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December 17, 2008

Foreclosure of the Week: 101 Kent Avenue

101-Kent-Avenue-1208.jpg
This building at 101 Kent Avenue is one of those foreclosure listings that makes you scratch your head and wonder how it came to this. A 5,800-square-foot loft building with partial water views on a part of North 8th Street recently rezoned for residential development? The lien on the building is just $1,028,533. What gives? The auction is scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow at 360 Adams Street, Room 274.
101 Kent Avenue [PropertyShark] GMAP




Posted by Brownstoner at 12:37 PM | Comments (26)
Categories: Foreclosure, Williamsburg

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Comments

That's some kind of green building, there ...

Posted by: cwbuecheler at December 17, 2008 12:45 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Chia Pets Gone Wild!"

Posted by: Biff Champion at December 17, 2008 12:46 PM

wow nice!!!

Posted by: armchairwarrior at December 17, 2008 12:51 PM

Aw, you beat me to it.

I wonder how long it took for the ivy to totally engulf the building.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at December 17, 2008 12:51 PM

The front, that is. Kinda scary/cool. Amazing how the ivy bypassed the windows, where it couldn't cling, and then kept going up.

Looks like mutant, people eating ivy....

Posted by: Montrose Morris at December 17, 2008 12:54 PM

The owner got the bill for the repointing job needed because of the ivy and had to file for bankruptcy.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at December 17, 2008 1:10 PM

besides the ivy.

if i had money hehe i would so get the building.

Posted by: armchairwarrior at December 17, 2008 1:19 PM

LOVE the ivy.

Not all vines are damaging to the mortar or facade, you just have to choose the right vines. And it's ecological. Keeps the building cool in Summer. Cleans the air. It's a new (old) thing in green building, like green roofs.

Posted by: traditionalmod at December 17, 2008 1:43 PM

They couldn't get financing for the work and no would buy it...

Posted by: shillstoner at December 17, 2008 1:47 PM

This place appears to be a good deal if the mechanicals are in good condition. Would make terrific loft spaces and the Ivy is actually cool looking to us:)

Posted by: pierre de taille at December 17, 2008 1:48 PM

My new task in life:
To plant ivy at the base of all Feder buildings!

Posted by: bayridgegirl at December 17, 2008 1:49 PM

That ivy looks awesome. What kind will grow like that without damaging the masonry?

Posted by: Frederick Law Homestead at December 17, 2008 1:50 PM

When I lived in Wburg in the early 90's, I always wanted to buy this building. It was the only thing down on the water that was not falling apart.

Posted by: billyboomer at December 17, 2008 1:55 PM

Back in 98, I knew someone that lived in the building. It was a sought after apartment in the hood - across from the burning waterfront. I have a vague memory that the owner - or the person that rented the apts - was also an owner of a local cafe. But it's been a long time and I could be confusing it. wish i could buy it!

Posted by: brooklyn_G_girl at December 17, 2008 1:57 PM

BRG that is an excellent idea. It will beautify lots of the hideous new construction in a cheap and environmentally smart way. Bravo BRG!

Posted by: pierre de taille at December 17, 2008 1:58 PM

Isn't this where NAG has its offices?

Posted by: g man at December 17, 2008 2:05 PM

"My new task in life:
To plant ivy at the base of all Feder buildings!"

Unfortunately, the Fedders buildings will fall apart long before the ivy starts to cover it up.

Posted by: Biff Champion at December 17, 2008 2:08 PM

Frederick, the vines with sticky disc like pads are the ones to choose to avoid damage to mortar. Like go for Boston Ivy not English ivy.

Also Virginia Creeper has the adhesive pads and its Wikipedia page explains why to choose that type of vine, and tells how to remove the vine without causing damage to the surface (you have to kill the vine at the root first):

"Virginia creeper can be used as a shading vine for buildings on masonry walls. Because the vine, like its relative Boston ivy, adheres to the surface by disks rather than penetrating roots, it will not harm the masonry but will keep a building cooler by shading the wall surface during the summer, saving money on air conditioning. As with ivy, trying to rip the plant from the wall will damage the surface; but if the plant is first killed, such as by severing the vine from the root, the adhesive pads will eventually deteriorate and release their grip."

Posted by: traditionalmod at December 17, 2008 2:55 PM

BRG's suggestion is awesome. I can see it, architecture-terrorists sneaking in the night planting Boston Ivy at the base of all the ugly buildings in Brooklyn.

Posted by: traditionalmod at December 17, 2008 2:57 PM

P.S. you see the vines used to cool a wall or building in CA quite a lot (like the Fred Segal store to name one people might know). I really could have used that on my old house there. The stucco wall and tile roof that faced West turned my house into an oven because there were no large trees there. It was horrible.

Posted by: traditionalmod at December 17, 2008 3:03 PM

Headline:
Montrose and BRG arrested for trespassing.

The two 'friends' were seen on private property banging their heads against air conditioners. They proceeded to sprinkle an unknown substance against the base of the building.

They tried to flee the scene in a an old Cadillac and were captured heading towards a 'fringy' neighborhood. Ivy seeds were found in small clear plastic bags on their being.

They were identified by 'Benson'.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at December 17, 2008 3:07 PM

Those photos are a few years old (or at least the one of the front is). There is a building going up next door that would be visible in that front view.

As I recall, the ivy grew over the course of two or three years, sometime in the late 90s. This stuff (boston ivy, I think) is all over the neighborhood and will cover a wall in a couple of seasons. Hard to get rid of if you want to (and you might want to - even though it doesn't get into the masonry like other ivies, it still keeps a lot of water on your building, which is not where you want the water to be).

The second floor of this building has some crazy beamed ceiling. Really nice building, really nice location. (And yes, NAG is on the ground floor.)

Posted by: WBer at December 17, 2008 3:59 PM

like it as is

Posted by: 11211 at December 17, 2008 6:34 PM

as fun as the discussion about the ivy is......the stuff died about 2 years ago when they tore down the buildings next door (for uber-development 111 Kent) So, yeah, no more ivy. That stuff was displaced too.

Posted by: rtg at December 18, 2008 10:30 AM

Just checked, the amount owed was paid by the owner and this proceeding is not going forward.

Posted by: thegeneralist at December 18, 2008 11:32 AM

Just checked, the amount owed was paid by the owner and this proceeding is not going forward.

Posted by: thegeneralist at December 18, 2008 11:33 AM

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