Inside the Open Houses

This month, Riva Froymovich drops in on open houses in Long Island City and the Financial District

Long Island City: Luring Manhattanites over the East River with Italian appliances and red oak floors

There wasn’t much of a march of brunch-goers down Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City around noon on a Sunday last month. Those who did walk by — a pair of moms chatting in Spanish, a young couple, and a few solitary types — were brushed by a chill breeze coming in from the nearby water. The winds were even stronger atop the eight-story Badge Building on the corner of 47th Avenue and 11th Street.

Still under construction, the Badge Building is scheduled to open next summer. From the unfinished rooftop, prospective apartment buyers can see the dramatic script of the red “Pepsi-Cola” sign. Despite the clouds, it also offered a view of Manhattan’s skyline, the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and a broad range of the neighborhood’s extensive construction sites.

“Eventually, all of this is going to go condo,” said Doron Zwickel, director of sales for the Badge Building, sweeping his arm across the expanse.

One couple brooded over floor plans inside the showroom as a sales agent showed them the tile pattern of the lobby: blue mosaic. But the buyers appeared more concerned with other matters: money and space.

A grey-haired man in the sales office said that he was “just driving by and noticed the building.” He was curious about how much space he could get for his dollars. He pressed an agent about whether he would receive a tax abatement on the purchase. They couldn’t promise him, the agent said, but they expect 421-a tax abatement approval soon.

Between 15 and 20 different buyers have usually stopped by recently for these weekly building open houses, Zwickel said. Most potential buyers, many of whom are young couples and families, are from Manhattan, he said.

“Most of the people that come here are looking for more bang for their buck,” Zwickel said. Yet, “the developers feel confident enough not to negotiate.”

The average apartment price is $700 per square foot. (Zwickel maintains that’s the most in Long Island City; it’s still 60 percent of Manhattan’s average condo price.) Each unit has bleached Brazilian red oak floors, nearly 12-foot ceilings, and includes Italian appliances and Philippe Starck fixtures. There will be a landscaped roof terrace and parking spaces for sale.

The E, V and G trains are nearby. So is a No. 7 subway station, which is just two stops from Midtown Manhattan. Neighbors include the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation and a row of dingy yellow and brown vinyl-sided apartment buildings. A few blocks are strung with shops and restaurants, but there’s no major supermarket.

Around the corner, at 13-11 Jackson Avenue, is the Echelon, another nearly completed condominium.

Approximately 12 to 15 parties had visited by that early Sunday afternoon, and a little over 50 percent of the apartments had already been sold since sales opened in September.

“[Long Island City] is supposedly up and coming. It’s going to change. It’s going to be the offshoot of Manhattan,” said one man touring the prototype apartment for the Echelon. His new wife, who currently resides in Queens, walked nearby.

She stressed that price was an important factor in their search, especially because they want a two-bedroom. Long Island City is an option because of that, although they are looking all over New York, she said.

“It’s definitely becoming a destination spot for people who want affordable housing…less than $1 million for a two-bedroom,” said David Behin, executive vice president of the Developers Group, which directs marketing and sales for the Echelon. Prices at the project range between $550 and $700 per square foot, and negotiations occur if it’s a serious buyer, Behin said.

The 13-story building was designed by FXFowle Architects with ultra-modern lines and appliances. The prototype is decorated with photographs of contemporary cultural icons such the Notorious B.I.G. and Vera Wang.

“We went for a younger crowd who’d know who these artists are,” Behin said.

For instance, Queens native Chris Lazos, a 24-year-old stockbroker who works in Midtown Manhattan. At an open house, Lazos said that he had related to those photographs and the apartment’s “modern look.” After searching for about three months throughout Long Island City and Sunnyside, he decided to make an offer for a one-bedroom unit there.

Lazos cited three principal draws: proximity to work, “city views,” and the “up-and-coming” nature of the neighborhood.

During another Sunday showing, Yuming Zou, a 25-year-old banker, shimmied between a wall and the high chairs of a kitchen table towards a windowpane to see the view for himself.

“I just want to get a place for myself,” said Zou, who rents on the Upper East Side with a roommate. “There’s a lot of newer housing coming up here, and [it’s] cheaper than Manhattan,” he said.

Zou also visited the Citylights co-op nearby, one the first high-rises in the area, whose ground floor plays host to P.S. 78 — the Robert F. Wagner Jr. School for pre-K through fifth grade.

However, he isn’t certain that buying is the best option. Zou also checked out East Coast, part of a seven-building complex still under construction along the East River beside the “Pepsi-Cola” sign. It will include condominium and retail space, and is already offering rental apartments.

But others still aren’t convinced by the neighborhood.

“It’s pretty commercial, pretty run down,” said one 33-year-old banker, who currently resides in Astoria, Queens. He has been looking for a one-bedroom on and off for several months, and it is his first purchase.

“I kind of like the idea of being a pioneer” by moving to Long Island City, said one retired magazine editor. But, while walking from the No. 7 line, she passed the industrial landscape and had some doubts. “The subway is kind of creepy,” she added.

Financial District: A neighborhood changes character: Have a Bellini and buy a new condo

The neighborhood Cosi and Duane Reade are closed. The same goes for the discount clothing shops and coffee counters that are packed during weekday lunch hours. But there was a full lunch spread, replete with cocktails, sandwiches and salad at 55 Wall Street in the Financial District on a holiday-nearing December Sunday.

“Help yourself to a Bellini,” said one sales agent at the Cipriani Club Residence, which rests above the event venue Cipriani Wall Street, part of Giuseppe Cipriani’s haute restaurant empire.

Doormen in top hats greeted open house guests. Inside the sixth floor sales office, a table was set with food and drinks, attended by a uniformed gentleman. Guests were initiated with a video featuring super agent Dolly Lenz, vice chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

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She pitched the residence to busy New Yorkers. Apartments are completely outfitted down to the toothbrush and soap, she said, and a private restaurant, bar, spa and butler service are part of the package.

Apartment 824, a 593-square foot pied-a-terre, was listed with an asking price of $905,000, or more than $1,525 a square foot.

The open house began at 12 p.m. and no parties had yet arrived by 12:30 p.m. A reporter was asked to return announced, under more formal pretense.

The scene was less ceremonial at nearby 59 John Street, an Andres Escobar-designed boutique building that is nearly fully sold.

A few parties walked about the model apartment’s bathroom, fixed with a marble framed soaking tub, and the kitchen, adorned with Sapelli wood and glass cabinets.

David Wu, an orthodontist, has been looking for an apartment in the neighborhood with his fianc for two months. His practice is Downtown and she works nearby as well. The two appreciate the convenience of walking to work — not to mention the luxe apartment furnishings.

“They created a lot of fancy finishes, but it prices out many people,” said another open house guest, Alana Rutherford. She would like to spend under a million dollars for a one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit.

“If you want to attract young professionals, keep prices lower,” said Rutherford, 30, a lawyer at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in Midtown.

One-bedrooms begin at $790,000; two-bedrooms at $1.235 million; and three-bedrooms at $1.475 million. All one- and two-bedrooms have a home office. The lofts boast 11- to 12-foot ceilings and 9.5-by-8-foot windows. The building tenants will share a lobby lounge with an interior garden, a fitness room and a roof deck, although the two penthouse residences have private outdoor space.

Rutherford currently rents in Nolita and recently restarted her apartment search after losing a number of bids to all-cash offers.

“Ideally, I’d like to buy in my neighborhood, but there is not much for sale,” Rutherford said. In the Financial District, there is new construction, more space and a changing character, she said. Rutherford has friends living in the area, too.

“[It’s] time to buy if you’re going to buy here,” she said.

Her only concern is that the proximity of buildings in the district, compounded by their size, will block the light in most apartments. Since the showing is a model space, not the actual apartment, this is difficult to ascertain.

About 15 units are left in the 12-floor, 71-unit building, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Christine Barranca.

“[People are] moving to the neighborhood for an investment, for what the future of the Financial District is perceived to be,” Barranca said.

The smaller size of this building attracts “people who want a feeling of home,” she said. “It lends itself more to families,” Barranca added, especially because it is in the P.S. 234 district, the noted Lower Manhattan public elementary school.

The 30-something parents at an open house at 8 Thomas Street, a landmark four-unit building with a Venetian façde and 17-foot-high apartment ceilings, already know such neighborhood selling points. They live nearby and want to stay in the area.

The second-time buyers currently reside with their 2-year-old son close to City Hall Park. “It’s not quite the same on this side of the park,” the father noted. (For instance, opulent Japanese restaurant Megu is down the block on Thomas Street.)

He works with distressed commercial real estate loans and she is a nutritionist.

“Mostly, we need more space,” he said, toddler in tow.

The empty duplex and triplex apartments on Thomas Street are under renovation.

J. Morgan Slade originally built the building as a soap factory in 1875. The second-floor duplex has three huge arched windows, African mahogany floors, three-zone heating and about 2,254 square feet. The asking price is $2.95 million.

Three parties had visited by about 1:30 p.m.

“[We] haven’t had much of an influx,” due to construction, Brown Harris Stevens agent Anita Michaels said.

“Anybody buying here has to have a good job,” she said. The two occupied apartments are home to a young banker and the other to a brain surgeon and his family.

The lower-level triplex may draw those in need of live-work space in particular, Michaels said. It is also priced at $2.95 million. With three floors, oversized windows and the option for a separate private entrance onto the street, she explained, the owner could host a gallery, be a wine merchant or build a recording studio in the apartment.

At an open house for 50 Pine Street, Jon Phillips, a Halstead agent, said, “All families moving down here have defined themselves by being high-income and educated.

“[There is] a high proportion of younger children,” he added, because it is in P.S. 234’s school district.

Also, it is “a neighborhood looked at as an investment opportunity,” he said. “The $800- to $1,100-per-square-foot ranges [in the Financial District] translate to $1,200 to $1,700 price points in Tribeca.”

Because it is the financial center, Downtown also attracts international investors who also are considering living in Shanghai or Hong Kong, he said.

Apartment 12N in the building is a 2,202-square-foot duplex penthouse loft with an internal stairway to a master bedroom and bath with a private 500-square-foot roof deck. The asking price is $2.8 million.

This layout and other new Downtown residences offers workers more than the traditional studio, expanding the downtown pied-a-terre to a family home, Phillips said.

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