A Couple of Cuts at Downtown's Bridgeview Tower
For some reason, we’ve never taken a shine to the Bridgeview Tower that’s been rising at 189 Bridge Street at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge for much of the past year. And even though they’ve been trying to sell units for nine months or so, a strange marketing approach that has obfuscated the range…
For some reason, we’ve never taken a shine to the Bridgeview Tower that’s been rising at 189 Bridge Street at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge for much of the past year. And even though they’ve been trying to sell units for nine months or so, a strange marketing approach that has obfuscated the range and prices of what’s available hasn’t exactly warmed us to the project. A new broker at Douglas Elliman has recently taken over the sales effort, so we’ll see if the information flow improves. Two of the 59 units in the building just got price cuts and can be seen online. Unit 4A, a one bedroom, was just reduced from $599,000 to $539,000 and the awkwardly laid-out Unit 5D was cut from $563,795 to $529,000. We’ve got no idea how many units, if any, are in contract so far. With construction slated to be completed by year-end however, our advice to the developer would be to err on the side of transparency and flesh out the listing information on his website.
189 Bridge Street, #4A [Douglas Elliman] GMAP
189 Bridge Street, #5D [Douglas Elliman]
I have recently purchased a 2 bedroom unit in BridgeView Tower. I have visited the Oro as well as the Jay Condo and in all honesty, although the Oro and Jay Condo are the results of much larger development companies, their units do not compare to the finishes and quality of the units at BridgeView Tower. The layouts of each apartment are done wonderfully considering the limited amount of space they have. The balconies are such a pleasant feature, something very unique to any building in NYC and by the way, the windows are multi-paned. The view from my apartment is gorgeous and I couldnt be happier with another purchase. Speaking of noise and traffic, what about the Oro?…. right on top of a gas station, a block away from the police station and a brisk walk from the projects, o yes, quite a quiet neighborhood around the Oro, and not to mention, what a very friendly sales staff they have, you’d think that their sales team all own million dollar apartments.
It sounds as if you (11:22 PM) are either a developer or a realtor who is trying to attract real estate into Park Slope. You might want to spend some money on advertising instead of using a free online blog. Also, how can you undermine and contradict youself by stating that real estate is going to decline by 24%, while suggesting that people should buy in Park Slope.
New York City has been and still is the most attractive location to buy real estate. In the past 20 years real estate in New York City has mainly gone up. In worst case, it went sideways.
My company has recently relocated me from overseas. For the past six months, I have been searching for condos in Downtown Manhattan, and I have not found anything comparable to what I have seen in BridgeView Tower. In Manhattan the prices range from $1,200- $1,400 per square foot, and I am only paying approximately $800 per square foot at BridgeView Tower.
Because the dollar has depreciated so low, I am able to purchase three units in BridgeView Tower for me and my family. It is a steal at this price. Furthermore, I work in Downtown Wall Street, so it is extremely convenient for me to live in BridgeView Tower since there is a public bus, the B51, that travels into Wall Street and City Hall, and stops directly in front of BridgeView Tower.
For anyone that is looking to buy real estate in Park Slope, you should absolutely consider BridgeView Tower first.
I certainly would not buy an apartment in Bridgeview Tower with the hope that perhaps in time, the area may improve. Actually my best guess is that after the hype being pushed by the developers and brokers fades away, the Flatbush Avenue area will decline in value, perhaps by 30 to 40%, over the next 5 years, and after that, prices will remain flat for many more years. This is further complicated by intense over building, very few buyers and the mortgage depression that we are now in. Even worse, Bridgeview Tower will always be perceived as a place people live in because they couldn’t afford a better area, such as DUMBO and this perception will hound people when they try to sell their apartments in the future. The notion of buying an apartment in Bridgeview Tower as a temporary apartment to be used for a few years is filled with risks and with the area and economy the way it is, could well result in loss of your investment and destruction of your future dreams. Don’t be swayed by the hype. Sometimes it is better to just walk away. Before signing on the dotted line, you may want to have a look at the current issue of Fortune magazine which predicts a citywide decline of 24%. Marginal areas such as the Bridgeview tower area will be much harder hit.
Park Slope is indeed a better choice. Park Slope, which is only an extra 6 minutes from Manhattan, is a far superior area to live in, is much safer and would be a much better investment. The buildings in Park Slope are all built in a grand and exclusive style and Park Slope is a real community. This is in sharp contrast to the noisy, industrial area, crisscrossed by highways around Bridgeview Tower.
I would argue that those of you who have been knocking this building aren’t simply uninformed, but unimaginative as well.
Design-wise, it’s as unique as you can get in that area. The exterior is not stucco, but poured concrete that gives a distinct Floridian look in a city full of metal and glass. It’s an oasis from monotony and I commend anyone who’s got the guts to purchase a unit.
I must concede that some of the layout choices aren’t great, but they’ve done the best to be as space efficient as possible. For instance, instead of leaving the corner cabinet area of the kitchen island as dead space, they incorporated a wine fridge that faces outward, into the living room. The materials used are extremely top notch, from the solid wood doors from Bali, to the generous use of marble and granite.
Additionally, If you take a look at the projected growth of that neighborhood, you’ll find that it’s following the same development trends as every other high-priced area in Brooklyn. My father saw that the technological growth in Alaska was 7 years behind the contiguous United State and decided to buy part of a telcom company. He’s now a multi-millionaire. Real estate is a business based on potential and I know for a fact that this place has it.
Not everything I have to say about this building is praise. I originally purchased a 1 bed, 1.5 bath unit with a terrace and was disappointed to see that it affected the layout considerably. I was also concerned about the narrowness of the terrace itself. I decided to upgrade to a 2 bed, 2 bath with a much deeper balcony. Neither Oro or Jay Condos can say that they have balconies or terraces for every unit. Imagine the 4th of July firework parties!
The lot across the street will be converted to a private dog park, open to only residents and neighbors and shuttle buses are planned for commuting to and from Manhattan.
I realize that everyone wants that huge, beautiful loft that has both character and amenities, but it’s not going to happen, especially not near DUMBO. It’s shortsighted to think that you’ll live in a place for more that 15 years. A smart, person would see this as an opportunity to earn considerable equity, live in a great building with great conveniences, and eventually buy a nicer, bigger place down the line.
I have also purchased a unit and I advise anyone that is interested in buying a condo in Brooklyn to check out BridgeView Tower; it is a must see property.
16B
Lets all be serious, if you are looking into moving downtown and are planning on selling in five to seven years this place is great. You talk about projects, every place in this area has a project next to it.(trust me the city is already thinking of changing this) one comment here is that the project next to oro is a coop? are you kidding?? go there at night an then tell me its a coop, its another dead end project with drugs,murder,prostitution. dont kid yourselves all you oro lovers. even beacon on adams is two blocks from the pjays and people living in those projects walk through dumbo every five minutes, bums and crackheads on every yuppie corner in dumbo.
bottom line bridgeview towers is 5 minutes from the city and is the cheapest price per square foot of any condo in a 5 mile radius(this is a fact ive done the open house research) you can buy a two bedroom two bath for around 625,000, yes it does not have a glass focade and doesnt have pool but it also isnt 800,000 for a two bedroom apartment. thats a huge difference in price i know i just bought an aprartment there two months ago. wait till this building is finished, and lets be even more realistic, how many people that posted a comment even have 90,000 to 150,000 to put down on one of these condos? all you haters are either local rent control cases and could never afford one and the other half are just window shoppers who will wind up moving into the under developed part of park slope.
later, apartment 4c
The area is very noisy in the mornings with all of the traffic and the inner city high school down the block. Not a pleasant area to be in. The area would do better for commercial or industrial buildings.
I went to view this building with the intent to sell, but after meeting with the owners, i decided to bail…These people are pushy and rude, think twice before doing any business with Bridgeview Tower!!…
I live next to Bridgeview Tower.
First of all it has taken over three years to get where they are in the building of Bridgeview Tower. I have never seen it take that long to construct a condo building, Oro down the street has only take months and it is over twice the size.
Secondly, the pinkish exterior is already stained if you look closely, probably because they are power washing the building everyday lately. There are also cracks in the prefab, which have been fixed, but not well.
When digging the foundation of Bridgeview tower they must of got too close to the nieghtboring building (a warehouse structure) and half of the warehouse collapased ontop of the equipment. To be completley honest, after watching and listening to over three years of construction I would not trust the construction there one bit. I am not an expert by all means, but it is a instinct. My dad was a builder and I am sure he would agree with me.
Also at night, they have these huge spot light on the building, which are nearly blinding.
I feel bad for anyone that gets suckered into buying a place there. I live in the neighborhood, and let me tell you there is nothing around!!! (I have lived in the nieghborhood for 6 yrs, becuase i have a rent stabilized place.) Not to mention the asking prices on those places is ridiculous.
They are also advertising places on their website that are over a ten minute walk.
Good luck to the buyers!