An article in the Sun this morning takes a look at Hello Living, Eli Karp’s eight building, 106-unit condo development on the Prospect Heights-Crown Heights border and focuses on whether the project will spur gentrification in the surrounding area. Unsurprisingly, Karp and the real estate brokers interviewed for the piece definitely think it’s a marked change for the better. “I had to create my own neighborhood,” says Karp, who also opines that “everything is going to double within the next few years” in terms of the value of his product. Brendan Aguayo, a broker for the project, which is mostly clustered off Washington on Pacific and Dean, says buying there is tantamount to “investing in the ground floor of a neighborhood.” Units in two of Hello Living’s eight buildings have been on the market for almost a year, and 20 of the 25 condos have been sold for prices ranging between around $350,000 and $550,000; prices on four of the remaining units, which cost between $700,000 and $1.3 million, were reduced. In other words, the higher-priced units are taking longer to sell. Do you believe the broker and developer hype on this one? Obviously, the fate (or non-fate) of Atlantic Yards, which is right next door, will have a lot to do with shaping this area, and it’s tough to guess how big an effect eight mid-rise condos will have on the neighborhood’s fabric.
Developer Pushes New Vision for Prospect Heights [NY Sun]
Development Watch: Hello Living Complex Continues to Rise [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Pacific Blue Spreads to Dean Street [Brownstoner]
Photo by threecee.