39 east 29th Street-Neighborhood

Is this a neighborhood? What's it called?

If you frequently need to buy "designer" fragrances from a guy selling out of a cardboard box on the street, then you've definitely found your neighborhood.

nervous about what? safety or potential for growth?

i've lived in this neighborhood for the past 8 years, and as far as i'm concerned its unbeatable in terms of convenience to transportation-- all the major subway lines within 2 blocks walking distance. the neighborhood is up and coming, with tons of new development (condos and hotels) in the area and madison square park having really turned itself around in the past few years.

high end restaurants like country, eleven madison park, a voce, hill country just blocks from your doorstep.

the wholesale district on broadway between 24th and 32nd can seem a bit sketchy, but this has largely been diminishing as development has been creeping in.

if i could afford to snatch up a place in this neighborhood, i would!!

just a taste of whats coming: http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/41558/

How would a hotel on 12th Street/9th Ave. make a difference to an apartment on 29th and 5th?

But what is it called? And yes, some good restaurants. I love a voce.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Oops, I meant Gansevoort Park (same chain, new hotel on 29th street & Park).

I'm nervous because the street/2-block radius is not that great. I wonder if it will ever be better than what it is today.

Also, I wonder about resale value, appreciation potential, etc. I was thinking about getting a 5 to 7 year i/o ARM but for this building, maybe I should get a 30 year fixed?

Koreatown? That's a guess.

i think it's too west to be murray hill, and too north to be gramercy. i don't think it is a "neighborhood".

Madison Square Park North

It's still a no-man zone and will stay this way because some areas just have to. Hotels don't change anything. Closeness to major transportation hubs is not always good. It's just an uninviting place, has been forever. I don;'t even know why.

I lived exactly 1 block South for years. High on noise (Park Avenue is a 6 lane highway), low on charm, tho very convenient. But they make better windows than old loft windows nowadays. And I love Indian food. Not to mention the fancy places mentioned above.
Going a bit upscale - someone's also building something big on the SW corner of Park Av. South & 29th. I think that these days, expectation of short term appreciation is built in the price, but if you stay put long enough (7+ years?) you'll be OK. It'll soon be like PAS below 23rd.

I was considering an apartment at 10 East 29th (http://www.madisonbelvedere.com). Bad idea?

They consider it Gramercy.

Diskgo, For rent?

CasualObserver: Yes, that's a rental building.

tg007 - that something big being built on the SW corner is the Gansevoort Park Hotel. It is scheduled to be 19 story with 225 rooms. They are expected to charge about $500 a night.

the madison belvedere seems like a nice full service rental building-- doorman, elevators, etc.. its not cheap, from the figures i've seen, but if its in your budget its probably among the better choices in the neighborhood, as far as a luxury rental. there are also some luxury rental buildings in the 20s along 6th ave-- chelsea landmark being one of them..

the neighborhood is definitely not gramercy.. but like we've all been saying, the neighborhood doesn't really have a name :P i've heard it called gramercy / flatiron / murray hill / chelsea-- and its about equidistant to all of the above-- but it has a character of its own, albeit a bit raw and undeveloped right now.

the inhabitants of the area don't really fit into any one mold-- during the day you'll have the wholesalers (predominiantly immigrant) and the wholesale shoppers (generally lower income folks venturing out from outer boroughs). You'll also get tourists, older types that have lived in the area for decades (many thru subsidized housing), and then of course the steadily growing population of yuppies and hipsters moving into the area.

if you can deal with that, you have great restaurants within walking distance (along with 24hr korea town on 32nd), all subway lines within 2-3 blocks, madison square park and shake shack 3 blocks south.. even union square or times square are within walking distance if those are more your speed.

things quiet down at night on the streets for the most part, but you get a lot of cabs settling down in the area late at night (due to some 24hr indian restaurants). some new bars have opened in the area lately bringing in some club-going riff-raff, but for the most part the changes have been for the better.

as bad as a lot of the above sounds, i quite like living here :)

This is precisely the type of neighborhood to get caught up in whatever the general market is doing. There is no draw to be in this area other than price, so the price better be great. There are no views to speak of in most buidings, on the "location" scale is doesn't score, so the building and layout should be spectacular and priced under than general market. Call it what you will, but it isn't anywhere near the good stuff in Chelsea (galleries, restaurants & shops on 8th, shopping on 6th south of 23rd), has nothing to do with Gramercy Park, and in more a place you pass through on the way to the midtown tunnel or where you go to eat on Christmas if you are Jewish and like kosher Indian food. If the market softens, this will be one of the Manhattan areas hard hit early on in my opinion. No matter how you slice it, this area is less desirable than 85% of the others in Manhattan and so to plop down a large sum of money here it really should be an incredible bargain or I'd pass. I think even the UES far east near 1st Ave in the 80's is preferable to this and a more established neighborhood. The fact that this doesn't have a name says a lot.

Sky House is there as is the new development going up a bit east 29th Park Madison. On the latter, the ppsf is remarkable for the area. I'm sure that particular building will be nice with its espresso bar in the lobby (that's worth an extra $200psf and $200 in monthlies), but the area is, IMO, just off. Yes, they are building the Gansevoort hotel sister there as well. I have a feeling that buildings like that, Sky, 325 Fifth, 425 Fifth, are all lonely condos with many foreign "investors" or pied a terre buyers. On the other hand, might quite well suit some and there is nothing inherently horrible about the place, it just isn't traditional.

Take a look a little further up in Murray Hill. Still in my mind the most convenient neighborhood in mnahattan - you can get anywhere in under 15 minutes. In particular take a look at the 1BR in the Carlton Regency for $550,000 or any of the others for sale. I lived in this building for many years when I was single and I can tell you it is a great value. The apts are not huge but many have great views and the buildling is really well run and an all around "class act".

anyone have any updates or comments about Twenty9th Park Madison