House of the Day: Different in Ditmas

This house may well be in Ditmas Park proper... There are several "pockets" of limestones, tudor row houses, not to mention Albermarle and Kenmar Terraces, landmarked streets that of Victorian Flatbush. One of thes pristine houses with fabulous original detail, great garden, integral garage, beautiful setting, sold recently for under $700K.... Through Brown Harris Stevens, I think... A total undiscovered jewel. I have some photos of these terraced homes in the nabe - I'm intrigued by them and have been telling friends that they are probably a great value in a neighborhood which is "gentifying" rapidly.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 12:58 PM

Julie Kestyn is pushing another one of these terraced limestone homes for under $500k - not sure if it's the same one, though:
http://www.kestyn.com/content/listdetail.html/24005264?proppos=14&ag_id=923509&pageclicked=2&RowCount=15&startpos=11&endpos=20&ids=16007537,26041749,21781024,24005264,29336068&propertyCount=15

Her pix are down - don't know why. They were there last week.

The Corcoran House, on East 23rd Street, depending on the cross streets, is in what's known as the South Midwood or Brooklyn College Neighborhood of Victorian Flatbush. The best buys can be found here, as these homes are on the other side of Ocean Avenue and there are few amenities over there... except for educational institutions, like Midwood High School (more Westinghouse scholars than anywhere else in the country); Hudde Middle School and its fabulous gifted program - they produced the national ms chess chamption this year, and of course, good old Brooklyn College with its Rhode Scholar, fabulous faculty, and picturesque campus.... a few quality stores and restaurants would help, though.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 1:14 PM

This house is officially in South Midwood - yes part of Victorian Flatbush.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 1:20 PM

This looks very similar to houses in PLG -- and some of them do have basement apartments. You wouldn't want to live in one of them though -- they're dark and the garden is off the first level (what would be the parlor floor in most traditional townhouses), so these really are basements.

I know someone in PLG (their house was on the tour last spring) -- they converted half the basement into a great screening room and half to a home spa -- great! My landlord has converted his into two bedrooms - but to make a real apartment of it, necessitating kitchen, etc., would make things pretty small and gloomy!

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 5:13 PM

I was thinking that the layout of this house was a lot like those on the PLG tour last year... Some of them were beauifully refurbished... but I kept thinking - these houses are tiny!!! It was hard to believe that they were built to accomodate turn of the century families who generally had a few children. You would absolutely have to convert the basement into a den, or even an extra bedroom, but it would be gloomy. The screening room was a smart way to handle the space. That said, this house in Ditmas Park goes for about a third less than what they would be asking over in PLG... Great for a couple or a very small family.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 5:57 PM

I agree -- PLG is overpriced. This definitely looks a better deal -- the transportation is the same, just a few more stops away (B and Q at Newkirk and Ocean Aves and 2 and 5 at Newkirk and Flatbush Aves.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 6:50 PM

I'm not sure I understand Nativegal's comments. I think PLG is gorgeous... but alont of those limestones, particularly the Chicago style, despite being very classically beautiful, are Lillipution once you put in a decent sized bathroom. A childless couple or a family with only one child would do well with the space. But much to cramped for a bigger family. The Georgian brick houses on Maple, however, with the beautiful grounds,are quite another story... When will one of those grand homes be on the tour? I keep hoping... I actually could have bought one of those for $800k about 5 years ago. It was gorgeous... tremendous detail. In the end we opted for a distinctive, but not as nearly as beautiful, house in Flatbush.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2005 9:01 PM

This house is very close to the Flatbush Junction, if that helps anyone who is not familiar with the area otherwise. It is quite a ways from Prospect Park. There are few amenities, but it is within the borders of the official Victorian Flatbush nabe (South Midwood). South Midwood has the fewest amenities, farthest from the park, least amount of gentirification in all of Victorian Flatbush. Which is why enormous houses loaded with detail can still be picked up there for $800k and under. Fat chance of finding that elsewhere in Victorian Flatbush. South Midwood will not benefit greatly from the new Cortelyou Road streetscape, either. It's just too far away (Bev Squares East and West and Ditmas Park West will do nicely out of it, though). South Midwood is geographically cut-off and will need to create another "hub" to compete with other parts of the neighborhood.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 25, 2005 9:05 AM

By the way, I bought in VicFlatbush several years ago and got one of the last decent buys... There was not much in the way of shopping or amenities back then, and things have improved dramatically in just a few years. BUT, if I were in the same boat and house shopping here today, I would be buying in South Midwood and working together with the community to improve the neighborhood. Not only do you get a grea house for a great price that way, but you bond with like-minded people who are also investing time and energy in a wonderfully rewarding project. It makes for great community spirit. I've said this before and I'll say it again - it's not just the homes that make Victorian Flatbush unique - there's also a lot to be said for the people in them.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 25, 2005 9:08 AM

I have looked at a nearby house that was similarly priced by Kestyn. The immediate neighborhood is still really sketchy -- Lots of ambulances, cop cars, and truck noise from nearby Flatbush Ave. Flatbush Ave still tends to be really noisy around there. It may be close to Vic Flatbush but it is environmentally light years away. Hence the price.

Posted by: Anonymous at October 25, 2005 10:35 AM

I agree... I went over to see the location for myself. While technically part of South Midwood, it borders East Flatbush and definately has more of the feel of that neighborhood... Having said that, we know a family from the Slope who bought a home on nearby Vanderveer Place, the other side of Flatbush, sort of near Sears... It's a lovely street with adorable terraced houses with porticos. It also has won Brooklyn's Greenest Block award several times... It is, however, definitely East Flatbush...

Posted by: Anonymous at October 26, 2005 8:56 AM