204 West Houston Street

The offering plan describes three attached buildings of four and five stories, and PLUTO carries a five-floor, roughly 38,000-square-foot building on a lot a little over 10,000 square feet with 100 feet of frontage on West Houston. The unbuilt rear of the lot is the courtyard garden. PLUTO's building-frontage field reads 50 feet, which conflicts with the plan's four street addresses and the lot's 100-foot frontage; treat that field as a data error.

Apartment designations run A through F on the lower floors, with combined and duplex apartments at the top of the building. ACRIS records a penthouse duplex spanning the fourth and fifth floors, and a 2025 transfer of a combined 4A/5A. Layouts therefore range from one-bedrooms to large combined homes, and the stack is not uniform: floor, the number of combined units, and courtyard versus Houston Street exposure all move value.

DOB job filings disagree on the apartment count — one 2017 filing lists 34 dwelling units, a 2019 filing lists 29. The offering plan, the Department of Finance and the audited statements all carry 29; the 34 appears to be a filing error.

The corporation owns the land and building in fee. Per the audited financial statements on file for 2018–2019:

Underlying mortgage. In June 2019 the corporation refinanced into a $2.8 million, 10-year mortgage at a fixed 3.75%, with a $500,000 line of credit alongside it. That puts the maturity in 2029, with a balloon payment of more than $2 million due then. A buyer today is buying into a building that will refinance within about three years, at whatever rates prevail then — the single most important capital fact on this page. Ask the managing agent for the current balance, any draws on the line, and the board's refinancing plan.

Capital work. The elevator was modernized in 2019 under a contract of roughly $245,000, funded around the refinancing. The statements note that the corporation has not commissioned a study of future major repairs, which is common in small co-ops but means the reserve position has to be read from the balance sheet rather than a plan.

Taxes. Real estate taxes were more than half of the corporation's operating expenses in 2019. That is the building's biggest cost line. Maintenance rose 6.9% at the start of 2020. The corporation files annual tax-assessment challenges.

Assessments. An operating assessment ran from 2014 through 2019 and was discontinued at the start of 2020. As at many co-ops, the board also bills an assessment roughly equal to the co-op tax abatement credited to eligible shareholders; the net effect is to keep the abatement inside the building's budget.

Tax abatement history. The conversion qualified for J-51 benefits. DOF records show a J-51 abatement starting in tax year 1990 on a certified reasonable cost of about $469,000, fully used up by tax year 2000. No J-51 benefit remains, and the current roll shows only small shareholder-level exemptions.

Roof licenses. In 2019 the board granted revocable, month-to-month licenses to certain shareholders for skylights and air-conditioning equipment on the roof. These end on the sale of the apartment unless the board re-grants them. A buyer of an apartment with rooftop equipment should get the license status in writing.

Board approval. Full board package with tax returns, reference letters and a personal interview of the buyers and any other intended occupants.

Financing. Capped at 80% of the purchase price, per the purchase application on file. The co-op requires the Aztech recognition agreement form.

Flip tax. 1% of the purchase price, paid by the seller, per the audited statements.

Other policies. Listing records describe co-purchasing, guarantors, gifting and parents buying for children as permitted, along with subletting. These come from listing records, not the governing documents, so confirm them with the managing agent before an offer is shaped around one. Pied-à-terre use and trust or LLC ownership are not documented; get the board's position in writing.

Moves. Weekday moves only, with refundable move-in and move-out deposits.

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. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2021): a median $1,537/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 3.0% 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 1-00528-0008). 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.

Underwrite the 2029 refinancing. The 3.75% mortgage matures in 2029 with a balloon payment of more than $2 million. Model maintenance at today's rates, not 2019's, and ask whether the board plans to refinance early.

Read the date correctly. The building is a 1988–89 conversion inside 19th-century loft shells, not an 1869 apartment house. Ask for the Certificate of Occupancy and the apartment's alteration history.

Check rooftop and combination rights. If the apartment has a skylight or rooftop equipment, confirm the license. If it is a combination, confirm the DOB sign-off.

Budget for the board. Plan on an 80% loan-to-value ceiling and an interview.

Lead with the elevator and the plates. A modernized elevator and loft-depth rooms on a low-rise village block are what separate this building from its walk-up neighbors.

Get ahead of the mortgage question. Buyers' attorneys will find the 2029 maturity. Have the managing agent's statement on the mortgage balance and the board's refinancing posture ready.

Price the 1% flip tax into your net. It is modest by Village standards; build it into the seller closing cost estimate from the start.

If you're considering 204 West Houston Street, also evaluate:

• 182 West Houston Street — postwar cooperative on the same block at the Sixth Avenue end
• 63 Downing Street — 1986 condominium on the same tax block, the condominium alternative
• 32 Downing Street — small cooperative a block north
• 11 Charlton Street — small elevator cooperative just south of Houston Street, in the Charlton–King–VanDam Historic District
• 104 Charlton Street — loft conversion nearby, held as a condominium
• 100 Vandam Street — 1888 structure redeveloped for residential use in Hudson Square
• 22 Perry Street — a 1987 boutique condominium at Seventh Avenue South, inside the historic district