What You Get in a Small NYC Condo Building

Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 7 min read

What Counts as Boutique

Here, a boutique condo has 30 homes or fewer. That covers 76% of the new buildings we read. Many of those are very small, so we split them in two:

• Tiny: 10 homes or fewer (751 buildings).
• Boutique: 11 to 30 homes (291 buildings).
• Larger: more than 30 homes (323 buildings).

The Boutique Amenity Formula

Look at buildings with 11 to 30 homes and a clear pattern shows up:

• Bike room: 87%. The one amenity you can almost count on.
• Parking spaces for sale: 51%, about the same as in larger buildings (50%).
• Gym or fitness room: 38%. In the plans we quote below, it sits in the cellar.
• Video intercom or virtual doorman: 38%. A camera at the door that rings your phone or apartment, sometimes backed by a remote attendant.
• Package room: 30%. Storage lockers: 26%. Shared roof deck: 24%.

Why the bike room? City zoning requires bicycle parking in many new residential buildings, which is why it jumps from rare to nearly universal once a building passes 10 homes. In a smaller building, expect a modest room with racks, not a bike lounge.

In tiny buildings of 10 homes or fewer, almost everything drops off: only 15% describe a bike room and 7% a gym. Think terrace, not gym: small buildings trade shared amenities for private space, so look for a home with its own terrace, balcony or yard, and check that it's in the plan. When a small building does have a shared roof deck, it's usually a simple one, like the common roof terrace at 1255 Decatur Street in Bushwick. More in our guide to private outdoor space.

Share of buildings whose offering plan describes each amenity. 751, 291 and 323 new-construction condo plans accepted since 2015. The doorman row reads the first-year budget instead, for plans with one on file.

In Their Own Words

Here's how a few small buildings describe their amenities in the plan. Notice how specific the language is: where the gym is, what floor the roof deck is on. That's the level of detail you can hold a developer to.

“In addition, the Premises will include (a) a fitness center and bicycle storage, both located in the cellar level and (b) a common rooftop terrace on a portion of the main roof.”

“The storage, gym, bike room and dog spa are located in the cellar.”

“There will also be various amenities for the benefit of the Residential Unit Owners, including a lounge room/bar, fitness center, spa/sauna, plunge pool, a pet spa and various utility and service areas located throughout the Building.”

“Video Intercom System : The Building will be equipped with a video intercom system.”

What Stays in the Big Buildings

Some amenities need enough owners to share the cost. A pool shows up in 4% of buildings with 11 to 30 homes, against 27% of those above 30, and a residents' lounge in 15% against 60%.

Developers of small buildings still compete on amenities. Minuet in Midtown East, with 15 homes, has an unattended gym and a yoga room, and d'Orsay on West 14th Street adds a steam room, sauna and plunge pool. In bigger buildings, amenities move from the cellar to a dedicated floor or the top of the tower, like the fitness room high up in Eastlight in Murray Hill. Pools mostly show up in the larger buildings, and even then, read the rules: Rowan II in Astoria limits its pool to a few hours a day.

The takeaway: if a pool or a staffed lobby is a must-have, a boutique building is rarely the place to find it. If you'd rather not pay for them, it may be exactly the place. Amenities are shared by all owners, so their staff and upkeep are built into everyone's common charges whether you use them or not. More in why condo costs differ.

The catch: a gym in the building isn't always yours. At Front & York in DUMBO, the fitness club is a separate business leased to an outside operator, not a condo amenity.

The Doorman Question and Your Common Charges

Staff is where amenities hit your wallet. Every offering plan includes Schedule B, the developer's projected budget for the building's first year, which sets your common charges (the monthly fee you pay toward running the building). We looked at the staffing lines in the budgets of 405 new buildings with 30 homes or fewer (tiny and boutique together) and 63 larger ones, accepted since 2021.

• Most small buildings budget little or no staff. Only 47% have any staffing line, against 94% of larger buildings.
• When they do, it's modest. The typical small-building budget with a staffing line spends about $1,010 per unit a year on it (larger buildings: $2,740).
• A doorman changes the math. Just 6% of these small-building budgets include a doorman or concierge (23 buildings). In those 23, staff runs about $18,380 per unit a year.

Figures are medians, rounded, and per home. Your own share depends on your home's size. See operating expenses and common charges to compare buildings.

The catch: a front desk has to be covered every shift, and in a small building only a few owners split that cost.

What to Ask or Check

Take this list to a showing, or to your attorney when you review the offering plan:

• Is each amenity in the plan? Search the plan's description of the property for the gym, roof deck or bike room you were shown. If it's only in the brochure, it isn't promised.
• Is the roof deck shared or private? Many small buildings give the roof to the penthouse as a "limited common element", meaning a common area only one home may use.
• Are storage and parking included or sold separately? Lockers and spaces are often extra purchases or licenses with their own monthly charge.
• Who answers the door? Check Schedule B for a doorman, a virtual doorman service or no staff at all, and how packages get handled.
• What does the budget assume? If the building has a gym or a staffed lobby, Schedule B should have lines for it. A low budget with a long amenity list is a red flag.

Related: Walk-Up Condos: NYC's No-Elevator Buildings · Where Do NYC Condo Common Charges Go?