Still with me?

Based on size alone, any one of the five available 1 BR apartments at 340 E. 29th Street (also known as Berkley Park) should have been my top choice. Right?

The building has a full-time doorman, in-building laundry and while the kitchens weren’t top of the line, they featured a dishwasher.* The apartments are spacious–easily 750 square feet or more which for Manhattan can be called spacious and luxurious. Finally, both the closet space and light were terrific.

But I just couldn’t fall in love, or even like really. The neighborhood – Kips Bay – felt lifeless to me: lots of high rises, not much street activity and a bit too far east. This building is in a great location if you work at Bellevue or attend NYU Medical School, but not for someone like me who looks forward to finding my local cafe, bookstore, brunch spot, etc.

Also, while public records say the building has 120 apartments, it felt much larger. Larger, generic and impersonal.

Finally, the price wasn’t such a great deal. The five available one bedroom apartments ranged from $2950 to $3100 if I recall correctly. Considering the size of the apartments, they represented better values than other neighborhoods, but not inexpensively enough to be truly tempting.

Plus the apartment would have a fee due to the broker who showed me the listings (somewhere between one month’s rent and 15% of the annual rent).

The hunt continued.

* As much as I aspire to be low maintenance (ok I don’t really), a dishwasher is a must for me. 50% of the requirement is my ongoing wrist/arm problem, 50% is laziness. Points for honesty?