Median prices in Harlem are, after a long dive, scrabbling their way back up. According to statistics furnished by Streeteasy.com, 98 properties went into contract in Central, East, and West Harlem in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 89 the year before, and 62 in 2008. Brownstones and starter apartments composed many of those sales, but buyers are also being drawn by a new breed of amenity-stocked condos that are barely distinguishable from any others in Manhattan. Is this a fabulous new Harlem—or the homogenization of a highly distinctive neighborhood? Probably both.
130 Bradhurst Avenue, Apartment 1003
What: An 1,152-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath in a development that opened last year. Each of the two bedrooms has a terrace, and there’s also a small study. Listing broker Charlie Lewis says the building was explicitly designed to make the most of its views of Jackie Robinson Park.
Monthly maintenance: $1,127.
Agents: Charlie Lewis and Robert Williams, Warburg Realty.
Price: $599,000
Photo: Courtesy of the Broker
307 West 126 Street, Apartment 2A
What: An 854-square-foot two-bedroom with oak floors and exposed brick walls in a circa-1900 condo conversion. The building’s recently embellished lobby has custom-made mahogany doors, marble floors, and a stained-glass chandelier.
Monthly charges and taxes: $750.
Agent: Todd Stevens, Prudential Douglas Elliman.
Price: $499,000
Photo: Courtesy of the Broker
1280 Fifth Avenue, Apartment 6J
What: An 870-square-foot one-bedroom with picture windows and white- oak flooring in an ecofriendly development designed by Robert A.M. Stern. The Museum for African Art, still under construction, anchors the building at the base.
Monthly charges and taxes: $941.95.
Agents: Patrick Smith, Brown Harris Stevens Project Marketing.
Price: $828,935
Photo: Courtesy of the Broker
117 West 123rd Street, Apartment 8B
What: An 1,815-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath with two terraces in a 26-unit condo stuffed with swanky flourishes (radiant-heat floors, Viking ranges) and amenities (fitness center and, for a price, underground parking).
Monthly charges and taxes: $1,370.32.
Agents: The Boland Group, Halstead Property.
Price: $1.245 million
Photo: Courtesy of the Broker
248 West 138th Street
What: A 5,016-square-foot, 22-foot-wide restored townhouse built in 1910 on landmarked Strivers’ Row. Has lots of the period detail that excites townhouse aficionados”original mantels, oak wainscoting, wedding-cake moldings, an unusual right-angle wooden staircase.
Annual taxes (2011): $6,166.
Agents: Dina Sussilleaux and Michael Sussilleaux, the Corcoran Group.
Price: $2.395 Million
Photo: Courtesy of the Broker
