242 South 1st Street (Lofts1)

The unit mix, per the revised Schedule A and floor plans in the First Amendment (June 2006), and Department of Finance unit areas:

• Ground floor, 1B–1F: five units of roughly 1,070 to 1,430 square feet including a cellar level, with two baths each. These are the building's largest units apart from the top floor.
• Second and third floors, A–F: twelve compact lofts of roughly 560 to 665 square feet. The A through D lines are drawn as a single living, dining and sleeping room; the E line has a separate bedroom.
• Fourth floor, 4A–4F: six units of roughly 1,150 to 1,450 square feet, each with a mezzanine and accessory storage in the rooftop addition.

The roof-terrace units are the feature to understand. Each of RT1 through RT7 is a separate condominium unit with its own tax lot, deed and share of common charges. Six are owned by apartment owners, mostly on the fourth floor, and one is held by the condominium itself, per the Department of Finance. A listing that includes a terrace is selling two or three conveyances, and title work should confirm each one.

The building is a walk-up per its Department of Finance class. The house rules require carpet or similar covering on 75 percent of exposed floor outside kitchens and baths, a standard noise rule in converted loft buildings, and they bar new window or through-wall air conditioners without the board's consent.

Lofts1 is small and run lean. The 2024 audited statements show about $183,000 in common charges against about $145,000 in operating expenses, the largest items being insurance, repairs and a contracted janitorial service.

The capital project and the loan. In 2017 the board began planning a project to stop water coming through the exterior: full window replacement, façade repairs and roof work. It was funded by an initial capital assessment, then a $1.5 million bank loan taken in May 2019 at a fixed 2.69 percent, then continuing capital assessments to pay the loan. Windows were finished in May 2022. The façade and roof work began in August 2022, ran long because of access problems, and was completed in September 2024. Rising costs required an additional special assessment, approved in February 2024 and paid off by December 2024. About $2.3 million of work has been capitalized.

What remains is the loan. Its balance was about $865,000 at the end of 2024, and it amortizes on a fixed schedule to May 2030, with a small final payment at maturity. In 2024 the condominium collected more than twice as much in capital assessments as in common charges. A buyer's true monthly cost here is common charges plus the capital assessment plus taxes, and the assessment should run until the loan is repaid. Reserves were about $192,000 at year-end 2024. The condominium has not commissioned a reserve study, which is a professional estimate of future replacement costs.

There is no abatement to lose. Department of Finance records show no 421-a or J-51 exemption on any residence or terrace unit in any year from 2010/11 through the 2026/27 roll; the only exemptions recorded are individual owners' personal exemptions. Buyers underwrite the full tax bill from day one, which makes Lofts1 simpler to compare against the many Williamsburg condominiums of the same age whose 421-a benefits have been stepping down.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-02408-7503) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.

Get the assessment schedule in writing. Ask the managing agent for the current monthly capital assessment on the unit and how long it is budgeted to run. The loan matures in May 2030.

Confirm the terrace. If the listing includes a roof terrace, it is a separate unit with its own deed, taxes and common charges. Make sure the contract covers it.

Read the 2017 and 2019 declaration amendments. Both were recorded against every unit. Have your attorney confirm what they changed before you sign.

Check the pet rule. The house rules let the board restrict or prohibit animals, and a later rule binds existing owners.

Allow for the right of first refusal. The board reviews each sale and notifies the parties whether it waives. Build that into the contract timeline.

Lead with the completed exterior work. New windows, façade and roof finished in 2024 answer a buyer's first question about a century-old building.

Disclose the assessment up front. Buyers will find it in the financial statements. Presenting the monthly figure and the 2030 end date yourself keeps it from turning into a late price discussion.

Prepare the multi-deed file early. A fourth-floor unit sold with one or two terrace units is several conveyances; have every deed and tax bill ready.

If you're considering 242 South 1st Street, also evaluate:

• 338 Berry Street (The Williamsberry) — an enlarged 1914 Southside loft building, the closest conversion peer on the Southside
• 330 Wythe Avenue (The Esquire Building) — a larger 75-residence factory conversion
• 150 North 5th Street (The Rialto) — a 31-residence furniture-factory conversion of similar scale
• The Mill Building (85 North 3rd Street) — a 1910 loft conversion whose J-51 benefit has run off
• 55 Berry Street (Berry Street Lofts) — a Northside manufacturing-building conversion
• The Umbrella Factory (710 Metropolitan Avenue) — a factory conversion with a rooftop addition, fully taxed
• 14 Hope Street — a 23-residence new-construction condominium off Grand Street, with years of 421-a remaining
• The Gretsch (60 Broadway) — the full-service loft conversion at the south edge of the Southside