This is an amazing building to live in. The biggest draw for me is the Mercedes Club gym being connected to the building. It has an excellent indoor heated swimming pool. The outdoor pool is very popular in the summer. The common areas with free WIFI are really nice and I've worked remote from there by the fireplace or the huge flat screen TV. The juice bar is really convenient. They've just opened a market connected to the building. The lobbies are really nice and artistic. The individual apartments have great appliances. Washer/Dryer in unit I've taken for granted outside of NYC but it's a luxury here. Most views are really nice, and anything facing west into the Hudson is great. This building is expensive, you will easily pay a 10-20% premium on rent, but completely worth it in my opinion. What you get back is so much more. Also, it's a quiet area which is kind of nice, and Clinton park with people playing softball and intramural league sports year round is great. Highly recommend living in this building for Hells Kitchen.
Mercedes House is truly the worst apartment I've ever lived in. Don't be fooled by its great looks. Although the building, apartments and gym are all gorgeous, looks are deceiving and you should avoid this nightmare at all costs. Overall, the walls are paper thin, many things break and Mercedes House / Two Trees management is obnoxious, dishonest and incompetent. The Director of Residential Leasing Ashley Wirkus is the single most incompetent and vindictive person I've ever dealt with. Avoid at all costs!
I love this building! It is in one of the best locations in Manhattan because it's very close heart of Manhattan, yet you have the peace and quiet due to its proximity. I never seen anything like the Amenity space this building anywhere in the city. The only downer is that it is costly, but I had a great broker and he was able to get me 2 months free. I'm happy!
My girlfriend and I were interested in this place. We were told that construction was done on our floor, and the two floors above where we'd be renting. We paid $300 for the application fee only to see this on the lease. "Tenant acknowledges that the Building including but not limited to [no bound on construction] ... will require construction work to be completed ... . Tenant agrees that his/her reasonable expectation of the Apartment and the Building is that there will be construction work and workers in or about the premises, which will result in excessive noise, dust, annoyances, inconveniences and other problems associated with construction" I'd recommend getting a look at the lease before you pay the application fee.
There are certainly worse places to live. (I have no idea what this "Jay" guy is talking about. There were no community amenities yet when he posted. Troll. . . .) It's also pretty transparent that most of the building is still under construction, so should you decide to move in before it's been completely built, just expect a lot of early morning drilling and having to avoid being hit by any of the construction, delivery, or Mercedes vehicles whenever you come or leave the building. The gym just opened on 7/1, and our outdoor public spaces just opened, though they're open until 6 p.m., but honestly, who really has the luxury of being home before 6 p.m.? Not sure what that's about. The pools are said to be opening next week. PROS: +You get a nice welcome package! (With soap!) +The neighborhood is awesome. It's about a 15 minute cab ride to the rest of the parts of the city worth going to and about an hour walk otherwise if you're heading to somewhere on the east side. +The building looks cool. +You can potentially rent an apartment with a balcony that is bigger than my entire apartment, and I can watch you have your parties and what not on that porch while I work on my freelance work in between my full-time job. Are your ears burning? +Washer and dryer and dishwasher and garbage disposal. More buildings need these amenities in their apartment ASAP. +Rent includes the public amenities: gym, outdoor space, etc. CONS: -We had to make our own keys. What?! -The shades offer no privacy. Neighbor, I can see you scratch your butthole and sniff your fingers. Don't think I can't. -The shades don't block the morning sun. Management did offer a discount through their supplier to get the blackout shades though, but it was pretty expensive. -Either the walls are really thin or it's the the floor-to-ceiling windows that help transfer sound, but neighbors, I can hear you have sex, shake your martini shaker, sneeze, converse on the phone, watch television at 4 a.m., etc. And I really wish I couldn't. -It's a fifteen minute walk to the nearest subway. When I asked if there was a shuttle bus, the realtor lady stifled a laugh. When I pointed out that the Helena had a shuttle, she said it was because it was on 11th Avenue. Um, I believe the entrance on 53rd St. is much closer to 11th Avenue than to 10th Avenue, laughing-face.
