Sunnyside - Phoenix condos

I saw this place. If you can take the view of the 7 train 40 feet from your living room, my hat is off to you!

I thought about that and stayed for several passing trains and it seemed as though the concrete which holds the tracks absorbs alot of the sound the trains are slowed down entering the station..

its not like the roosevelt ave area where the train causes a small earthquake.

As for the looks, I kind of liked it (again, not an ugly train track like roosevelt). To me it seemed like more of a view than looking out my window at another building per se.

Aside from the train, what else did you think?

The size is very generous for the price.

I also think Sunnyside is undervalued. It is wonderfully diverse. Should you want cafe culture, LIC is only one or two stops away. (It seems that the LIC crowd comes to Sunnyside and Astoria to shop.) And it is near Woodside, with a LIRR train station.

The views, besides of the 40th Street El-line, are rather, well, sad. The courtyard of the building looks prison-like to me.

However, they put the money into the units, obviously, to make them quite comfortable.

I also love the area and agree that you get a lot more bang for your buck that in LIC. I see the 7 train across the street though and I imagine many evenings of being woken up by the train. Maybe after living there a while you would get used to it, but I am not sure I would want to risk it. My other reservation is that I think the condos are a bit overpriced (though I think compared to LIC they are a value). My thinking on this is: in Woodside which is the neighborhood next to sunnyside you can buy a one family house for a similar price as a two bedroom condo in this building. Personally I would rather live in a house where I have a gaarage and don't need to worry about noisy neighbors above and below me, so I would spend my money on a house. But if you have no problem with noise from the train across the street from you I think the Phoenix is nice.

Sunnyside is a nice area, still relatively working class neighborhood (thats good and bad depending) but has alot of diverse and convenient shops. Food is decent not great in my opinion, but I've found several really good/cheap restaurants that I stick too. Also noticed a definite increase in similar young professionals since I bought there a nearly a year ago. Cant beat the commute either if you work in midtown. A friend of mine lives close to Phoenix (you can actually see the building in the last pic) and there's not really any train noise because of the way the station is constructed.

Also if you're on a higher floor that clears the tracks, its possible to get a great view of the city. 4th of July on the roof is amazing, the view even makes the wait for the train a little better. One serious drawback is the lack of parking in the neighborhood (many of the private houses dont have driveways either), although new garages have been popping up.

cjb, i agree on the parking. There are no lots or garages close by to this building. The building does have parking which I'm told will be somewhere around $250/month.

Inside the apt, I found the traffic noise to be more evident than the train. The concrete housing for the train track seems to absorb alot of the noise.

Since I work right next to grand central, the commute should be about 15 mins which is awesome! I live in the city right now and it takes longer to get to work now believe it or not.

After weighing the pros and cons, I think I have decided to move forward with purchasing one of the units. I plan to live there for 5-6 years so I think its a decent investment and it works really well for my living needs right now.

Thanks everybody!!!

Ladidadi123, I am also looking at a unit in the Phoenix, in the rear of the building so the street/train noise is not as evident. Like you however, I think the 7 actually makes for an interesting view. I think the condo will be a good investment. Phoenix has the best price per square foot I've found, ($100 psf cheaper than the condo conversions in an older rent stabilized building with no abatement up for sale nearly across the street), comfortable units, nice lobby, great Manhattan commute, and on parking, I believe spots will be available for rent this year, and next year for sale (not sure on the price, I think 30G was mentioned?). While the outdoor public space is a little prison yard-esque and I wish there was a public roof deck, otherwise I have little complaints. Just curious on your thoughts about the sponsor's price flexibility? Was told by the broker that there's no negotiation. Price is set as is. Many of the units seem to be going into contract, would hate to lose the apartment because my offer went low, so I'm wondering your thoughts on putting in a lower offer versus simply going with the asking price?

jackson7 - same thing was represented to me on sponsors flexibility.. no flex on pricing or on closing costs which sucked but still best value ive seen in the area so I did it at full asking. Let me know what happens with your offer if you go lower. I'm told theres only a handful of units left that dont have contracts "out" on them. Theres apparently 12 "in" contract at the moment.

I would rather sacrifice amenities to get more 'house' for my money anyway. I really thought these apts were laid out well in terms of closets and just overall feel. They feel alot bigger than other similar square footage condos I looked at.

ladidadi123- I feel the same, I think its a great value, not only in Sunnyside, but in the lux/semi lux condo market really of any area within the 15-20 minute subway radius of midtown/downtown Manhattan. Compared to LIC/Hunter's Point, Greenpoint, WBurg, its a steal. Actually wish I could afford one of the bigger units in the building. The CVS below is convenient, non-intrusive and doesn't add the rat and roach factor of a restaurant. Just don't understand why they couldn't have put in that roof deck! But anyway, I'm probably putting in an offer early next week...most likely will bid the full asking price, but try and get the sponsor to carry the transfer tax. I'll see how that's received. Did not opt for their suggested mortgage lender. Went to the open house last weekend, and two units were taken off the market for the two week consideration period that afternoon.

How many units were left when you were at the open house?

I was mugged on the corner a year ago. I don't recommend the area.

I wasn't able to tell how many units were available at the open house the past weekend, but I did notice that a big chunk of units, 1 and 2 bedrooms, appeared to just be taken off the market last night and are now being actively rented out on Craig's List, etc. 1700-1800 for a 1Bdrm. Curious if sales are slow and the sponsor decided to take the building rental.

I looked at the Phoenix. I was not happy with the finishes, formica countertops, plain tile bathrooms no washer/dryer hook-ups in apt. I heard it was originally designed as a rental building and later they decided to make it a condo. That would explain the cheap finshes. I thought the area was way too noisy between train and truck traffic. I bought at citiview condos on 44th street instead. Its a nice quiet street on the north side near sunnyside gardens and I got my washer/dryer as well as granite and marble as well as a killer roof deck,(I can't wait until the 4th of July). Good luck. I am happy with my purchase. I hope yours works out as well.

maryk, congrads on your purchase. I looked at the citiview condos as well. I liked them but between the phoenix and citiview, I felt like the layout/space was better at the phoenix and phoenix was 30k cheaper. I definitely agree about the finishes - citiview was nice! I do plan to put granite into the phoenix kitchens right away. The bathrooms are fine for right now but will likely do something to them down the road.

As for the noise, I've lived in busy parts of brooklyn and manhattan all my life so I am somewhat immune to noise and actually enjoy the train view.

It seems as though both citiview and phoenix are going to be renting a considerable portion of the units. Phoenix will rent 12 and citiview will rent more than that (not sure of exact #). Wasnt aware of this when I was looking at both and not sure if its good, bad or just normal for condos to do this. What do you think?

Anyway, I'm still really excited and love this neighborhood.

I viewed both the Citiview and Phoenix and agree with most everyone's points -- the Citiview was definitely the winner in terms of finishes and location on a quiet block, but the Phoenix won in terms of layout (Citiview felt very narrow to me), price, and one could even argue proximity to shops, restaurants, and the train.

I am also concerned about traffic/subway noise...I think the street traffic (even on the third floor) is louder than the subway, partially because of the 7 train's concrete housing and also because I was there on a Sunday and no expresses were running. So the trains passing through are either speeding up or slowing down but not running at full speed. Would love to spend more time there on a weekday during evening rush hour and see what the noise is like...

It's too bad it seems like all the units facing 41st St. are taken. Those would seem quiet to me and offer decent views of Manhattan.

Hi guys,
I was wondering whats going on at the Phoenix. They are suppose to only have a few units left yet they just added a ton of listings on the times? Did people back out of signing the contracts? I hear there are no mtg contingencies which is crazy to sign in this banking enviroment. I Also noticed Citiview has a great price on a 2 bedroom. I heard they are offering mtg contingencies. Anyone know anything about that? I definitely want to buy in the area. I think Sunnyside is totally undervalued and a great deal.

Phoenix still has 14 units in contract - all closing in the next few weeks. They pulled some units off the market and put them back on.

I think citiview did the same thing which is why you see them in streeteasy previous listings. Hard to tell how many of those are actually in contract. I cant even find listings of them online right now. How much are you seeing 2 brs going for? Last I saw them, it was $540k+.

Agree on Sunnyside - love the area and it is so convenient to everything.

HI ladiadi123

thanks for the info. Did you buy at Phoenix. Did they give you a mtg contingency when you went to contract.

Citiview has a 2 bed for 499,000 thats 929sqft. the best price and finsihes I've seen yet.

Yea! Sunnyside is a great neighborhood. So much better than Astoria and LIC

Hi,
I bought at phoenix. No mtg contingency but they gave me plenty of time to get my loan commitment finalized. I think it was one month from the time I got my offering plan till the time I signed. I was nervous about that too but with a loan commitment based on the specific property, I figured I should be OK.

The big deciding factor for me between citi and phoenix was the layouts of the apartments. To me citiview felt smaller and phoenix felt bigger. Citiview has the better finishes hands down but I figured those could be upgraded while the layouts can never be upgraded.

Good luck - let me know what you decide.

does any one currently live in this building???? what are the positives??? what are the negatives???.... speak up, i wanna know it all

i did wind up buying 2 yrs ago and am very happy with the building apt. Pros: low common charges (if ur buying), clean/well maintained, parking garage(big plus in sunnyside) at a decent rental price, nice common areas, great management that actively participates is present in the building, great super. As for the apts - almost all have nice, spacious VERY well laid out floor plans (wide hallways, doors, etc.) so the apts really have a good feel to them. Many units have outside space. Good solid, windows that keep noise out. They have very contemporary layouts but not the fanciest I've seen for sure - in other words, all counters, bathroom fictures are fairly standard and new looking but not granite all over the place. But I was able to put granite, etc into kitchen bathrooms for $3k and it looks really, really nice now. I really like the location too as my unit faces queens blvd (this is subjective and depends on you - i like a little action). I can drive into city in 10 mins. Train door-to-door grand central in about 20 mins. Very convenient part of neighborhood. Neighborhood also has great bars, restaurants, shopping, etc.

Cons: no fancy amenities like gym, etc (Just a common deck bike room parking/storage in building for rent nice, big lobby with seating) But thats what keeps the common charges relatively low.

Depending on your unit, you could be looking right onto queens blvd / 7 train which again, depends on you. If you like silence peace quiet, those units may not be attractive to you. But many units are on the side of 41 st and quiet. The windows do a really good job of keeping noise out and the train is not as load as you'd imagine (I find the traffic to be more annoying).

Otherwise, I can't think of alot of other cons. I don't see myself leaving here for a long time.
Let me know if you have any other specific questions and id be happy to answer them.

Do you know if there are still any units left for sale, I'm having a hard time finding sales info on this bldg, thnx

I currently rent in sunnyside, luv the neighborhood and would luv to buy something there, but i never find any listings for this bldg anywhere

hi, i can probably get you some info.. my email is ladidadi123123@gmail.com

There has been a 2BR listed @ $614k for apt 5B. Very little closet space, though.

Did that unit ever close? Can't find anything on it. Anyone with thoughts on the asking price?

To view the building call 646-717-4036

Thanks ladidadi123..... I ended up moving into the building and loving it so far.... The in building parking spot is defiantly a must as I need my car for work.

Btw the street traffic is def worse than the train traffic agreed lol. Esp on rainy days.