It’s Baaack! Benjamin Marshall 3-Bedroom Re-Lists (and Reduces $150K): 1550 N. State Parkway

We’ve chattered about this 3-bedroom in the lowrise portion of the Benjamin Marshall building at 1550 N. State Parkway in the Gold Coast several times before.

See our January 2012 chatter here.

Back in January, after a short sale attempt which drove the listing price down to $625,000 didn’t work, the unit came back on the market with a $350,000 price increase to $975,000.

But that didn’t work either.

It was recently re-listed with a $125,000 reduction to $850,000.

If you recall, its address is 1550 N. State Parkway but it actually isn’t located in the high rise portion of the building, but in a two unit adjacent building with its own private courtyard facing State Parkway.

The 1800 square foot unit still has many of its vintage features including inlaid hardwood floors and crown and dentil molding.

It has a Christopher Peacock kitchen with granite counter tops and Subzero, Miele and Bosch appliances.

The baths are Waterworks.

It shares the courtyard with one other unit.

The building has a 24-hour doorman, a guest suite, and a wine cellar.

The unit has central air and in-unit washer/dryer but there is no attached parking. It is valet rental nearby.

This property has been on and off the market for nearly 3 years.

Will it finally find a buyer in 2012?

Or will it be 2013?

Julie Capps at Prudential Rubloff still has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #A3: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1800 square feet

  • Sold in June 1997 for $335,000
  • Sold in April 1999 for $442,000
  • Sold in January 2004 for $865,000
  • Sold in July 2006 for $950,000
  • Originally listed in November 2009 for $1.135 million
  • Reduced numerous times
  • Was listed in May 2011 for $799,000
  • Lis pendens filed in May 2011
  • Reduced
  • Was listed in August 2011 as a “short sale” for $675,000
  • Reduced
  • Was listed in November 2011 for $625,000
  • Increased
  • Was listed in January 2012 at $975,000
  • Reduced
  • Currently listed at $850,000
  • Assessments of $1947 a month (includes heat, doorman, cable)
  • Taxes of $13,484 (were $12200 in January 2012)
  • Central Air
  • In-unit washer/dryer
  • No parking – rental nearby (even though the listing says 2 parking spots)
  • Bedroom #1: 17×14
  • Bedroom #2: 14×13
  • Bedroom #3: 11×8

23 Responses to “It’s Baaack! Benjamin Marshall 3-Bedroom Re-Lists (and Reduces $150K): 1550 N. State Parkway”

  1. Pretty place. I’d much rather live in a place like this than in a Hi-rise. To me this lives more like a single fam. Pretty sloppy of the Realtor to have in the listing that it comes with parking. If I went to look at this place thinking it came with parking, then found out it didn’t, I’d be really p/o’d!

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  2. Same old story, assessments are too high , no parking. Also doesn’t show as well in person.

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  3. “Pretty place. I’d much rather live in a place like this than in a Hi-rise. To me this lives more like a single fam.”

    Agreed. But, at a purchase price of $850M and monthly assessments of $2M, I would much rather go buy a single family home in Lincoln Park. $2M / month for a doorman (why do they need a doorman for a 2 unit building?), basic cable and heat. That’s ridiculous.

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  4. A luxury developer should buy this building and build a larger midrise with full floor apartments ,washer dryer and parking, The land is too valuable for units to sell for only 600K. Its because its outdated and no parking. The owners could probably do just as well selling for land value.

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  5. GMT –
    1) M attached to a $ number usually refers to Million. For $2,000,000/mo assessment I better be getting more than just cable!
    2) This building is actually just on the same property as a highrise. I would assume the doorman is actually in the lobby of that building and not for the small building you see in the picture. Assessments tend to be much higher in 100yo buildings just because maintenance is much more costly than on newer construction.

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  6. Fred-

    1. Actually, M refers to 000. MM is 000,000. People have gotten sloppy and began abbreviating million as M, but in accounting and banking, M is a thousand.

    2. I figured this must be the case. And that sucks. I have to pay for a doorman I don’t use? I hate doormen… they’re useless most of the time.

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  7. Not this one again!

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  8. If the assessment were indeed $2 million a month, that would be worth talking about. But this place is not worth discussing a third (or is it a fourth?) time.

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  9. GMT-
    1) In the metric system k (kilo) is 1000 and M (mega) is 1 million. I guess it all comes down to your background.
    2) My favorite aspect of a doorperson is package receiving. I would assume the owners of the units in this small building are at least getting that. Still probably not getting their money’s worth…

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  10. M = 1000 in roman numerals. MM = 1,000 thousands or 1 million. They teach us that stuff out here in Cary! Probably why people here end up being pretty successful.

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  11. All the charm of a SFH with the assessments of a gold coast condo, how can you lose!

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  12. “MM = 1,000 thousands or 1 million.”

    Wrong. MM in roman numerals is 2000. The current year in roman numerals is MMXII.

    I will be keeping my children out of the Cary school system.

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  13. What’s the biggest monthly assessment anyone has seen? I think for me it must be the Trump penthouse at over $12,000.

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  14. Here are the highest condo assmts from the past 5 years of listings:

    11 E Walton PH56-57 $11,168
    65 E Goethe 8WNE $12,395
    159 E Walton PH $11,595
    401 N Wabash PH89A $12,150

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  15. Sorry, meant to include the listing dates:

    11 E Walton PH56-57 $11,168 9/7/2010
    65 E Goethe 8WNE $12,395 10/21/2009
    159 E Walton PH $11,595 5/31/2012
    401 N Wabash PH89A $12,150 5/30/2012

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  16. Whatever happened to 11 E Walton? That’s a gorgeous penthouse, possibly the best one in the city.

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  17. Nevermind, I answered my question…

    NO!!! They broke it up into 2 penthouses. It had so much potential as a single Unit. I’m curious how they did that though??? I thought there was a floor to ceiling window (cathedral type) that went from 56 through 57? Did they put in a ceiling??

    Either way, No!!

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  18. Did anyone ever buy the Goethe property? Seems ridiculously overpriced to me, especially since it wasn’t finished. Six-car parking is a nice perk, however.

    Nothing like a $12,000 a month assessment to keep out the riff-raff.

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  19. I wonder what the most expensive maintenance fee is in New York. I can’t seem to find it by googling.

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  20. Re: 65 E Goethe: any idea how much it would cost to build out 8W with the appropriate level of high-end finishes for the building? My guess is $1,500 sqft., but I have no experience with such projects. Thanks

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  21. “I wonder what the most expensive maintenance fee is in New York. I can’t seem to find it by googling.”

    I once saw a super cool pre-war penthouse with a terrace and 20 foot high beamed ceilings in the NY times. It was like 2700 square feet. They wanted $10 million for it. The monthly maintenance fees were $15,000 a month. And I’m sure that wasn’t even close to the most expensive in the city.

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  22. “Not this one again!”

    I know, I know.

    Sorry Dan #2. I just can’t help myself with some of these properties that have been on and off the market for years.

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  23. “$2M / month for a doorman (why do they need a doorman for a 2 unit building?), basic cable and heat. That’s ridiculous.”

    It’s NOT a 2-unit building. It is part of the condo association with the high rise right next door at 1550 N. State Parkway (same address.)

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