Ductless AC cost

Don't assume that just because you have a terrace that there will be no issues. A shareholder at 200 CPS had to win a lawsuit to be allowed to put one on his terrace.

Also, what is the max distance between the terrace and the furthest away indoor unit?
And you may find that whether it's 4 or 5 indoor units makes a big difference since a lot of manufacturers Max at 4 per condenser unit.

30 is correct. Also, if you happen to be in a landmarked zone you'd need LPC permission as well.

If you are able to do it I would budget roughly 25-35K

Primer, Do you typically build a soffit to run the lines or hide them behind a cove molding?

The coop had confirmed ductless was allowed so no issues there, and 4 units should be fine. The furthest unit would be at most 70ft. Thanks Primer for the estimate. I was thinking this was a $12K-$15K project. But as with everything done in the city it seems 2X-3X compared to elsewhere. I may then just stick with the window units in place now - ugly but I can use $40K for other priorities

Grapefruit, Check with your contractor. As a part of bigger project, he may do it cheaper. The materials I believe are at least $6-7k including the lines from condenser to individual units. It is worth spending the money on this if you are doing gut reno as you can hide the lines properly. That is not something you can do later easily.
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And consider whether the electric to the apartment needs to be upgraded to handle the load.

You may find that 70 feet is too far. Usually 50 feet is the longest recommended run.

Grapefruit, There are a few reasons why construction in Manhattan is so expensive. In no particular order:
1. Labor cost is at least 50 percent higher in nyc due to cost of living.
2. Buildings have strict rules and work hours.
3. DOB process is expensive.
4. There is no parking to unload easily. It results in expensive unloading.
5. Customers are very demanding which means a contractor who can deal with it will charge a premium in addition to his own cost of living.
6. Many finishes are high-end custom rather than homedepot standard stuff.
7. People have more money. So a contractor and architect would be silly not to charge them more.

I will get a better estimate from the contractor, as I agree that it would be cheaper to do it now vs later. The window units, at least in the living room and the library, are in odd places. One is at a corner and i don't believe it cools the living room properly, the the other is central but then blocks the only place where I could potentially put a sofa. And there is no AC in the kitchen currently. The estimate that I received for the entire project was 50% higher than i expected, but I think inline based on what everyone has been saying (here, architects, other projects). Just have to prioritize some things over others.

You can reduce project cost by cutting down on custom millwork and other custom work. Split ac will be huge value added and probably should priority over anything else if you are doing gut reno anyway.

I mean from resale point of view even if you do not personally care.

Grapefruit,

My estimate is just a guess, you should ask your contractor to price it out for you. Depending on who he uses it could be way less.

Mercer,

We do not use soffits for ductless