Per Square Foot Cost for a Brownstone
Interested in hearing from architects and owners what the cost per square foot would be to gut renovate 4 out of 5 floors of a brownstone (parlor and the 3 add’l floors up) and keep the garden as a rental which we would not touch with the exception of upgrading plumbing and/or electric. We expect…
Interested in hearing from architects and owners what the cost per square foot would be to gut renovate 4 out of 5 floors of a brownstone (parlor and the 3 add’l floors up) and keep the garden as a rental which we would not touch with the exception of upgrading plumbing and/or electric. We expect a high middle finish and would will install an elevator, central air. We will probably keep the radiator heat. The only existing detail we would keep would be the stairs which would have to be fixed somewhat. Soup to nuts including all fees, what would be a reasonable estimate on a square foot basis to do such a renovation. The amount of square footage to renovate is approx 5000 ft.
I think the contractors may be basing their prices on how much they think you can pay…
Sure, high end finishes cost more, but $450/sf? Ok everyone, take out an imaginary record album and now put a price tag of $450 on it.
I think it’s the contractors who need a reality check, but maybe they’ll get it. I got a middle high-end kitchen for about $100/sf (a little less), would expect to pay about the same for bath, but couldn’t even imagine approaching $450 even if all the mechanicals needed updating.
Our renovation of just two floors and cellar is looking like it will come out to about 150 sq ft. Of course, there will not be an elevator…which I would imagine is pretty pricey 🙂
best laugh I’ve had all day…
since you’re ripping out all the detail, why keep the stairs? Perhaps you can get jet packs to take you from floor to floor when the elevator is on the fritz…
Interior Renovation costs range from $50 per square foot to $100 per square foot. It depends on the finishes.
Gut renovations are such fun, don’t you think?
smokeychimp may be just a little off. I spent over$11M on my 5 story frame house in the South Slope (see Arch Digest May ’04 issue). Will be glad to send you a Xcel spreadsheet of the details.
Btw, I think you should expand into the whole house. 5000 sq ft. is quite small for the level of ostentation you’re aspiring too. And having bitter tenants downstairs is bad karma.
1.5MM sounds like a very reasonable starting point.
Interesting, I am getting some quotes well over $2MM implying $450 a sq/ft. Basically, the person we were highly considering just raised his price and claims we cannot possibly renovate our brownstone for less than $450 a sq ft. Do you mind sharing your bldg location and your architect/contractor. I am trying to get a reality check.
We are doing just that, except we are doing a more extensive renovation to the ground floor than what you describe. We also have 5,000 sq. feet, and are putting in central air, elevator, 6 bathrooms, new boiler, etc. I would say that smokychimp has pretty much nailed it. I expect to end up pretty close to that exact figure, although I am not sure it will cover redoing the backyard, too.
sounds expensive since it seems the cost would be about $71MM to renovate. I have never seen a quote that high so this sounds a bit off!!