250 Mercer #B602 - $799,000 - 1000 sq. ft.

This has to be one of the strangest buildings that we have seen in a long time. Like the other dorm-like building that we saw last week in the East Village, 250 Mercer also had that multiple elevator bank, huge lobby effect popular with college dorms built in the 1980s. This particular building seems to have some kind of Italian Renaissance theme (ok, think back, when was the last time that you saw a residential building with a theme?) complete with a tacky, Olive Gardenesque painted courtyard with a single plastic wrought iron chair and table in the middle.

Already in the mood for a little freshman year orientation, we found the right elevator bank only to be surprised by a touch of barf in the first elevator that arrived.

Yet again though, we digress. When we got to the actual apartment, we were surprised that we kind of liked it. The ceiling height is great and the apartment (for the most part) is finished, so no major renovations required. The apartment faces the aforementioned inner courtyard, so it's definitely on the dark side, however the high ceilings give it a feeling of more space. Also, as you can see from some of the pics online, this apartment has an enormous old-school column right in the middle of the living area (remember the Italian Renaissance theme?) which could make for some interesting furniture layouts.

Overall, we liked the space and hated the building. There are so many goofy lofts on the market right now in the East Village and this is one of the better ones, in our opinion. It's certainly priced more competitively than the ridiculously laid out loft around the corner that we saw last month.