outlier
September 9th, 2005, 01:22 AM
Just saw the question somewhere on this forum about what 10 Hanover looked like inside and thought I'd offer my $0.02 (from the perspective of someone from Out West who got back from NYC tonight after signing lease docs at 10 Hanover this morning).
The gym is done and has been in full operation since before the building started getting converted over to residential. The gym still technically belongs to Goldman Sachs or is leased to them or something. Residents have free access to the gym, but no one's sure exactly what's going on with it in the future. It's still going to exist and there's something about Goldman vacating it, but what happens to it beyond that is apparently up in the air still. The lobby and lounge are supposed to be done in mid-October, not sure about the roof-top terrace. The mail room and laundry room are not yet in operation (but the building is paying for residents' laundry pick-ups to make up for the lack of the laundry room). Oh, also, for the time being, they're paying for all utilities since they apparently haven't gotten the sub-meters installed for everyone's electrical.
As of today, they don't have anything available until November (I was planning on moving out October 8, but I can't get in to the apartment until November 2, so, you know).
The apartments themselves -- again, I don't really understand what it is that New Yorkers want from their apartments, but there seems to be some value attached to older spaces -- are very nice, though a little smaller than some others I looked at (99 John, frex). The one I signed up for is an alcove studio that is "540 s.f." (although it would be considered something like 425 s.f. anywhere in the western US -- still not sure how they're figuring out square footage in NYC -- one 1BR I saw in Jersey City was "930 s.f.", but was at least a third smaller than the 810 s.f. 2BR condo I used to have in SoCal). Counter tops are all granite, appliances are all stainless steel, IIRC the floors are all oak strip hardwood. Good closet space, I guess (all the female leasing agents in every building I saw talked about nothing other than closet space). Ceilings are only 9' high, so not really the place for your loft bed. The units that I saw didn't look like they were getting much light -- they faced one of those narrow streets (Pearl? Stone?). Supposedly there are units in there with views of the river, but it's hard to see how that would be possible.
Outside, it looks like an office building. And not a particularly interesting one at that. Lobby is still under construction a little bit, but looks like it's being done up right (high-end finishes). They're building (another) pedestrian park somewhere on an adjoining street and there are already a few nice little bench-fountain situations in the vicinity. It's two blocks to the East River, about 5 minutes walk to the N/R/W and the 4/5/6 and a little closer to the 1/2/3.
My alcove studio is going to be $2,280/month, but they're offering a $1,000 move-in bonus (cash back at some point) and are paying broker fees. I think the alcove studios started at $2,250 and the most expensive one I saw was $2,350. They have two or three units/floor of regular studios that I think started around $2,000. The 1BRs started at $2,650 or thereabouts. From what I could tell, they are building a *lot* of alcoves (several different models, most of which looked nearly identical).
Being a westerner who was never planning on moving to NYC, I liked the building and the units because they were new and because the high-end finishes are the same as what I have in my (likewise new) house out here (of course, my mortgage on this 2,900 (real) s.f. house is HALF what rent is going to be on the "540 s.f." apartment, but I guess we're all familiar with NYC housing prices). The neighborhood seems clean, there are a couple of "grocery stores" in the vicinity (although the better one is up on John Street 5 or 6 blocks away), and I like the fact that if I tell my friends out in California that I live near Wall Street, they can think they understand something about where I live. Seemed to be a lot of reasonably priced restaurants in the area, which is great by my standards. I'm not a bar or nightlife person, so I didn't check that out much. And I guess it's a good thing to be near the South Street Seaport.
Anything else?
o
The gym is done and has been in full operation since before the building started getting converted over to residential. The gym still technically belongs to Goldman Sachs or is leased to them or something. Residents have free access to the gym, but no one's sure exactly what's going on with it in the future. It's still going to exist and there's something about Goldman vacating it, but what happens to it beyond that is apparently up in the air still. The lobby and lounge are supposed to be done in mid-October, not sure about the roof-top terrace. The mail room and laundry room are not yet in operation (but the building is paying for residents' laundry pick-ups to make up for the lack of the laundry room). Oh, also, for the time being, they're paying for all utilities since they apparently haven't gotten the sub-meters installed for everyone's electrical.
As of today, they don't have anything available until November (I was planning on moving out October 8, but I can't get in to the apartment until November 2, so, you know).
The apartments themselves -- again, I don't really understand what it is that New Yorkers want from their apartments, but there seems to be some value attached to older spaces -- are very nice, though a little smaller than some others I looked at (99 John, frex). The one I signed up for is an alcove studio that is "540 s.f." (although it would be considered something like 425 s.f. anywhere in the western US -- still not sure how they're figuring out square footage in NYC -- one 1BR I saw in Jersey City was "930 s.f.", but was at least a third smaller than the 810 s.f. 2BR condo I used to have in SoCal). Counter tops are all granite, appliances are all stainless steel, IIRC the floors are all oak strip hardwood. Good closet space, I guess (all the female leasing agents in every building I saw talked about nothing other than closet space). Ceilings are only 9' high, so not really the place for your loft bed. The units that I saw didn't look like they were getting much light -- they faced one of those narrow streets (Pearl? Stone?). Supposedly there are units in there with views of the river, but it's hard to see how that would be possible.
Outside, it looks like an office building. And not a particularly interesting one at that. Lobby is still under construction a little bit, but looks like it's being done up right (high-end finishes). They're building (another) pedestrian park somewhere on an adjoining street and there are already a few nice little bench-fountain situations in the vicinity. It's two blocks to the East River, about 5 minutes walk to the N/R/W and the 4/5/6 and a little closer to the 1/2/3.
My alcove studio is going to be $2,280/month, but they're offering a $1,000 move-in bonus (cash back at some point) and are paying broker fees. I think the alcove studios started at $2,250 and the most expensive one I saw was $2,350. They have two or three units/floor of regular studios that I think started around $2,000. The 1BRs started at $2,650 or thereabouts. From what I could tell, they are building a *lot* of alcoves (several different models, most of which looked nearly identical).
Being a westerner who was never planning on moving to NYC, I liked the building and the units because they were new and because the high-end finishes are the same as what I have in my (likewise new) house out here (of course, my mortgage on this 2,900 (real) s.f. house is HALF what rent is going to be on the "540 s.f." apartment, but I guess we're all familiar with NYC housing prices). The neighborhood seems clean, there are a couple of "grocery stores" in the vicinity (although the better one is up on John Street 5 or 6 blocks away), and I like the fact that if I tell my friends out in California that I live near Wall Street, they can think they understand something about where I live. Seemed to be a lot of reasonably priced restaurants in the area, which is great by my standards. I'm not a bar or nightlife person, so I didn't check that out much. And I guess it's a good thing to be near the South Street Seaport.
Anything else?
o