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February 9, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 90 8th Avenue, #2A

90-8th-Avenue-0209.jpg
This new listing at 90 8th Avenue in Park Slope has a great feel to it. The two-bedroom, one-bath co-op has a slightly unusual layout, with a long entry hall, and has been chopped up to create a small second bedroom, but otherwise the prewar finishes and renovated kitchen are all lovely. The monthly maintenance of $1,153 gets you a doorman and extra storage. Think it's a reasonable deal at $799,000? How do you think it stacks up against this similar apartment at 2 Grace Court in The Heights?
90 8th Avenue, #2A [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #1J [Brownstoner]




Posted by Brownstoner at 12:40 PM | Comments (34)
Categories: Co-ops, Park Slope

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Comments

errr, no link to the listing

Posted by: 11215 at February 9, 2009 12:45 PM

Both of your links go to 2 Grace Court and none go to this apartment...

Posted by: 11217 at February 9, 2009 12:45 PM

Is the Grace Court apt. still available? Would be a shame if it was.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at February 9, 2009 12:50 PM

They seem pretty comparable except that the Grace Court layout seems nicer, no bedroom off the dining room, and more charming somehow. Also it was a higher floor.
Depends on whether you prefer Brooklyn Heights or Park Slope.

Posted by: sam at February 9, 2009 1:05 PM

'and has been chopped up to create a small third bedroom,'

Third Bedroom???? So small I don't see it on the floor plan.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at February 9, 2009 1:05 PM

$800K for a chopped-up second-floor one bedroom with a bad layout -- and over $1K maintenace -- so in what universe is this a value? It should be about $499K max!

Posted by: BH76 at February 9, 2009 1:08 PM

This seems overpriced to me - bad layout, really a glorified 1 BR b/c the BR off the dining room is really a nursery or office, realistically. No outdoor space and super high maintenance, plus 8th Ave is loud and a pain to live on. We looked at an apartment in this building, similar layout, in 2002 or so and they were asking 300-something. I think mid-500s or low-600s max.

Posted by: WTbound at February 9, 2009 1:10 PM

BH76 is right....someone who's in the market for a $799k condo is not going to be able to foot that $1,153 maintenance alongside the mortgage.

Ridiculous.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 9, 2009 1:11 PM

Mr. B, are you ok today?
You're listing 2 Grace Court 1J which is a one bedroom...change it to 6G.
You had me confused, which doesn't take much!

Definetely BH apt. is better, layout, terrace. Park Slope isn't the end all!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at February 9, 2009 1:11 PM

Obviously it comes down to neighborhood preference, but this place looks much brighter to me than the Grace Court listing. Something about that one felt like a cave.

The layout was better though.

Posted by: 11217 at February 9, 2009 1:13 PM

i have done work in this building. it typifies for me, the classic difficult to renovate nyc pre war. Concrete floors and ceilings with cast in place electrical lines. Threaded glavanized plumbing. Very small electrical service with antiquated fuse box. Decorative cast in place metal door bucks. Super thin strip flooring on cinders. If your looking at this place and want to renovate - its tricky. Oh also for pure humor, i literally had to go to the roof and turn the cold water off at the water tower for a shutdown because of a bizarre series of events.

For whats it worth.

Posted by: jp2 at February 9, 2009 1:15 PM

jp2...that's the type of building I lived in on the UES. It was great for all those reasons...totally soundproof from unit to unit, I kept the heat to a minimum because of the insulation factors. Yes, a wall removal is certainly a messier job that drywall and studs but its so much nicer construction for the reasons I mentioned above.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 9, 2009 1:22 PM

I visited a 2BR co-op on Berkeley at 5th this weekend.

http://tinyurl.com/deet2c

I'd much rather have that one - at its price and maintenance - than this co-op. I just do not understand the appeal of a gigantic doorman building that costs over a grand a month extra in maintenance.

also, on a mostly unrelated note: I hate those farmhouse sinks where the front of the sink is visible. It looks like a piece of cabinetry broke off. Worst kitchen trend ever.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at February 9, 2009 1:43 PM

799k ... too funny ... seller is living in la-la land

90 Eighth Avenue #4C is going for 649K (priced dropped by 50K 4 days ago) ... oh look they're listed by the same company Brown Harris Stevens ...

Posted by: ZooLander at February 9, 2009 1:45 PM

way overpriced, cheap looking attempt at designer staging, just looks cheap. When Dibs is negative on this YOU KNOW ITS BAD.

Posted by: cornerbodega at February 9, 2009 1:51 PM

Renovation/modification is difficult to perform was my only point. Many may not see the need to do either.

Posted by: jp2 at February 9, 2009 1:53 PM

You can buy a three-floor penthouse with pool in Northside Towers for this.

Posted by: dittoburg at February 9, 2009 2:20 PM

You can buy a 3 BR house on a park block in Windsor Terrace for less than this.

Posted by: WTbound at February 9, 2009 2:52 PM

you can?

Posted by: dittoburg at February 9, 2009 3:07 PM

No. Not yet.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 9, 2009 3:13 PM

You can buy a nice 2,500 sq. ft. brownstone in Bed Stuy for this and the real estate taxes will be around $2,000 A YEAR.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 9, 2009 3:16 PM

These small 2-br's may be a tougher sell now. Previously, if you had a child, you saw these places as a step up from a 1 br for a few years, then you'd sell when your toddler got too big for a 7x9 br, you had a 2nd child. or you wanted to go to the burbs when they got to school age. Not a big deal when you could be assured prices were going up.

Also, only 27% deductible? that's a high maintenance, assuming that this is around 950-1000 sf.

As for merits of the apt. itself, it's a classic prewar, with all the good and bad that implies, on a prime block. It's bizarre to compare it to a house in WT or BS.

Posted by: Bolder at February 9, 2009 3:37 PM

But Bolder, it's exactly what I left on the UES for a BS brownstone!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at February 9, 2009 3:57 PM

Not sure why everyone is so negative. This building is tough to get into and the apartments are really nice. It is one of the few buildings in PS that offer a doorman which is great for a family with strollers, etc.
Also, if a single person wants is looking, I can also assure you the best looking people in park slope live in this building.

Posted by: werspe at February 9, 2009 4:02 PM

Not sure why everyone is so negative. This building is tough to get into and the apartments are really nice. It is one of the few buildings in PS that offers a doorman which is great for a family with strollers, etc.
Also, if a single person is looking, I can also assure you the best looking people in park slope live in this building.

Posted by: werspe at February 9, 2009 4:03 PM

Looks to have over 1200 sq ft and is in a lovely building. Seems like a place for a family with young kids. Saw the comment about 4C in that building and they are very different apartments. We went to the open house for both this weekend and found this apartment to feel very large and light filled in comparison. Worth the additional $$$.

Posted by: jh71 at February 9, 2009 4:22 PM

1 bath, that stinks. BTW no one noticed the heading, TOP DRAW!

Posted by: denton at February 9, 2009 4:24 PM

Brownstoner:

Just as there are brownstone lovers who cringe at the sight of chopped-up houses, there are pre-war apartment lovers who despair at chopped-up apartments.

Not that the finishes in this place aren't nice, but the alterations destroy the quality of apartments of this type: big, rectangular rooms (all with windows) with nice foyers and passages between.

The long entry hall actually works and embeds the unit in a nice "private" zone away from the public hall. After that, it's mostly down hill because of the revisions.

I've passed this building many times and thought of it as an attractive alternative to Manhattan apartment houses (together with some along Grand Army Plaza, Eastern Parkway, and Prospect Park West). This particular unit would be very livable for a single or a couple. But for a family with children? Why be spatially compromised from the start -- and at these prices when the real-estate market has double digits to tumble?

Nostalgic on Park Avenue

Posted by: NOP at February 9, 2009 4:26 PM

The fact that its not a real 2-BR, with an unusual lay-out may turn off people looking to spend $800K with $1150 maintenance.

And btw, the best looking people in Park Slope live in... Fort Greene! :)

Posted by: saminthehood at February 9, 2009 4:30 PM

BTW, there are really no good looking people in Park Slope. PS is known for its bad fashion too. And the hipsters here are the worst- nerdiest of the nerds.

Posted by: billyboomer at February 9, 2009 6:25 PM

billy, I thought we already established there are no hipsters in Park Slope.

Posted by: mopar at February 9, 2009 7:30 PM

That is an idiotic layout. But most likely original to the building.

Posted by: mopar at February 9, 2009 7:33 PM

thinking this over some more, the Grace Court apartment is way better, nicer block, better layout, and higher tax deductible on the maintenance. Also, it's in Brooklyn Heights.

Posted by: sam at February 9, 2009 7:35 PM

i disagree, and i was at the open house. the building is elegant and seems very well-maintained, and the apartment has the massive, spacious pre-war feel you get on the UWS and rarely in the slope. big rooms, a lot of light (which surprised me since it's the 2nd floor), real closets with heavy orginal doors, and the 2nd bedroom is fine. much better than what you get in the standard slope 2 and 3br floor-thoughs, imho. the kitchen is small which doesn't work for me, but otherwise i really liked this place.

Posted by: harposfat at February 10, 2009 9:08 AM

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