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July 27, 2009

Condo of the Day: 505 Court Street, #10C

505-Court-Street-0708.jpg
This two-bedroom penthouse at 505 Court Street looks pretty good on paper so we're having a hard time understanding why it didn't sell last year when it was on the market for $899,000. After being pulled in May 2008, it's just been re-introduced at the new and improved asking price of $749,000. Combined monthly carrying costs are $1,391, which is higher than you'd expect for a 1,233-square-foot pad in a newish condo. What's also weird is that the listing is using the same photos as an old listing for a different penthouse apartment (#10G). So which apartment are the photos really of?
505 Court Street, #10C [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Condo of the Day: 505 Court Street [Brownstoner]





Posted by Brownstoner at 12:40 PM | Comments (34)
Categories: Carroll Gardens, Condos

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Comments

Newish? This building has been marketed as coops and then as condos for 25 years!

Posted by: BH76 at July 27, 2009 12:46 PM

I took a look at this about 9 months ago, penthouse was nice (I believe it was where the sales office was located). Price has come down to fairly reasonable, although with high maintenance. And the locations is borderline Carrol Gardens, really close to Gowanus

Posted by: dcorreale at July 27, 2009 12:46 PM

I looked at these apts back in Spring 2007 when they were wildly overpriced. The construction and all the details are absolutely cheap and shoddy and the building is super dreary. It kind of sent me into a rage at the time - such high prices for such crappola. So it's been a pleasure to watch the prices drop on natefind.

Posted by: gkw at July 27, 2009 12:47 PM

isn't the subway station (smith and 9th st) going to be under construction for ~2 yrs? which means that commuting is going to be a bear.

Posted by: CG_ups at July 27, 2009 12:53 PM

Why aren't these condos selling? Shoddy, shoddy work. Particularly in common areas and on the exterior of the building. I love the location and that they're lofts in a brownstone neighborhood, but the reality is I wouldn't touch these with a ten foot poll unless prices come down much, much more.

Posted by: kvnbklyn at July 27, 2009 12:54 PM

The floor plan is confusing. What is the "loft" up the stairs? And what is the Vaulted Ceiling over?

Looks like both bedrooms and part of the living room, but why is a ceiling shown on a floorplan as part of the upper "loft"?

Odd...

Oh, and it's Corcoran, so I suppose that 1200 sq. ft. is more like 950 sq. ft. And that is not the most desirable location in the world, or Carroll Gardens for that matter.

Posted by: northsloperenter at July 27, 2009 12:56 PM

On the subway situation - my friend who works for the city in brooklyn waterfront development mentioned that the entire G/F south brooklyn stretch will be in repair for a number of years, and to stay away from the south slope/carrol gardens G/F line (e.g. do not move to that area if you will be reliant on it).

Anyone else have intelligence?

Posted by: saminthehood at July 27, 2009 1:03 PM

I always look at these when I am on the F train and think to myself wow I can see right into this family's window and see what they are eating for dinner

anywhoo - cool bldg from afar that maintenance is RIDICULOUS!

Posted by: gemini10 at July 27, 2009 1:08 PM

About the G/F lines, you can read this daily news article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/02/24/2009-02-24_f_train_to_frustration_f_g_subway_riders.html


"But for about four months at the beginning of 2011, F trains will skip Smith-Ninth Sts. and only northbound G service will be available there. Starting around the summer of that year, the station will be completely closed - for about nine months, according to the agency.

During one period of the project, only northbound trains will be stopping at 15thSt.-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway. During another, only southbound trains will stop there."

Posted by: northsloperenter at July 27, 2009 1:15 PM

sam - my understanding is that just the one station (smith-9th st) will be closed for the duration of the construction. The G train which currently terminates at this stop will skip this stop along with the F train, and continue along the F line for a few stops. If anyone has corrections or additional info, drop it on me.

Posted by: CG_ups at July 27, 2009 1:17 PM

the great news is they aren't doing any actual work to the station during the time it is closed - just track work and the bridge. So you'll still be able to see daylight through the stairs and get rained on inside the station!

Posted by: kramer at July 27, 2009 1:26 PM

a lot of the apartments in this building look right out onto the BQE, which is depressing. they have double glazed windows, so the noise from the highway you hear with the windows shut isn't terrible, but forget about ever having the windows open on a nice day! it's loud and stinky.

Posted by: funkymonkey at July 27, 2009 1:31 PM

i live pretty close to this building and i actually walk to the carroll st stop at 2nd pace instead of that horrific smith/9th stop. Too dirty and crappy.

Posted by: CGmodern at July 27, 2009 1:42 PM

"...at 505 Court Street...we're having a hard time understanding why it didn't sell last year when it was on the market for $899,000...monthly carrying costs are $1,391, which is higher than you'd expect...."

505 court street (wedged between elevated gowanus and F train) + $1391 cc --> complete understanding why it didn't sell at $899K

Posted by: NorthHeights at July 27, 2009 1:55 PM

Shoddy construction in a crappy location.

Yep, it's deeply mysterious how a 2BR didn't snag $899k.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at July 27, 2009 2:11 PM

"we're having a hard time understanding why it didn't sell last year when it was on the market for $899,000"

He serious?

"Combined monthly carrying costs are $1,391"

Before amortized loss.

***Bid half of peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 27, 2009 2:30 PM

If this is a "newish" condo, why on earth do they still have window unit ac's?

Shouldn't anything built after I don't know...let's say 1990 have included central air?

We sure this is new and not a loft conversion?

Posted by: 11217 at July 27, 2009 2:33 PM

not a new building, just relatively newly renovated.

Posted by: woodys at July 27, 2009 2:41 PM

Ah, ok.

Thanks.

Posted by: 11217 at July 27, 2009 2:44 PM

I actually find this place sort of appealing, but then I don't share most people's dislike of the gowanus area. It must have really incredible views of the surrounding area and downtown manhattan. It is very close to Gowanus, but the neighborhood is still fairly nice and brownstone-y, consistent with the feel of Carroll Gardens, not industrial like Gowanus proper. The soon-to-be-terrible subway service, however, is a huge problem.

Posted by: ninethreesix at July 27, 2009 3:24 PM

We looked at this building about 4 years ago. Agree with previous comments. Shoddy construction, borderline neighborhood and views of the always beautiful BQE made the prices they were asking totally unreasonable.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 27, 2009 3:53 PM

I used to frequent this building regularly - friends of mine rented on the 9th floor overlooking the BQE. What someone else said earlier - they could never open their windows because of truck noise (Hamilton ave exit) and black soot. Not to mention huge south facing windows which basically made the place a greenhouse. Their A/C elec bill was thru the roof.

Posted by: bowl of dicks at July 27, 2009 3:58 PM

I looked at these about 6 months ago and the big windows and views are beautiful but I hate the location (too close to the highway and I agree with other posts about the Smith-8th station being terrible) and was also scared off by terrible reviews of the building around the internet and by word of mouth. My understanding is that this was a really crappy conversion. The high maintenance is about fixing these sins of the past. And you know the old adage that maintenance never ever goes down, it just keeps going up. For the neighborhood the maintenance is crazy high. Some of the units in this place have been on the market for years.

Posted by: perach at July 27, 2009 4:01 PM

Curbed used to have some ongoing feature about this building with lots of complaints from the people who were renting there and dealing with the sponsor during conversion. The common complaint seemed to be shoddy renovation work, although it did seem as if some of the posters were a bit biased.

However, I know lots of families who live there -- affordable 3 bedrooms and zoned for a very desirable public school. Most people use the Carroll St. subway station, only about 6 blocks away (much shorter than the walk from many Cobble Hill homes), since the main entrance is at 2nd Pl. The location isn't bad if you don't mind looking over the BQE which some apartments do (and some look over the F train subway as it goes above ground). That part of Court Street has become very hip, with some great restaurants (Frankies, Buttermilk Channel). This apartment is simply priced too high for the market and maintenance right now, but when it's lowered enough (and I don't have a clue how low it needs to go) someone will definitely grab it.

Posted by: CGfan at July 27, 2009 5:29 PM

When we looked here two and a half years ago there were also some rent-stabilized renters still in the building. Seemed sort of weird to drop a million dollars on an apartment and have your next door neighbor living in the same spot for a small fraction of the price.

Posted by: commenter3 at July 27, 2009 5:43 PM

It's Gowanus. Amazing how being next to a Superfund site hurts values.

Posted by: havelc at July 27, 2009 6:05 PM

superfund represents the end of gowanus, and the beginning of PaCoGo, brooklyn's boomtown of 2028.

Posted by: slick at July 27, 2009 6:08 PM

Also, I wouldn't call this area "Gowanus". Most people consider Gowanus to mean near the Gowanus canal, which are the blocks around Bond St. This is much closer to Red Hook, not Gowanus, but is actually in Carroll Gardens albeit the border.

Posted by: CGfan at July 27, 2009 7:20 PM

For endless discussion of Court Street Lofts, see about 20 threads on Curbed! PS: I went to a party there and the apartment was actually pretty nice. It faced Court Street, not the BQE, which helped.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at July 27, 2009 9:38 PM

CGFan,

Gimme a break.

Its 1 1/2 blocks from the canal. You could open a window and throw a rock into the canal from the units facing Smith St.

Go there and see from yourself. Google map it if you are lazy.

It is NOT Red Hook and only maybe is it Carroll Gardens.

Posted by: Prodigal_Son at July 27, 2009 10:24 PM

As an owner in 505 I can tell you that many of these comments are off base. We face north and east, and have wonderful views. The 8 ft. windows fill our apartment with light and blue sky by day, and a picturebook skyline by night. We looked around for years before buying here (on the downside of the bubble), and felt lucky to find a place with 12ft ceilings and wide-open spaces. Very different then some of the claustrophobic, cut-up spaces that we saw time and again. I haven't been in any apartments that face the bqe and perhaps there are issues there, but on this side of the building it's all roses. As far as the renovation, it's not shoddy at all. The kitchen and bathrooms are modern. Certainly there's no old world Brownstoney charm, but there's lofty charm, and that was fine with us. Regarding the 9th st. f train, it is accurately described as a pit. We always walk to the Carroll street stop, which is fairly close, so won't be inconvenienced by the renovation. The immediate area is looking up. Buttermilk Channel is right across the street, and Prime Meats and Frankies just up the road. Would be hard for us to be happier here.

Posted by: 505 owner at July 31, 2009 1:21 PM

One other comment regarding the post on 505's common areas. They are actually quite nice. The laundry room could use some work, but that's being done. The lobby, on the other hand, looks terrific. And the courtyard is well-maintained and great for kids to run around in. It's a rare thing in the city to have that amount of outdoor space so close.

Posted by: 505 owner at July 31, 2009 1:38 PM

I don't understand why this building gets so much criticism. My husband and I spent two years looking for apartments and we bought our place here in the spring. We LOVE LOVE this building and this neighborhood. The apartments have 18 foot ceilings and cement walls so you can't hear your neighbors. All the kids and their parents play together in the gated courtyard. The super and his staff are incredibly responsive. The neighborhood is fantastic--Buttermilk Channel, Prime Meats, Fat Cat Wines, etc. The school district is PS 58--one of the best in Brooklyn. It's also incredibly difficult to find a doorman building in this area, and the doormen in this building know everyone by name and watch out for the kids. It's a wonderful place to live. Maybe those of us who live here will just keep it a well-kept secret...

Posted by: EAHM at September 13, 2009 3:52 PM

I hear that owners have received a letter notifying them of an assessment that will increase CC by 30% for next 3 years as a result of defects that led to leaks/water damage.

Posted by: Brown Stoner at September 14, 2009 2:49 AM

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