The Vancouver (314 West 94th Street)

The building stands six stories on a lot of about 7,550 square feet, with a floor area of about 26,500 square feet per city records. The 32 apartments run five or six to a floor, lettered A through F. The aggregate floor area includes common and service space and does not establish individual apartment size or bedroom mix. The line-by-line room count is not published in the records we reviewed, so confirm any specific layout from the recorded floor plans or the listing.

As a 1906 apartment house, it has the details a buyer would expect: masonry walls, plaster, and window lines set by the original light courts. The house rules require rugs or carpeting over at least 80% of each apartment's floor area, apart from kitchens, baths, closets and foyers. That is a sign of original floor construction and of how close the apartments are to each other. The sixth-floor apartments have roof decks, and the house rules make those owners responsible for any damage their decks do to the roof.

Units trade on a dollars-per-square-foot basis like any condominium. A prewar conversion of this size does not have the amenity package that drives new-development per-foot pricing, and the market prices it that way.

The Vancouver is run by an elected Board of Managers through a managing agent, with a superintendent. The budget carries no doorman staff. Operating costs are modest: revenues were about $221,000 in fiscal 2020 (year ended June 30), almost all of it from common charges. Utilities, repairs, insurance, management fees and water and sewer were the main expenses.

Capital posture. The financial statements on file for fiscal 2020 are reviewed, not audited. They show no mortgage on the common elements and a separate replacement reserve of about $150,000 at June 30, 2020. The association had not commissioned a reserve study. The statements say that future major repairs could be paid for from cash, higher common charges or special assessments, and they do not estimate the effect on future charges. In 2016–17 the building filed façade and masonry repairs with the Department of Buildings, including repointing, stone window work and fire-escape repairs. Those repair dates do not establish FISP coverage; the stated six-story height is below its higher-than-six-story threshold. Ask for the current façade condition reports and planned capital work.

Tax position. DOF's current exemption rolls show no J-51 or other building-wide benefit on any unit. DOF's historical J-51 records show none for this lot either. Units that qualify receive the owner-specific co-op/condo abatement. Taxes are otherwise at full assessment.

• Right of first refusal. Sales and leases go through the board's right-of-first-refusal process. Buyers file a waiver application together with a purchase package that includes the contract, financial statement, tax returns, bank statements, reference letters and mortgage commitment (purchase application on file).
• Fees at purchase. Buyers pay a non-refundable building processing fee plus two months of common charges, a managing-agent processing and credit-check fee, and refundable move deposits paid by both buyer and seller (purchase application on file). Confirm current amounts at offer stage.
• Insurance. Owners must carry homeowner's insurance at minimums the board sets, and must show proof before closing (house rules).
• Renovation. Noisy work is allowed only on weekdays from 8 AM to 5 PM, with written notice to the managing agent beforehand (house rules).
• Smoking. No smoking anywhere in the common areas, including courtyards and entrance steps (house rules).

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01252-7501; 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.

Price in the laundry rule. No washer/dryer is allowed in units. The building has a shared laundry room. For some buyers that rules the building out, and it caps what any single renovation can add.

Read the reserve position. The replacement reserve at the latest statements on file was about $150,000, and no reserve study had been done. For a 1906 masonry building, ask about the current façade cycle, roof, elevator and boiler, and whether the board is planning an assessment.

Landmark rules apply to the exterior. Window replacements and any work visible from the street need Landmarks Preservation Commission approval.

The right of first refusal is a required step, and it takes time. Allow for the board's waiver process in your closing timeline.

Lead with the deed. In a submarket where most prewar apartments are co-ops, deeded ownership with leasing allowed widens your pool of buyers. That includes buyers who plan to rent the apartment out or keep it as a second home.

Prepare the package early. The processing fee, move deposits from both sides and the waiver application are all due before board review. Having them ready shortens the time from contract to closing.

If you're considering The Vancouver, also evaluate:

• Hudson Court (317 West 95th Street): a 1902 flats building one block north, gut-converted into a 30-unit condominium, in the same historic district extension
• 306 West 97th Street: two adjoining prewar flats buildings combined into a 61-unit condominium
• 317 West 89th Street: a 1914 prewar condominium with 24 residences
• 243 West 98th Street: a prewar rental building converted to condominium
• The Sabrina (240 West 98th Street): a much larger 1923 prewar condominium conversion
• The Stanton (250 West 94th Street): a 1925 co-op on the same street, the co-op alternative
• 320 West 90th Street: a prewar-era building converted to co-op in 1984, the same year as The Vancouver