- Year built
- 1869
- Type
- Former store-and-loft building
- Amenities
- Keyed elevator, virtual entry system and in-home laundry
- Landmark status
- Not an individual landmark; in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission records, updated February 2026
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A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 131 Mercer Street would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.
131 Mercer Street was built in 1869 for Gustave Herter, whose furniture and decorating business became Herter Brothers. An additional story was added in 1881. The six-story store-and-loft structure has a brick-and-stone upper façade and a cast-iron storefront. Its residential conversion by Joseph Pell Lombardi retained the commercial base and introduced loft homes above.
The conversion received LPC, Board of Standards and Appeals and City Planning approvals. The building now contains ten residential condominium lots and one commercial lot within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District.
Architecture and unit composition
The residential floors retain the proportions and structural vocabulary of an older commercial loft. Exposed brick, cast-iron columns and beams appear within the homes, while large windows face the Mercer Street frontage. The key-locked elevator serves the upper floors.
The recurring loft footprints are roughly 1,700 to 2,050 square feet. Larger penthouse accommodation extends over multiple levels, with double-height living space and rooftop outdoor areas. Private roof rights attach to particular homes; they are not a general building amenity.
Bedroom partitions and interior renovations vary across the open floor plates. In-home laundry is present, and the broad living areas reflect the building's original loft use. The historic masonry envelope encloses these contemporary residential layouts.
Building operations
The entry system includes virtual visitor access and a keyed elevator. A renovated lobby serves the residences. The ground-floor commercial space remains a distinct condominium interest, with its own tax classification.
The largest single owner holds three of the ten residential lots in the DOF roll. An incoming owner joins a small association in which that holding accounts for a material share of the residential inventory.
Policy framework
Pets: Allowed — confirm with the managing agent.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the inspector (QEWI) identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets DOB’s FISP qualifications and signs the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2015–20 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2025 | 2B | $3,425,000 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-00499-7501; 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.
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What to know if you’re buying
The historic storefront and upper masonry belong to one building envelope. A proposed façade or window change must respect the district designation, while the allocation of work between commercial and residential interests follows the condominium documents. Private roof access also needs to be read alongside responsibility for the roof structure below it.
Comparable buildings
- 115 Mercer Street — A nearby small condominium in a nineteenth-century building on the same street.
- 90 Prince Street — A small prewar SoHo condominium with a comparable ownership format.
- 118 Wooster Street — A six-story prewar condominium alternative for loft buyers.
- 107 Greene Street — An early-2000s Joseph Pell Lombardi loft condominium built on the foundations of earlier buildings, with a modest residential inventory.
- 77 Mercer Street — Another small Mercer Street condominium in older loft stock.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
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646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com