Why is this so cheap ?

This is a great building. The floor plans are very unique and not for everyone. The sponsor is selling off the rest of his units and with the flood of apartments in this specific building there will be a bit of a discount. The units do not show all too well. I would say a majority of the units need additional lighting installed to make up for a lack of natural light.

Tourist trap.

Tourist trap area and duplex two floor apartments New Yorkers Don't do Stairs except (Curved marble stairways to take pictures on)

but it s 1300/sf for a condo in Gramercy Park

sq footage on a duplex, measure twice

are there bathrooms on each "floor"?

$1300-1500 per claimed sq ft is "so cheap"??? This is about as much "Gramercy Park" as is Stuy Town, which is one block away. It is indeed adjacent to a park, but that ain't no Gramercy Park. That park long was truly horrible with homeless and drug dealing. It has been cleaned up and is closed at night, and the park on the east side of 2nd avenue is in part a dog park after hours, but there remains a soup kitchen on the park, this still this is Second Avenue and the area is dead at night. The building is very attractive and has a well-done lobby, but to think of these places as cheap is wrong.

For GP Area, the median price was $1,180,000

http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/New_York/New_York-heat_map/

tourist is pumping--cheap my ass

and the duplex seems a chop job, where result is barely 7' ceilings

This building attempted to convert and mostly failed. Look at the sales history, fewer than 40 sold out of 127 units, and management is still actively listing rentals. I have no idea how anyone could get a mortgage in this building. It's a pretty building, but not that special.

I agree with yikes.

Hi- On average the building is selling for approximately $1060 per square foot. That is on par with the market right now in that area. If you have any other questions please feel free to call/email me. 212-570-6095 pat@singernewyorkrealestate.com SINGER NEW YORK REAL ESTATE. Best of luck.

I agree location is not the best in Gramercy Park and ceilings look low. But 2BR+ condos in Gramercy Park have a median list price of 1727sf. It s a 25% discount to mediaan for the drawbacks, it s true it s not that cheap, but it really doesn t look like a bad deal. Maybe there are other drawbacks that we can t see on the listing

Tourist, the square footage is measured over two floors. One of the floors doesn't have full height. Also probably measures the "open to below" space. Of course the staircase is measured. Come on, where do you think you are?

Glanced at some of the floorplans. The duplexes I saw have only one bathroom on the bottom level near the living area. Most people wouldn't like having to walk down stairs to go to the bathroom when they're in their bedroom. At the very least, getting ready in the morning involves a mini workout.

If it's such a great value, Tourist, then buy it, and tell us alllll about it later after you've moved in and lived there for a while.

I looked in that building when I was looking for a temp rental situation. I agree that it is not exactly Gramercy Park...but, it ain't Sty-town either. The building exterior is really nice looking and it is always nice to be near a park. Green within eye-shot is better than a brick wall out of the window. The actual units were disappointing. The staircases were very narrow and they were really more "lofted" apartments than duplex apartment. Because they weren't "real" duplexes, they only had entrances on one "floor". I could not even begin to imagine trying to lug a largish suitcase up and down those stair-lettes. I think they would be great for people under 30...

Location sucks. Ugly, with nothing decent close by. Need to walk down to EV for any decent food and a walk to union square. Might only be a few blocks, but location is quite bad.

Buttt....isn't that on like 2nd ave and 17th or 18th street and isn't the EV main event around 2nd ave and 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th or so? Is that really a "walk"? Jeepers creepers...and to think I walk from the East 50th to the EV and feel like THAT is close...

shny, Ottawanyc is one of those fat lazy Canadians, so what do you expect?

LOOK at the selling history. They failed, earlier, and I don't know why. But it doesn't look pretty.

The location isn't great unless you need to be at Beth Israel routinely, but it's just a couple of blocks from trader joes and the blocks just south of 14th on 2nd and 3rd have been changing rapidly. There's even a fair amount of change on 14th. The park is now generally pleasant. Particularly on the west side.

But the main thing is that most of the building still appears to be rentals.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/962296-condo-305-second-avenue-gramercy-park-new-york
Tourist, Let us take this listing as an example.
Very low ceilings in kitchen and part of living area. Perhaps 7 foot. Bathroom sizes are small and do not really look renovated. Staircase is pretty basic and you get two of them. Do you really want a three level two bed room apt with the wasted space which comes along with it? Top floor den area is somewhat wasted. Bedroom window is very high and seems to be only one.
In general, the apts are weird layouts with a lot of wasted space. Finishes at best are basic luxury rental rather than high end condo.
Area is at bit of discount. Just the way it is.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/16027-rutherford-place

It's an unusual plan. There're no corridors on the 2nd/4th/6th floors, which gains rentable/saleable space, saves the cost of three elevator stops, and lets many of the apartments go floor-through from the street to the courtyard.

That can be awkward for the renter/owner, though. E.g., front door and closet on the fifth floor, a flight of stairs down to 4th-floor mezzanine, then a second flight down to the 4th floor. Or entrance on the fifth, with stairs up to 6th and 6th-mezzanine.

The area is great, I live across the street. When I was looking at my apartment I asked the seller's broker about the methadone clinic which had been in that building. Its been closed for years and for New York there are relatively few homeless etc in the area. Its very diverse, at least in terms of age and family size and the hospital and police academy give it a racially diverse feeling as well. Although the residents remain primarily white/asian its a lot less vanilla than other areas of Manhattan south of 96th Street or in "prime" Brooklyn.

All services are available on 3rd avenue and while its a kind of a schlepp to Union Square, you can get the L on 14th and 3rd or buses on 1,2 and 3rd avenues..the latter going both up and down town.

The building itself however has strange layouts and does not seem optimal for either families, singles or seniors. Totally agree with waveda, walking down stairs to the bathroom is a deal breakers.
Despite the nice classic exterior, good for me to look out the window at, I might rent there if the "deal" was right and I was younger but I think its a lousy investment for a buyer. But don't discount the area, you will love it.

PS to my comment about the are "you will love it". The caveat being unless you are truly need to be hip, trendy or ironic. That's not happening in Gramercy Park.

Relatively low ceilings, not the best location, in a building that is far from being sold, weird floor plans... Everybody agrees. I would not buy there for all these drawbacks, but the discount looks steep anyways

Tourist, buy it. Real estate is personal, you and your family. Rest of us can have our opinions of your place but we won't be living there, so enjoy what you like.