Record Prices Paid for 3 Sheridan Square Co-op Apartments

by Co-op Board

While the rest of the country continues to endure foreclosure meltdown madness, New York’s co-op apartment prices appear to remain strong. Nothing says “Fuggedaboutit!” to Big Apple homebodies thinking about buying apartments than the sky-high condo closings and the record-setting co-op apartment prices being paid in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Take 3 Sheridan Square in the Village, for example. Two penthouse apartments recently set record sales prices for the cooperative. Closings for both apartments took place last week on March 20, 2008, according to New York City public records.

The first sold for $2,817,000 after a bidding war ensued. The original price listed by Prudential Douglas Elliman brokers Richard Mortimer and Robin Gutterman was $2,695,000. Monthly maintenance is $2,439 and the co-op requires a minimum 20% cash down-payment for potential buyers. This enourmous 4 1/2 room apartment has 2 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and — the deal-clincher — an “[u]nusually large setback terrace with electric, water and plantings offer[ing] unparalleled views and exposure of the entire city.”

The water for your plants is nice, but why pay this kind of money without at least getting permission from the co-op board to have your own washer and dryer? The listing for this apartment stressed that the co-op has a “central laundry,” the unit’s floor plan doesn’t show space for a legal W/D combo:

The apartment was sold by Diana Roeber and Carol Soule. The buyer was Asa J. Johnson, an apparent heir to the natural gas empire created by the T. W. Phillips Gas and Oil Co. more than a century ago. His family established the Johnson Family Foundation. IRS tax filings show that in 2006 Asa was a Secretary of the foundation.

Another co-op apartment apartment on the same floor at 3 Sheridan Square sold for the jaw-dropping price of $3,512,000.00.

The sellers of that incredible unit were, according to New York City public records, James O. Stepp and Peter K. Zimmer.

The buyers were Edward Altman and Elaine Altman. They appear to have been co-executive producers of Urbanscapes, a documentary about poverty in American cities.