Architecture 101: Public School That Went Private

building
How beautiful and majestic is the former P.S. 9 on Sterling Place in Prospect Heights? V-E-R-Y . The Renaissance Revival structure stopped us in our tracks as we strolled by on Vanderbilt the other day. Built in 1887, the building had fallen into severe disrepair by 1989, the year that, gasp!, Forest City Ratner struck a deal with the city to convert it into co-op apartments. As part of the conversion, the facade, which is a mix of brownstone, sandstone, terra-cotta and brick, was meticulously restored under the watch of LPC. Nine of the 22 apartments were taken by artists who had been displaced by the Metrotech project. Guess how much the 3,150-square-foot loft cost back in ’89? $500,000. Yowza.
From Classes to Co-ops [NY Times] GMAP

By Brownstoner |