Condo of the Day: Park Circle

if it was one block closer to the circle, where the church is, i think it would have sold better...kinda lonesome in its location

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:04 PM

i looked at them this spring. so ugly, and odd floorplans. you'd have to pay me to live there.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:08 PM

Horrible layouts and the locations sucks. This is going to be almost impossible to move at those prices.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:25 PM

Like a lot of people on here said, in a real estate collapse, it is the fringe neighbourhoods taht feel it first. I think this is a prime example.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:30 PM

Yep, no surprise here. A hideous building with weird layouts in a desolate location.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:32 PM

I looked at the Penthouse units. They were very large and the floorplans were fine.

The killer was the VERY low ceilings.

Not only were they less than 9 feet, but all of the ducting was below the ceiling grade.

It was crazy.

If he had built one or two less floors and given the units at least ten foot ceilings, he would have sold out.

The location is not that bad. The parade grounds are a block away. That is where everything happens if you have kids. The police station is across the street. A few blocks the other side od Ocean Parkway is deccent grocery shopping. If you drive and work in the city, the entrance to the parkway is just around the circle. Plus nice veiws of the park.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:03 PM

We pass Klingon Headquarters (as we've dubbed it) all the time, and everything said by 2:03 is right on the money about the location's upsides--although it is, indeed, desolate from the standpoint of immediate street life (unless you dig gas stations). Also, it's right next to a high school that gets huge amounts of high-charged teen action every day, plus weekend traffic for the two nearby churches. Our biggest beef is that the post-Soviet monstrosity sticks up so high around the periphery of the park...

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:37 PM

i dont think it that ugly...dont understand the hate

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:41 PM

once you cross the circle from ppsw you are in a very different neighborhood. It still all looks a bit depressed, which is odd since other areas of WT have been selling so quickly and everytime you turn the corner another house is being renovated......

Maybe it is the fact that that 3-4 block area is really cut off with the over pass to fort hamilton on one side and the underpass of Ocean pkwy/preospect expressway on the other....

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:05 PM

Is there any plans to built the lot next to this building?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:09 PM

there are plans for a few developments on CIA..so while this be seem lonlely for now, it wont be in a few years..pretty soon that strip will start to improve and no longer be gas station row. . i also agree that ths building looks interesting from a distance..can't speak for the interiors..

yes windsor terrace is becoming more desirable..but this is cut off from tha hood, i woud consider it more kensington

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:16 PM

There is a post from a resident on the Kensington Blog...

http://kensingtonbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2007/08/park-circle-resident-view.html

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:29 PM

Odd contradiction between the blogger at 3:29PM and poster at 2:03 PM regarding ceiling heights

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:41 PM

I am 2:03 and I measured.

The ducting was under the ceiling and all over the place.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:59 PM

And I'm the one who wrote the post on the kensington blog. I live in this building and the ceiling heights are 9'2" in height.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 4:35 PM

Unless the blogger is living in the penthouse, my money is with 2:03 that the ceilings are 9' or less. And anyway, the blog post smells a little shilly to me.

But really, I think the key point is made by
1:30. This is a fringe location (now) and with fear in the air, most will not buy unless there is a significant discount. And these discounts aren't nearly big enough.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 4:36 PM

I went to the open house last weekend. The location was a little off the beaten track, but I liked the lobby. I saw 4 different apartments. The finish was pretty high end. The layouts were different than the usual cookie cutter type thing you see in new builds. I liked it overall. The roof deck is not so hot.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 4:41 PM

Still laughable at $400-500/sf. Who needs Comedy Central? We've got COTD's. Ha ha ha.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:23 PM

looks beachy...

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:34 PM

I happen not to think that the building is ugly but the location is horrible as far as amenities and transportation are concerned. It's a hike to Cortelyou and even the Kensington side of Church Avenue is a long walk. Its not on the Park Slope side of the Park and its a desolate walk to the Parkside Q/B train. The Caton entrance of the Church avenue Q/B stop is scary. Especially at night. Damn, it's not even near the express bus to the city stop. It is also a long walk to the F line Church Avenue station. Not near any supermarket or other store, the horse stables and a fundamentalist church are behind it and a roudy middle school to the right and the Christian school to the left of it. Police station across the street with cop cars coming and going and illegally parking constantly. These units not selling have more to do with the location than any bubble.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 10:43 PM

I think the F line Hamilton Avenue (across a foot bridge) is the nearest station. I would have thought 10 minutes or so. I walked that stretch a few months ago but don't remember exactly.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 10:29 AM

Bad location? Check.
Ugly exterior? Check.
Wonky layouts? Check.
High prices? Check.

I simply can't fathom why these bad boys aren't flying off the shelves.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 1:26 PM

DOnt know if anyone is still reading this thread but, nobody mentioned that the terraces are very strange. You have little to no privacy on your unit as the terraces angle into almost all windows. Also, standing on oyour own balcony, you can be seen or see into the floors below. While its a voyeur's dream to an extent- I saw the units and hated that aspect. Also , many different units windows look directly into others.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 7:50 PM

I have lived around the corner at 31 Ocean Parkway since 1980. The realtors told me the neighborhood was starting to turn around at the time. Since then the roller rink was renovated and became a warehouse and the bowling alley was knocked down and became a church that nobody from the neighborhood attends. The Riverside funeral chapels became another church AND school that nobody from the neighborhood attends. The Park Circle and two other condo developments are going up within less than a block. Parking will be impossible. The stables are still an eyesore. The nearest fast food is a half mile away. The nearest one star restaurants are a half mile away. The nearest supermarket is a half mile away. Without a car you are stranded. Prospect Park is the only sanctuary we have. But on weekends it is filled to capacity. Welcome to "South Windsor Terrace/North Kensington. I have 5 rooms with 10 foot ceilings and a view of the park at $1100 a month. Do you really think it's worth half a million dollars? I can't wait to retire and get the hell out of here!

Posted by: guest at September 23, 2007 2:12 AM

There's a perfectly nice semi-fancy Korean grocery about two blocks away. As noted, the Ft. Hamilton F stop is very nearby. Decent enough supermarket in Windsor Terrace on Prospect is about a ten minute walk away. Good coffee shops about about 5-10 minutes away. I get the sense that many people writing here don't know the neighborhood well. Also note that the area near Lonelyville/Vanderbilt playground is turning into kid and family-central these days.

Lastly, for those who don't know, express bus to Wall Street in about ten minutes (if you leave early in the morning) is five minutes away on Church and Ocean Pkwy. For anyone who works downtown, it's one of the fastest commutes in the city.

Posted by: guest at October 7, 2007 2:25 PM

In 3 years you'll be kicking yourself in the head for not buying into the area!

Posted by: guest at December 9, 2007 11:28 PM