West Village Townhouse Gut Renovation

Re: recommendations for architects and contractors?

http://www.lichtencraig.com/residential.htm

If your referring to 9 commerce, I think she's more than a gut reno and a complete tear down from scratch.

I think $200-$300 per sq/ft is a good ball park for a very nice gut renovation of an APARTMENT in Manhattan. You can always get crazy and increase the price, but for most higher end renovations, this price range will cover it. Now, that's for an apartment. With a townhouse, you have a host of completely different reno challenges from permits to very significant structural issues. To achieve the same high end result in a gut reno of a Manhattan historic district townhouse, the reno costs are going to be much more. Brace yourself, because if money matters to you it is going to be hard to fathom the true cost of what you are contemplating.

I can recommend - Design by Francois - www.francoistenenbaum.com

Ask the same question on www.brownstoner.com.

Price history (from ACRIS, names redacted).




10/14/2010 - sold for 2,475,000


3/21/2007 - sold for 2,150,000

I have 2 great groups I work with on townhouse renovations. Is there an email where I can send you vcards?

Thanks for all your input guys! I can be reached at jqzeng@hotmail.com.

I would agree with kylewest that 200-300 per sq/ft is good for an apartment but once you get into a full townhouse, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical costs can go up pretty significantly, placing you possibly around the $400-500/sf mark. But this all depends on the guts of the building and how much has to be replaced. Then there are windows and stairs you are probably thinking about replacing or upgrading...a yard? a roof? I can introduce to you to some contractors as well to get more solid cost estimates. Of course I would be happy to discuss with you, please feel free to contact me.

Gary Eisner
www.builtinstudio.com
geisner@builtinstudio.com
347-599-1054

So many variables, all I can say is that easily, easily reaches $500 psf for high-end finishes. I have seen new ground-up in which a professional developer going strictly from that new shell to build-out of high-end finishes spends upwards of $250 p/gross sf.

To be more helpful, when bidding your work out always ask the general contractor for the names of his trades. Often times bidding has the appearance of being competitive but is not, e.g. your architect will bid to 3 different GC's, but 60% of the underlying trades will overlap.

Other pointers to negotiating price down: 1) if not in a rush, get better pricing, 2) after bids are delivered say you are ready to sign but they need to add in a change-order contingency (don't charge you for first 7.5% over budget 3)after you agree, go back to the GC and ask for a 20%-30% discount for paying him in cash.

I agree with BuildIn. Hi-End means different things to different people. I recently installed a copper soaking tub. The tub cost $7,000.00. Most people would not purchase such a hi- end product but that's what makes pricing so difficult. A wall hung toilet is much more costly then installing a regular toilet. It is best to have as much information as possible when getting proper bids. Most contractors will meet with you and give you a proposal at no cost.

As far as Nycfund, I would never give the names of my trade until after I am hired, 60% will overlap? Not in residential renovations. I would never put a contingency for not charging for the first 7.5%budget. I might as well just do the project for free

20-30% in cash? What? A contractor would have to make 50% on the project to actually make any money

I am estimator working for a high end residential estimator. I can give you professional idea before you start anything.All i need to see site or some sort of sketches shows building layout.

Sorry to rehash this, but would there be a linear impact for a gut of a 5000 sq ft townhouse? Also, if electric and pluming (all building systems) need to be replaced, would that change the cost estimates of 200-300 per sq ft?

I'm thinking this reno could be done for under $1 million, with decent finished, but nothing extravagant.

There are several variables that will affect the final cost per square foot. First and foremost, does the property have landmark status? If so, this will affect your filing process in terms of timing and cost to file. Second, is the current Certificate of Occupancy for a multi-family or a single-family structure? As with the Landmarks Filing, changing the status of the building will affect your filing and your property taxes.

As for the finishes, many contractors will seek to exclude items such as the stone, tile, plumbing fixtures, etc. from their initial proposals unless you have a developed plan and set of specifications for pricing. It's highly likely you'll find yourself closer to $500 psf when factoring in both the soft and the hard costs of your project in the West Village.

Please feel free to contact info@hirshsondesign.com should you have more specific questions about a potential renovation. Best of luck!

The cost will really depend on how high end you want to go.
However great design executed really well can be less expensive than you think. I would say 300 per square foot woukd get you a great design.
It's important to integrate your interior design with the build and not to have a contractor create a vanilla box and then decorate and design from there.

http://maxeyhayse.com/residential_design.html

You can take a look at some of my work. I would be happy to take a look at the property with you.