If you are a New Yorker, you know that New York City is famous for its high-priced residences and rentals and prestigious commercial real estate properties. Most Americans would struggle to pay to live in Manhattan, however, especially as a property owner. According to consumer data, the city is the third most expensive place to buy square footage in the United States. It trails closely behind San Francisco, CA, and Boston, MA.
Most people consider living in Manhattan a badge of honor because it means they are living the American high life. As you likely know if you live or work in the Big Apple, many NYC residents have been looking for more cost-effective ways to live in the heart of their busy city. They want to keep their jobs in or near the city’s booming art scene, financial, and IT space without sitting for hours on commutes from the distant and cheaper suburbs.
Maybe you have chosen to live in rent-controlled apartments and condominiums to avoid taking the subway, while you have watched your friends move to bedroom suburbs to have more space and enjoy better amenities. At Lincoln Towers, we have the ideal solution for you, right in the midst of Lincoln Square along West End Avenue. We even have our own five-acre park! Here, you will find the best of all worlds.
What Is a Co-Op Apartment?
Among the most distinctive trends in NYC real estate is the co-op building. Co-ops are residential buildings that are cooperative corporations in which the residents become shareholders. That means they own shares in the entire corporation rather than owning their units in the apartment buildings directly.
This housing arrangement allows thousands of people to live less than 30 minutes away from Midtown and the Financial District. If you are looking for a private space without dealing with profit-minded landlords seeking to expand their wallet share, a cooperative property may be right up your alley.
The Anatomy of Co-Ops
Finding the perfect co-op for you is a process of self-discovery. You can find a new listing on apartment-finding websites every day. Surprisingly, a co-op often costs less than an apartment rental.
However, an excellent cooperative building will have an elected co-op board of directors that listens to the needs and demands of its community of residents, who are co-owners. Co-op boards also have engineers, contractors, and an architect who care equally about form and function. They also possess an optimal location that offers access to places like Central Park West and Park Avenue.
Before booking an appointment to view your first listing, here are some things you can search for online.
What Co-Ops Are Good for You?
You can find three types of co-op in the NY listings, as follows.
Limited Equity Co-Op
Limited equity co-ops, or LECs, take advantage of some low-interest financing instruments and tax subsidies. The boards or owners of LECs will limit the resale values of your shares to keep the place affordable. Each LEC has to come up with a unique resale formula to balance the wealth-creation goals of its tenants and the long-term affordability of their units.
Market Rate Co-Op
While an LEC might limit your resale share value at the initial selling price, market-rate co-ops will allow you to sell them at current prices. If you buy into a residence under this type of agreement, you might need to shell out more money than in a LEC, but you and other shareholders can split profits when buyers join the cooperative.
Leasing Co-op Apartments
Leasing co-ops are rare because people usually invest in cooperatives to gain a permanent primary residence. In a leasing co-op structure, shareholders only lease units from a condo or building owner. They don’t accumulate any individual or collective equity.
Some Classic Co-Ops on the Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is one of the safest and most active neighborhoods in Manhattan. Most people who live there are second-to fifth-generation property owners who thrive in the stable upper-middle-class milieu. In this affluent neighborhood, the median household income (approaching $140,000 in 2019) is twice that of the United States as a whole, while the median rental exceeds $2,000 per month.
The UWS has been showing up on many Best Places to Live lists for decades. Every hotel, street, and apartment in the neighborhood overflows with culture and heritage.
Lincoln Towers
In the heart of the Lincoln Square neighborhood, along West End Avenue and between Riverside Drive and Broadway nested around the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, you will find the eight Lincoln Towers.
Each tower anchors a thriving cooperative with all the amenities you’ll need for a happy lifestyle, including spacious mid-century flats of different sizes with great floor plans and gorgeous modern updates. You’ll enjoy stellar high-rise views, gyms, laundry, shopping, parks, restaurants, and easy access to transportation.
The Prasada
The Prasada sits at Central Park West between West 65th Street and West 64th Street and is a short walk away from Lincoln Center, world-famous shopping centers, and renowned museums. It is one of the three early-1900s condo properties that characterized the UWS as a residential haven. Charles W. Romeyn was the building’s architect.
Today, The Prasada features a gym, bike room, and exclusive storage. A maintenance team, elevator operators, a doorman, and a resident manager are also available every day of the year for 24 hours a day. When you buy a share, you can proudly live in your late-period French condo. The Prasada board even allows pets.
The Ardsley
You can find The Ardsley on 320 Central Park West, between 92nd Street and 91st Street. The building was architect Emery Roth’s attempt to leave a legacy in the city’s residential arena, featuring a fusion of Beaux-Arts and Art Deco that you can find in his other works such as the Ritz Tower, the Warwick, and 1000 Park Avenue.
The Ardsley is one of the few Central Park West plots to feature private terraces. Today, it features two bike rooms, a fitness center, a newly remodeled lobby, and multiple storage areas.
The Ardsley was a condo building from its opening in the 1930s until it became a cooperative in 1971. You can use washers and dryers inside your unit, as well as host a variety of pets.
The Beresford
The Beresford sits on the corner between 81st Street and Central Park West. It has three towers with up to three apartments per floor, each one featuring 10-to-12 feet ceilings. Three well-decorated entryways–at 211 Central Park West and 1 and 7 West 81st Street–lead into The Beresford.
Many people argue that The Beresford is Emery Roth’s magnum opus. Overlooking the Museum of Natural History and Theodore Roosevelt Park, The Beresford is currently one of the most expensive estates in America. It was a condo complex until it became a cooperative in 1962.
Explore Our Site for Some of the Most Distinctive Co-Ops in Manhattan
Every building in New York City has a story waiting for you to discover. Co-ops are some of the city’s most versatile and impressive real estate innovations. If you’re looking to move to New York, you can save money by investing in an upscale cooperative property at Lincoln Towers.
Explore our available prime co-op units through our Lincoln Towers Brokerage listings. Call us at (212) 787-1214 to find what you are looking for.