You Can Still Find Bargains in Upper ManhattanThe southwestern corner of Washington Heights once was part of John James Audubon’s estate, Minnie’s Land, hence the area’s name, Audubon Terrace. These days, the neighborhood — in the West 150s — is in transformation. The high-crime era of the late eighties and early nineties isolated it from many would-be homeowners, but in the recent housing boom, its turn-of-the-century buildings with high-ceilinged, prewar-ornamented apartments and evocative names like the Grinnell and the Riviera, have been rediscovered. Many apartments are still rentals, but some graceful buildings near Riverside Drive have gone co-op, inviting others to buy into its charms. (A small institutional complex, home to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Boricua College, anchors the area.) Like most places in the city, property values have soared, so Audubon Terrace isn’t quite the bargain it once was. But it still seems fairly — if barely — within reach. Stop by open houses this weekend — we list some after the jump — to see why prescient buyers started flocking here years ago. —S. Jhoanna Robledo