Will a Rooftop Deck Ever Get Built? 1111 N. Winchester in Ukrainian Village
We’ve chattered about this 2-bedroom at 1111 N. Winchester in Ukrainian Village in West Town several times over the last few years.
It first went on the market in August 2011.
In the old listing, it said the unit had roof rights and provided architect sketches of what the deck would look like should you choose to build it.
See our 2012 chatter here.
The unit finally sold in February 2013.
But it’s come back on the market and the issue of the roof top deck is back as well.
The listing again says “includes roof rights” and this time, while there are no sketches of the deck, there is a picture depicting the roof and the view you’d have.
If you recall, this was a 2007 conversion.
The unit has a new kitchen with dark cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It has 3 exposures.
The unit has central air and parking but I’m not sure about the washer/dryer in the unit. In the last listing, there was a private laundry room/storage area in the basement with the unit’s own washer/dryer. In this listing, it appears to include the washer/dryer.
The unit is just minutes away from the shops and restaurants on hopping Division Street.
It sold in February 2013 for $264,000.
The unit came back on the market in August for $289,900 but has been reduced to $274,900.
The property already has a large back deck.
Will the rooftop deck EVER get built?
If not- why advertise it?
Are buyers looking in this price range really concerned about having one if it’s not already there?
Debbie Maue at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #3R: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed
[unordered_list style=”bullet”]
- Sold in November 2007 for $288,000
- Originally listed in August 2011 for $295,000
- Withdrawn in November 2011
- Was listed in March 2012 at $287,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in August 2012 at $279,999
- Sold in February 2013 for $264,000
- Re-listed in August 2013 for $289,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $274,900
- Assessments now $170 a month (they were $150 a month in 2012)
- Taxes of $2630
- Central Air
- Private laundry room in the basement? Or in the unit?
- Outdoor parking included
- Bedroom #1: now 11×8 (it was 13×7 in the old listing)
- Bedroom #2: now 10×8 (it was 12×7 in the old listing)
[/unordered_list]
I suspect there’s no way to build a deck legally. Need to have two exits, I’m not sure I even see one going up there. Also unclear if the roof is intended to support such a structure, would have to look closely at the 2007 conversion and prior work. It would also be a big project for a property at this price point – probably $50k to do the exits, etc. Put this in the category of smoke that real estate agents blow to try to make sales.
“I suspect there’s no way to build a deck legally.”
Yeah, with no central access point from shared stairs, it’s basically impractical, unless one converted the 3d floor to a single unit, and it would *still* be a prohibitively expensive add-on to a ~$600k condo.
But it keeps getting mentioned because the unit, in fact, comes with ‘exclusive roof rights’. At least they aren’t promoting the place’s proximity to The Boundary or something (having trouble coming up with a suitable Ukie-area analog for the Athenian Room).
So is there no user friendly way to get to the roof on a daily basis? If not, that’s the real obstacle. Otherwise I would just get some interlocking rubber mats and use them as a deck – easier to pull up when you need to replace or repair the roof.
“So is there no user friendly way to get to the roof on a daily basis?”
Haven’t been in the space, but from available aerials, looks like no. Ladder from the back deck, *maybe*.
“Otherwise I would just get some interlocking rubber mats and use them as a deck – easier to pull up when you need to replace or repair the roof.”
Some of your competitors would characterize what you just wrote as a “complete plan for amazing custom roof deck using EXCLUSIVE roof rights”!
Anyway, your approach sounds fun but illegal and not really what people are thinking of when they talk about roof decks. Also looks pretty dangerous up there with the very low parapets.
“Anyway, your approach sounds fun but illegal and not really what people are thinking of when they talk about roof decks. Also looks pretty dangerous up there with the very low parapets.”
I agree on the parapets. In fact, it looks like there is no parapet on one side.
As for the legality…if it weren’t for the parapets and access I wouldn’t be worried about it for personal use but when it comes time to sell I wouldn’t want to market it as a deck. I’ve seen many illegal decks by virtue of no second exit. No one seems to worry about them.
” I’ve seen many illegal decks by virtue of no second exit”
That was a relatively recent ‘innovation’. And the existing decks at the time of change were grandfathered in. So, many of them would be ‘legal nonconforming’.
Most contractors aren’t going to go absolutely bonkers to comply on every code issue, especially for stuff that can be permitted to code and maybe built slightly out of code but still reasonable. However, a roofdeck without two exits is pretty low-hanging fruit. The violation is a major one (ever since the rash of deadly deck collapses in the early 2000s) and would be easy to see on a drive-by, plus you would have to have two exits to get the permit. I would be surprised if anyone at all reputable would try to do this. In this case you have to do major work to put in one anyway. Maybe you could “not finish” the work to build the second one but it would be relatively risky.