What It Really Costs to Get a Lobby Right

A West Village condo opened with a lobby designed by a high-profile architect, the kind of detail that helped sell apartments before anyone moved in. But once residents settled in, the design started working against them: materials that couldn't handle daily wear, finishes that felt more showroom than home, and a layout that made simple things harder than they should have been. Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group, unpacks what actually went wrong and how her team rebuilt the space from the ground up, balancing artistic ambition with everyday practicality. She shares how the board sourced local artists to anchor the redesign, the survey tactics that actually get honest resident input, and a budgeting approach that reframes a lobby project as a decades-long investment rather than a one-time expense. Habitat's Emily Myers conducts the interview.

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Emily Myers: Welcome to Problem Solved, a conversation about challenges facing New York's co-op and condo board directors.

I'm Emily Myers with Habitat Magazine, and I'm joined by Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group. Marilyn, great to have you here. 

Marilyn Sygrove: Thank you for inviting me. 

Emily Myers: Well, developers design buildings to sell, but boards have to live with those decisions. In this episode, we take a look at a West Village condo.

When it first opened its doors, buyers were sold on the name of a high-profile architect. But once residents moved in, some of those design choices didn't work. What was meant to feel artistic just felt off. And we'll explore how the board navigated taste, consensus, and cost to redesign their lobby, and what other buildings can learn from the process.

So Marilyn, when the board first approached you, what exactly wasn't working for them? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Number of things. There was wall covering that was installed, and we're talking about a building that's vintage 2018, so not in, in our world, not an older building, not a pre-war, not a mid-century modern, really a relatively new building.

So there was wall covering that was selected that by the entry doors, because of the heat and the cold, it was peeling off the walls. It was not the appropriate finish. There also was a black rough-cut slate floor, which means anything that rolled on it Rolling carts, luggage carts, any kind of delivery, your travel luggage.

It was noisy, and it was not smooth sailing, so to speak. Other things that are very common were, package space that would be easily accessible to the door staff, so they didn't have anything in the lobby. The doorman literally had to go into a closet when, in fact, there was enough space for him to have a cabinet at his fingertips to be able to service people as they enter.

Emily Myers: Was this then more about function or aesthetics? It sounds like it was both. 

Marilyn Sygrove: It was a bit of both. It definitely was a bit of both. I think their pet peeve was solving these very obvious noisy visual problems, the paint, the, the wall covering peeling, the noisy floor. Th- those irritated them every time they entered and left the building.

Emily Myers: So can you just describe the look of the lobby? We've got these dark floors. The wall covering, is that wallpaper? What kind of design is on the wall? 

Marilyn Sygrove: It was actually a wallpaper, which is not always the easy or most serviceable type of material. We often use a vinyl material that's washable, cleanable, easy to replace that kind of material.

Then there was, a mail room that was very accessible, and you could see it, and it was basically vanilla. So one of the fun things we did is the idea of the whole lobby, since it was a modern building, very clean lines, was to make it artful and warm. And so the mail room has some linear, almost as though someone drew with a, a black marker these fabulous hand-done kind of sh- shapes, and so it was playful.

We made the mail room playful. Artwork was a very big part of this project as well because they had a long hallway that transitioned from the doorman station to the elevators, and the original architect had put in something close to maybe river rocks on the wall. That was not very well-received. And what was actually quite astounding and unusual in this particular project was that the committee actually went under our guidance, had gone and found local West Village artists and looked at different types of art.

We gave them sizes, we gave them colors, and they actually sourced the artwork in this lobby, which is absolutely the most difficult part of any project is the artwork. They did a superb job. It's well-lit. We added wood paneling in the lobby, which gave it warmth. We did a custom area rug with the colors of the artwork.

It really, it now sings. It totally sings. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So the solution that you proposed addressed the wall coverings, the flooring, this river rock wall design, and the package area, turning that into a sort of something fun for the building rather than, as you said, a sort of vanilla... And you mentioned the artwork.

What was perhaps the sort of solution that you proposed? Did it start with the artwork or did it start with the flooring? H- how did you bring this solution about? 

Marilyn Sygrove: It actually started pretty much with a blank canvas, so to speak. But when we design, we get input from the board and the committee and actually the entire community and on some level, and we prepare three design schemes, and one of them was very much art-focused, and that was the scheme that they had selected.

What we did was to make the envelope, the floor, the walls. And we did retain some of the original lighting. We also brought in a lighting exa- a lighting designer that assisted with highlighting the artwork, so supplemented the lighting. The floor became very neutral. It became lighter, almost as though it were polished concrete blocks.

Very downtown look. The walls became very neutral, but it really was... And the artwork is pure electricity. It's color, it's vibrant, it's happy. So you can't walk into this lobby without being uplifted. And then we actually put in benches down this long hallway so that if you chose to just sit and view and contemplate the artwork, there was a place for you to do that as well.

Emily Myers: Okay. So was the sort of art gallery idea a, a sort of... Was that the sort of theme that they were going for? Is that the, perhaps the identity of the area? 

Marilyn Sygrove: They definitely want it to be Village. They definitely thought of Village as really being the artsy part of Manhattan, which I agree with, and so that's what they embraced, we all embraced, which was great.

I have to tell you, we don't get to do something that's that vibrant and alive, so it's great. 

Emily Myers: Yeah. Yes, and you chose to keep exist- some of the existing lighting, you said. Yes. Was that a budget choice or was... It's always helpful when you can retain something of the original. 

Marilyn Sygrove: The original lighting, there was some actual original lighting that was artful in itself as well.

They were, for lack of a better word to describe them, they almost looked as though they were batons. They were long, they were linear poles, and they had the lighting at the end, and they-- The juxtaposition of them, it was artful in itself, and there was... It's just in the main area. And we said, "You know what?

Let's keep it." And so sometimes it is budget-driven, you're absolutely right, and other times it's combinations. This works, and why change it- Yeah ... if it works? 

Emily Myers: Yeah. It sound almost like a, like an installation itself, 

Marilyn Sygrove: yes. 

Emily Myers: Obviously, lobby projects can be very divisive. How did you build consensus for this project?

Marilyn Sygrove: We often do a survey of all the residents. We put together a small survey that we give to the board for them to tweak if they choose to. We never address budget. And so everyone gets a voice. I also do something called a meet the designer night for one hour. I do a virtual meet the designer night, and this way I'm not showing them anything, I'm not presenting them anything.

I'm there to listen and be respectful, and that goes such a long way. It's a very well-received way of getting input from them, so people feel respected, and that's a great way to start a project. So that's how one gets consensus. And also the decision-makers as well. So we get information from various areas, but I find that the board is actually a very good representative of all the resident body.

Emily Myers: And so were there any challenges with the project? Anything that you hit along the way, supply chain issues? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Yes. There was-- We did have to pivot because the flooring material, there was a significant delay. We did make a pivot. You wouldn't know the difference. Everyone's happy. It's not that we got exactly the same material, but it was a, a comparable material that worked equally as well, and it was readily accessible.

So it was a challenge, but we found it, and we got through it, and it came out beautifully. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So what was the timeline for the project? How long did it take? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Generally speaking, the design process can take six months, meaning the meetings, the preliminary designs, finalizing a design, preparing bid documents, going out to bid.

That's a roughly a six-month project. Then there is procurement, deciding on the contractor, the lawyer dealing with the contract. So the job from approval of the design, there is a, a, a period of time. We don't like to start the next day because we won't have all the materials. So the physical time on site can be four, four to six months, depending on...

I, I usually say a, a total project from the date of hire is a year to a year and a half, realistically. 

Emily Myers: And did this project fit that timeframe? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Yes. 

Emily Myers: So can you share then the cost of this project? I know obviously projects vary, but how should boards think about budgeting in terms of total cost versus cost per square foot?

Marilyn Sygrove: You hit it on the nose because if I were to give you a number, it's really irrelevant depending on the size of your lobby and depending on the scope of work. So in this particular case, we addressed floor, we addressed walls, we addressed furniture and furnishing. We did partial lighting. We did a new doorman station with all the bells and whistles, everything built into it.

At the elevator, we did a, a wall-mounted console and a mirror and sconces. So this project ran in the $700 per square foot range all in. So including design fees, including everything. And I think for any boards that are looking to do their project again, if they have their square footage, the range can be anywhere from, total vanilla doing really nothing, painting the walls and changing the light bulbs, you're talking $300 a square foot.

If you're doing something that's much more substantial, you're in the $700 range. 

Emily Myers: Okay. It's interesting because we talk about infrastructure projects in buildings, we're often talking about payback periods and, when the, the building will see its money, its return. But with a lobby project, you of course don't recoup any funds.

So how would you advise boards to think about, the lobby project and making it worth it? 

Marilyn Sygrove: Couple of things. There's two goals in doing a lobby project. One is to increase the value of your apartments that are in the building. That's number one. Boards can speak to the real estate community and say, "Hey, if we redo our lobby and we improve the amenities and we improve the aesthetics, what is that going to increase the value when I put my apartment for sale?"

I have been advised it can be up to 10%. So that's a nice piece of change. The second part of it, or actually it winds up being the first part, is how does it feel to come home? You as an owner and as an, as someone who has invested money into their home, the minute they walk in the door, they wanna feel that their staff is attentive, that they're pleasant, that they are well-groomed.

Same feeling with the lobby. They wanna feel the same, have the same feelings, and have that consistency going through. What I do say, and often boards don't think of the finances this way, but from my experience, lobbies and hallways do not get changed that often. So on average, I would say lobbies and hallways are a 20 to a 25-year investment.

So you take the money that you spent, you divide it by the share or the unit cost or what have you, and amortize it over 20 years. It all of a sudden becomes so much more manageable and so much more relatable. The minute you say something's gonna cost X amount of dollars, people grab their chest, they grab their pocket.

They think that total number is theirs, and it's not. So the logic behind breaking it down into a really understandable unit per apartment for a period of time really helps sell the project. 

Emily Myers: Absolutely, yeah. It's an interesting sort of reframing of the cost, isn't it, when you are thinking about it- It 

Marilyn Sygrove: is

as a 

Emily Myers: 25-year investment. 

Marilyn Sygrove: It is. And also to that point, it's interesting when I mention doing a survey. I can almost feel the results when they come in, how people respond to the survey. I can almost feel that some of them don't want to say, "Let's change the floor," because they're already projecting that's a high cost.

So they'll say, "Don't touch it. It's fine the way it is." So those surveys can be a bit unrealistic because people They're concerned about costs, and justifiably it's not just design, it's psychiat- psychology. 

Emily Myers: Yeah. I was gonna ask what, what perhaps is the biggest mistake that boards make with lobby renovations, but I think your answer is along the lines of perhaps resisting change in a way.

Marilyn Sygrove: Not resisting change, but also and I say this to my staff all the time, you have to think about the audience. You have to project how they feel. There are some buildings that have very strong boards that just say, "We're doing it, and that's it," because they know that they are gonna get some pushback.

There are other boards that are much more egalitarian who will in fact reach out and get some feeling for what the residents feel. So I've seen it go both ways, and they both work. But breaking it down into smaller pieces definitely is the way to go. 

Emily Myers: Okay. So is there anything boards should consider before they hire a designer?

Perhaps what's their first step if they're thinking, "Our lobby is looking tired. It's, it hasn't been updated." what perhaps is the first step to build that cohesion and get a sort of a comprehensive idea about what that design might be? 

Marilyn Sygrove: I'll tell you how it happens to me all the time.

There's a number of resources. Often property management companies will recommend designers, and they will recommend designers who are going to be the least problematic. Then I find that a lot of people come to us By googling. Or now they will go to AI and say, "Who is the most accomplished, experienced interior designer specializing in New York City lobbies or New York City hallways?"

Or what have you, and there will be a very short list. I would say that there are times when we have boards that will h- meet with several designers. They will obviously get references. Boards may walk into a lobby and say, "This is it. This is what I want," designed it. We often will actually take boards to visit projects.

So even though they see our work online, they wanna see it in person. I don't send them. I prefer to go with them. This way I can answer their questions along the way. So there's a number of ways to figure out who's the best fit for them. There's a lot of ways. 

Emily Myers: That's actually a great idea, isn't it? Going around and looking at lobbies that you think might suit you and using that as a experience of looking at lobbies to perhaps bring back information for your own building.

Marilyn, thank you so much. 

Marilyn Sygrove: Absolutely a pleasure. Thank you. 

Emily Myers: Marilyn Sygrove is president of Sygrove Associates Design Group, and our Problem Solved series dives into dozens of real-world examples of everything from interior design choices like this to major engineering projects with cost-saving tips, board-focused strategy, and of course, lessons learned.

If you're a board member with your own story to share, we'd also love to hear from you. Please do get in touch online at habitatmag.com or through the contact details in our monthly print magazine. 

Sygrove Associates: You've been listening to Marilyn Sygrove, president of Sygrove Associates Design Group Inc. Your building's first impression starts the moment someone walks through the door.

Sygrove Associates Design partners with co-op and condo boards to transform interiors, modernizing lobbies, refreshing common areas, and improving how spaces function day to day. They bring a clear design vision, practical project management, and solutions that align with your building's character and budget.

Don't let outdated interiors hold your property back. Visit sygrove.com and start planning your upgrade today