[Today, Curbed welcomes a new member to our team of fanatical real estate nutjobs: the mysterious S. Becket. Her task: live inside the real estate listings of all this city's real estate companies, and describe what she sees. Note to agents and PR folks: if you'd like to make sure your firm is in her bookmarks, drop a line to tips@curbed.com. And, as always, if you've run across an interesting listing yourself?good, bad, ugly, or otherwise?send along the URL, won't you please?]
Today's first installment of the Curbed Three-Pack looks at three apartments for sale below 34th Street in the $500,000 range...
Where: Chelsea
What: Junior 1BR, $499,000 ($998/sqft), $769 maintenance
If you want to get in on the whole windowless-nook-converted-into-home-office trend before it bubbles out of control, check out this Junior one bedroom (really, more like 1 1/2 bedroom) in the heart of Chelsea. Judging by the floorplan, the "alcove office" was once a dressing room, but some enterprising owner/broker saw how perfectly a desk, poster and lamp would fit in the space and -- voila! -- the home office was born. If you're really creative, you could go the extra mile and turn that useless "dining area" into a snug guest room, and suddenly your Junior-1 is a 2 1/2 bedroom palace.
· Listing: West 20th Street [Douglas Elliman]
Where: West Village
What: 1BR, $525,000 ($1094/sqft), $678 maintenance
In addition to the common features one would expect in a West Village 1860s charmer (wood-burning fireplace, scenic views, "European flavor") this apartment has a "mandatory exercise amenity," which apparently translates to "3rd floor walk-up." What other verbal magic could this poet/broker work?Perhaps "overlooks FDR Drive" could become "persistent white-noise of rushing traffic ideal for insomniacs!" or "mandatory highway amenity!"
· Listing: 44 West 12th Street [Corcoran]
Where: Lower East Side
What: 1BR with balcony, $525,000 (~$675/sqft), $519 maintenance
This East River Co-Op apartment features river views from just about every spot in the apartment (including the balcony), plus closet space and close proximity to parks and playgrounds. It's a post-war, but your desire for the quaint and the old-fashioned can be easily satisfied by looking straight down from that beautiful balcony to Ye Olde FDR Drive below.
· Listing: 475 FDR Drive, Apt. L706 [Halstead]
After the jump, for those who can't get enough, the respective floorplans.
Chelsea:
West Village:
Lower East Side: