308 North 7th Street (308 N7)

Isaac & Stern designed a masonry building in two registers: a ground floor in dark herringbone brick, and a pale, distressed brick above, cut with oversized metal-framed windows, per press coverage. The massing steps back in terraces, which is what gives so many apartments private outdoor space.

The 45 residences run from one to three bedrooms, per published marketing materials. The three garden-level homes (A, E and F) sit at the base with private garden space. Floors two through seven hold between five and eight apartments each, thinning as the building steps back, and the three penthouses sit at the top. Kitchens carry custom oak cabinetry, Arabescato Corchia marble counters and Bosch appliances, per published marketing materials.

Parking and cabanas are not condominium units. Marketing described an indoor garage of 23 spaces and cabanas for purchase, but ACRIS and the Department of Finance show only the 45 residences. The spaces and cabanas are therefore held some other way: by license, lease, or as limited common elements assigned to particular apartments. Ask how a given space or cabana is held, whether it transfers with the apartment, and what it costs each month.

The block has changed since the building opened. A separate seven-story rental building was completed next door at 304 North 7th Street in 2024, per city records. It is a different tax lot and not part of the condominium, but it affects light and outlook on the west side of the building.

A 45-residence building with an attended lobby, a top-floor amenity floor and a garage runs a fuller budget than a walk-in boutique building. We have no financial statements on file. Ask for the current budget, the reserve balance and any assessment history, and ask how garage and cabana income, if any, flows into the budget.

At nine stories, the building is subject to Local Law 11, the city's façade inspection program for buildings over six stories. Ask for the most recent filing, or the date the first one is due, and its classification. On a stepped building, terrace waterproofing and roof membranes over occupied space are the maintenance items to watch.

Department of Finance records show a 15-year 421-a exemption with a cap on every residence (code 5118, "421A 15 YR CAP"). 421-a is the state program that exempted the added value of new construction from property tax for a fixed term. This is the pre-2016 program, not 421-a(16), the Affordable New York program that replaced it. The benefit began in 2019/20. It runs at full value, up to the cap, for eleven years through 2029/30, then steps down to 80, 60, 40 and 20 percent over the following four years. From 2034/35 the building is fully taxed.

The cap is what buyers miss. The exemption covers each unit's added value only up to a fixed ceiling of assessed value. The ceiling began at $65,000 per unit and has risen about 3 percent a year; on the 2026/27 roll it is $110,658. Nineteen of the 45 residences fall under it and pay tax only on a small base value. The other 26 exceed it and pay tax on everything above the cap, so their bills are already much higher than the smaller units' and will rise further when the step-down begins.

Pull the tax record for the specific unit. A tax figure from a neighbor's listing, or from a smaller apartment, will not apply.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-02331-7502) 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.

Model the tax bill through 2034. Take the current bill, then add the step-downs from 2030/31. On a capped unit, the increase starts from a higher base.

Find out how parking and cabanas are held. Neither is a deeded unit. Get the license or assignment in writing before you price it in.

Get the offering plan and the declaration. We have not reviewed either. They set the leasing, pet and alteration rules and the working-capital contribution.

Check the terrace. Private outdoor space is the building's selling point. Confirm what is exclusive to the unit, who maintains the membrane, and whether there is any open leak history.

Show the tax schedule with the listing. Buyers will find the cap. Present the current bill and the step-down together, and explain why a large unit's bill is higher than a small neighbor's.

Sell the outdoor space. Twenty-nine of 45 residences have it; if yours does, photograph and measure it.

Document parking or cabana rights. If a space or cabana goes with the apartment, have the paperwork ready. It is not in the deed.

If you're considering 308 North 7th Street, also evaluate:

• 280 Metropolitan Avenue — a 28-residence condominium with the same capped 15-year 421-a, two years further into its term
• NX (215 North 10th Street) — a 31-residence 2020 condominium at Roebling Street with no abatement at all
• 510 Driggs Avenue — a 44-residence 2022 condominium with no 421-a, the fully taxed alternative
• Element 88 (88 Withers Street) — a 33-residence 2019 condominium near Meeker Avenue with no abatement
• 110 North 1st Street — a 38-residence condominium by the same architect, closer to the waterfront
• 144 North 8th Street — a fully taxed 41-residence condominium of the previous cycle
• 147 Hope Street — a 38-residence condominium of the same vintage with no abatement