Where Are They Now?: 90 William

When we last visited 90 William back in May 2009 - a mostly sold FiDi conversion that was much much maligned for cheap finishes and dark apartments - we commented on how well-priced the building was (even back then) which was somewhat appropriate given the cave-like spaces.

And here we are, almost one year later and 90 William is...well, SOLD. For the most part, Corcoran has actually managed to sell almost all of the sponsor units, including even the dark as shit available "H" line apartments, which are basically hallways with a window at the end. Of course, most of the units sold at significant discounts to the ask. Notably, the most desirable units (the "A" and "B" line two bedrooms that actually get sun and where you can't do an easy spidey jump out of your window to the neighboring building) sold for the greatest discounts to the ask (usually more than 10% off). We're guessing this had something to do with financing availability (in 2009, someone buying an apartment for greater than $800k had to come up with a lot of cash) but who knows.

Incidentally, #14D, a resale unit that we visited but never wrote about, surprisingly sold for $620k, which was the asking price. This apartment is basically a history of the financial crisis in a single unit. It was purchased in early 2009 for $751k after going into contract (we believe) sometime in 2007 (can you say 'dragged to the closing table'?). The buyer then put the unit back on the market 4 months later at $599k and eventually closed for $620k. The seller's agent kept telling us that this one was "not a short sale", which is true, but only because the buyer put down more than $300k (ouch) on the original transaction.

We've always thought 90 William was a good deal and we aren't particularly surprised that the building has sold out. The fact that there are no washers and dryers in the units and that the "be@spot Sky Deck" come on, seriously is really, really small kept us away from this building, but otherwise kudos 90 William. You can finally break out that champagne that's been chilling since 2007.