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October 29, 2007
Condos of the Day: 54 Hicks Street
The owners of 54 Hicks Street have been working on the conversion of the brick townhouse into a 3-unit condominium since early 2006 and are now bringing the finished project to the market themselves sans brokers. Of course, they had a little help along the way from Baxt Ingui Architects, themselves no strangers to townhouse renovations. Based upon DOB filings, there was three-story (if you include the basement) addition made to the rear of the building and quite a lot of reinforcing and moving of walls. How's the end-product? Hard to say, as there are no interior photos provided and it looks from the outside like it's still very much a work-in-progress. The owners must feel pretty good about it's going to turn out, as they are asking $1,975,000 for the 1,788-square-foot uppermost apartment. Hopefully someone can give us the report from the open house yesterday; if not, we've got another shot at it next Sunday as well. Update: Check out how the FSBO'ers "borrowed" some of the marketing verbiage from a competing project in the nabe on the jump. What's that they say about imitation being the highest form of flattery?
54 Hicks Street [FSBO] GMAP P*Shark
Here's the original spiel from 118 State Street:
The Carriage House on State presents a rare opportunity to own a home in Brooklyn's most desirable community. Located on a beautiful tree-lined street in Brooklyn Heights, the four-unit boutique condominium is the result of a complete renovation of a 150-year-old carriage house, reconfigured and adapted for modern living. No detail has been overlooked and no expense spared in the conversion of this stately early 19th century building into an exceptional collection of hand-crafted homes featuring the luxury finishes, top-of-the-line appliances, and materials of fine quality discerning buyers expect when purchasing new construction. The architect's finely tuned touch is evident in the ample use of natural light and airy space, and in layouts that place a premium on stylish functionality for both growing families and couples who like to entertain. Unsurpassed in its design and construction quality, the Carriage House incorporates special features such as sound insulation between floors and walls, oversized windows, spacious baths, and pocket doors that collectively enhance the living experience within.
And now from the NYT FSBO ad for 54 Hicks Street:
This Brooklyn Heights Brownstone on Hicks Street represents a unique opportunity to own a large home with outdoor space in Brooklyn's most desirable community. The 1840s building has undergone a complete 15 month renovation resulting in a three unit condominium that provides all modern amenities. Every detail has been considered and no expense spared in the conversion of this building into hand crafted homes featuring the luxury finishes, top-of-the-line appliances, and materials of fine quality expected when purchasing a newly constructed building.
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Comments
Baxt Ingui are the architects for the Strong Place church-to-condo conversion as well.
Posted by: Carol Gardens at October 29, 2007 12:50 PM
that's a lotta scratch to pay for a shared bldg and $800 per month for taxes/maintenance.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 1:35 PM
I have driven by this one on many occasions. The progress was painfully slow & from what I could see there was little effort at quality control inside. It was an oriental crew initially with piles of demo debris strewn over the floors. The crew is not the same anymore. The rear was a mess for months with tarps swinging in the breeze. The stair halls looked tight from the street & were poured concrete at the last time I could se inside. When will this be completed Spring of 08 judging by its current condition that seems like the case. How will they finish the stoop In November & Dec. it seemed strange to me that they left this until the fall to begin. What are everyone elses thoughts. Windows were installed on the upper floors in May or June still none on the Parlro or garden levels. $1.95 Good luck in this market with all the other condos on the market.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 1:45 PM
you lost me at "oriental".
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 1:57 PM
"It was an oriental crew..."
Nice job alienating anyone with a post-colonial mindset....and by the way, even if you had managed to use a term that people would deem more correct, your underlying sentiment was still awful.
...you did ask for "everyone elses thoughts"
Posted by: Park Place at October 29, 2007 2:04 PM
hahahahahah, "oriental" ... 1:45pm must be 60+. And how about those nice "colored" folks down the way?!
Yours truly,
The Occidental Tourist
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 2:07 PM
Sorry I am 1.45 Poster No Disrespect meant. It was an observation as to the state of the site most of the time I passed. Dont know what I was thinking when I typed that word Oh Jeez. So Sorry. The work did not look good. There was a huge difference between this project & 118 State Street which is comparable in price I believe? I see from B Dept.that this is also by Baxt Ingui. There the work there was run extremely well.Anyone else who witnessed the project during construction?
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 2:19 PM
i got your slimp fly lice...
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 2:38 PM
Why would someone pay $1.95 million for a condo when the same amount of money (or less) could buy a house? That's not a rhetorical question, I'm actually curious.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 2:59 PM
their Green efforts are charming considering the teak they used was probably ravaged from the Amazon.
That is a lot of dough!
ps my cousin is married to an asian (is that bad to say too now?) and she has no problem with the word oriental.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 3:06 PM
A good question to ask the developer/owner at the open house would be - "Should any conclusions be drawn about the integrity of the construction based on the fact that you lifted, almost verbatim, the description of your project from the pre-existing written material describing the 118 State Street condo project? A project you had nothing to with."
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 3:42 PM
re 1:45's comment: it's not just that the word "oriental" was used, it's also that there was any reference made to the nationality/ethnicity of the workers. why is that relevant. even more interesting is 3:06's commment, re her cousin's spouse: "ps my cousin is married to an asian (is that bad to say too now?) and she has no problem with the word oriental." SO???
back on topic: 3:42's comment is hilarious.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 3:59 PM
i dont see how people bitch about park slope prices when shit like this pops up.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 4:31 PM
It's hilarious to see the serious "greewashing" in the blurb!!
CAC: convenient maybe, but hardly green.
Since no specs were given on the heating, hard to say.
What's green about low e windows (a 15 year old standard technology)
Good acoustics: I'll have to put that in on my next bid, "adding to indoor sound quality (ISQ)"?
Great that CAT6 wiring is included for your massive data transfer needs. How is this green?
Hmmm. is that teak and walnut FSC?
etc etc
This developer is seriously green-challenged.
Posted by: cmu at October 29, 2007 4:42 PM
I prefer oriental work. It adds to the price because it is exotic...Exotic is expensive, remember...
And I love getting up in the morning because I can look in the mirror and always see an oriental staring back at me. ...I guess I prefer being oriental to being a chink...but I haven't been called that in so long that saying the word to myself just now made me laugh! LOL!
My cousins are married to asians. My cousins are asian too...I asked them if "oriental" bothers them. They asked,"Which kind?"
BTW...we didn't have any orien'lz working on our house...just Poles. My mother-in-law who grew up in Poland (pre-WWII...she ol'...) and her Polish friends call Poles "Pollacks"...go figure.
Touching on the actually property in question: It looks a mess. Hhhh...
4:42, at least the blurb doesn't list "astounding finishes" like so many ads these days (even listed on condos that aren't built yet).
FortGreener (AKA The Grammar Lady)
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 7:16 PM
this used to be a nice, house, and we all thought it would be a nice conversion, but the family that lived there i guess has sold out and now it's condoville in the quaint heights. not the best block. guess the 1700 sf is coming from two floors.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 8:00 PM
From What I see it looks like it is the same family that still owns it? What about the location State street is relatively quite location with not a lot of traffic. Look at how tight this street is. The new stoop has to sweep onto the sidewalk it is so tight & there is a school within a stones throw of this place. Good luck when the buses are dropping off & picking up the kids.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 8:27 PM
3:06, your cousin's wife has no problem with the word oriental because she apparently loves white meat/matzo balls/chocolate nuts long time. In other words, she's a yellow Uncle Tom (or Aunt Jemima - whatever floats your cousin's boat).
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 9:35 PM
Truly amazing to me how much hot air is spouted on this site by people who clearly don't have a clue what they are talking about. Take guest at 3.42PM for one ... For the record Baxt/Ingui are involved in both projects - hence the liberal use of the same text for the new Hicks Street listings. See the link below which should set that record straight: http://www.118state-bre.com/team.html. How about some facts, or at least some knowledge, before offering up all kinds of nonsensical observations as to who is/isn't involved in one or another project. Facts, facts, facts - something increasingly hard to find in the Brownstoner dialog.
Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 11:42 PM
Haha! As an oriental Brit living in nyc I always laugh when ppl complain about that term. A chinese friend of mine reckons it all started in the west coast asian community and spread a year later to the east (ooh can I say that?) as all west coast asian trends do. When I asked him what his objection to the term was, all he could come up with was that it refers to objects such as carpets.
I'm sorry but when many Americans don't even know when they should use "take" instead of their universal use of "bring" I can't take it seriously when they try to point out alleged misuse of words.
Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 8:56 AM
Ethnic slurs aside, does anyone think this place is actually worth almost $2mm??? That is crazy high in my opinion...
Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 9:48 AM
8:00 pm - "this used to be a nice, house, and we all thought it would be a nice conversion, but the family that lived there i guess has sold out and now it's condoville in the quaint heights."
If 8:27 is right and it will be owner occupied, then what's so bad about a 3-unit condo? Is that worse than if the owner rented out the other 2 units? Think you'd rather have 2 fellow owners than renters.
Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 11:03 AM
Definitely not worth 2mil when you consider that the entire house next sold for 2.2 mil in June of 07. Not to say that the next door house doesn't need work -- it does -- but 2 mil for a duplex in a townhouse in this part of the Heights is very high imop. The carriage house at 12 Middagh just around the corner sold for 2.5 last October and it was 3,000sf plus a garage and balcony with downtown view. 1.5/6 would probably be more on the money for this one. Also, doesn't really look out on anything nice re front: Tut's Cafe. Great food but I wouldn't want it as my view.
Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 11:11 AM
Not sure how you figure the Middagh Street house at 3000SF...even the broker said it was only 2800SF, and that INCLUDED (disingenuously IMHO) the garage and roof deck. Just look at the floor plan on corcoran website.
Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 4:18 PM
As I don't own the Middagh Street carriage house nor was I the broker representing it, I'm sure you will forgive me the egregious addition of 200 square feet based on memory lapse. That said, it was only 500,000$ more expensive than a substantially smaller duplex on a 'rougher' block and not a single family home but a duplex condo. I know what I consider to be the better deal.....
Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 10:28 AM
Re: 10:28am. What I meant was 12 Middagh was a single family home and not a duplex condo. Apologies.
Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 10:54 AM
Ever closer than the downtown view from 12 Middagh is the BQE view, with noisy trucks belching exhaust 24 hrs/day literally at the doorstep. Who cares if it's 300 or 3000 sf.
Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 12:18 PM
I viewed that house and the noise was negligible. 54 Hicks is spitting distance away as well. What IS your point?
Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 12:25 PM
118 State Street dropped their prices $200K last week
Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 3:59 PM
I went to the open house at 54 Hicks and was impressed with the total scope of what the owners are doing to make this condo arrangement an attractive purchase.
I was most impressed with the owner who has installed high quality extra's to attact any potential buyers. It was mentioned earlier that there might be sound intrusion but all the walls are insulated with the best sound proofing money can buy. This extends to the floors with multiple layers of insulation so as not to hear noisey neighbors.
Kitchen appliances were top notch , bathroom flooring etc. In total I was impressed with the owners efforts to produce a high quality product for a high quality price.
What impressed me most was the owner himself. There was no question in my mind that he took a much more personal approach to the project by installing items like an expensive heating system that would not be part of your normal development. Obviously, the fact that he will be living downstairs in the ground floor apartment contributed to his meticulous management of the project.
In conclusion, although the price is a bit high, this may be a case were you are getting what you pay for.
Posted by: Junkman at November 5, 2007 9:12 AM
"His Maticulous management" Now that is funny. It is not right when an owner posts his own comments! You have never passed by during construction or spoke with the neighbors regards the miriad of poor workmanship & mishaps that occured from the hiring of sub par contractors to do the work. The finish may look good but the process in getting there was a nightmare for anyone like myself with a post overlooking the rear yard. It was so poorly run the rear masonry work & foundations took forever including 1 wall collapse. Perhaps the owner installed all the sound proofing in order for him to avoid hearing the owners complaints in the future. I recognize his g.c he is a super of a building on Pierrepont Street. Need I say more.....
Posted by: guest at November 8, 2007 7:39 PM
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