Sir, Your Housing Slump Is Ready . . .

The Eagle Electric Company Factory on 21st Street in Astoria — which after a residential conversion now sort of resembles a beachfront condo on, say, the Gulf Coast (see here for more reaction) — is ready to take applications:

Gutted and completely rebuilt, the former Eagle Electric Company factory on 21st Street will soon officially become Riverview Apartments. Although an opening date has not yet been announced, the $30 million coop development has been given the green light by the state attorney general’s office.

“We have been approved [to sell] and will begin to market at the end of this month,” said Joseph Pistilli, chief operating officer for Pistilli Realty Group, developers of the project, at the September meeting of the United Community Civic Association (UCCA).

“We are very excited about this project for many reasons,” said Vincent Reilly, sales and marketing director for Riverview Apartments. “These are very large apartments,” he said of the 188 units at Riverview.

One-bedroom apartments will range in size from 650 square feet to 865 square feet, at purchase prices from $254,000 to $328,000 (median price $305,000). An average two-bedroom apartment is 1,400 square feet at $556,000, while an average three-bedroom apartment is 1,750 square feet at $750,000. Some three-bedroom units have lofts and mezzanines.

The name “Riverview” seems odd, since a tree-filled Astoria Park stands in the way of the river. And that’s just one side of the project — many of the units seem to only have a view of 21st Street. The developer explains:

Bordered by 19th and 21st Streets and 24th Avenue and 23rd Terrace, the units in Riverview Apartments on the 19th Street side will have views of Astoria Park, the East River and the Triborough Bridge.

“There are river views, but actually, all three sides of the building have really nice views,” [Pistilli Realty Group chief operating officer Joseph] Pistilli said.

Then — unless I’m mistaken here — there seems to be some fuzzy math:

“Typically, topend new construction in Long Island City goes for $800 a square foot,” Reilly said. “Riverview is between $500 and $600 per square feet.”

In addition, Reilly said maintenance charges, typically set at $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot are between $1.06 and $1.22 at Riverview. For example, an apartment of 700 square feet would have a monthly maintenance charge of about $700, he said.

Between $1.06 and $1.22 per square foot for maintenance adds up to $742 to $854, which is a little more than “about $700” . . . plus, is high-end real estate in Long Island City really $800? Because that’s not what I’ve been hearing.

But that’s not all — the land is actually being leased right now with the expectation that it would be bought within ten years — with co-op owners on the hook:

Pistilli Realty does not own the land at Riverview, instead leases it from Eagle Electric with an agreement to purchase in no later than 10 years. Therefore, Riverview Apartments can only be offered at this time for sale as a cooperative development and not as a condominium.

The plan is to refinance Riverview eventually. “When the [cooperative] board takes over there is an opportunity to convert from co-op to condo,” said Pistilli. The Riverview plan approved by the attorney general’s office includes a provision making it mandatory that co-op apartment buyers participate in the purchase of the building and land.

Huh.