44 Lispenard Street

The Second Empire front carries the vertical pier-and-arch rhythm of the 1860s store-and-loft type — masonry with cast-iron elements at the base and a projecting metal cornice — and the Tribeca East designation protects it. Because the building is mid-block with party walls on both flanks, all light comes from the Lispenard Street front and the rear elevation. On a lot barely more than 2,100 square feet, that produces four single-plate homes running front to back rather than side to side, which is the defining fact of every floor plan in the building.

The residences are recorded in ACRIS as units 2, 3, 4 and 5, corresponding to the residential floors above the commercial unit. The upper residence takes the benefit of the 2013–2019 addition: the sixth floor and the penthouse level above it, which is the only home in the building with a third exposure and the only one with private roof access. That single distinction does more to separate value inside this building than floor level or condition, and the recorded conveyance history reflects it.

The commercial unit at the base — lot 1201, carried by the Department of Finance as a commercial condominium unit — is separately owned and has traded on its own timetable since 2002. It is not part of the residential common charge base in the way an amenity floor would be, and a buyer should read the declaration to understand how it shares in building expenses.

Four residential units carry a six-story landmarked masonry building on a Local Law 11 cycle, in common-interest shares set by the declaration. That is the entire operating story, and it is the first thing to underwrite.

There is no staff and no amenity program. Façade work in a historic district requires an LPC permit before a DOB permit, which lengthens schedules and raises costs, and those costs are spread across four units by their declared common-interest shares. Records date the residential mechanicals to the 1990s conversion and show a substantial 2013–2019 intervention at the top; completion, and the current condition of the boilers, roof, elevator and standpipe, need confirming. Request the current operating budget, the reserve balance, the most recent financial statements, the Local Law 11 filing status, and the minutes covering any assessment history. In a four-unit condominium, each owner carries a large share of any deferred capital item — set by the declaration's common-interest percentages, not necessarily an even quarter.

Ownership form: Condominium. Purchases close through a right of first refusal rather than a cooperative board approval.

Pets, pied-à-terre, subletting, LLC, trust and foreign ownership: All are governed by the declaration and house rules rather than by public record, and none is documented in city data for this building. Confirm with the managing agent, and read the declaration.

Financing: No minimum down payment is documented in public records for this building. Confirm at contract.

Flip tax: Not documented in public records. Confirm any resale capital contribution with the managing agent before pricing a sale.

Real estate taxes: The assessment roll shows no exemption on any lot on this tax block, and no J-51 appears for this conversion. Check the specific unit's tax bill for any abatement and underwrite from it.

Landmarks: The lot is inside the Tribeca East Historic District. Exterior alterations require an LPC permit even when not visible from the street, subject to specified maintenance exemptions; interior alterations requiring a DOB permit also need LPC review. Work conforming to staff rules may receive a Certificate of No Effect or Permit for Minor Work, while proposals outside those rules require Commission review at a public hearing. The building has already run that process for a rooftop addition, which is useful precedent and a useful cost benchmark.

Recent sales

Recent closings 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. Most recent trades (2023) cleared a median $2,305/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. Median listing discount 0.8% 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 1-00194-7503; 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; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.

Four units share the cost of a landmarked masonry building. Read the reserve position, the Local Law 11 status and any assessment history before you read the floor plan. This is the largest financial variable in the building.

PLUTO understates the building. It still carries five floors and the pre-addition area. The final certificate of occupancy dates to 1 February 2019 and covers six floors plus a penthouse. Do not accept any valuation built on the stale fields.

Confirm which condominium you are buying into. Block 194 carries at least nine separate condominium regimes, four of them on Lispenard Street alone. The declaration, financials and house rules you want are those of condominium no. 983 on billing lot 7503 — not those of 42, 46 or 52 Lispenard.

No J-51 on record. The assessment roll shows no exemption on this block; check the unit's tax bill for any abatement and underwrite from it.

Light varies by residence. The building is mid-block with party walls on both flanks, so the typical plate has front and rear exposures. The upper residence is described above as having a third exposure from the addition; inspect its specific plan and openings before comparing light.

Confirm the Landmarks process for the proposed renovation. DOB-permitted interior work and exterior alterations require LPC review, apart from specified maintenance exemptions. Visibility alone does not determine whether staff approval or a public hearing is required; the 2013 rooftop mock-up is evidence of that project's review, not a requirement for every renovation.

Lead with the block and the plate. There is no amenity list. What there is instead is an 1866 Duckworth front inside an intact historic-district streetwall, and a single-owner floor. That is the durable argument.

Correct the public data in the marketing. Buyers and their agents will pull PLUTO and see five floors. State the 2019 final certificate of occupancy plainly and let the record do the work.

Have the capital story ready on day one. In a four-unit building, buyers ask about reserves, façade cycle and assessments before they ask about anything else. Answering proactively closes faster than answering under contract.

Photograph the depth. A single-plate loft running front to back photographs well only when the room is shot to read its full length. Ceiling height and window line are the value.

If you're considering 44 Lispenard Street, also evaluate these Tribeca loft buildings:

• 46 Lispenard Street — the Duckworth building next door, converted to eleven residences; same architect, same block, different condominium
• 52 Lispenard Street — seven-residence condominium on the same block; the closest peer by scale
• 37 Lispenard Street — boutique full-floor loft condominium across the street
• 55 White Street — landmark cast-iron loft condominium in the Tribeca East district
• 155 Franklin Street — 1882 Tribeca loft condominium; a close peer by vintage
• 161 Hudson Street — boutique Tribeca loft condominium of comparable unit count
• 145 Hudson Street — Sky Lofts; Tribeca loft condominium with larger plates
• 25 North Moore Street — the Atalanta; Tribeca warehouse-conversion condominium
• 14 Leonard Street — the Juilliard Building; landmark loft conversion at larger scale
• 108 Leonard Street — the Clock Tower; the full-service landmark conversion alternative