20 Clinton Street

The building is a six-story Art Deco brick apartment house spanning a 100-foot frontage across what were once four tenement lots — larger in plan than the neighborhood's 25-foot walk-up norm, which is what gave the conversion its courtyard and its elevator. The roughly 38 residences are predominantly compact one- and two-bedrooms in pre-war configurations; combinations (the building's documented FG-line pairings among them) and top-floor units provide the larger inventory, and renovation levels vary widely unit to unit — from estate-condition originals to gut renovations with high-end kitchens, per listing records. Nine commercial units line the retail base along Clinton Street.

This is a lean, self-service condominium by design: virtual doorman and package room rather than staffed lobby, a live-in superintendent, bike room, an upgraded elevator, and the shared garden courtyard — a configuration that keeps common charges low for the borough. Two diligence notes from the documents on file: first, the offering plan's special-risk disclosures flag the nine commercial units' broad use rights, so current retail tenancies are worth reviewing; second, the sponsor's engineer noted in 1999 that the building's electrical service capacity was limited — your attorney should confirm what system upgrades have been completed in the twenty-five years since. The offering plan and amendments 1–10 are on file in The Roebling Research Library.

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 (2025) cleared a median $1,495/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. 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 2.1% 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 1-00350-7501; 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.

This is the neighborhood's entry-level condominium — structurally. Condominium mechanics (no board interview, 20 percent down per listing records, investor and pied-à-terre use to be confirmed in the declaration and bylaws) at walk-up-adjacent pricing, in a neighborhood where the alternative condo stock sits a tier above. Confirm current policy specifics with the managing agent.

Price the service model honestly. A virtual doorman and package room are not a staffed lobby. The trade is materially lower common charges; buyers coming from full-service buildings should weigh the monthly savings against the convenience gap.

Review the building-systems history. The 1999 engineer's report on file flagged electrical capacity. Much may have been upgraded since — the elevator has been, per listing records — but your attorney should confirm the trail in board minutes and financials during diligence.

Understand the retail base. Nine separately owned commercial units with broad use rights front Clinton Street. The block's tenancy is restaurant-row in character; visit at night to price the street's energy for your own use.

Condition spread is wide. Tenant-era originals and renovated units coexist. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator against asking prices on unrenovated inventory — the math frequently favors buying condition here.

Sell the scarcity and the carry. Sub-$1 million Manhattan condominiums with low monthlies are a structurally thin market with a deep buyer pool — first-time buyers, parents, and investors. State the common charges and the condo mechanics plainly in the marketing; they are the product.

Position against the new LES condos, not against tenement walk-ups. Your buyer is cross-shopping newer product at a much higher per-foot cost. The pitch is the gap: established condominium, garden courtyard, prime Clinton Street block, at the neighborhood's value tier.

Document the building's conversion-era DNA. The tenant-anchored 1999 conversion and owner-occupied character read as stability to buyers and their attorneys. We provide the offering plan and amendment trail from the Research Library to serious buyers' counsel.

If you're considering 20 Clinton Street, also evaluate:

• 196 Orchard — the neighborhood's full-amenity condo benchmark; the step-up alternative
• One Manhattan Square — the LES's amenity-tower option at Manhattan Bridge scale
• Blue Condominium (105 Norfolk Street) — Bernard Tschumi's 2007 boutique condo; the design-forward alternative
• 50 Clinton Street — the street's 2016 boutique condominium; the newer comp two blocks south
• 242 Broome Street — Essex Crossing's boutique condo component
• 100 Norfolk Street — cantilevered boutique condo; the newer-construction mid-tier
• 215 Chrystie Street — Herzog & de Meuron's hotel-condo at the neighborhood's western edge; the trophy ceiling