34 Leonard Street?

Gorgeous amenities and layout! But price per sq. foot seems high for the neighborhood. Remember it faces a busy street and neighbors an outdoor parking lot.

Seems overpriced by $150-200 / sq ft.

there is a 57 story tower apartment building going up in the lot across the street to the east so that should pretty much block all sun light. The monthly charges/maintenance are way too much. great layouts though.

this project looked interesting until I stopped by the sales office. the monthlies are high to begin with, but apparently the developer thought they were prohibitively high, so they're giving $2 million to bring down the numbers ($600k the first year, and phasing out over five years). this, on top of a 10-year abatement that slowly phases out, can you imagine the monthlies on this 6-10 years out? also, the developer didn't buy the land - it's on a 99-year land lease. sure the layouts look nice, but the square footage seems to be over-stated. red flags everywhere, imho.

Any updates on this building? Looks like only 2 sold and 3 in contract w/in a year or more of listing?

I looked at three bedrooms at 34 Leonard as well as Tribeca Summit, The Fairchild and Artisan Lofts. Anyone have any inside info or suggestions on negotiations for these buildings? I'm paying cash. Don't have a broker. Thanks

Ali? Thoughts? Paging front_porch...

I'm a broker in Brooklyn, but have a buyer who was considering 3-beds in the area. I found all of these properties to be overpriced, and steered my buyer clear of them. (He needed better views than he could afford in these spaces - you may be able to afford more.) I'd suggest looking into resale properties if you are committed to the area. If you must have new construction, ask for the moon - especially if you're paying cash. Start with whatever (low) bid you choose, and ask the seller/sponsor to pay all closing costs. Move on from there till you have a deal you're happy with. If you're not happy, walk away.

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

The 57 story tower apartment building mentioned earlier is likely not to happen, and it's a full block away in any case.

I've been tp the sales office and I think this is a great building. As someone said, they layouts look generous and sane, and if the finishes turn out to be as advertised, they are really nice. I suspect this will be one of the highest quality new development in the area.

Artisan has great floors and views, but is hampered by Chambers St. The Reade St entrance was a great idea, but it's still a Chambers St building. The in-contract prices are waaaay high, abatement is equally lame. We'll see how many people actually close on those units.

The Fairchild also looks great. It is a much more recent project, so the finanicing probably is more reasonable, and therefore the deals will be too. Nice building.

Tribeca Summit was also a way overhyped and overpriced project. It's also gone on suspiciously long. Windy street with not alot of character. Still probably too soon to know what company will end up in the old Travelers building across the street.

Both the Fairchild and Tribeca Summit are really TriBeCa north anyway. Of the two the Fairchild's setting has a lot more charm.

Tina and Natalie - thank you SO much for your responses. Really helpful. The two units I'm focusing on at 34 Leonard and Tribeca Summit are similar in asking price ($4.2M) and size (2700 sq ft). Do you think I can get away with offering closer to $3M?? Is the market that bad? Does the fact that Tribeca Summit have a lot of units that have come back on the market (i.e., buyers back out of closing) bide well for my negotiations?

Artisan was nice, but you're right, the building is essentially on Chambers (although I must admit very quiet in the apt on a late afternoon when I saw it). I just think they're asking too much at $4.7M. It seems a lot of units haven't closed yet - not sure what this means since I'm new to all of this.

Fairchild was VERY deceiving. Fantastic location but once I saw the actual space (still under construction), it was VERY disappointing. The bedrooms are small and many strange configurations. On one unit, the Master faces the fire escapes on the building behind on Greenwich!! Not cool for almost $4M. Too bad because the living/dining/kitchen double height space was spectacular.

Thanks again. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

By all means, offer $3M. Or less, even. Cash rules this market, and you're assuming a lot of risk in not requiring a financing contingency. Buyers like you are very rare at the moment, and you should be able to find a developer's sweet spot by starting low. Just make sure you do a ton of due diligence before you sign a contract.

By due diligence, you mean looking at everything in my desired areas and price, correct?

Do you think I should get a broker?? Will NOT having a broker be better for my negotiations?

Again, thanks SO much!!

has anybody heard of a closing in the building yet?

brcjcmny beware of Leonard. It is a land lease. It is a better idea to have a broker.

What happens on a land lease when it expires? How does that impact the coop prices and maintaince?

34 Leonard is possibly going into foreclosure...
http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/r-squared-faces-a-suit-from-istar-at-34-leonard-istar-financial

Hi, has anybody recently made an offer on any apartment on Tribeca Summit or the Fairchild? Do you know what the flexibility is on the listed price? Thanks!

Everything in this development has been taken off the market permanently. This was a promising project but it was a condop, therefore, did not survive in this market. I have shown in the Fairchild and Pearline; by far my favorite condo lofts in TriBeCa. I had an all cash offer for both buildings but the sponsor counter offered at unfavorable prices for my clients. Quality is great but they need to be a bit more realistic and adjust to the market. Especially, with all cash buyers!

The rumor I have heard is that sales will begin again at 34 Leonard in the new year. I know it is in receivership. Does anyone know any more?

Anyone have an update on 34 Leonard?

buildingn went to auction may 5th.. no word on that. however they have removed the ground lease. When i last had interest my group looked at this building and we were presented with a nice price for the whole thing. $37.5MM. Kidding about nice. Not buying anyones debt on a ground lease for 37.5... Units are great though.

There has been a lot of activity in there as well lately. Painting and what not. We may see the return of this building vert soon. Keep a look out for 60 Collister or the Amex Carriage house as well.

The building just opened as a Rental building
The number is 917-992-9568 or www.34leonard.com