Friday, May 9, 2014

A look at the transformation of 243-245 E. 2nd St.


[243-245 E. Second St. from last month]

Last week, four longtime residents of 245 E. Second St. shared their story about how they helped rehab the building in the early 1980s …

Hoping to make one last bit of coin before allowing the building to deteriorate further, the then owner permitted the artists to move in and renovate their crumbling units in the all but abandoned building with no front door, no heat or hot water, and a constant flow of drug traffic to the notorious heroin shooting gallery that occupied the top floor. The artists united with the remaining two families in the building to form a tenant's association.

The residents also discussed the nightmarish two-year-plus gut renovation here and next door at No. 243.

Refurbished units from each building are now on the rental market. Average prices for No. 245 are $4,050. The four units here listed at Streeteasy have been rented.

Meanwhile, there are new units available at No. 243., where the average rental is $4,566.

Let's take a look at the 3-bedroom penthouse duplex that's asking $6,000.







And here's the descriptive description:

Sleek and Modern, Danish Finished White Oak Flooring juxtaposes perfectly with the pre- war exposed brick. Apartment details include custom designed open kitchen, pale gray European Cabinetry which is the subtle backdrop highlighting the Pebble Caesarstone countertop and custom backsplash tiling. Appliances are well thought out, including a GE Profile Cooktop with Convection Microwave/Oven, concealed Dishwasher and stainless fridge with ice maker.

The Italian tiled bathroom is pure luxury, with open custom glass shower, adorned with Kohler fixtures. Stainless Steel Vanity reflects more of the custom work that spares no expense.


[The former exterior of No. 245]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Continued development concerns at 243-245 E. Second St.

14 comments:

  1. What the hell? That room look like it's about 7 feet wide at most. And trust me, "pure luxury" and that sterile little bathroom have never met.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The current Google maps image is from August last year and shows what it was like during the renovations: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.721289,-73.98179,3a,75y,237.76h,95.1t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sA135Q4ZyyU5fu8Bf7WN-eA!2e0


    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been in one of those buildings and they are OLD. Nothing wrong with that until you renovate to the point where you're including a little bit of "luxury" into a really old shell of a tenement. For those prices, new renters are better off living in a new building. Leave those tenants alone. If it wasn't for them there'd be no building in the first place.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Agree that place looks tiny especially for the rent, who would move in there?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lots of capitalization errors in that description. My lord.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I see the random capitalization a lot from colleagues. I think it's something people learn in business school - or maybe their first language is German, but they are confused about what is and is not a noun.

    Or maybe they are idiots?

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Dishwasher" is initial-capped because it's not just an appliance here...it's a luxurious 5-star destination.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm surprised they didn't knock it down to begin with, that building is over 100 years old and 4-5 years ago it looked like the only thing holding it up was cucarachas holding hands inside...nice to see they save it, fits the neighborhood better compared to a new building, now if they only made the rent more fitting...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I live in a building mixed with old world charm apartments (cracks in walls - wide wood board floors etc.) & new luxury apartments. One thing that I have noticed - when the people in the new places use their washing machines the whole building shakes I think they may even make some of my ceiling cracks bigger. Are these buildings (tenements) even zoned for washing machines, I sometimes worry that these new appliances will just bring the building down...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anon 1:16,I guess these buildings are so old lot of that stuff is just grandfathered in....btw that building would look so much nicer with something that looks like the top façade overhang that these buildings originally had, instead of the cheaper brick wall replacement. it's a shame they did that to most of the buildings around years ago, whether by it was done by fire, aging or a remodel.

    ReplyDelete
  11. BB: I live in a tenement a few blocks north of the one in question, and its twin, which burned down a couple of times, stands next door to us. They actually did have the roof replaced, and their cornice has been removed. We just finished a court case against our landlord for fraud in claiming he replaced our roof when he never actually did.

    Our cornice is intact, and I agree the building looks better with it. For that matter, I've seen a few of the renovated units here—including a duplex that includes the basement level and first floor—and I'm happy to live in an apartment with the original plaster walls and pine floors—although I've been to the ER several times over the years to remove splinters from said pine floors.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So for $4,500 you get a gynocology lab and a horse stall. On the Lower East Side .

    ReplyDelete
  13. Haters gonna hate. Everything in this building is brand new and they did a great job with the build out.

    ReplyDelete

Your remarks and lively debates are welcome, whether supportive or critical of the views herein. Your articulate, well-informed remarks that are relevant to an article are welcome.

However, commentary that is intended to "flame" or attack, that contains violence, racist comments and potential libel will not be published. Facts are helpful.

If you'd like to make personal attacks and libelous claims against people and businesses, then you may do so on your own social media accounts. Also, comments predicting when a new business will close ("I give it six weeks") will not be approved.