Washington Plaza

[N00b]

two brs are not in the 800-900k range. one bedrooms are 500k+

[eddie]

have you ever had a reno done before? That seems like a really gross exaggeration. I had a bathroom gutted to the studs and reno'ed for 6k, and a 2 bedroom apt for 40k. now granted we're not talking luxurious high end reno's, but they were nicely done and very professional.

eddie, I got estimates from three different contractors and that's why I changed my mind and bought a renovated unit. I'm NOT grossly exaggerating (which was unkind of you to write, by the way). I'm comparing it to the Washington Plaza renovations. I could not do the same level of gut renovation for 100K, not even close. I didn't want just cosmetic changes with some new tile in a bathroom and kitchen - I wanted a similar gut reno with new electric, new floors, new moldings, new baseboards, new high-end appliances, etc.  It was amazing how quickly everything added up to over 100K. It was MORE than $200 a square foot - I was actually being conservative when I wrote that.

that wasnt meant in an unkind way... gross is a figure of speech to say alot.

so assuming it was an 850 ft unit or so, they quoted you over $170k to do the reno?

[Lilybell]

eddie, they wanted even more than that (I'm including appliance costs). My apartment is 1120 sf...(my current apartment). I'll admit I have expensive tastes...

jh35- holy moly!  I owe you an apology for my confusion. I didn't realize there was a new amendment - it was in my mailbox tonight and you are 100% correct and I am about to faint. I paid 418K for one of the 915 sf one-bedrooms.  It went up to 479K in the previous amendment and in the new one it's $553,500! What the heck, that is crazy expensive. But this owner really seems to know the market - we all thought the original prices were crazy. I am just flabbergasted at this.

[rhydewithdis]

WashP getting some Curbed.com love
http://ny.curbed.com/2016/11/9/13577056/queens-jackson-heights-co-ops-art-deco

[newjhuser]

Have more people started moving in?

[Lilybell]

Have more people started moving in?

Yes! I think there have been about 15 closings so far. There were two apartments sold on my floor and the owners have moved in. And two upstairs and another one downstairs. It seems like the C and D buildings are filling up first. 

My renovation has been going on for more than 6 months. I have finally reached a state of zen about the closing. It will happen when it happens.

[N00b]

Have more people started moving in?

Yes! I think there have been about 15 closings so far. There were two apartments sold on my floor and the owners have moved in. And two upstairs and another one downstairs. It seems like the C and D buildings are filling up first. 

My renovation has been going on for more than 6 months. I have finally reached a state of zen about the closing. It will happen when it happens.

just out of curiosity, what was the estimated completion date? it's kind of crazy how long they're taking to finish.

[Lilybell]

I'm supposed to close a few days after Christmas. The renovations are pretty much done (still need a few random things like a toilet seat and a door knob on the front door). I received a walk-through notice for before Thanksgiving but no one bothered to order the appraisal or send a notice-to-close. I'm not sure if they forgot, but my gut says that they didn't think the renovation would be done in time for the walk-through (it wasn't). They then tried to give me a closing date a few days before Xmas but I'll be out of town. I'm returning a couple of days before the closing and am crossing my fingers there are no storms to keep me stranded out of town.

The apartment looks great. The only thing I don't like is the tile they chose for the bathroom floor but they wouldn't let me get a different color (I was willing to pay more and to get the same brand and tile size - I just don't like grey). But the real estate agent refused to find out. I wish I had pushed her a bit because I have a feeling the owner would have allowed it.

[Lilybell]

Oh, I realize that I didn't really answer your question (I misunderstood you).  The original completion date was supposed to be October 7!  Then it got moved to November 11.  Still wasn't ready during the walkthrough the week after. They never actually told me those dates - I only knew them because I asked the super.

[MrPlaza]

I've been lurking on these boards (and on this thread) for about a month now, and figured it was good time to come out of the shadows, considering my wife and I have just entered into contract. Specifically, on the unit I think some people might have been watching (and was posted about in this thread): E61/62. The 4BR/3BA.

We want this to be our "forever home."

That being said, I'm looking forward to joining the Jackson Heights community. I think many people had this notion that the folks who were going to buy the more expensive units were going to come from Manhattan or Brooklyn. But my wife and I (along with our two year old), live in LIC now. And before that, we lived in Jamaica, where I went to school (St. John's). So, we're coming from having experienced living at various ends of the Queens spectrum.

All that being said, I'm a bit in the same boat as Lilybell (who seems to be the matriarch of this thread — hi!). I get the impression it's a long road ahead before our unit will be complete. There are literally no walls in there right now. So, we're taking the "it'll be done when it's done," approach. We're deeply invested in LIC as civic leaders in the community. So, there's really no rush for us to pick up and leave. We kid of expected to wait about six months. Until I read Lilybell's surprisingly long timeline for what is a smaller apartment. You are like a Buddhist monk.

Nice to meet you all!

P.S. My handle is MrPlaza because my last name is Plaza, not because I'll be living in Washington Plaza. Haha.

[Shelby2]

That being said, I'm looking forward to joining the Jackson Heights community. I think many people had this notion that the folks who were going to buy the more expensive units were going to come from Manhattan or Brooklyn. But my wife and I (along with our two year old), live in LIC now. And before that, we lived in Jamaica, where I went to school (St. John's). So, we're coming from having experienced living at various ends of the Queens spectrum.

Welcome to Jackson Heights, and Jackson Heights Life!

[newjhuser]

I'm closing in December near christmas. I bought in the A line, looking forward to meeting you guys. We should get a meet and greet when more of us move in since we'll all be neighbors! I just wish the gym was completed already..........

[Lilybell]

Welcome, Mr.Plaza! Congratulations on your purchase of what is going to be an absolutely gorgeous apartment when it's finished. The renovations are supposed to take 4 months start to finish but I have a feeling it will be longer than that for the 4-bedroom since it's a merge of two apartments and more complicated in general. Mine took longer than usual because I made an offer on an apartment that wasn't for sale yet, so it had to catch up to others in the same "batch" (they renovate in batches).

newjhuser, I am also moving to the A building and have a feeling you might end up directly above me! I'm going to be in A52. I hope you like bagpipes; I just started taking lessons and love to practice all hours of the night.

I'll see if I can find out when they are going to start on the gym - the super mentioned it but I already forgot what he said except that it's going to be in the basement of the D building (around the corner from the door with the ramp).

I think a get-together sounds great and am really looking forward to meeting my new neighbors.

(just kidding about the bagpipes) 

[MrPlaza]

Thanks for the warm welcome, all. We look forward to meeting you all. My wife and I are uncommonly friendly. As a testament to that, the officiant at our wedding was actually a couple we sold a desk to over Craigslist. And two of our closest friends are people who joined us for the tour of our current apartment three years ago. We also like to entertain. I make craft cocktails as a hobby and my wife likes making cheese and fruit plates. And we both like to drink wine. Haha. So, we're definitely people persons, and really want to get to know our neighbors. And since we're only having the one baby, it's important to us that he grows up being sociable.

So, all that to say: 100% down for a get-together!

Since we're talking about timelines, there were a couple of questions that I had been wondering:

1) I'm also curious to know about the gym, but all the common areas in general. My understanding is that everything is being renovated. I read somewhere that the courtyard will be as well, which was confusing. What about it is being renovated?

2) Somewhere on this thread someone said the building was being wired for Verizon FIOS. Is that true? Is that still happening? Because we'd be leaving behind RCN — which we LOVE — for what appears to be TWC/Spectrum. Which feels like a special kind of torture.

[jh35]

2) Somewhere on this thread someone said the building was being wired for Verizon FIOS. Is that true? Is that still happening? Because we'd be leaving behind RCN — which we LOVE — for what appears to be TWC/Spectrum. Which feels like a special kind of torture.

The FIOS cable is in the basement but the buildings have not been wired. The management will not sign off on it. They are waiting until after the halls are renovated. (which seems odd. Why would they want the mess AFTER the halls have been renovated?)

Verizon said that even after management signs off on it, it could take a year to get it installed since they have a long waiting list.

Welcome to the building.