The $38,500 Closet

The New York Times reports:

TO live in New York City is to covet thy neighbor’s closet. Especially if it’s a walk-in.

Since apartment living is by its very nature space-limited, storage or the lack thereof can mean the difference between strolling out the front door in a well-pressed suit and shuffling out while trying to straighten a hopelessly rumpled collar. But the lowly closet is not just a place for shoe boxes and sweaters anymore. It has become a hot commodity — a player in the New York real estate market.

Developers of new buildings tout basement storage units as an amenity almost on a par with a gym or a doorman. Wire-mesh storage cages now routinely sell for $30,000 to $40,000, and enclosed storage rooms can sell for twice as much.

Not to be outdone, co-op and condo boards in older buildings are finding ways to retrofit extra storage space, even if that means evicting the superintendent’s mops and dustpans from a utility closet so that it can be rented out. Many of these spaces have waiting lists that run for years, and they become available only when someone moves out or dies.

The advantages are clear. Residents get private storage without having to trek to a faraway warehouse. Unused areas of the buildings are transformed into clean, practical and profitable spaces. And building sponsors or boards get a new source of income without raising fees or imposing assessments.

“Closet space is so precious in Manhattan,” said Monica Klingenberg, an executive vice president of Marketing Directors Inc., an agency that markets and sells luxury co-ops and condos. “We’re all trying to eke every square inch out of our living space, so the ability to have additional storage space is just a gold mine.”

This is the lifestyle Charles Rangel thinks most Americans want.