BellTel Lofts Anti Business Attitude

Do your employees have the option of using the gym, yoga room, rooftop, lounge, etc.? Or are they barred from it.

Ground-floor residential tenants in all buildings pay their share of the elevator maintenance, even though they don't have much reason for using it. But they may use it if they wish.

Are you okay with having meetings at a table where/while nannies are having lunch and talking, or do you need exclusive use of that space for that time? If the latter, it doesn't sound so unreasonable to charge you for it.

trying to squeeze as much out of you guys as possible .. is the building financials up to snuff ?

Yes, I think Alan hit it. If you want exclusive use, you have to jump through hoops and pay small fee. Pretty standard for residents in condos.

Your CCs (not maintenance) per ft² are very low compared to a residential unit of similar size.

E.g., 4L at 732 ft² carries a PCI of 0.2091%, while 4Pr at 803 ft² is 0.0669%.

I don't know how fair that 3/1 ratio is in reflecting your lesser usage of the common elements, but it does tell us that all the professional-unit owners together carry very little weight in electing the board.

BTW, anybody know why the professional units are there to begin with? There's one per floor, all about the same size, which suggests that something about that space prevented the developer from either selling it as studios or adding it to adjoining apartments.

"We own one of the 13 Proffesional Units at the Belltel and we are alarmed to see how against business the building attitude is turning."

Right off the bat, I have to ask why you're conducting business in a building that's primarily residential in the first place.

If you want a corporate look, conduct business in a CORPORATE building. Don't put yourself in a residential building and complain that kids are running around and nannies are putting their feet up while you're trying to put together your next big deal.

Says a guy with zero business experience who conducts tours.

Beg your pardon?

Was the tour just for me? I thought you offered them to more than just me.

The gentlemen on the sidewalks who offer the tours aren't the same ones who conduct them. Grant Matt your pardon, then beg his in return.

The building is residential with a mix of professional and commercial

So you knew what you were getting into, especially if it's MOSTLY residential.

You're trying to use common space for professional purposes that MOST people in the building use for personal use.

BKNYER, Matt hates Brooklyn, and also doesn't give tips during Christmas. He belongs to 4 unions too.

So you have to pay a few dollars to and schedule the use of a conference room, big deal. I work in a shared office suite in a 100% commercial building and they require exactly the same. Stop crying, its a business expense, deal with it.

We might not be here for too long

Here's the answer to why there's an ~800 ft² professional space on each of the lower floors.

On those floors the whole long east side of the building is on the lot line, so any room facing only east can't technically be called a LR or BR. E.g., #10N, with rooms called "Study" and "Home Occupancy" that can't be called bedrooms: http://img.streeteasy.com/nyc/image/94/2445394.jpg

The elevator/stair cores are on that side. That, together with the distance from the south or north sides, made that ~800 ft² on each of those floors unsaleable as residential space. The city would allow it to be only office or storage space, so the developer went with professional.

Kind of like being the token female on the company softball team that was forced to allow females or be ejected from the professional association's league.

pls undo my prior amen (lv the falco part, thx)

Finally I understand what happened to Matt

The office space is not, in my opinion, suitable for any business where clients are expected to visit; which is surprising as the offices have been referred to a "professional" space in BellTel literature. The ceilings are of irregular height and in most places the average person can touch the ceiling. There is virtually no light as there is just one small window that is largely blocked from permitting light to enter the space by the irregular ceiling height. It is storage space being touted as "professional" space. For someone who works alone it may be fine but caution should be exercised by anyone considering real office space as a comparable; the real comparable in my view is a storage room.

Any idea whether the office space has been selling? Any information about prices? What is the business center like? How much does it cost to reserve the business center? How are the mail and packages for businesses handled? Securely? There is a room in the basement for activities? Do those have to be reserved? Anyone know what kinds of businesses there are in the building? Is it possible to buy with just 5% down and all the tax advantages? Looks like some of the units sold for less than $200,000; that seems to be a bargain for an 800 square foot space in downtown Brooklyn. The space could be used as a studio and a shower hose could be installed in the bathroom. There is a small kitchen unit, right? Seems great.

@BKNYER Are you still in the building? I'd love to work with you on your future endeavors!