On Friday, at long last, work started on converting the former Baptist church (and originally the residence of Daniel Burdette) at 447 Clinton Avenue (top photo). In addition to its noteworthy Italianate style and scale, the property is noteworthy for the fact that it runs all the way through the block to Waverly and has a 2,800-square-foot building in the rear. The most recent info about the plans for the place come from a DOB filing back in January 2006 which call for the addition of 3,500 square feet and the creation of 12 apartments. We tried to extract some more info from the workers on site but no one spoke English and our Spanish ain’t what it should be. The property is still listed as being in contract though (and no change of ownership is showing up on PropertyShark) so we wonder who’s doing the work…Perhaps more interesting, however, is the dumpster that just appeared in front of the William Tubby-designed mansion at 405 Clinton Avenue (bottom photo). An unusual mix of the Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne styles, the house was landmarked in 1983 and has been in the same hands since 1990; it’s been horribly neglected since then. We gather that the owner’s a very nice guy but we hope he either figures out a way to save the building while there’s still time or sells it to someone who can. There are no jobs listed for it yet on the DOB website so he might just be doing some late spring cleaning.
Big Contracts Signed in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill [Brownstoner]
447 Clinton Avenue: GMAP P*Shark DOB
405 Clinton Avenue: GMAP P*Shark DOB

The dumpster at 447 Clinton Avenue