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October 10, 2008

Checking In on 5One5 Condos

Last we looked, 515 5th Avenue was a hot, green property, with a green roof and bamboo flooring (pretty standard for green, but enough to use the term as a marketing tool). The six-story building with 15 residential units includes ground-floor retail that's still not rented out, but all but two of the units have been sold. What's left? A 1,110-square-foot three bedroom for $875,000, that went on the market in April for $995,000, and a similar unit, one floor down, that listed in April for $994,000 and is now $865,000; both were reduced nine weeks ago. Three units are in contract, including one that took a $100,000 price cut five months ago. Think prices have further to fall here? And whatever will become of the ground floor retail space?
5one5 Condo [Official site]
Condo of the Day: 515 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
515 Fifth Avenue: The Slope Goes Green [Brownstoner]

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Comments

Could have a little more chopping to do, but these will sell ultimately. Great building.

Posted by: guestula at October 10, 2008 11:16 AM

I think the two remaining units will sell 100k below the current prices. They have just been sitting too long. That, combined with current uncertainty, doesn't bode well. They are pretty nice places, just a bit tight.

Posted by: ks8000 at October 10, 2008 11:23 AM

My only issue with this building is that the closet space seems a little too slight and the outdoor spaces on a lot of the units face 5th Avenue. As a current 5th Avenue dweller, I find it very loud and therefore unlikely that I would actually try to relax or entertain on such balconies. Other than that, good building. I too am curious regarding what will become of the retail space. I must admit though that I was sad to see the Salvation Army go that was once there. It was a close and convenient way to de-clutter my apartment every spring.

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at October 10, 2008 12:02 PM

ks800: 100K below ask? No way. If so, I am lining up. A brand-new 3BR in a green bldg in South Slope for $765K seems, and I hate that I am saying this, too good to be true.

Posted by: Fjorder at October 10, 2008 12:12 PM

Fjorder make an offer. I bet it won't be completely rejected. Have you seen the apartments? They are small. And I think people are hesistant about this area. Personally, I think the area is great but I overheard several people at the open house asking ridiculous questions about the neighborhood. So maybe no 100k below ask but I bet you both of these apartments sell near the 800k mark. These apartments have been sitting for months, which only means one thing--they are priced too high still. The price reductions occured months ago.

Posted by: ks8000 at October 10, 2008 12:19 PM

The three units currently in contract all took $100k cuts before they sold. The remaining two units have also taken similar cuts, but the prices remain at $779/SF and $788/SF.

Those prices for this area still seem rather optimistic now. South Slope is like a less established Williamsburg with a longer commute, and should be priced accordingly.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 10, 2008 12:41 PM

I don't agree SnarkSlope about your Williamsburg, South Slope analogy. I think the two are just different, not less or more of anything.

I'd MUCH rather live in South Slope over Williamsburg (I actually wouldn't live in Williamsburg if you paid me).

South Slope is MORE established in the sense that is is a community, has grocery stores, is diverse and has been a relatively stable, working class neighborhood for decades. I think in an economic downturn, South Slope has a better chance of holding on that Williamsburg does, in fact. I think people will bolt Williamsburg if things there take a nose dive. Just my opinion, though.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 12:48 PM

How much are they asking for the retail space?

Posted by: troll at October 10, 2008 12:49 PM

"South Slope ... is a community, has grocery stores, is diverse and has been a relatively stable, working class neighborhood for decades."

OK, perhaps I am missing something, but that sounds pretty much just like Williamsburg to me. What is used to be anyways.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 10, 2008 1:05 PM

There are very few grocery stores in Williamsburg. Or pharmacies or dry cleaners, etc.

Also the population is very segregated...there are the under 25 year olds (with their hangouts), the families (with their spots) and then the old guard (who have their own hangouts).

This, of course exists in other neighborhoods, but I see Williamsburg as being very segregated like that and South Slope seems much more inclusive to me.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me the newcomers to Williamsburg don't really care about the neighborhood's past so much or the people who have lived there for generations, and I don't see that as much in Park Slope.

I hope this new world we are about to enter makes everyone a little more appreciative of those around them. Maybe that will be one of the good things that comes out of all of this.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 1:09 PM

So, the address is 515 Fifth Avenue. That's pretty clear - and reinforced by the name of the building "5 One 5 Condominiums."

Why then does the website say, "Located on 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in Brooklyn's Park Slope..."

It's on the CORNER. I honestly don't get it. It's simply baffling to me that someone wrote that sentence on the website. The fancy photos show the building on the corner. The address is clearly on the corner. The address has nothing to do with 13th street... and, it's on the corner.

What is the marketing benefit here? It's north of 15th street, so the "Park Slop" nomenclature is fine... What does presenting a 5th Avenue corner lot as a mid-block, side street do? Other than just provide more evidence that real estate agents don't know how to simply tell the truth... even if the truth is fine.

I really want to know the honest motivation of Corcoran here!

Posted by: tybur6 at October 10, 2008 1:11 PM

"Also the population is very segregated...there are the under 25 year olds (with their hangouts), the families (with their spots) and then the old guard (who have their own hangouts)."

This is spot on South Slope. Take a walk around and you will see the exact same lack of mixing. South Slope is not inclusive. At all. It exhibits the same pattern of gentrification seen everywhere else.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 10, 2008 1:19 PM

Tyburg,

It says that because the entrance to the building is on 13th between 5th and 6th. It is NOT on 5th Avenue.

It happens all over the city...especially noticeable on West End Avenue or Broadway on the Upper West Side. Buildings which are located ON Broadway, use the names of the side streets, because that's where the entrances to the residences are (and some people just think it sounds better to say....222 West 93rd, than it does 2000 Broadway or whatever).

Happens all over.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 1:25 PM

Hmmm, Snarkslope...I guess I don't see it as much. I was walking around there yesterday in fact, and noticed how many people were sitting out on their stoops...80 year olds with their daughters and sons and their daughters and sons. I saw a perhaps 90 year old woman being helped across the street by someone in their 20's and walked in a couple stores where the people who owned them seemed to be father/son. It seems much more mixed to me, and it's especially noticeable in the latin population.

The 20 somethings in Williamsburg seem much more detached to me. I've known quite a few, and it seems the only thing they care about is not caring.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 1:28 PM

It's ridiculous... the entrance is 12 ft in from the corner, so it's "between" 5th and 6th avenue. I don't care if it happens all over, it's stupid and should be stopped!

Imagine giving someone directions... "Oh, my place is 515 5th Avenue, between 5th and 6th Avenue."

Posted by: tybur6 at October 10, 2008 1:29 PM

I don't think it's stupid. It doesn't matter where it is...if you say you are on 5th Avenue, someone is going to be wandering around that empty retail spot wondering where the entrance to your place is.

The entrance to this building is between 5th and 6th...that's how we do things here in New York. It doesn't matter if it's 12 feet or 120 feet. It is between 5th and 6th.

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 1:38 PM

And yes, if I were going to direct someone there if I lived here, I would say I live at 515 5th Avenue, but you enter the building between 5th and 6th, much closer to 5th.

That's exactly how I would word it myself if I lived there...

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 1:40 PM

"someone is going to be wandering around that empty retail spot wondering where the entrance to your place is."

So, 11217, you and your friends are not that swift, eh?

The entrance is on the side street wouldn't do? The emphasis on "between 5th and 6th" just ridiculously emphasizes 13th street -- as if you have to drive all the way around the block and come down from 6th avenue. That's an extra couple of bucks for a cab, when they could have just dropped you off at the corner... and if you're not brain dead realized the door is on the side of the big grey box. Or would you go inside the shop on the ground floor wandering around saying, "This doesn't look like an apartment!"

OK - I'm dwelling unnecessarily. (Trust me, if it was simply not on the freaking corner, I would understand...)

Posted by: tybur6 at October 10, 2008 2:01 PM

"The 20 somethings in Williamsburg seem much more detached to me."

And those are exactly the sorts moving into the South Slope now. The old ladies on the stoops will remain, and you will see little if any mixing between the worlds.

I think you are just seeing the exact same pattern, but at different points in the cycle.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 10, 2008 2:32 PM

Is it just me? I find the outside of the building very ugly.

Posted by: mscrochety at October 10, 2008 3:34 PM

On the Williamsburg/Park Slope talk, I just found this and thought it was pretty cool.

Williamsburg has almost TWICE as many children as Park Slope...

http://www.gowanuslounge.com/2008/10/08/fun-tool-checking-out-11215-and-11211-via-zip-skinny/#more-10755

Posted by: 11217 at October 10, 2008 4:08 PM