Combining 2 Apartments

We just bought 2 apartments on the parlor level of a brownstone that we are combining so it will be a gut reno. What is a safe budget per SF (all in with architect/permitting etc).

Guest User | 6 years and 6 months ago

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manhatta | 6 years and 6 months ago

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Have you hired an architect yet? If not, I would be happy to provide a quote: http://www.manhatta.net/contact

powell5424

in General Discussion 6 years and 6 months ago

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Congrats on your new apartments (and soon to be apartment!) Gut renovations in NYC typically run anywhere from $216-$526 per square foot (depending on the level of craftsmanship involved), with apartment combinations falling somewhere in between. There are many factors you need to consider when combining apartments in NYC – we just published a blog post about this topic if you want to check it out: https://bolster.us/bolsterblog/how-much-does-nyc-apartment-combination-cost

BKALLDAY | 6 years and 6 months ago

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Have a professional come in and see your wants and needs lists and get several good quotes. I cannot impress the importance of having all your questions, in hand. Your budget, start and end dates, finishes in mind and how you will use the space ready for them. A good contractor has access to site managers (if you can’t), architects or vice versa, discounts with suppliers and have a balanced book themselves so they don’t start and then disappear because they are using your job to float others. While I have sooooo much love for this forum. I do not encourage you to leave such a monuments task to a forum. Once you select a company then you can ask if anyone has used them.

Good luck to you. It will be beautiful when it’s done I am sure.

Guest User | 6 years and 6 months ago

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This is not a question that can really be answered with the information provided. The quoted $250/sf is high, in my opinion, but so much of this depends on a) materials and finishes, b) the degree of work involving asbestos, energy code, and mechanical systems, and c) the size and complexity of the combination. I think if you are using nice but not extravagant materials and fixtures, $250 is a VERY safe number to use, and if you work you should bring that number well below $200/sf. But again, without knowing the total square footage it’s kind of a meaningless guess.

In fact, I wouldn’t really try to calculate this on a per square foot basis, because every gut is very different, and it’s unlikely you actually know what you want to do. You might think you do, but with NYC you quickly find that little things can be very expensive and big things can be quite reasonable. For example: how much asbestos remediation do you need? This could be $0 and it could be $25k. How much energy code compliance is necessary? Upgrading thousands of square feet of insulation gets expensive f ast.

The better and more cost-effective path for you is to hire an architect and have him draw up your dream plan. This should cost no more than $15k, unless you’re using a fancy architect in which case it can be much more. Then go out and bid it out with a bunch of different contractors, making sure the bids are itemized according to standard construction divisions. Once you see the itemized bids, you’ll understand what’s inflating your cost and you can work with the architect to revise the plan as necessary to get to your budget.

Good luck…

resident2 | 6 years and 6 months ago

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You bought just two apartments? So how can it be a gut reno? I am sure the co-op / condo board will have a lot to say about how much of a gut you can do.
Start by finding out how much you can do within your space. You cannot change the structure of the building, there will be limits to mechanical upgrades to.

cate | 6 years and 6 months ago

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Are you sure you need and want a full gut, where you take everything down to the studs? Maybe removing a kitchen or bath or a wall or two and a mechanical update is all you need.

jimhillra | 6 years and 6 months ago

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Depending upon the actual scope, we often tell our clients to expect $250 and up per sq ft for construction costs alone for a low-level gut, plus maybe 10% in architectural fees, and a few thousand in other fees (Asbestos report, DOB, etc.). More complex projects result in higher budgets for the construction work as well as more design fees.