makes this a great building for families whose top priority is space. Additional amenities include Zabar's East (aka Vinegar Factory) a half block away and a wide selection of high quality, ethnically diverse restaurants. From a location standpoint, the draw is living in a neighborhood community that is in advanced stages of gentrification, with a higher slope of appreciation (one could argue) than more established neighborhoods. Population trends and anecdotal evidence would indicate the UES is running out of space, meaning expansion is eastward and northward. Given the new 421A requirements being introduced for all construction that has not laid a foundation by June 08 -- notably the enforced inclusion of mixed income housing on the residential site, rather than in distant boroughs -- this may be one of the last 421A "bargains," especially in this competitive part of the city. Yes, the co-op format requires a bit of understanding for most buyers, but the closing cost math is favorable (approx 4% vs 6% given the avoidance of an onerous 1.925% mortgage recording tax) and the cpsf more than compensates. I would assume the geographic interdependence of the school and the condop would mitigate the city's inclination to raise land lease rates precipitously upon renewal in 26 years. Azure feels like the real estate anomaly in NYC.

SMV = broker !!

SMV = multi-board shill as well. Check SMV's identical comment on Urbandigs:
http://www.urbandigs.com/2008/02/ues_development_update_azure.html

Brokerspeak. I wish I had a digital barfbag.

Sounds like SMV might be having a tough time moving any units ?

SMV = buyer who really thinks this is a great project. Given how much time I've spent looking at real estate, thought the detail would help others.

help out a newbie - why isn't there a mortgage tax?

because its a condo within a coop building, aka condop

"Azure is a co-op with condo bylaws...I wouldn't expect to see Related/Extell/Trump building one of these"

--Hm, and who was developer of One Carnegie Hill - 96 str. bwn 3rd and 2 ave? Wasn’t it Related? It's also co-op with condo rules and also a landlease.
All Battery Park City is a landlease, and what a surprise - people still live there.

The right way to approach it would be:
1. Speak to your real estate attorney about landleases and condops.
Positive side is that your closing cost would be way less then in real property, and you can take advantage of the liberal rental policy.
Negative side is that you would have to pay for that landlease so find out for how long it is and how payments faze in. You can be long gone from that building before landlease resets.

2. Speak to the owners who live at One Carnegie Hill, hear what they have to say.
3. It doesn't matter if it's co-op, condo or condop, as soon as it makes sense to you in terms of financials and where you are in life.

P.S.
If you take Manhattan map and fold it such that south tip of the island touches the north one, your middle would be somewhere in the 90th. So technically they are in the heart of the east side of Manhattan :)

elena
(broker)

Any update on this new building? Sales? Will it be complete by the Fall of 2009?

any news on this building?
apparently they started to contract a few apartment and claim they will start closing in June 2010 but said that for last September then Feb this year
Any major issue with this building?

Oh maybe about 20 major issues. Just take a look at the other discussion and you see why they have virtually no sales (other than bulk) in three years of marketing. This building is all about issues!

when will it start to rent?

As I was a potential buyers, the only detail I d like to add is that the closing cost are pretty much like a condo and far more than if it was a coop. Also I agree that it is overpriced (prob 20-30%; they give you easily 10% discounted offer with no effort)

For anyone that lives in this building, how easy is it to get cabs around this building on weekdays?

I live across the street from the building and cabs are all over, all hours of the day/night on 1st ave. Almost no wait actually.