The Belltel Lofts: 40 Percent Sold
Since sales started last Fall, roughly a hundred buyers have dialed in to buy a place at the former New York Telephone Company building at 101 Willoughby Street that’s better known in real estate circles these days as the Belltel Lofts. When the listings were first released in October, we opined that “the apartments look…
Since sales started last Fall, roughly a hundred buyers have dialed in to buy a place at the former New York Telephone Company building at 101 Willoughby Street that’s better known in real estate circles these days as the Belltel Lofts. When the listings were first released in October, we opined that “the apartments look pretty attractively priced.” There’s been only one round of price increases since (all in the 2.5 to 5 percent range), so our original statement still stands. No one’s going to dispute the architectural merits of the iconic art deco exterior and the interior reno by Beyer Blinder Belle look pretty nice too. As is the case with all of the new buildings planned for this part of Downtown Brooklyn, services are the big question mark. We’re optimistic they will come, but that’s also why these places (about 150 of which remain) seem like a relatively good bargain right now. Any readers out there who’re in contract here? What sealed the deal for you?
The Belltel Lofts [Douglas Elliman] GMAP
The Floodgates Open at 365 Bridge Street [Brownstoner]
Downtown Art Deco Icon Going Condo [Brownstoner]
Hey anonymous 4:55,
Calm down.. I’m wasn’t being defensive. I was just passing along my opinions of Belltel and how it compares to it’s brethren buildings. And I still couldn’t care less what you think. Peace.
a non ee mus
hey anon 4:49: who told you to sleep with your windows open??!!
a non ee mus, if you “could care less” what anyone thinks, why bother writing a defensive post?
Over the past couple of years, I scoured all the Crooklyn nabes for a decent place to live. After seeing several dozens of places in person and checking out hundreds of annoying building websites, I chose Belltel in the end.
I suppose I have more foresight than the nay-sayers out there… or might be overly confident in the DoBro Renaissance. However, NYC has a penchant for letting progress–and big business land development–go on unimpeded. Downtown Brooklyn has $10 billion coming it’s way over the next ten years. Billions of dollars are already being spent as we speak (or should I say quibble online?).
But I think the location of BelTell is ideal.
It’s not bordered by any noisy intersections (a la 110 Livingston or One Hanson). Nor to any project housing (a la Oro).
The $500-600 price/ft is a relative bargain. If the past is any indicator, that figure should rise dramatically–even in a neighborhood that has its detractors (who’s laughing in DUMBO now).
The building is one of those examples of “they don’t make ’em like they used to.” And shoot me if most new developments out there can boast almost 12′ ceilings. Last time I checked Oro had less than 9′ ceilings.
In the end, it’s all a matter of personal taste and comfort level. I couldn’t care less what y’all think.
i think a lot of readers as well as future belltel residents have no idea what the construction noise is going to mean for this area. i lived on bridge st at willoughby (in the block that’s going to be demolished), right behind the new aloft/sheraton. to begin with, the builder demolished the buildings that had been there, so there was demolition noise. but the real problem was that they chose to cart away the debris, and would do this for about 2-3 hours at a time. they also carted it away between 3 a.m and 6 a.m. every night for about 2 weeks. and i mean that the trucks were going for 3 hours, not that they took 15 minutes between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. try sleeping through a professional carting truck hoisting debris for 3 hours. i really almost lost my mind, and david yassky’s office was of little to no use. i called 311 about 25 times, and at one point the operator told me i had to go down into the construction site at 5 a.m. and get the license plate number of the carter. (guess what, i was so desperate i did precisely that.) the builder at belltel also did the same thing, so i wouldn’t be surprised if the laboz brothers (who are building on willoughby/bridge) did the same thing. i don’t envy those people who’ll have to live through years of that construction. it is going to be a serious nightmare.
Just from what I’ve been told from the Prudential sales agent, the sponsor is no longer negotiating on price or terms. Still never hurts to ask and perhaps there’s more leeway on the units that are moving more slowly than the more popular lines.
My wife and I looked at Belltel when we were shopping for an apartment and came to the same conclusion as Monito.
1) Location–as mentioned by many–isn’t great (save the proximity to transit). While it will probably get better, Metrotech, unfortunately, is not going anywhere (and Metrotech is awful).
Another consideration was the hotel that’s slated to go up right in front of Belltel. Willoughby is a very narrow street and we were concerned of feeling “boxed in”.
2) My wife is an interior designer and mentioned that the developer “cheaped out” on the finishes. If the developer was willing to go cheap on the stuff you could see, it didn’t inspire a lot of confidence on the quality of construction on the things you couldn’t see.
3) The developers history was a bit more sordid than we were comfortable with. We weren’t sure if the developer had even done any other “luxury” developments (most of his portfolio consisted of low income housing).
Just a few reasons why we passed, obviously YMMV. That said, I still think some of the units are decent buys.
Nona, I believe there has been some discussion about that in the posts and comments on the blog that was started by another buyer at BellTel. Might be a better forum for discussions re: negotiations.
http://belltellofts.blogspot.com/
That said, my experience was that there was some room for negotiation on price, coupled with some incentives regarding closing costs. But that was back in early February, so I don’t know what is typical now.
from past boards, it seems there is room for negotiation at the belltels regarding the closing cost.
can someone elaborate?
when should you discuss that?
thanks.