205 third avenue

Some very good layouts at seemingly decent prices. Hideous building from the outside. What on earth is going on with that canopy over the entrance?

205 was a co-op and yet they are advertising the building as no-board approval.

I believe the units being offerred are sponsor units.

This may not be relevant to many of you but I wanted to point out that this building has low (8') ceilings.

This is a fugly building with Holiday Inn style apartments. No style, no class....the building should have a revolving door at the front because it has all of the warmth of a department store.

And for those who paid 900K plus for one bedrooms in the past few years.....get familiar with the idea of "short sales" when you decide it's time to bail from this dump. You're looking at a 300K loss right now.

The building is in a good location near union square and is well maintained. Apartments are large. Correct that ceilings are a bit low which is typical of white brick buildings. Not sure why pelicanellie seems so passionate in criticizing the building. Like most Manhattan apartments, it has it's flaws.

We sublet in this building a few years ago. Some of the Board members were miserable and made our life very difficult. As they seem to take pleasure in doing for the residents, what with the small common laundry room with limited hours and ridiculous rules re: common spaces. That being said, the building is well run, has a good staff and super, and is extremely well maintained. Very good location, five minute walk to Union Square yet just removed from the NYU mess that 14th Street and 3rd Avenue has become, and out of the Murray Hill area as well. I can only imagine the headaches that trying to renovate in this building would bring about though.

Hi - the information here is dated so thought that some additional perspective would be helpful. the building has new board members and improved policies including a 24 hour laundry room. also the building accommodates construction. recently, there have been apartment combinations (which enhance value & sense of community). also, the building has an outstanding staff and is well run.

The price per square foot ($502; $335k for 650 SF!) sure looks decent:

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/692513-coop-205-third-avenue-gramercy-park-new-york

I could forgive a lot of temporary board-related problems for a price as reasonable as that one has.

How do apartment combos enhance sense of community?

How do apartment combos enhance sense of community?

Raises the married couple with kids to single cat lady/creepy dude ratio?

fair enough!

I have to agree: That ridiculous canopy always made me laugh, reminding me of old borscht belt hotels who, attempting to "get with it" in the early to mid sixties, made this most silly architectural element the focal point of their buildings. You can view them online, usually shown on old postcards.

All that's missing is a washed up social director out front, attempting to get kvetches of a certain age to play "Simon Sez". OY!!!

The canopy is a beautiful architectural element that adds the only semblance of style to this typical white brick building.

I always liked the swooping canopy. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for many of the grumpy older residents and board members. Earlier this year the board starting restricting the number of Sunday afternoon open houses because some residents were bothered by the "crowds" of potential buyers waiting in the lobby for the various brokers to come downstairs.

on the last comment, the new open house policy avoids brokers over-scheduling open houses and reduces lobby traffic on Sundays. Meanwhile, brokers/sellers have enough flexibility to still have regular open houses. I'd add this this is an improvement to the building. As far as the "grump older residents" comment goes, the older population is diminishing and have less impact on how the building is managed.

Architectural design inspired by:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5307/5790692427_7ba107cf1f_z.jpg

This building has a reputation for a horrendous moronic co op board. My daughter and I looked at an apt for her in what should have been a slam dunk based on her position and 100%percent cash purchase. We ran from this building based on what residents told us about the idiots that make up this board. I could not even imagine trying to sell my unit in the future with the sadists making the decisions they are making. Look at their Tower newsletter online- enough said!

This was an old thread, but does anyone have updated inside info on this building? Brokers here still say that the board is a tough one, but not sure if it's as bad as what people experienced in the past. The prices are extremely reasonable, so I'm not sure if that's a potential reason (no one gets accepted or wants to deal with the board?)