- Year built
- 1880
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 6
- Floors
- 5
- Landmark
- Designated
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 39 Pearl Street would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.
39 Pearl Street is one of the few DUMBO buildings still under the Loft Law. The Loft Law (Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law) covers "interim multiple dwellings": former commercial or manufacturing buildings where people were already living without residential approval. It requires the owner to bring the building up to residential code under Loft Board oversight and obtain a residential certificate of occupancy. Most of the neighborhood's lofts went through full condominium conversions with new certificates. This building did not, and that is the most important fact for a buyer.
LPC's building database dates the building to about 1880 and records John W. Masury & Son as the original owner. It is a five-story brick factory at the corner of Pearl and Plymouth, now classed as altered vernacular. Its neighbor on the same block, 168 Plymouth Street, is a full condominium conversion of factory buildings. The two are useful to compare: one converted with a residential certificate of occupancy, and one still going through legalization.
Title has been held by 39 Pearl Street LLC since 1998. The upper-floor lofts do change hands, though. ACRIS records transfers between unrelated parties in 2012, 2013 and January 2026, the last two filed as cooperative-unit (SP) conveyances for units 5R and 4R. Public records do not show whether each loft is held as corporation shares under a proprietary lease or as a membership interest in the LLC tied to a unit. A buyer's attorney has to answer that question from the building's own documents.
Architecture and unit composition
The building fills its 6,200-square-foot corner lot at five stories. DOB filings describe the residential lofts on the upper floors, with factory use on part of the third floor. The Department of Finance classes about half the building's 31,000 gross square feet as residential. Unit designations in the records follow a front and rear pattern (4F, 4R, 5R). Listing records describe the lofts as large, with exposed beams and high ceilings, and put one rear loft at nearly 3,000 square feet. Actual layouts vary loft by loft and must be confirmed.
Exterior work is under LPC jurisdiction. DOB permitted façade repairs in 2013 and an extension of the fire escape with an upgraded stair enclosure in 2001.
Building operations
The legalization history is the operating history. Owners have filed three times to convert the building to residential use:
- 2001: a filing to convert the fourth and fifth floors from factory to class A residential use under Article 7-B was disapproved at plan examination.
- 2018: a filing to convert the third, fourth and fifth floors into ten class A units under Article 7-B was disapproved.
- 2025: the current filing, under the Loft Law, would convert the building to mixed residential and manufacturing use with six dwelling units. It adds a stair bulkhead and legalizes plumbing, and in March 2026 structural and façade work was filed alongside it. The filing is in objections at DOB.
A separate filing in September 2026 would separate the cellar storm drainage from the sanitary line.
Until DOB issues a residential certificate of occupancy, the building remains an interim multiple dwelling. Loft Law compliance deadlines, code-compliance work and its cost, and any protections the Loft Board gives to specific occupants all bear on value. Counsel experienced with the Loft Board should review them.
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 2026 | 4R | $2,200,000 |
| May 9, 2013 | 5R | $615,000 |
| Nov 28, 2012 | — | $510,000 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00030-0007) 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.
Buying here? Co-op closing costs typically run 2 to 3% of the price. See NYC co-op and condo closing costs, line by line.
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What to know if you’re buying
Plan to pay cash. The building has no residential certificate of occupancy, title is held by an LLC, and ACRIS classes the loft interests as cooperative units. Most residential lenders will not finance that combination.
Get the governing documents first. Ask for the operating agreement or proprietary lease, the stock or membership certificate for the unit, the budget and any assessments. Public records do not establish approval rights, sublet policy, flip tax or transfer fees.
Underwrite the legalization. Ask for the Loft Board file, the status of the 2025 DOB filing, the objections, the estimated cost of the remaining code work and how that cost is shared.
Expect Landmarks review. Any exterior change, including windows and the planned bulkhead, needs LPC approval inside the DUMBO Historic District.
What to know if you’re selling
Disclose the structure up front. Buyers' attorneys will ask about the ownership form, the Loft Law status and the certificate of occupancy in the first round. A package that answers all three keeps the deal together.
Price against the right set. Compare with DUMBO loft conversions, then adjust for financing and legalization risk. A residential certificate of occupancy would narrow that discount.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 39 Pearl Street, also evaluate:
- 168 Plymouth Street — factory-to-condominium conversion on the same block; the legalized comparison
- 183 Plymouth Street — ten-unit loft condominium nearby; the closest peer in size and floor plate
- 37 Bridge Street (Kirkman Lofts) — boutique factory conversion; small-building loft living with condominium title
- 4 Water Street — nineteenth-century building converted to 13 condominium residences inside the district
- 1 Main Street (The Clock Tower) — the conversion that set DUMBO's loft benchmark
- 30 Main Street (The Sweeney Building) — loft conversion with a fuller operating structure
- 51 Jay Street — loft condominium in a converted industrial building a block away
More DUMBO buildings
- 30 Main Street (The Sweeney Building) — 1908 condominium
- 31 Washington Street — 1894 condominium
- 37 Bridge Street (Kirkman Lofts) — 1915 condominium
- 42 Main Street (Bridge Front) — 2002 condominium
- 47 Bridge Street (WaterBridge 47) — 2013 condominium
- 50 Bridge Street (Bridge No. 50) — 1898 condominium
The neighborhood
For the full neighborhood — its buildings, character, and market — read The Roebling Team Guide to DUMBO.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
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