Pearl Paint Is Reborn! As Expensive Luxury Apartments :(

Bruce Springsteen once sang, "Everything dies baby, that's a fact—but maybe everything that dies someday comes back to life as luxury housing." And so it goes for the former site of Pearl Paint, the beloved art supply store on Canal Street that closed down in 2014. According to Curbed, the old store has now been converted into four apartments going for over $16,000/month each.

The listings at 57 Lispenard Street just hit the market—you can see a few photos from the properties above, and even more at Corcoran. Unsurprisingly, they are using Pearl as a selling point, as with the "brand new, full floor loft in the stunning residential conversion of the iconic art store, Pearl Paint." The classic neon sign that once hung outside the store is now installed in the lobby of the building.

As Curbed wrote, "Each unit is a full-floor loft measuring 2,365 square feet, with the usual spate of fancy features: wine fridge, nice appliances, radiant floors in the bathroom, you get the idea. Some of the building’s prewar details—columns in the living room, exposed brick—remain, and each apartment has a large 'great room' with huge windows." Perfect for admiring the city skyline as all the unique character steadily bleeds out.

The second floor is going for $16,000/month; the third floor is $16,500/month; the fourth floor is $17,000/month; and the penthouse is going for $18,000/month. It is safe to say that none of us could afford any of those. But hey, this is as good a reminder as any that everything you love in this city will eventually disappoint you and/or be ruined by capitalism. The sooner we all internalize this, the happier we can be admitting the future is not for us.