Terrace Makeover at Greene House Condos
For its first epidode, a new HGTV show called Urban Outsiders made over the terrace of Apartment 3B at the Greene House Condos. British designer Matt James took the blank concrete canvas at left and transformed it into an ipe and terra cotta paradise. The one snag? The condo board developer changed its mind mid-job…
For its first epidode, a new HGTV show called Urban Outsiders made over the terrace of Apartment 3B at the Greene House Condos. British designer Matt James took the blank concrete canvas at left and transformed it into an ipe and terra cotta paradise. The one snag? The condo board developer changed its mind mid-job about what the owner was allowed to do to the existing terrace. Bummer. While we’re on the subject of this building, can anyone tell us if everything sold yet?
Urban Outsiders: Contemporary Roof Terrace [HGTV]
I agree with the earlier poster that this is a terrible job! While the flooring is very pretty, the huge number of immense planters makes the entire space seem crowded without adding any useful amenities. The table is also a bad shape for this area.
I would have used much smaller, thinner planters along the narrower corridor and added some bench seating against the apartment wall, plus if permissible erected a small shed for storage on the very end of that corridor.
Although I couldn’t see the end of the larger deck, a grill (again if legal) and possibly even a bar would be great additions. Unless they routinely entertain six for sit-down dinners, a smaller table and some lounge seating would be better for casual entertaining and everyday use for a couple.
It’s nice to know that the residents/owners of Greene House are concerned about the aesthetics of the way the building looks from the outside. Thanks for posting on here. And welcome to the neighborhood. Also glad to hear that some of you joined our Carlton Ave. block Association already. We are proud of being a very friendly, involved group and look forward to getting to know more of you all soon.
The sponsor is a developer that doesn’t like to invest a penny in a building that he already sold most of the units.
Why we have to wait for the common area to be fixed so long?
Perhaps the developer is busy with his other projects after he cashed out.
Also if he’d like to stick to the offering plan – does his office considered as a community facility?
Sorry my e-mail address is only1kairi@urbanheights.com .
“Now if only the sponsors of Greene House Condos would actually spend some money on landscaping for the front of the building–it’s looked like hell for two years now.”
The residents are frustrated as well, but plans have been finalized for the outdoor landscaping. We expect that the work will begin as soon as the construction of the medical offices on the first and second floor are complete.
“Funny thing was the owner effectivley blaming it on the host by saying he wanted to punch someone in the face … whose intitials were MJ. Mebbe that was just editing for dramatic effect though.”
That was totally scripted!
“A condo board, once elected, should have power over all decisions over and above what the developer says.”
Since the sponsor still owns 2 units, they remain on the board, but only have 1 vote. There are 4 residents on the board, so the sponsor does not have power over our decisions. The catch is that we (the board) do not have authority to require the sponsor to do anything that’s not in the offering plan, and even then we can’t dictate a timetable as to when they need to do it. This is why it has taken so long to do the public space (lobby and halls) and outdoor landscaping. It will be done, and it will be beautiful, and we are doing everything we can to move it ahead as quickly as possible.
margo, the supplier of the planters is listed at the bottom of the hgtv link.
Sucks that they had to put back a few thousand lbs of pavers after removing them. Funny thing was the owner effectivley blaming it on the host by saying he wanted to punch someone in the face … whose intitials were MJ. Mebbe that was just editing for dramatic effect though.
Regarding the board vs developer; there was something I read, prolly in the Times, about the dangers of letting the sponsor have too much say when the board is elected and it sounds like in this case, the unwanted has indeed happened (something to do with byelaws in the offering plan that gives the sponsor an unusual amount of say in the final board).
A condo board, once elected, should have power over all decisions over and above what the developer says. Of course, if the developer is more knowledgeable about a subject then it would be foolhardy to ignore them but in this case, I can’t see what the problem with removing the pavers was.
I like how the terace looks now – even though there’s tons of unusable space. Does anyone know where they bought the planters?
The funniest thing about this is that the terrace was deemed a concrete catastrophe and the landscaper and owner decided it needed to be upgraded to something that actually looks liveable and warm. I think the whole building, especially at street level, needs this treatment. Ironic that what is being created is the brownstone backyard/roofdeck aesthetic…
You should contact John Gidding of John Gidding Design (johngidding@hotmail.com). He does amazing work!!!