How to spend north of $600/sf on a renovation

Bleak. This kind of stuff is a good reminder that most Renos are consumption masquerading as investment.
At least central AC would have been like an infrastructure investment.

It's a testament to NYC construction costs that "plumbing & electrical" for a single bathroom & kitchen could approach $100K.

And because of the layout there's still a column between the shower & vanity?

$558k is approaching/outright crossing the "just buy a bigger place" threshold I'd imagine. Which of course is not always the best course of action, but when in a 1bed/1bath, there's more room going up than down!

I prefer Penthouse "Letters From The Editor." At least that fiction was entertaining.

"And because of the layout there's still a column between the shower & vanity?"

I would have put one towel hook and a hanging towel on 3 sides of the column, it would change the whole look and be functional

Money takes taste out to dinner and only one comes home.

I don't understand "For example, we had to switch from gas to an induction stove,..." What in the world was wrong with the gas in the building... ? It's not outlawed yet...

And yes, hooks on the column, and flip the swing of the shower door.

Am I the only one who isn't bothered by the lack of tiling on the walls, especially surrounding the tub?

Most old buildings don't allow moving the gas stove from the original position, so you have to go electric if you want to change the layout. But then also some old buildings don't allow electric stoves because common infrastructure cannot take on the extra load.

30 -- you're the only one who isn't bothered, or you're the only who is? I too am bothered. I like that tub, but having it plunked down there gives a sort of Hamptons-garage vibe that is not my thing. Perhaps I am in a different stage of life, because I look at that place and think, "oh, what it needs is a little crayon." (Or perhaps, in deference to MCR, some dog hair).

Aaron that line about taste and money is hilarious.

Also, I am available if anyone needs their 700-sf prewar painted for $41K. People who have done recent renovations, is that not screamingly high for Level 4 finish? Sounds like they moved some walls so they're presumably hanging some new drywall, but for the rest of the unit it's just mud, sand, prime, and paint, right?

with $600/sf cost, you can buy an apartment in Queens. Just saying.

its.. got to be money laundering right?
A friend did a $500k reno on well over 2x the square footage in Manhattan and it looks better / included HVAC work / moving walls & plumbing / etc

what do you think was the goal of the sponsored article?

Hate read for clicks?

Sponsored by RE industrial complex to try and anchor renovation prices higher?

Ha. I was thinking that too. If the goal was to promote Bolster, they failed miserably. This is no more than $400 per sq ft reno via a full service design build firm. I don’t really think it is a high end reno. Not even central air. Plus whatever it costs the owner for carry and brain damage.

It certainly did produce a hate-read!

I guess the goal was indeed to introduce new numbers into the renovation space and to move the anchor upward ... but ... wow.

@300: Agreed. If it doesn't have central air, it's not a high end reno.

On the other hand, here's the story of spending $2.5m on a renovation, nearly going broke, and ultimately become bored with it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/style/what-happens-when-you-get-so-influential-that-youre-bored-by-your-own-aesthetic.html

@Aaron

Haha, your post just gave me a flashback to a scene in Richard Pryor's version of Brewster's Millions.

For those who dont know the movie, after exhausting the interior designer thru several of her designs and doesnt know Richard's character's intent is to spend as much money as possible finally exclaims to her relief..... "This is a room I could die in"

Beautiful Brooklyn townhouse... I fell like I have see it somewhere... lol

Here is another designer one, with a good price a lowish taxes.
https://streeteasy.com/building/1989-madison-avenue-new_york/sale/1644584

All that counterspace on the kitchen wall, and the 'designer' still shoved the range in the corner, so a person who needs to get into the fridge will be in the way of the cook. (got it right in the other unit though).

And people wonder why expensive and/or relatively new kitchens are ripped out when a unit sells...

People are insane when it comes to renovations.
There's a couple I know who moved into a new construction building.
One of them is an environmental activist.
They did a $500K+ renovations on the new construction.
Incredible waste of resources, some activists might point out.

Exactly opposite of some one like me who is not an environmentalist. I still have 25 plus year Subzero going strong. But had to just replace 2 of my Marvel wine coolers after 25 years of use. I don’t even own a car.

And wait, even my Asco dishwashers lasted me 20-25 years (previous owner purchase) and has to just replace them with 40db Bosch.

> Exactly opposite of some one like me who is not an environmentalist. I still have 25 plus year Subzero going strong. But had to just replace 2 of my Marvel wine coolers after 25 years of use. I don’t even own a car.

Nice! I also have no car and a ~25 y o Subzero that came with my apartment, and I love it.

@front_porch I was quoted $50k to patch & paint one room.

Pretty big room by NY standards, with lots of electrical patching needed on the (tall) ceiling. But still. I declined.

And this was the value-oriented GC I ended up hiring for the rest of the project, who came in far lower on other line items than his peers. I'm gonna let him do the patches and skim coat, but then find my own paint guy who I can't imagine costs more than $3500-4000.

In other news, I paid a few kilobucks to replace the sealed system on a 25yo Subzero and don't regret it.

As for cars/parking, I've never paid more than $40/day around here. Places like Denver (where everyone flies only to then hop to their *real* destination) are much harder to bargain shop in my experience.

I also have a 25 y o Subzero, so would love to know more about this sealing thing. How would I know if I needed this done, and who would I call? The manufacturer?

>> Places like Denver (where everyone flies only to then hop to their *real* destination)

Both times I flew to Denver, I went to downtown Denver. It was quite the hop. Why’s the airport so far and surrounded for dozens of miles with nothing but grassland? I guess they’re planning for the next 300 years, but by then we’ll all be on spaceships assuming we haven’t first nuked the planet to smitherines.

The official story is that residents near the old Stapleton airport were doing standard NIMBY stuff, and the mayor of Brighton (pop 20K at the time) somehow convinced the mayor of Denver to relocate.

But nimbys are an everywhere phenomenon. Not everywhere builds a brand new international airport 26 miles into the boonies, though, nor do they purchase more than 2x the land area of Manhattan.

Like in NY, the story of Colorado politics is really a story of real estate power brokers. The Fulenwider family empire has quietly been among the state's richest for a century, and the siting of DIA made them a lot richer.

Fascinating!

Richard, IIRC you live in a loft, so indeed your "room" is probably bigger than the UWS apartment this thread started with.

I'm a very slow skim-coater, but I'm still considering a career switch to painting....

@front_porch - same
We had a leak into our bathroom ceiling, the super referred us to a bunch of guys who quoted $5k to repaint a bathroom ceiling & single wall.. this was 4 years ago I'd imagine its worse now. Out of curiosity I asked my new super how much he'd charge and he was like "a few hundred" lol.

If the leak is from the ceiling the building should be paying for it unless it's a duplex?

Condo refused, said it was below their deductible and refused fix for a month.
I went through my insurance and let them try and go after them.

"...it was below their deductible..." How is that an excuse? It just means they're paying for it out of pocket.

Crazy nonsensical excuse

yeah, bunch of dbags on board & mgmt co
was faster to fix the problem then fight them over $3-5k past the first month, which im sure is what they bank on

one of the many joys of NYC "homeownership" :-)