« What's To Become of the Prince Street Deli? House of the Day: 708 President Street »

July 22, 2008

Condo of the Day: 44 Cheever Place

We're not sure how we've managed to go almost four years without mention of the 34-unit converted school building at 44 Cheever Place in Cobble Hill. I might have something to do with the fact that only one apartment changed hands last year and none have so far this year. There is, however, one on the market right now and it looks to be on course to set a record price for the building, even if it doesn't achieve its full asking price of $1,050,000. The fourth-floor, double-ceilinged unit succeeds at creating a modern space within a pre-war setting, in our view. (It's also been styled pretty darn well for the listing photos!) There was an open house last Sunday in the 1,142-square-foot unit space. Did any readers make it by?
44 Cheever Place [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/5571

Comments

Why do I hear Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice Theme" when I look at the interiors?

Posted by: Fjorder at July 22, 2008 12:54 PM

Because you have no taste.

Posted by: billyboomer at July 22, 2008 12:59 PM

How tall is the second floor "loft area"? I'm guessing about 6 feet based on photos.

Posted by: Johnny at July 22, 2008 1:10 PM

I think this is a smart lay out, although the living room is smaller than it looks thanks to strategically small (and hopelessly uncomfortable looking) furniture.

Posted by: gkw at July 22, 2008 1:17 PM

Looks like a nice place, but I would be very surprised if it goes for the ask, which translates to $919 per sf. The loft area looks a bit taller than 6 feet, Johnny, but it's hard to tell exactly. For some reason, the second bedroom (with the cribs) looks narrower in the pic than the floorplan suggests.

Posted by: Biff Champion at July 22, 2008 1:23 PM

The crib bedroom is downstairs and is small--10x12. So the upstairs bedroom is the master, but the bath is a walk away.

Posted by: cmu at July 22, 2008 1:48 PM

The first floor bedroom is open to the loft above? Not a very functional layout.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at July 22, 2008 1:52 PM

White kitchen? I guess the new owner can't make any messes or have a partner/spouse/child who does. And the soot from the BQE is just an added bonus.

Posted by: 11233 at July 22, 2008 2:10 PM

This is one of the few apartments that I've seen listed since we started looking at 2brs in Brooklyn last year that i've been a little jealous of (we love the place that we bought but it needs some work). I was curious so I clicked on the mortgage calculator and it seems like you can only put 100% down!!!

Posted by: columbiatch at July 22, 2008 2:12 PM

Thanks for the correction, cmu. I mistakenly thought the room with the cribs was 12' wide as opposed to 10'.

SharkSlope, I believe both bedrooms have total privacy (then again, I misread the floorplan once already).

As for the pics, the first master bedroom shot looks like an obvious stretch job judging by the space between the two windows at the top versus the space between them at the bottom.

Posted by: Biff Champion at July 22, 2008 2:18 PM

setting aside the merits of the apartment itself, this listing is a great illustration of good staging and effective real-estate photography.

Posted by: z at July 22, 2008 2:20 PM

There's Biff going on and on again about "tops" and "bottoms". Dude - we don't care about your sex life - ok?

Posted by: Make My Heights the P Heights at July 22, 2008 2:23 PM

Don't forget that you get a parking space! On the other hand, they conveniently leave off the "view" of the BQE (if you can see Manhattan from the window, you can also see the highway, I presume).

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 22, 2008 2:25 PM

When I moved from Brooklyn Heights to Carroll Gardens in 1994, I looked at a 2 bedroom rental in this building for about $1,400-$1,500 per month, with a parking space included. I liked the apartment, but the layout was a little off and you could hear some hum from the BQE. Now I could own it for a mere $5,000-$6,000 per month.

Posted by: Boerum Hill at July 22, 2008 2:29 PM

Commenting only on the staging, I agree that the overall layout of the apartment is well served by the photography and the staging.

Just for discussion purposes, I wonder if they lose or gain by going for that very modern, minimal look. Since most people seem to judge a house or apartment by what they see in someone else's decor (when furnished), how many people are really enticed by all that white - white ceilings, floors, walls, window frames.... AHHHHHHH, it's so cold, not to mention impossible to keep clean, even if you are a neatnick.

Obviously, my preferences are showing. I need color and texture, and not just from a throw pillow. Does anyone think they might have been better served by perhaps a painted or wooden staircase, some curtains or shades, more art, some plants and a couple of rugs? Would that appeal to more potential buyers, who could more easily see their own stuff in the space?

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 22, 2008 2:35 PM

I believe there is at least one , and maybe two other listings in this same building. I was supposed to go to the open house of a one bedroom here last weekend but couldnt make it and recall that there was also a 2 bedroom in the same building that was slightly out of our price range. (And over a million is most definitely out of my price range). Curious that there would suddenly be three listings at the same time?

Posted by: verovee at July 22, 2008 2:42 PM

I'm guessing they'll get a little below asking but the place is really fantastic....love the staircase and it's perfect for a small family

Posted by: BSandCHBorderBaby at July 22, 2008 2:50 PM

Like i alluded to, the interior looks like an elegant (to many), newish condo in south Florida (BTW—thanks, billyboomer, for the clever retort. Meh.) Anyway, I agree with Montrose that the place needs something organic to breathe some life, vitality into it.

Posted by: Fjorder at July 22, 2008 2:58 PM

I'm ready to go back to school with this one, or another one in my budget in the building. . I made it to open house although I was really there in building to see a smaller 1 BR. According to the listing sheet, this one is 1140 sf plus a 336 sf mezzanine, and I was told the building is selling other parking spaces for $60,000 (or you can rent for $300 a month). So the price is really more like $990K, (minus the parking spot at 60K) which comes to about $670 psf if you count the mezzanine, though I'm not sure how much you can count it since it's not fully navigable - 100%? 50%?

Posted by: BrooklynBandana at July 22, 2008 3:06 PM

Per the earlier post, there are at least two other listings current in the building.

Corcoran presently has another listing in the building:
http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?ListingID=1312206&Region=NYC

And another:
http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1307889

Brooklyn Heights RE has this not-so-well-staged offering:
http://www.carrollgardensinfo.com/homepage.htm?in_listing=5437041&ref=Trulia

This unit appears to have been sold a couple of months ago by another agent (I forget who had it), but keeps turning up on Trulia as somebody’s bait n’ switch lure.
http://www.trulia.com/property/1056049201-44-Cheever-Pl-505-Brooklyn-NY-11231

Nice place, and in the PS29 district, to boot. Parking nice. BQE, not so much.

Posted by: jcoifman at July 22, 2008 3:08 PM

Is there an elevator in the building? It's on the fourth floor - that's a lot of stairs to lug up groceries and a stroller.

Posted by: Brooklynnative at July 22, 2008 3:47 PM

Also, forgot to mention, the one bedroom I looked at on third floor faced BQE but was pretty quiet due to extra set of windows, but this one faces Cheever Place and someone opened the window upstairs to check the sound level and you couldn't hear BQE at all, it was very quiet. What I want to know is, can you build a mezzanine like this one in the smaller one bedroom and maximize the square footage and use? i mean, if they can make windowless home offices into children's bedrooms in Dumbo, can't they do that here with a mezzanine ? Does anyone out there have experience with this?

Posted by: BrooklynBandana at July 22, 2008 3:52 PM

Brooklynnative, the listing indicates it's an elevator building.

Posted by: Biff Champion at July 22, 2008 3:59 PM

Yes to elevator. Plenty of strollers too. But given parking lot -- assuming you can get the space ---and Fairway nearby that's where I would do most of my shopping.

Posted by: BrooklynBandana at July 22, 2008 4:01 PM

On the 5th floor, 503, 505, and 506/507 are for sale, another on the 4th floor listed here and a 3rd floor apartment is for sale. I looked at 503. It was nice, but I'm only interested in a 3BR and it was 2BR with an extra space that didn't really work as a bedroom.

Posted by: an at July 22, 2008 9:31 PM

is anybody else unable to pull up the halstead page?

Posted by: cmar7785 at June 17, 2009 2:49 PM

oops... i meant corcoran? I cannot see the listing when I click the link. It says "cannot be found"

Posted by: cmar7785 at June 17, 2009 2:56 PM

If you are put off by a little hum from the BQE, you belong in Scarsdale.

Posted by: sam at June 17, 2009 7:21 PM