Open House Report: 215 West 98th St. #3D

215 West 98th Street #3D Coop, seven rooms into five; 2 BR, 2 BA + servants’ quarters Asks $2,852,000; Maint. $3,050 Traffic: Moderate (First OH) http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/1008100-coop-215-west-98th-street-upper-west-side-new-york Location: North of prime UWS, on a stretch of Broadway that remains scruffy six years after an infusion of glitz from the advent of Ariel. The school catchment has... [more]

215 West 98th Street #3D Coop, seven rooms into five; 2 BR, 2 BA + servants’ quarters Asks $2,852,000; Maint. $3,050 Traffic: Moderate (First OH) http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/1008100-coop-215-west-98th-street-upper-west-side-new-york Location: North of prime UWS, on a stretch of Broadway that remains scruffy six years after an infusion of glitz from the advent of Ariel. The school catchment has historically been a drag on prices, among other issues. Building: The verdigris roof makes this 1910 Schwartz & Gross creation a handsome feature of the Broadway skyline. 215 W98 went through some rough times - along with its neighborhood - prior to the conversion to coop in 1987. Today, it's largely gentrified, with some of the pre-WWI grandeur restored to the lobby, though shabbiness persists in other common areas. Space: The "D" line is a south-facing seven that poses some challenges with the allocation of space: The original floor plan includes a huge dining room and entry gallery, while the kitchen and bedrooms are relatively modest. The master bath is tiny, and its sink occupies a separate shaving closet. Of the four lines at 215 that feature separate dining and living rooms, “D” is the only one in which the DR and LR are not adjacent: they sit at opposite ends of the gallery, with the bedroom wing sandwiched between them in the southeast corner. Whether this arrangement is better or worse than the usual side-by-side setup is a matter of personal taste. A fourth full bedroom is possible, although I don’t see a good way to integrate it with the family wing. In #3D, the master has been merged with the third bedroom to create a master suite that includes an expanded bathroom and extra storage. The kitchen has been swapped with the maid’s room and opened to the dining room. The result is a pair of large, comfortable spaces… and a five-room apartment. Condition: A buyer who likes the styling, and needs only two bedrooms, could move right in. The design touches and room count, however, may be significant issues. The listing boasts that “the eat-in kitchen with vented hood and brightly lacquered Italian cabinets has top of the line appliances and double ovens.” I suspect than an aggressively red kitchen, with odd touches like dual microwaves (shown charitably on the floor plan as ovens) will narrow the market for #3D. That kitchen is part of a renovation that, to my eye –Italian lacquer or not - says “IKEA 2008”. (For a view from around the time the work was done, see http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/hot-or-not-red-ikea-kitchen-40773. The pantry cabinets are done in an exotic wood laminate that doesn’t go very well with the red, and is just as five years ago. The updated floors, trim and lighting appear cheap and cheerful. The master suite shows best, though the accent tiles in the master bath share a bit of the kitchen’s any-color-as-long-as-it’s-red aesthetic. The hall bath is more neutral. The bathtub there seems quite low; I’m not sure it would keep shower water in, or a toddler out. Potential: The expanded master bath complicates the task of converting #3D back to a 3BR. I won’t say it’s impossible - just impractical, since a lot of the money would go into undoing work that is priced quite assertively into #3D’s ask. The open kitchen-dining area is an excellent space, and could be redecorated to suit a buyer’s taste. Financial: $2.852MM is a peculiar opening price - partly because it looks like output from a random number generator, and partly because there is no basis for it in prior sales at the Gramont. If this listing is motivated by the internecine legal battle over the family company, there might be an opportunity for the right buyer. (For more background – and with apologies to NWT, who usually unearths this stuff - see http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2012/05/02/sonya-dakars-famed-hollywood-spa-enters-chapter-11/.) [less]