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THERE'S AN OLD JOKE about the first time a guy showed his parents his Manhattan studio apartment. "Nice foyer," says his father upon entering. "Now show us the rest of the apartment."
This IS the rest of the apartment," answers the son. It's no secret that some studios are nothing more than small boxes with windows. Frank M. LoGuidice, owner of LoGuidice Development Corp., in Manhattan, told of some he's seen in Lothe 240-square-foot range. "A parking space is 200 square feet," he pointed out.
Nonethless, according to a new survey done by RAMS Marketing Inc., a Midtown real-estate firm, of the 1,674 new condo units first offered for sale in Manhattan between January and June of this year, 18 percent were studios.
This number has remained constant the past two years. What has changed, though, is that some developers are starting to apply the innovative design found in larger units to these smaller-sized condos, co-ops and even rentals.
They're experimenting with shape, working in larger windows and even cathedral ceilings.
Historically, studios didn't always mean small. "In prewar buildings, a studio was something of stature," said LoGuidice, who has studied this type of housing. "It wasn't always one room." They were designed for artists with the main working area called the studio.
As time went on, though, marketing...