111 Steuben Street (The Absolute)

Gary Shoemaker designed a six-story steel frame with a green-tinted glass curtain wall, a clean break from the brick and brownstone around it. The lot is 125 by 100 feet. PLUTO records about 34,500 square feet of residential area, about 7,000 square feet of retail and about 5,000 square feet of garage.

The 35 apartments run from floor two to floor six: eight per floor on floors two through four (lines A through H), seven on the fifth, and four on the sixth. The plan's mix is weighted to one-bedrooms. Press accounts of the launch describe floor-to-ceiling glazing, high ceilings, and terraces or balconies on many units. Floor, exposure, outdoor space and parking separate otherwise similar lines.

Parking is a set of 31 separately deeded units, each its own tax lot. They carried the same 421-a exemption as the apartments, and they pay their own share of common charges — about $47,000 of association revenue in fiscal 2024. A space conveys only with its own deed. Confirm whether a listed apartment comes with one.

The two commercial units at grade are separately owned and outside the residential market. They contribute to the association under the declaration.

Finances, per the audited statements on file (years ended April 30, 2024 and 2023). The association billed about $425,000 in residential common charges in fiscal 2024, up from about $358,000 the year before, plus about $47,000 from the parking units and reimbursed utilities. Expenses were about $547,000, led by repairs and maintenance, water and sewer, and gas and electric. The association ran an operating deficit in both years — about $120,500 in fiscal 2023 and about $28,500 in fiscal 2024 — and ended fiscal 2024 with a members' deficit of about $29,000. Accounts payable of about $160,000 exceeded total assets. Cash on hand was about $88,000, of which about $61,000 sat in a reserve account opened that year. There is no association-level mortgage on the statements.

The auditor noted that the association has not commissioned a reserve study or adopted a funding plan for major repairs, and that the governing documents do not require reserves. The statements state that when major repairs arise, the association plans to borrow, raise common charges or defer the work.

What that means for a buyer. The 19 percent rise in common-charge revenue in fiscal 2024 suggests the board is already closing the gap, but the balance sheet leaves little room for a large repair. The building is now about seventeen years old. Its curtain wall and sealants, roof membrane, two elevators and garage are at the age when capital questions arise. Ask for the fiscal 2025 and 2026 statements, the current budget, any assessment history, and the board's plan for the payables.

Governance record. An amended declaration signed in April 2023 was recorded in February 2026. We have not reviewed its contents. Request it: a declaration amendment can change use restrictions, common-interest allocations or leasing rules.

Compliance. At about 46,500 gross square feet the building is over the 25,000-square-foot threshold for the city's energy benchmarking and emissions rules. Ask the managing agent to state the building's position in writing.

• Right of first refusal: The board may elect to buy or lease a unit on the offered terms within ten days of notice, under Article 8 of the by-laws. Notice of any accepted offer to sell or lease a residential or parking unit goes to the board with references.
• Leasing: Minimum lease term six months. Tenants complete the building's sublease form with a $150 non-refundable application fee. The board may refuse renewal to a tenant with repeated rule violations.
• Pets: Permitted for owners. Tenants need the board's prior written permission. Pets are barred from the gym and common room and must be leashed in common areas.
• Moves and work: Moves scheduled with the superintendent at least 24 hours ahead, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; a $500 deposit applies if the mover cannot supply an insurance certificate. Noisy construction weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only.
• Working capital: Two months' common charges from each purchaser at closing, per the audited statements.
• Home offices: The plan notes that zoning permits up to 25 percent of a unit, capped at 500 square feet, to be used as a professional office.

These rules date from June 2014. Confirm the current version with the managing agent.

Recent sales

Recent closings at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.

Market read. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $1,044/sf (floor-adjusted) across 2 sales. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 0.7% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-01894-7501; each condominium apartment is its own tax lot). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.

Underwrite the full tax bill. The 421-a exemption ended after the 2024/25 tax year. Pull the current Department of Finance bill for the unit and any parking space.

Read the financials before you sign. Two years of deficits, payables above assets and no reserve study are the kind of facts a lender's condo questionnaire will surface. Ask whether an assessment or a further common-charge increase is planned.

Read the 2026 recorded amendment. Know what it changes.

Price the parking separately. Spaces are their own units with their own deeds, taxes and common charges.

Check the roof and amenity position. The 2014 house rules close the roof. If a listing advertises a roof deck, confirm current access in writing.

Price against unabated comparables. A list price set from abated-era sales invites a renegotiation after the buyer's attorney pulls the tax bill.

Get the association's paperwork in order. A current budget, the latest audit and a clear statement of the board's plan for reserves make the condo questionnaire and the buyer's lender review easier to complete.

Lead with the design and the parking. A glass-fronted elevator building with a gym and a deeded garage space a block from Pratt has few direct competitors in Clinton Hill.

If you're considering The Absolute, also evaluate:

• 545 Washington Avenue — Isabella, a 63-unit 2011 Clinton Hill condominium whose 15-year 421-a also expired in 2025
• 500 Waverly Avenue — a 48-unit condominium at Fulton Street with a 25-year 421-a still running
• 315 Gates Avenue — a 72-unit 2009 amenity condominium in western Bedford-Stuyvesant, the same generation
• 450 Grand Avenue — a 39-residence condominium delivered 2023–24; the new-construction alternative
• 87 Irving Place — a 25-unit Clinton Hill condominium sold out in 2025
• 532 Clinton Avenue — a 14-unit boutique condominium with no abatement
• 320 Washington Avenue — The Graham, the 1851 landmark-district conversion with deeded parking; the prewar alternative
• 372 DeKalb Avenue — Clinton Mews, the converted factory co-op on the Pratt block; the tenure contrast
• 251 7th Street — The Argyle, a 60-unit 2009 Gowanus condominium of the same vintage