Listing of the Day: Park South Condo - Redefining the Bronx

2155 Daly Avenue, Bronx NY - 2 Bedroom 1 bathroom $260,000

This is a new construction development that is half sold and moving fast. This particular unit is 763 square feet, but the building has all the way up to a 1491 square foot 3 bedroom. [You can check out the slideshow here]

All I have to say is, "Wow!" Every inch of these 763 square feet is blinged out to the nines -a balcony, common roof deck, common garden, granite lobby and hallways, 9 foot ceilings, maple cabinets, granite countertops and washer/dryer hookups! I really haven't seen many apartments this nice in the Bronx. And believe me, I've looked.

Add a 25 year tax abatement and your taxes are only $0.82 a month. I was trying to find the cents symbol on my computer, but couldn't. When is the last time you could put the price of anything in cents? The common charge for maintaining that common roof deck and garden and for keeping those granite hallways polished is only $286.10. So, all told your monthly costs for maintenance and taxes would only be $286.92.

Located to the immediate south of the Bronx Zoo, Park South is going to be an anchor of the Bronx Renaissance. I guess you would call this nabe West Farms, but as BoogieDowner reported, the names of Bronx hoods are often indistinct and fluid. Maybe we could rename this whole hood Park South... hmmmm?

Transportation is not bad. You can grab the 2/5 Train at E. Tremont Ave or the Metro North Train Station at Fordham or Tremont Stations and be at Grand Central in under 20 Minutes.

See the bling for yourself in the great video tour on the Full Listing.

There are Open Houses Sundays: 1-3 pm and Mondays: 6-8 pm. Check it out and report back.

Get in now while these puppies are still cheap. Or you'll find yourself fleeing to Buffalo in search of abandoned buildings in which to squat.

~ErLu

Buffalo Before the Bronx?

In New York Magazine's newest issue, Adam Sternbergh attempts to understand why some New Yorkers find themselves fleeing the City to places in the so-called 'Rust Belt,' like snowy Buffalo, in his article Where the Urban Dream Life Is Going Cheap . The subtitle of the article is appropriately "What could possibly make someone want to leave New York and move to Buffalo?"

It seems a number of these new Buffalonians wanted more space for cheaper rent; more possibility; more blank canvases to work with; a new frontier.

Hey, I understand the aforementioned desires, and I don't begrudge any of these new hockey-loving residents, but Buffalo? Really?

There is an interesting section of the article where Mr. Sternbergh is on a bike ride with some of these Buffalo enthusiasts, including Newell Nussbaumer, the Buffalo cheerleader and cultural mayor, and the group is looking at an abandoned police station and wondering if they could turn it into a club.

If you are looking for blank canvases and neglected buildings to rehab we have them for you up here on the mainland U.S. in the Bronx.

"But New York, for all its mythology, is no longer a frontier. Buffalo is a frontier." Maybe Williamsburg isn't a frontier or even pre-gentrified Bushwick isn't a frontier, but the Bronx is. Before anyone up and moves to Buffalo for cheap rent, blank canvas abandoned buildings and lower salaries, please just move to the Bronx. You can get the first two without enduring the last.

FYI, this is what you have to look forward to for Buffalo nightlife. [photo courtesy of Buffalo Nightlife (Nightlife), RMC]

~Erlu

Neighborhood, What Neighborhood?

The Bronx seems to hold the singular distinction of having very blurry lines when it comes to defining neighborhoods. Most of the time people will give you a street, rather than a neighborhood name as an answer to, "Where do you live?" You're much more likely to hear, "I live in Pelham Parkway," than I live in Williamsbridge or Allerton. A more common answer to a question of a Bronxite's neighborhood would be "On the Concourse," rather than Highbridge or Morris Heights.

This rant about indistinct neighborhoods and their boundaries was engendered by an NY Times article about the Bronx Borough historian, Lloyd Ultan, professor at Lehman College, and his search for what actually constitutes the North-Central Bronx hood of Williamsbridge. (photo courtesy of Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times)

Link to: As Maps and Memories Fade, So Do Some Bronx Boundary Lines [NY Times]

Even my own home neighborhood has ambiguous borders. I consider Bedford Park to be its own neighborhood bordered to the north by Mosholu Parkway, the west by the Grand Concourse, the south by Bedford Park Blvd., and the east by Webster Ave. I've heard people say Bedford Park runs all the way down to 196th, some even further to 192nd. Some put the western border as as far as Goulden Ave near the Reservoir. I've even heard people say that Bedford Park doesn't exist as it's own neighborhood; it is Fordham-Bedford or North Fordham - I disagree with both assertions.

So Boogiedowner asks, what neighborhood do you live in, and what are the borders? Do you agree that the Bronx neighborhood borders are blurry? Let's get this straight.

~ErLu

Legacy of the Gentrifiers of the 1800s

614 Courtlandt Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx is evidence of a past wave of gentrification to hit Melrose. Julius Ruppert, a saloon and billiard hall owner from the cramped Lower East Side, built this beauty in 1871 to cash in on the influx of German immigrants seeking the space and greenery of the Bronx.

The landmarked building fell into disrepair and was vacant for decades following the 1970s, but now it is getting a new life on a new wave of development for Melrose. (Photo courtesy of NYC Landmarks Commission via NY Times]

Neighborhood Housing Services and Landmarks Preservation Commission are working to renovate this beautiful building and then to place it on the open market to court a private buyer.

"When finished, it will house three two-bedroom apartments and a commercial space on the first floor. The top floor, with its tall, sloping walls and oval windows, is like a painter’s garret. On the first floor, original cast iron columns lend a graceful note to the entrance. The asking price is $800,000." [NY Times]

If you have the money, love the Bronx or just want to be ahead of the curve in landownership in the borough with the largest upside in the city, please contact Neighborhood Housing Services, Landmarks Preservation Commission to secure your spot as a real estate smarty-pants.
(Photo courtesy of David Gonzales/NY Times]

A Neglected Bronx Landmark Gets a New Life [NY Times Article by David Gonzalez]

~ErLu

New Metro- North Stop(s)?

Ground has been broken for the new Metro-North Station at Yankee Stadium, with an expected completion date of second quarter 2009. In addition, the MTA is reviewing plans for 3 new Metro-North Stations for Co-op City, Parkchester, and Hunts Point.

All 3 communities are currently seeing monumental growth and a resurgence. Hunts Point is particularly ripe for a station as the population is growing, as is subway and bus ridership in the area, including Longwood.

In addition to making the Eastern Bronx more easily accessible (and therefore more attractive), these new stops on the Metro-North would open up job opportunities in Westchester and other counties to the north to residents of the South Bronx. There is also vacant land, including industrial sites, available for development that could be used to cater to the newcomers and riders of these future stops.

NY State's Press Release About New Yankee Stadium Stop

NY Daily News Article

~Jay O.

Listing of the Day: Parkchester 2 Bedroom

2358 Glebe Avenue - 2 Bedroom, $1450/mo

Parkchester is often called a city within a city, and this is an apartment within that city within a city - or at least on the outskirts of said city. Got that straight? Well, in any case, what was once a hidden secret is starting to be discovered and gobbled up.

This particular apartment is reasonably large at 900 square feet, but takes in a lot of light and even has its own private balcony and parking. Serious amenities, no?

Parkchester has tons of shopping, chief of which are its own Macy's and a Starbucks. You heard me people; Parkchester has a Starbucks. See the stuff you learn here at BoogieDowner. There is also a decent amount of public space to hang at, including the ovals of the complex proper and a few fountains. And who doesn't like fountains? [photo courtesy of Forgtten-NY]

Parkchester was built under the same idea as Stuy-Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan, and has the same self-sufficient aura. Parkchester is a safe and family friendly hood with decent transportation via the 6 train and bus service. So if you're looking to split cheap rent to actually have enough money to go out, or just need a place you can actually afford to raise a family, check out this apartment and nabe.

"Living In" Parkchester [NY Times Article]

Full Listing

~ErLu

The Million Dollar Hunt

This week's New York Times "Hunt" article by Joyce Cohen was an enlightening one for us... It details the real estate search of a nearly-40 year old couple, Nicolle and Jeff Pillartz, with a budget of $800,000 (although their final purchase at $1.07 million well exceeded that). Comfortable in their one-bedroom rental above Ray's Pizza on the Avenue of the Americas and 11th Street in Greenwich Village, they saved money with an end goal of becoming homeowners and, armed with knowledge, they set out to hunt in Brooklyn.

When we were entrenched in the hunt a year and a half ago (with a much more meager budget of $250,000 and below), I can't tell you how many times I uttered the words "I just wish we had more money to work with" after seeing some truly disappointing apartments (one seller didn't even bother to install a toilet seat for her open house... and her Inwood apartment was listed at $310,000).

So it was interesting to read about a couple whose constant goal throughout their hunt was to stay below $1 million to "avoid the 1 percent mansion tax." You'd think they'd be living large, looking at beautifully constructed brownstones or single-family houses, right? I guess sometimes my real estate mind is stuck in 1990, because their $1 million budget was only getting them in the door of 2-bedroom condos and co-ops near the waterfront in Brooklyn. Granted, it seems as if they weren't interested in hunting in off-the-beaten-path outer-borough neighborhoods in order to get more square footage.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. After looking at some older, smaller places, one of which was built by a developer who may have been involved in some shady code violation lawsuit, and another, which needed to be renovated, they fell in love with a 2-bedroom condo at One Brooklyn Bridge Park on the waterfront. After plunking down their $1.07 million, they are loving their new place, complete with washer/dryer and dishwasher. They are eagerly awaiting the completion of the 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park, which will literally fall directly in their backyard.

Apparently, no matter what your price point is when shopping around for real estate, the same frustrating struggles arise, and the same small joys bind us together. Mr. Pillartz states that he feels he's finally "made it" in New York because he now has a dishwasher. Amen to that Jeff! We renovated our kitchen and installed a dishwasher a year ago, and I still feel like a princess every time I load that sucker up!

Of course, since we are the BoogieDowner, we must compare what these hunters would have found around their price point had they looked in the Bronx:

A 5-bedroom co-op located at 5900 Arlington Avenue in Riverdale is listed at $999,000 and overlooks the Hudson River. This beauty has an actual bidet in one of its 3 bathrooms! Amenities include a healthclub, a pool, tennis courts, a dog park, a year round cafe, and, of course, a door man and concierge. View full listing here.

A fully renovated inside and out 5-bedroom house on City Island is listed at $929,000. This charming Colonial sprawls over two lots and features a backyard with a deck and a pool. View full listing here.

This luxury townhouse in Throgg's Neck listed for $789,000 comes in well under our $1 million parameters. This is a custom designed two family house with two 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom units with balconies. Only in the Bronx can you find beautiful new construction at this price point with the potential for rental income! View full listing here.

~ErLu