The board's rewriting of the guidelines was simplified by a bit of history. In years past, the building's eighth-floor laundry room – 10 washers and 10 dryers — was run by a laundry contracting company. Dissatisfied with the service, the board took over operation when the contract expired in the late 1990s. Boards locked into long-term contracts might run into problems if allowing washers and dryers in apartments siphons too much money from the laundry contractor, who frequently has a guaranteed minimum income written into the contract.
The Not-Dirty Dozens
Since the change, about two dozen residents have installed washers and dryers, says Spellmon. "They love it. Every tenant who has bought an apartment has put in a laundry room. Prospective purchasers say it's a huge amenity."
Corinne Vitale, a senior vice president at Brown Harris Stevens, is the broker who closed on the very first apartment in Museum Tower in 1983. She's hearing the same thing as Spellmon.
"People want a washer and dryer," she says, "which is why the developers have made a point of putting them in new buildings. I think people are expecting it now. When they look at apartments, their first question is, 'Where's the washer and dryer?' And if there isn't one, they ask, 'Are they allowed?' It's a very big selling point."
Yet while interest in this amenity is growing, it's still the exception rather than the rule. Apartments with washers and dryers make up only about 20 percent of the sales and rental listings in Manhattan, according to the website StreetEasy.com. Condos offering the amenity outnumbered co-ops in December listings by more than three to one: 1,849 versus 593.
Ironically, Vitale bought a co-op apartment 20 years ago that was equipped with a washer and dryer, then a rare luxury. "And I took it out!" she says with a laugh. "I have a cleaning lady who takes my laundry to the building's laundry room, and I'd rather have the storage space. I guess that makes me the exception [to] the rule."
Illustration by Marcellus Hall
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