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November 2, 2006

Grand Ave Brownstone Conversion Hits Market

condo
When we bought our house more than two years ago, this brownstone on the corner of Gates and Grand was barricaded up, looking like someone was about to being work. Only it wasn't until a year or more had passed that the crew showed up. As the reno progressed, we were a little skeptical the windows, but apparently those fears were unfounded. We had heard rumors a few months ago that the building was going to be divided into condos, but it wasn't until yesterday, when we saw a sign on the side of the building, that its fate was confirmed. We have not been inside, nor have we seen pictures yet, but one broker we know told us that it was extremely well done. The house is five stories, so evidently they've been able to create a five-bedroom unit that they have on the market for $1,585,000 and still have room for another decent-sized apartment. The only bummer about them achieving anything close to this price is that it will make it awfully hard for us, as one of the only other five-story houses on the block, to resist the temptation of doing the same. Hopefully Jerry will have some pix up soon!
Grand Avenue Condo [Corcoran] GMAP




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:27 AM | Comments (39)
Categories: Condos

Comments

not to nitpick but in real estate parlay that's considered a 3 story house. you don't count the garden floor and the cellar.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 11:46 AM

Is the 5th floor really a floor or is it an attic. From Windows Live, it looks like its only a sloped roof. How high are the ceilings? Where are the windows?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 12:02 PM

Were you drunk when you wrote this one up? I can barely follow what you're saying.

Corner property is nice. Windows on 3 sides makes a big difference.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 12:13 PM

Echoing previous comment. You should lay off the brown stuff brownstoner. Nice house. What is the lot next to it? a Parking lot?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 12:26 PM

Wow, it was painful trying to read that mess.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 12:26 PM

Yeah, always a good idea to proof read a post once before posting!

Posted by: brownstoner at November 2, 2006 12:32 PM

Isn't that a 4-story house? And it looks like there are no windows on the top floor...?

Posted by: bkr at November 2, 2006 12:36 PM

No, there's a 5th floor with mansard roof

Posted by: brownstoner at November 2, 2006 12:40 PM

the space to the left is gates ave. speaking of which, the police barricade in front of this house has been down for some time. have the drug dealers come home to grand ave yet? and what does 'restored not renovated' mean? did they put asbestos tile back in or something?

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at November 2, 2006 12:54 PM

Yeah, what IS the latest with the drug dealers? The barracades have been down for months. BTW, we affectionatly call that block "The Bad Block", which is funny considering that Andrian Grenier is renovation a house on that block. :)

Posted by: GatesAndGrand at November 2, 2006 1:21 PM

This looks beautiful but the price is absurd. One question: has anyone ever heard a broker say that an interior renovation was not "extremely well-done?"

Tough crowd this morning, Mr. B

Posted by: west at November 2, 2006 1:23 PM

Brownstoner-- if you did the same typ eof condo conversion would you live in the 5 bedroom or sell the 2 units and move elsewhere? Not sure a 2 unit condo is really worth the effort, but what do I know.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 1:24 PM

>>The only bummer about them achieving >>anything close to this price is that >>it will make it awfully hard for us, >>as one of the only other five-story >>houses on the block, to resist the >>temptation of doing the same. >>Hopefully Jerry will have some pix >>up soon!

This I don't understand...why is it hard?..you either value living in a house or you value cash+living in a condo...isn't it fairly straightforward?...what will make it much easier is that fact that the price is stupid so they won't get it!

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 1:30 PM

i'd just also like to point out that Joie Lee (Spike's sister) also lives on that block. this may be the highest concentration of celebrity in the neighborhood.

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at November 2, 2006 1:31 PM

Brownstoner, do you know what floors the 5br unit is on? Parlour to the top (4 floors) or 3 floors. I'm curious how they divided it up.

The price is not outlandish at all. The full house, totally restored/renoveated would fetch far more than 1.585MM, even in this softer market - entire four story (not 5 story) brownstones in this area that still need a fair amount of work go for that price.

I'm just curious as to the market of people looking for such a large condo. It will be interesting to see how it does and what the other unit will be. Common charges are low for the 5br.

Posted by: lp at November 2, 2006 1:33 PM

I'd be shocked if they got anywhere near their asking price. A buyer could get their own renovated townhouse in the area for that price.

It's a nice block and a great townhouse, but when I first saw that price I thought they were selling the whole building for that price, not a condo. I hope they are atleast giving that unit a backyard parking space.

Posted by: Shahn Andersen at November 2, 2006 1:45 PM

Brownstoner would move to Cobble Hill in a nano second and you would never see nabes like Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy highlighted on Brownstoner ever again!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 1:49 PM

I understand your point Shahn, I'm just saying that the price point is not that far off for the amount of space you get. I just don't know whether there are people in the market for effectively owning 3/4 of a brownstone in the form of a condo. Might as well go whole hog and own the building and rent out an apartment (or two if the place is big enough).

Posted by: lp at November 2, 2006 1:54 PM

$1,585,000 for 3312 ft sq works out to about $475/sq ft. Which is reasonable.

However, the mansard roof concerns me. It looks really sloped.. How practical is that space? Living under a mansard roof might be OK for the servants, but at $475 sq ft that attic space seems a bit pricey.

Posted by: Ballin' at November 2, 2006 2:05 PM

wow, we still have servant in NYC? Will reserve comments on this one until I see pictures and a layout. Back to making to donuts.

Posted by: Donna at November 2, 2006 2:17 PM

Off topic, weird observation:

For the 1st several posts, that GMAP link sure is sensative.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 2:43 PM

"Servants"? Whether you "have" them or not, there's gotta be a more pc word out there.

Posted by: Yente at November 2, 2006 2:48 PM

How about "domestic worker that dwells under mansard roof".

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 3:01 PM

I think ballin' was referring to who would have lived in that space at the time the building was built. You can call them "help", "housekeeper/butler" "girl/man Friday" or whatever you think is a PC term for someone who picks up your drawers and cleans up after you but point is that space originally designed for others than the owners is probably not as well appointed as the rest of the house and therefore not worth as much.

Posted by: Oh Lord! at November 2, 2006 3:03 PM

re: condo conversion. great idea. not sure why you aren't doing this simultaneously with your renovation. but with 3 blogs and a family and...well..you know the rest.
would miss u in clinton hill even tho we haven't met. yeah, i would go condo, sell and then buy a bigger pad in boerum hill or a hellacious condo within the fulton mall vicinity or one of those grand mansions on eastern pkwy. i was saving eastern pkwy as my grand surprise (i.e., after I hit the lotto) but prices are so out of my stratosphere that i'll give it to you as a gift. think its one of the most overlooked area in the bk. it's a really beautiful, grand ave in close proximity to a lot of cultural fares and even better, you would have an opportunity to rub elbows with the uber-rich 'Richard Meier crowd'.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 3:07 PM

1:49 is just jealous. one of those types who thinks everyone has the same dreams and desires he does...I own in Clinton Hill, border bed-stuy and wouldn't move if I had the money. Some of us (including b'stoner, i think) like where we are. I'm guessing he was making a joke about being financially insolvent.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 3:49 PM

Comp: 25 Cambridge, 4-story, 2-fam, Italinate in A-1 condition, $1.695M Ask (don't know closed price) http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2005/07/open_house_pick_25.html

If the above condo goes for ask, there's no bubble in sight.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 3:56 PM

"Italianate"

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 3:57 PM

Servants? This is a bad word? I remember touring a plantation in Louisiana where the guide told us the servants quarters was over there. I inquired if the owners of said plantation were particularly enlightened...
I just don't know what to say about these prices. I myself wouldn't want to have part of a house for that price; I want the whole thing. (Or I guess in another life I want a fancy apartment in a full service buildign). I really hate that these prices are preventing people like me from buying homes and fixing them up. This whole developer driven high end home thing is a horse of a very different color than people doing for themselves.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 4:39 PM

There's always East New York...

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 4:48 PM

Someone said it but I agree, that price is not bad at all for that square footage, for that many bedrooms and bathrooms, and renovated. I don't get what's so outrageous about that. As for the drug dealers, boring argument, they're in every neighborhood. The biggest drug users I've ever known were rich white people.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 5:23 PM

Yeah, but they get their drugs delivered from another neighborhood

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 5:35 PM

It's not just a square footage issue. It's about control of your living quarters for the price you pay. Unless you purchase the other unit, you'll always be sharing that parlor or ground floor entrance.

But given the "Just Sold in Brooklyn" data these last few months, somebody'll probably snap it up.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 5:44 PM

People the "just sold in Brooklyn" generally have very little to say about the current market. Most of the listing that are currenly closing are listings from the high point in the spring very early summer - They are at least 3 months behind and sometimes longer. In fact, Mr. B, why do you put them up. At best they contain imcomplete information and at worse they are misleading.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 6:04 PM

Wheres a good place to learn more about condo conversion for Brooklyn brownstones? Mr. B, mebbe you could post something about it?

Posted by: mcteague at November 2, 2006 6:33 PM

Not sure who's got better access to the good smokes the minsk-man or b'stoner? These prices aren't realistic. Wanna bet how quick they lower them?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 2, 2006 10:01 PM

lol, 5:35pm who said rich folk buy their drugs in another neighborhood, talk about NIMBY huh?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 3, 2006 12:21 PM

The last straw breaks the camel's back... Bellingham

Posted by: Bellingham at November 21, 2006 12:41 PM

The last straw breaks the camel's back... Bellingham

Posted by: Bellingham at November 21, 2006 12:42 PM

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