185 Hall Street (Willoughby Walk)

185 Hall Street is Building I: sixteen stories, 287 apartments, 18 to a floor except the first, and 987½ rooms in the cooperative's own count. Construction is brick over a reinforced-concrete frame. Windows are aluminum casements closed by rotary mechanisms — a detail the 1973 engineering survey singled out because the sash lacked stiffness at the top, and a category of work that any current owner should ask about, since replacement windows in a building of this vintage are usually a shareholder or corporation project rather than an original condition. Terraces are concrete slabs projecting from lines 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15 and 16 above the first floor; the same survey documented cracking, corner spalling and drainage pitch across a majority of them in 1973, and terrace-slab and railing maintenance has been a recurring capital theme for buildings of this construction ever since.

The apartment mix is unusually legible for a postwar building because the cooperative publishes it by line. Studios run two rooms with a walk-in kitchenette and dining area. One-bedrooms come in two shapes: a three-room version with a walk-in kitchenette, and a 3½-room version with a proper kitchen-dining area. Two-bedrooms run 4½ rooms with a bath and a half, with the 12 line carrying two full baths, and a five-room version with a full kitchen, breakfast nook and dining area. Three-bedrooms are 5½ rooms with a bath and a half. Every apartment was wired with a 208-volt air-conditioning outlet in the living room and a 120-volt outlet in each bedroom — a genuine convenience in a building where through-wall sleeves, not window units projecting past the façade, are the rule.

Building records describe a compactor room on each floor, converted from the original incinerator system, and elevators running on direct-current motors fed by motor-generator sets in the roof machine room; they also list a master television antenna and a lobby-switchboard intercom. Whether this equipment remains in service, and its condition, needs confirming.

Willoughby Walk runs as a hands-on, resident-governed operation with the management office on site at 185 Hall Street, Suite 101. Security officers staff the lobbies, a superintendent and maintenance staff handle the physical plant, and the cooperative provides free Saturday pest-control service to apartments that sign up. Moves and deliveries require a property pass and a $200 refundable deposit, run only on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and use the basement entrance.

The division of repair responsibility is spelled out and matters at underwriting. The corporation maintains the heating, plumbing, electrical, gas and intercom systems, window frames, elevators, public areas and grounds. The shareholder is responsible for stoves, refrigerators, floor tile, window glass, terrace doors, sinks, tubs, toilets, cabinets and counters, apartment entrance doors and all decoration — with board approval and a management inspection required for replacements. Small hardware items are repaired by staff on a charge-back for materials.

Shareholders have been required since November 10, 2008 to carry comprehensive liability and property damage insurance naming the corporation as an additional insured, with annual proof. The house rules also carry a graduated violation fee schedule — $100, $200, $300 and up — administered through an internal affairs committee of board members. Financial statements for the corporation are maintained in The Roebling Research Library and support trend-level diligence on carrying-charge growth and capital practice; the current mortgage position, reserve level and any live assessment should be confirmed with management.

Purchaser review: Application through the on-site management office with a $500 non-refundable fee (plus $85 for a home visit if the applicant lives outside New York City), full financial documentation, a credit and tenant-screening report including a home visit, an interview before board members and a shareholder screening committee, and then a full board vote.

Income minimums: Set by the board by apartment size, recorded in the purchaser package as $40,000 for a studio, $50,000 for a one-bedroom, $60,000 for a two-bedroom and $70,000 for a three-bedroom. Confirm the current schedule.

Owner occupancy: Required. Additions to an existing stock certificate are limited to immediate family who will live in the apartment.

Subletting: Hardship only, board-approved, two-year maximum, subtenant screened as a purchaser, rent capped at the shareholder's carrying charges, sublet fee of $4.00 per share per month. An apartment not sold by the end of the two-year period is subject to sale to the corporation at transfer value under the sublease rider.

Pets: Two per apartment, registered and re-registered annually with documentation, fee and insurance; five-foot leash; curbed off cooperative property; barred from the playground and laundry rooms.

Washer/dryer: Prohibited.

Parking: Surface spaces licensed to resident shareholders only, no commercial vehicles, no washing or repairs on site.

Closing costs: Waiver fee of $145 per share paid by the seller; $800 stock transfer administrative fee; New York State stock transfer tax; off-site closing fees; a $300 delay fee if a closing runs past four hours through one side's fault.

Recent sales

Recent transfers 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 $789/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-01905-0001). 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.

Plan for a full board process. Application fee, financial documentation, credit and tenant-screening reports, a home visit, a screening-committee interview and a board vote. Assemble the package properly the first time.

You must live here. No pied-à-terre, no investor purchase, and sublets only on documented hardship for a maximum of two years.

Price the terrace. Lines 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15 and 16 carry terraces above the first floor and trade differently from the rest of the building. Match your comparables on that one variable before anything else.

Ask about windows, terraces and elevators. Aluminum casements with rotary closers, projecting concrete terrace slabs and DC elevator machinery, per the original specifications, are the three systems that define the capital conversation in a building of this vintage. Ask what has been replaced, what is scheduled, and for the most recent engineering reports.

Read the occupancy agreement, not a proprietary lease. This is a Section 213 cooperative: shareholders hold an occupancy agreement, now carrying a uniform January 1, 2063 end date renewable in three-year terms. Your attorney and your lender should both see it early.

Model the waiver fee into net proceeds. The purchaser package lists $145 per share. Confirm the current rate and unit share count, then compare the amount with brokerage, transfer taxes and other transaction costs.

Qualify the buyer before the board does. Review owner-occupancy requirements, income criteria and the home-visit process at the offer stage. Missing documentation may delay review, but the duration depends on the application and board process.

Lead with the grounds and the terrace. Describe the landscaped superblock, gated playground and on-site parking, and show any private terrace belonging to the apartment; confirm access and compare specific alternatives.

Price per room against the complexes, not the brownstones. The correct set is the neighborhood's large cooperative complexes; converted row-house co-ops on Waverly and Cambridge Place are a different market.

Document the renovation. Provide permits, board approvals and completion records for any renovation so buyers can assess the scope and compliance alongside condition, layout and price.

If you're considering 185 Hall Street, also evaluate:

• 195 Willoughby Avenue (Willoughby Walk) — the complex's second tower, same corporation and rulebook, different frontage
• 185 Clinton Avenue (Clinton Hill Co-ops, North Campus) — the wartime co-op campus to the west; courtyard grounds at far larger scale
• 345 Clinton Avenue (Clinton Hill Co-ops, South Campus) — the same complex inside the Clinton Hill Historic District
• 135 Eastern Parkway (Turner Towers) — prewar Prospect Heights co-op peer priced per room