Windsor Terrace Condos Sell in a Heartbeat

People sure are suckers for UGLY construction.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:12 AM

Boy, those are some massive stoops going up to those second floor units. There's a good way to discourage the kids' grandparents from dropping in. Those steps are ridiculous.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:22 AM

"Parc Maison" it's not my architectural cup of tea, but if the new construction (which resonates with many buyers) is of a decent quality and the neighborhood is good (I don't know much about that part of Brooklyn, but the little bit I have seen I like) things will sell.

11:12 seems to have a good handle on how the market really is (despite the gloom and doom of the media).

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:26 AM

looks like somethiong out of Queens

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:29 AM

Yes, the townhouses could be more inspired, but bottom line is price, # of bedrooms, neighborhood (park, supermarket, butcher, bookstore), and school district matter a lot more than architecture.

Will

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:31 AM

while not beautiful, it does look well built and sturdy.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:35 AM

Truly ugly. I'm not sure Archie Bunker would even live there.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:39 AM

Queens.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:40 AM

Please. Those steps are not more ridiculous than many that you see on a brownstone.

These places aren't gorgeous, I'll give you that, but they fit right into the area very nicely.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 11:47 AM

Park Houses makes it sound like a housing project.

Oh wait...

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:06 PM

Not bad. But those damn windows...

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:26 PM

"looks like somethiong out of Queens"

LOL. I give my wife a hard time about her home borough all the time. I can't stand Queens. I can't stand the outskirts of Brooklyn neither (looks just like Queens). Only the region surrounding the historic districts will do. Basically the downtown side of Prospect Park.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:32 PM

Looks attractive to me BUT why don't architects maximize the corner location with lots of windows on the side - does more windows cost that much more then brick??

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:36 PM

I have never seen a real brownstone with a stoop like that. Look at it.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:37 PM

Isn't it premature to say the units "Sell in a Heartbeat" before they actually close?

And why on Heaven's earth would the developer hold onto seven units? Theories?

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:43 PM

12.36 - becuase the architect is a clown. All the light from windows on the side would have pshed up the price they could sell that one for.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:55 PM

All new buildings suck. Landmark everything. I love vacant lots. Buck Fush. Free Mumia.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 12:59 PM

The proportions are all wrong--the steps are not only ridiculously steep but they're also weirdly narrow, and the windows don't look like they belong on so massive a structure. They look like Lego windows. The brickfront is cheesy looking in person. I wonder, if the units sold so well and the market is softening, why would the developer choose to hold on to so many units? Think someone's fibbing.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 1:27 PM

Good location and price. I think they're perfect for Windsor Terrace. They're low-key and pretty classic-looking.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 1:36 PM

What's with those ridiculously tall stoops? You see them all the time in new-construction townhouses. Not only are they completely out of proportion with the rest of the building, they also so impractical. I'm suprised they pass code. Why not do a dog-leg stair or just have one street level entrance and an internal elevator?

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 1:45 PM

Not bad for new construction. Close to the park and the Prospect Park Zoo. Yay! Bears! I'd buy one, if I had the money.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 1:46 PM

2:04 maybe because the buyers are fed up with the park slope douchebags

and your 2 bedroom has only 1 bath and is old and in need or renovations

and the board of your coop is bunch of total
asshats that turn people off

or the economy sux and your place is overpriced

probably both

f brooklyn btw

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:13 PM

Queens is right!

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:21 PM

many people do not have the patience or time or imagination or money to deal with older coop properties.

new condos with new appliances and other amenities like 2 bath rooms and air conditioning and washer/dryer, etc... are easier to just buy and move into.

also, many people think coops are stupid - ie: no control on what you do with your own property.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:32 PM

where do you park? Next to the long stoop?

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:38 PM

I'm not sure why everyone thinks this building is ugly. Compare this with the builder's other property, the Simone! At least this building has some character, is more traditional looking, and blends in with the brick and brownstone of the neighborhood!

Yes, the stairs are steep, but they allow each resident his/herown entrance, making the apartment feel more like a townhouse, less like an apartment. I like it! I think it will bring a nice mix into the neighbohood--not just more richy investment bankers buying up expensive brownstones!

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:48 PM

As far as new construction is concerned, it's NOT the worst I've seen. That said, it's an interesting corner. Seems that some of the ugliest architecture can be found on Prospect Avenue and towards the Expressway. However, a block away on the opposite direction, one finds some of the most beautiful limestone townhouses in WT on Sherman Street.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:51 PM

Hey mdmh, where is your place listed - I might be interested in checking it out as I am in the market for a 2 BR.

Thanks!

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 2:58 PM

You can get a 2BR coop in prime Park Slope for around $600K. As for older Park Slope brownstone coop buildings being unappealing to some buyers as someone said above, since when? Those are widely considered some of the most beautiful blocks in the entire city and walking distance to great amenities. Windsor Terrace is very cute but it's not anything like brownstone Brooklyn, plus almost zero amentities without much promise of amenities arriving because there aren't many commercial properties available for rent in the neighborhood. It's totally residential. What's already there is what you get.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 3:18 PM

I would rather have one of these Windsor Terrace Units for 600K than some craptastic 2 BR in a nice Brownstone on a nice Park Slope Block. at the end of the day, waht I have seen out there for 600K in Park Slope is fit for a single person or couple maybe. it is usually poorly maintained, has only 1 tiny bathroom, and the second "bedroom" is really an office.

It all comes down to preferance - some prefer a spacious new apartment with fewer amenities, while others prefer a shabby hovel in the center of it all.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 3:25 PM

What you're describing is nothing like our old 2BR coop on a prime North Slope block, 3:25 which we sold for $600,000. I don't think seeing one coop in Park Slope makes you an expert.

(I'm not a Park Slope resident btw, just a realist who wouldn't pay $600 per square foot for no amenities and only an F train).

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 3:45 PM

I recently moved to WT, right around the corner from these apartments. If you ask me, I'm quite happy with how they turned out and surprised at how quickly the units went into contract (good news for me I guess).

Windsor Terrace is a great place to live.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 4:19 PM

I also recently moved to WT. It is a really nice hood.

The larger unit, the price can't be beat. The same apartment in PS would be $850,000. I have looked at a number of 2bedroom apartments/$600 range in Park Slope over the past few months, and they were pretty small spaces. Definitely not a family apartments.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:02 PM

mdmh - I went to your website and I really do like your place. Not sure if it is a solid family place as that second bedroom looks kinda small, but overall great location and decent space with a nice kitchen. You should have no problem selling for just under 600K. Just wait a few more weeks and I think you will start to see more buyers materialize.

Open houses were packed this weekend.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:07 PM

hideous, hideous. i am surprised they sold.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:13 PM

I guess most people don't know that those condos sit on an extremely contaminated site.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:20 PM

Having a good grocery and restaurants nearby does not increase noise substantially in your house or condo. You can benefit from good amenities in a neighborhood without it meaning you're living directly above a nightclub.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:28 PM

Guess Corcoran didn't like the people here questioning their pricing. The photos have been removed from these listings already. Or at least they're not loading for me.

That broker's facial hair is trippy. He looks like Lucifer.

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:33 PM

In Bensonhurst, the owners and/or tenants of these type of condos like to park their cars on the sidewalk next to the building. I've also seen tire stops (like the ones you see in parking lots to stop your tire when you perpendicular park) installed on the sidewalk for some buildings. Is this common all over Brooklyn?

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 5:36 PM

Not mentioned in the description is that the larger apartments also include a parking space behind the units, which is definitely a nice feature to have.

I bought one of these units, so I might as well explain my thought process. Look, its not the most beautiful construction in the world - you won't find it along side a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition - but it could be a LOT worse. I live on 15th street currently, and the recent constructions in PS can be downright hideous by comparison. The buildings on 15th between 7th and 8th that were completed a year or so ago... the new constructions on 12th btwn 6th and 7th... most of those huge 4th ave monsters... they all tend to look like institutional college dorms. This one at least looks like it belongs in the neighborhood. Better it not stand out at all than to stand out for the wrong reasons.

Ultimately I was more concerned with what's inside the apartment than what's outside. There's something appealing about owning the actual property (as opposed to shares in the coop), brand new and high-end everything (the appliances are high end GE stuff), heating and electrical systems that won't be tempermental. Not to mention that we're a city of walkers - all the fun stuff in PS just isn't that far away if you really want to go there for dinner, shopping, whatever.

Bottom line is that I'm more than doubling the size of my current PS apartment, I'm still more than close enough to all the things I like about PS, and I'll never have to worry about finding parking for as long as I live there. All for significantly less than I would have paid for the same apartment in PS. I'll gladly live with a less than thrilling exterior!

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 6:50 PM

Also, for those that can't find a listing on the corcoran site, they only have pictures on the 11th ave listing. (5 units altogether, 4 on Prospect Ave, 1 on 11th ave). Here's the link for them:

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1103512

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 6:56 PM

I think these buildings are hideous and stupid. They make no sense. Build a new apartment house or build a new house. What the hell are these? long-stair quasi houses? they could not be worse, plebian, irrational and the steps! how could those be legal?

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 7:38 PM

5:20 - What nonsense are you spouting about a contaminated site? While I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, PropertyShark says:

Toxic site data reported for this property:
NONE

Leaking Tanks and Spills:
NONE FOUND

Superfund, Brownfields and Solid Waste Sites:
NONE FOUND

Other Toxic Sites:
NONE FOUND

Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 8:02 PM

Now is a good time to ask you Browstone and 100+ year old wood frame biggots who despise all new construction, How are your heating bills working for you? Is that asbestos and empty space in between your walls doind it's job for you? Those oil furnaces should be cranking pretty hard about now.

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 1:36 AM

Hey, I love my old wood frame Victorian, but 1:36 is right - there are days I pine for my old life in my coop with my super to do the dirty work.

Unless your Donald Trump or some Hedge Fund manager, we all make choices. I can understand why someone would choose new construction. Have you ever been a single mom? Well, I've been there and in those days it was big coop building with a super. No questions.

My life has changed, and now I've got a great big house. I love it. But I'm renovating. And renovating. OK, so sometimes I hate it

SHoot me for being honest.

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 8:42 AM

Most of you people are so duplicitous and fickle it makes me laugh out load.

These boards are full of affordable housing Rhetoric and lamentation of the ugly monstrosities going up all over Brooklyn, then along comes this fairly contextual non-intrusive building that is relatively affordable and you all hate it so much.

Dont you get it - People dont build Brownstones and Town Houses like they used to anymore for a reason. Its vastly expensive, time consuming and inefficient.

It would cost millions to replicate the brownstones from days past and nobody would buy them except the very rich.

What do you guys think, these building are free? Do you think It makes sense for anyone to spend millions on land, material, labor, countless regulations manuvering through city permits only to build a 2,500 sq foot town house that no one can afford?

Get a clue.

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 9:22 AM

Property Shark wouldn't know about any contamination. The property was in contract for a while before this developer bought it. The first developer had to walk away after doing core testing. The new developer had private financing that either didn't know or didn't care. This wouldn't be available for Property Shark.

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 9:31 AM

It was an auto repair shop with a filling tank for 50 years. It could be toxic but I don't know.

Posted by: guest at February 13, 2008 4:43 PM

The reality is, while pretty bland, the prices are actually good. Finding a real 2br in Windor Terrace (forget about the Slope) -- one that can truly accomodate a family -- for less is near impossible. And if the price is similar then your probably dealing with lead paint, old wiring, lack of washer/dryer, no parking etc. I hate all of this new condo development goign on but I recently bought into one simply because it was the best deal overall.

On a side note, it's so tiring to read post after post of people dissing the design. To me that's sort of obvious -- the well-designed condos are few and far between. Really, save your petty predictable posts and our time.

Posted by: guest at February 14, 2008 1:58 PM

My thoughts: The stairs are placed on the outside of the building so as not to reduce the available floor area from the first floor. Stairwells take up space and if you can place it on the outside of the building as opposed to the inside that is more usable square footage that can be sold. Moreover the stairs, as someone else pointed out, provide exclusive entrances to each unit, which diminishes the feeling of being in an apartment building. Elevators would not be cost efficient for a 3 story building. ADA only requires that the ground floor units in a building under three stories be handicap compliant, thus the can get away with making the first floor ADA and not the upper floors. I just bought a condo from the same team at 11 Terrace Place. I did not buy in the Simone (the building next door to 11 Terrace) but I think that the developer did a good job with both 11 Terrace Place and the Simone in bringing an architecturally interesting design to the neighborhood which does not really compete with the character of the existing stock because matter of fact there is no prevailing character on that side of the prospect expressway, especially on the triangular shaped block that faces the cemetary where the two new buildings are located. Note the lots 11 Terrace and the Simone are located on was a previous bus parking lot and the Parc Maison (I hate the name almost as much as I hate the name Simone) was a previous gas station. So overall the modest condo developments that are built in those locations now are an improvement to the neighborhood. Actually the Simone and 11 Terrace Place evoke a sort of Bauhaus style of building combined with a traditional red brick feel prevelant in that area. Although these buildings are not oustanding the developer was sensitive enough not to just throw up typical fedders buildings. The design of Parc Maison, if you actually go to the site, actually works well with at the confluence of the street grid at that location, as Prospect Avenue proceeds down the hill toward Terrace Place the buidling adds symetry the existing building stock on that block, although it could use some more windows facing 11th and yes it seems odd to have not included more glass even in keeping with the existing brick and smaller window stock which the building is adjacent to. And yes there are a number of areas in Brooklyn, Park Slope included, where the stairs to the brownstones are just as tall as this building, and might I say they are some really beautiful brownstones at that, but they just happen to have very high stairs. That said as a developer you do not want to over do it in nabe like WT or you will miss the sweet price point. People do not want to pay more than 600/sq ft to live in WT and the building amenities and quality is obviously going to reflect that. I lived in Carrol Gardens for 5 years and YES living in Windsor Terrace is obvioulsy a comprimise in terms of proximity to the Manhattan and the amount of restaurants, cafe's, boutiques, etc at your fingertips. There is a buzz that is lacking in WT, which will be hard to create because of the lack of zoning commercial overlays in the area which prevents any influx of commercial activity, which is actually very attractive to lots of young families with children. That said as a first time home buyer without lots of capital you have to make comprimises in this city and it is king of disheartening that people would hate so much on developments that provide young striving professionals and families some sort of foothold in this increasingly hard real estate market to enter. If you want new, reliable building systems, space, convenience of off street parking, the possibility of a yard, storage space, new appliances, low common charges and abated taxes that new condos have to offer, and the peice of mind that you own real estate rather than shares, new condos in WT in the 400k to 600k range are an obvious choice for many with modest means. And in reality compared to how poor many new yorkers truly are in the outer boroughs and parts of Manhattan, purchasing a 500k apartment is really not that modest. So everyone stop being class elitists and psuedo architectural snobs and look for the good in life rather than being ubber critical. How many posters on this thread have even seen these buildings in person, in the context of the neighborhood? I am sure some have, but others that have not and are spouting things like "queens" as if that is supposed to be some sort of derogatory remark or judgement on the millions of salf of the earth folk that live in Queens, have no authority to opine. By the way, have any of you checked our Forest Gardens, Douglaston Manor, Jamaica Estates or Holliswood. If you have you probably would not be ripping so hard on Queens. Some of the most beautifal examples of early 20th Century Tudors exist in those neighborhoods. Open your minds and stop being so ignorant.

Posted by: guest at February 14, 2008 4:10 PM