Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Essex, The Rollins, 150 Rivington, 100 Norfolk, 105 Norfolk, etc?
I'm moving to an office that would put me at ~5min walk from all of those and was looking at all of the different buildings. They all with similar amenities, similar rental costs. Any thoughts on any of them in particular?
Well, I live in The Essex and almost lived in The Rollins.
They're nice, though I would say not the nicest places I've lived or seen. The Essex has 2 lounges and 2 rooftops now; they just opened on Monday. The Essex and The Rollins are 80/20 (if not, just a806 in some way), I'm not sure about the others. The Essex and The Rollins are run by the same management company. The Essex is right on top of the subway, though walking to work I feel you won't need that. It's also on top of the Regal Cinema and Essex Market. The Rollins is on top of a Target and Trader Joes in a much quieter part of the LES.
I would say The Essex is going through some growing pains as any new building would. It was completed late last year and I'm the first tenant in my apartment. I'm also one of the affordable housing lottery winners though, so my experience is a bit different than a market rate tenant. I'm on one of the higher floors, close enough to take the stairs to the 26th floor rooftop, so I've been rather happy.
I can't speak on the other properties, but I know and have walked past them 100s of times. I've lived in the LES for the last 4 years.
Well, I live in The Essex and almost lived in The Rollins.
They're nice, though I would say not the nicest places I've lived or seen. The Essex has 2 lounges and 2 rooftops now; they just opened on Monday. The Essex and The Rollins are 80/20 (if not, just a806 in some way), I'm not sure about the others. The Essex and The Rollins are run by the same management company. The Essex is right on top of the subway, though walking to work I feel you won't need that. It's also on top of the Regal Cinema and Essex Market. The Rollins is on top of a Target and Trader Joes in a much quieter part of the LES.
I would say The Essex is going through some growing pains as any new building would. It was completed late last year and I'm the first tenant in my apartment. I'm also one of the affordable housing lottery winners though, so my experience is a bit different than a market rate tenant. I'm on one of the higher floors, close enough to take the stairs to the 26th floor rooftop, so I've been rather happy.
I can't speak on the other properties, but I know and have walked past them 100s of times. I've lived in the LES for the last 4 years.
In your opinion, why do you say they aren’t the nicest you have seen? I can find places in most of downtown for the budget for a 1br in those and am mostly considering them bc I thought they were much nicer than some of the old but renovated walk ups that are around.
I’m not sure what you mean by 80/20 or a806 (I’m moving from the south), is this a bad thing?
Why is your experience different than a market rate tenant (again, I’m not super familiar this system)?
Do any of the properties in general seem like it would be louder, more unsafe, dirtier/more likely for roaches/rats, etc?
The Essex and Rollins are brand-new. There aren't many metrics on which they're not going to be "much nicer" than some tiny 1900s tenement with actual light only in one room, "renovated" or not. If you're paying market-rate, you're going to get nicer finishes than are in the lottery apartments like Javawood's (and mine), but to my mind even the lottery apartments have "nicer" finishes than older housing stock.
But with a bigger budget, there are certainly apartment buildings with fancier amenities out there. I have no idea why they'd be worth it to anyone, but I guess some people think they can spend their way into superiority.
The Essex and Rollins are brand-new. There aren't many metrics on which they're not going to be "much nicer" than some tiny 1900s tenement with actual light only in one room, "renovated" or not. If you're paying market-rate, you're going to get nicer finishes than are in the lottery apartments like Javawood's (and mine), but to my mind even the lottery apartments have "nicer" finishes than older housing stock.
But with a bigger budget, there are certainly apartment buildings with fancier amenities out there. I have no idea why they'd be worth it to anyone, but I guess some people think they can spend their way into superiority.
I thought they looked very nice... I only asked bc the first thing he mentioned about the apartments is that they aren’t as nice as other places so naturally I wanted to ask in what ways.
What are your thoughts on the differences between the buildings?
Not to speak for him, but I think what he meant was that they are good but you can definitely find fancier in self-styled luxury developments. Would I pay market rent for this place if I could afford it? Probably not, but that's because the market rent is ridiculous. Maybe more importantly for your evaluation, any building of this kind is going to be priced in a way I find ridiculous. It's not specific to the Essex Crossing buildings. And is it any less silly to pay $4K for a tiny sliver of an ancient tenement because the landlord slapped in a few low-end-of-the-high-end brand name appliances? Probably not. Also, I don't think you're paying broker's fees at the new buildings (?), which would be several thousand dollars saved.
I haven't been in the Rollins, though I've seen a few pics of units that didn't look so different from the Essex. I think the Rollins lobby looks stupid, but that's definitely a question of personal taste. The outside of neither building is attractive to me, but I guess the Rollins is marginally nicer. Rollins is on Grand Street so it's not quite as loud as being on Delancey, and the scale of the street is a little more human (as you're not right next to a four-lane two-way street feeding onto a major bridge). Essex has in-unit w/d for all units and I don't know if the Rollins does. I think the Essex amenities are more extensive generally, but I still haven't gotten a chance to see them. Essex doorman is 24 hours, Rollins is part-time. Both allow pets. Essex is a couple blocks closer to the subway, but that may or may not matter to you--you may find it more convenient to be on top of a Target/TJ's! In general, I think the Essex was intended as the slightly more upscale of the two buildings.
Be careful, though, you might have to live with lottery tenants who only earn in the low six figures. Some folks can't abide with such riff-raff.
Not to speak for him, but I think what he meant was that they are good but you can definitely find fancier in self-styled luxury developments. Would I pay market rent for this place if I could afford it? Probably not, but that's because the market rent is ridiculous. Maybe more importantly for your evaluation, any building of this kind is going to be priced in a way I find ridiculous. It's not specific to the Essex Crossing buildings. And is it any less silly to pay $4K for a tiny sliver of an ancient tenement because the landlord slapped in a few low-end-of-the-high-end brand name appliances? Probably not. Also, I don't think you're paying broker's fees at the new buildings (?), which would be several thousand dollars saved.
I haven't been in the Rollins, though I've seen a few pics of units that didn't look so different from the Essex. I think the Rollins lobby looks stupid, but that's definitely a question of personal taste. The outside of neither building is attractive to me, but I guess the Rollins is marginally nicer. Rollins is on Grand Street so it's not quite as loud as being on Delancey, and the scale of the street is a little more human (as you're not right next to a four-lane two-way street feeding onto a major bridge). Essex has in-unit w/d for all units and I don't know if the Rollins does. I think the Essex amenities are more extensive generally, but I still haven't gotten a chance to see them. Essex doorman is 24 hours, Rollins is part-time. Both allow pets. Essex is a couple blocks closer to the subway, but that may or may not matter to you--you may find it more convenient to be on top of a Target/TJ's! In general, I think the Essex was intended as the slightly more upscale of the two buildings.
Be careful, though, you might have to live with lottery tenants who only earn in the low six figures. Some folks can't abide with such riff-raff.
Thanks this is super helpful and exactly what I was hoping for, thank you so much!
It makes it hard to try and find an apartment for that price range that is a actually "worth it" then.. being from the south, everything seems way overpriced so I just assumed I wasn't gonna get a good deal
"being from the south, everything seems way overpriced so I just assumed I wasn't gonna get a good deal"
You're not necessarily wrong on that! It's a poor neighborhood that got turned into a pricey neighborhood without much of an upgrade in housing stock. I'm the kind of person who will settle for cheap/not so nice over expensive/mediocre, but it all depends on your priorities and what the marginal value of your dollar is. The Essex seems to be filling up pretty fast (they recently claimed to be like 80% rented, although 50% is lottery tenants, so it's only about 60% of the market units), so at least some people think it's worth the money.
Just curious so I know how to base my search, would you suggest to look at other neighborhoods or other apartments in the LES
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
