This is an absolutely terrible place to live, I work out of my house a few doors down, so whoever buys it good luck sleeping in on a weekday at noon. It's right across the street from Ferris HS and the lunchtime crowd is massive. Can't imagine it going for anymore than $1.5mil.

It's a very nice building. The owner has, on a couple of occasions, let people in as part of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservacy's Italian Village tour.

Did anybody catch the new episode of You Live In What? on HGTV? The final segment on last night's episode featured this place on First Street at Brunswick, and wow... it is rather impressive. I've walked by that home many times and always wondered what was inside past those smoked glass windows. Pretty cool to see the grand tour on camera. http://www.hgtv.com/you-live-in-what/you-live-in-what6/index.html Incidentally, looks like property taxes went up to $21,494 in 2011: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/264 ... y-NJ-07302/88859312_zpid/
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btw - it's still on the market and down to ONLY $6.5 mil.

REDUCED!!!

MOTIVATED OWNER!!!

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That I don't know but if you read the listing it comes with a "Sharp" microwave. So if you're on the fence...

people don't realize that criminals do watch these shows too. reminds me of a girl I knew when i worked on wall st. she was the subject of the "personality" piece they have in the ny times real estate section every week. she was getting calls, then letters, from convicts all over the country. they had her name, address and pic (from the article). it took years before the letters stopped coming.

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I saw it about 3 months ago on HGTV, recorded that part on DVD and anyone I've shown it to can't believe it. Will this raise my property values? Great interior, wrong neighborhood.

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It aired at 2:30 this morning? Who the heck is up at that time? Oh wait, I am.

I wish I'd known about it. Hopefully they'll air it again.

I hope he gets it, then Ill sell mine for 20m.
LOL.....All you need is a dollar and a dream...

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hrezd/episode/0,2756,HGTV_23556_44049,00.html

The episode showing this house aired last night on HGTV. Don't know when it will air again.

Anyone else catch it?

You' have to spend another 500k - 1m to renovate all of the crap out of there.. did you SEE those tiles ?? Maybe someone will by it, demolish it and put 2 or 3 two family box in-fills on it lol

Nine Million Dollars???!!! R U kiddin me? This guy is Asian and he had all of the materials imported from China!!! Come on now. Who does he think he's foolin. I understand Daddy Yankee was looking at this property on Saturday. Hope he doesn't get taken....

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I don't think its performanced art, I think it's someone who went overboard with the renovation and spent too much money on an unattractive commercial building in a bad location and probably will be stuck with it, or if he finds a buyer will take a huge loss.

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Admittedly.

Especially now that I've actually read the Journal article and seen photos of the interior.

As a renter, I'm just paranoid about this stuff.

His art got him into the Jersey Journal, which is read by plenty of people who neither know nor care very much about art, performance or otherwise.

Of course he's not going to get it. But things are so f---king crazy now that there are stupid people who think he MIGHT. We have people posting here saying things like "I'm from Omaha, Nebraska. I was just offered a job in NYC so I'm looking for a place. Do you think it's possible for me to find an studio apartment in Jersey City for less that 2500.00 a month? Because I'd like to keep it under that, thanks."

It's like people who have a beat-to-death copy of some Beatles or Elvis album, who read an article in some newspaper about how Beatles records are worth a ton of money, and then put an ad i someplace offering their copy of Meet The Beatles which is worth in reality about 3 bucks for $200.00.

This whole "listing" is an elaborate piece of "performance art" by a self professed "artist" solely for publicity. And he's getting it!

In Paulus Hook it could bring up to $2-3m perhaps, but no one in their right mind would pay 3 times that for such a horrible location.

Its simply PR hooey.

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a?bate?ment
n.

1. Diminution in amount, degree, or intensity; moderation.
2. The amount lowered; a reduction.
3. Law. The act of eliminating or annulling.

tax
n.

1. A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
2. A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.

From the link: Real Estate Taxes: 1,250 (Yearly)


Ugh, how is that possible?

Don't give him any ideas.

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I would bulldoze that sucker and put in a 20 story condo and make some real money!

Local burglars take note. the place is only 2 stories high, has a roofdeck for easy access, is filled with expensive stuff and the area is rarely patrolled, being so close to bergen layfayette and the lovely lafayette village.

just cause he's foolish enough to renovate a $400,000 place so garishly doesnt mean he's gonna get his money back.

This is pure insanity.

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You could open an "upscale" dollar store, the place has big windows facing the street! You're in the right neighborhood, near Newark Ave all you need is a cheap sign with lots of gold mylar on it and cheap plastic products on the sidewalk. Target watch out!

I tried searching by owner name and property location, but the tax account site yielded no matches.

Geez, if ya gonna take a pic of a $9M place, at least close the cellar door and kick the orange traffic cone outta the shot.
I am considering making an offer but I don't see any off street parking here. In the back? Also need info on how many illegal bonus apartments I cram in the joint. And the flower pots, are they included or I hafta negotiate them into the price?

I think the article is saying it's assessed a bit under his original $400k purchase price. Taxes are probably around $15k a year. Given the exact address you could look it up on that site that was posted in another thread.


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I've driven past that property many times, and even after seeing the photos of the interior, I still don't agree that it's worth $8.9M. And because it's still on the market, I would think that the market doesn't think it's worth that much, either.


Here is the listing, and a photo of the exterior (more photos in the listing):

If I had $9m to spend on housing I'd buy a mansion in Bernardsville and have cash left over to pay for a staff to maintain the place for me. I wouldn't spend it in JC, what are the RE taxes on a $9m assessment? ouch!

I couldn't locate the thread on this but this is an interesting story:
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$9M TAG: NOW THAT'S RICH
Saturday, January 14, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

What can $9 million get you in Jersey City?

An entire block, or two maybe, in Greenville or the Heights, some prime office space in the Goldman Sachs building or perhaps a seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom, single-family home Downtown.

That's what Hong Kong-born artist turned Manhattan general contractor Simon Chan wants for his posh, 11,000-square-foot-plus blend of modernism, Feng Shui and 21st century bravado.

The hefty price tag is believed to be the highest listing price for a single-family home in the city's history, and may represent a turning point, as the market attracts a more eclectic group of builders willing to invest in lavish homes with an urban flare.

"This type of building used to be reserved for Manhattan and Bergen County," said Chan's real estate specialist, Gershon Adjaye, of Keller Williams Realty. "Based on properties selling in places like Edgewater, the quality of the construction and the square footage, we came up with the price."

The luxurious loft-style home, which has already been looked at by several hip-hop artists whom Chan wouldn't name, is on the 300 block of First Street and sits on a modest, blue-collar block lined with row houses and a few used cars. Its pizzazz lies in its interior, hidden behind the house's frosted glass.

With heated marble floors, a spiral staircase crafted from imported Chinese white jade tile and an indoor pool, the historic building has come a long way since its days as a smoked meat factory and later a general store.

But Chan went out of his way to keep some of the building's historic elements, rebuilding the exterior with the original bricks and keeping the original bluestone columns.

Several pieces of furniture - which Chan said can be negotiated along with the house - were built using original pine wood, a contrast to some other furniture, such as a computer chair built from a Ford truck bumper, which offers a more modern feel.

However, the historic flare quickly gives way to modern technology. Among other detailing, the house features more than 300 light bulbs that are tied into digital dimmer switches, as well as a computerized bathroom glass door that turns from transparent to foggy when closed.

Maybe the toniest part of the house is a series of skylights that run from the ceiling to the ground floor, including one on the second-floor that also serves as a foot bridge. While the skylight adds some eye-catching design, like most items in this house, it also serves a function.

"If you got a pool in the basement, you need some sun," said Chan, referring to his 490-square-foot, 5-foot deep pool.

Chan takes advantage of the home's urban environment with a dazzling, 1,000-square-foot roof deck that provides views of the Jersey City skyline, with its staggered high-rises and numerous buildings under construction.

And what used to be the uncommonly large chimney has now turned into Chan's self-described "penthouse" suite, currently occupied by his daughter.

Chan bought the building several years ago for about $400,000 before turning it into his own art project. The house is currently assessed at slightly less than that, according to city records.

This will not be Chan's last project in Jersey City. He bought some property in Port Liberte and has similar plans for it.

"Jersey City has so much room to grow, and its history can be converted into some fantastic places," said Chan. "And I plan to do that."