building at 135 West 58th Street

While I do know the building, the neighborhood has continues to improve for residents. I think old coops and condos are still under priced in this area given proximity to the park, Lincoln Center and transportation. West 57/58th street around Time Warner, further west and Central Park south, are probably the most undervalued in nyc except new developments of course which may be most overvalued.

I looked at a unit in this building a few years ago (higher floor, different floor plan). Here were some of my concerns that led to it not being right for me:
* No full-time doorman
* miniscule bathroom and kitchen (but both were beautifully and expensively fitted out)
* A/C is only by window units, and windows were small-ish (there's no real view, so minimal concern)
* 58th is sort of the 'alley' for through-block buildings on 57 as well as 59th. so noise from late night service vehicles was a potential issue, as well as evening cross-town traffic (I still use it frequently, though later a night).
* There may have been a concern about shareholder concentration - it's a relatively small building, and I believe the PH has a large number of shares. (and maybe the commercial unit - didn't get that far along with due diligence).

That said, it stayed on my short list for quite a while. I thought the maintenance was very reasonable, the apartment was move-in ready, and it was undervalued compared to the market.

58th St. is a quiet street, but not really an oasis- it's hard to argue it has any aesthetic or neighborhood charm. If you get a park view that would be superb but unlikely. Morton Williams on 57th and Whole Foods in TWC is a surprisingly good grocery situation. 8th Ave has good casual dining. I wouldn't live on 58th but it might work depending on one's interests.

Thank you all (300_mercer, Aaron2 and crescent22) for your comments. It really helps me to make a decision. Greatly appreciated!!!

Aaron2,
Based on the maintenance it looks to me like the PH may have been under allocated shares if anything. And I can pretty much guarantee that the commercial unit was allocated 0 shares of the Coop.

30 yrs -- Thanks for the clarification. Back then, I didn't get far enough along with due diligence to sort through all the allocations, though I did remember something looked off (under, not over, allocated as you point out) nor did I get around to fully researching the relationship of the commercial space to the co-op. Ultimately, it was the street that put me off buying there not the building nor the unit.

Are W 54th St, W 55th St and W 56th St more residential blocks than W 58th St?