Done Deals

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The New York Sun

CENTRAL PARK SOUTH
110 Central Park South

Four-bedroom co-op
Asking price: $12.5 million
Selling price: $12.5 million
Time on market: 316 days

CUSTOMIZED PIED-A-TERRE A 25th floor penthouse is going to be used as a pied-a-terre by three different generations of a Puerto Rican family. A couple from Puerto Rico bought the 4,000-square-foot apartment that takes up the entire floor of the building. The apartment will also be shared with their children and grandchildren. Although the couple’s main residence is in Puerto Rico, they are semi-retired and want to have a comfortable place to stay when they visit New York. “They have more time to enjoy life, and New York is a good place to spend time. They were spending a lot of time here anyway and were staying in hotels,” Mitzie Lau of Corcoran Group Real Estate, who represented the buyers, said.”If you can afford a place in New York, it is much better, especially if you are staying in expensive hotels. This way you can cook and relax.”

The 10-room, 4 1/2-bathroom apartment also has two Juliet balconies with views of Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. Although the apartment is brand new the couple wants to do some additional custom work on it. “My clients are very particular about what they like, and what is unusual about this deal is that the sponsor is very accommodating and has allowed customized work in the apartment which they normally don’t allow,” Ms. Lau said.”My clients want customized floors, certain doors to be put in, and certain walls to be removed.” Normally, sponsors do not bother to allow this kind of personal detail added to the apartment, but Ms. Lau said the couple paid a good amount of money to the sponsors in order to be able to customize their apartment. “Overall, they’re happy to be there, “Ms.Lau said.”They love the view that they have.”

CHELSEA
250 W. 16th St.

Two-bedroom co-op
Asking price: $895,000
Selling price: $875,000
Time on market: one week

AN IMPECCABLE PLACE “It’s one of the prettiest apartment I’ve seen in a while,” Marjorie Dybec of Bellmarc, who co-represented the sellers, said. “It’s just incredible” Bellmarc’s other co-representative on the deal, Nancy Haber, said.The apartment sellers used it as a pied-a-terre and didn’t really need it anymore, so they decided to put it on the market. The president of Broadway Video, Mark Yates, a single man in his mid-30s who was looking to move to the area, fell in love with the apartment at first sight. “It’s such a comfortable home,” Mr.Yates said.

Mr. Yates had been renting on the Upper West Side, and Ms. Dybec said he felt an instant connection with the apartment. “He probably was at the open house for about 15 minutes and never revisited the apartment until he had his final walk through three months or so after he originally saw it,” Ms. Dybec said. “His commitment to the apartment was unwavering. It’s one of the really great things about being a broker – when it’s like magic to find the apartment you really want.”

The 975-square-foot apartment is in an old French tenement building, or rather three French tenement buildings that were combined into one that has been refaced.The apartment itself, though, has old floors and high ceilings and pre-war details.The large gourmet kitchen, with marble counter tops and an eat-in bar, and bathroom have been renovated. The previous owners also sound-proofed the ceiling and floor. “The level of finish is superb in this apartment,” Ms. Dybec said. “It lives much more like a house than an apartment – it has a very nice flow. It is peaceful and open. It’s got a circular layout so you can wander through the space even though it is not enormous.”

The apartment also has quite a flexible layout – sliding glass walls that have frosted glass panels were added so that the bedroom can be opened up and become part of the living room. So Mr. Yates could have a double parlor and use the second bedroom as the master bedroom.

What Mr.Yates liked best about this place is that the apartment was in move-in condition. “It was impeccably renovated two years ago and very wellmaintained,” Ms. Dybec said.”I’m leaving it exactly as is and setting it up close to how they had it arranged since they arranged the apartment so nicely,” Mr.Yates said.

CENTRAL HARLEM
313 W. 118th St.

One-bedroom co-op
Asking price: $1.4 million
Selling price: $1.2 million
Time on market: about 6 weeks

DOWNTOWN UPTOWN The most unique aspect of this duplex apartment is that the loft-like layout normally found in downtown Manhattan has been brought to Harlem. “It’s a very unique space. It’s a loft like space with 1,000 square feet of open space,” Richard Habersham of Corcoran Group Real Estate, who co-represented the sellers, said. The building has a doorman, but it is meant to look like a typical brownstone in Harlem in order to blend in with the neighborhood.

The bedrooms are on the first floor and in order to get to the loft space you have to walk up steps. “It’s an opportunity for people who live downtown to come uptown and have similar sorts of spaces,” Mr. Habersham said. “This is a more creative space and well-thought-out place like the downtown ones. When spaces are made and configured properly people will pull the trigger and move up to Harlem.”

Condos for over a million dollars in Harlem are a soft market, but as Mr. Habersham noted, when there’s good development, it sells. “The response was overwhelming for the place,” Mr. Habersham said.

The couple, two male partners in their mid-30s, snagged the unusual apartment, which has some outdoor space as well. While they may be considered by some to be pioneers by moving up to Harlem at this price, Mr. Habersham thinks they won’t be alone for long. Mr. Habersham thinks Central Park North to 125th street is probably the fastest gentrifying neighborhood in Harlem and said there are lots of new developments going on there.

UPPER EAST SIDE
1175 York Ave.

Two-bedroom co-op
Asking price: $1.2 million
Selling price: $1.1 million
Time on market: 2 months

SCHOOL DISTRICT PLACE A married couple that had been renting another two-bedroom apartment right around the corner bought this approximately 1,300 square foot apartment. Carrie Karabelas and David Yudelson have two little boys and did not want them taken out of the school district zone, so they were very strict about finding a place that allowed their children to remain in the same school. Eugene Roddy of Bellmarc, who represented the buyers, said they wanted a fixer-upper with great light, a lot of space, and a high floor. “They had a lot of criteria, and this apartment filled it all,” Mr. Roddy said. The building was built in 1958, so Ms. Karabelas and Mr.Yudelson will be renovating the kitchen and bathroom.

The sale of the apartment happened very quickly since Ms.Karabelas and Mr. Yudelson bought the apartment from a sponsor, so they did not have to go through the incredibly time consuming board-approval process. Mr. Roddy said that Ms. Karabelas was also very well organized when she and her husband were looking for a place to buy. “When you are organized,you can go in and get your bargain – there was another offer on the table, but they had all their ducks in a row, so they got the deal,” Mr.Roddy said.

There was actually a personal connection in this deal since Ms. Karabelas used to work with Mr. Roddy’s wife at NYC & Company, a New York tourist board. “It’s nice when you can help people you know,”Mr.Roddy said. “This couple knew what they wanted and they did everything well and quickly and very efficiently and that’s what you want in New York.”


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