« Co-op of the Day: 145 Hicks Street, #B37 StreetLevel: New Lure in PLG »

August 18, 2009

House of the Day: 315 Garfield Place

Probably the nicest house for sale in Brooklyn right now, 315 Garfield Place hit the market last September asking $8,500,000 and was reduced to the current price of $7,750,000 back in June. While that's a tough number in this market (or any, really), consider that the 26-foot-wide brownstone has almost 7,000 square feet of space and has been immaculately renovated. Still, at this rarified price point, it's more about whether some banker or movie star is going to fall in love and have to have it than rationally comparing it to price per square foot comps around in the area. And given that the current owners paid less than $4 million for the house (pre-renovation, presumably) back in 2006, they can probably afford to be patient.
315 Garfield Place [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
Closing Bell: 315 Garfield Place, The Movie [Brownstoner]

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I've been in love with house since I first saw it.

I actually like it better than the former Connelly/Bettany mansion on PPW, I think.

Aren't there any more rich Google employees or celebs out there looking for a truly stunning piece of architecture...?

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 1:17 PM

I love this house, even though I'm not loving the "Main Kitchen". I like how they call the rooms over the stairs the "Hall Room"; I used to rent that room out as a "Bedroom", but of course the tenant couldn't fit more than a twin bed in there. If only I had a spare $7 million to spend on a house right now, this might well be it.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 18, 2009 1:22 PM

WOW!
gorgeous. I like the kitchen, but not the wood-paneled room - but this place is gorgeous!

Posted by: gemini10 at August 18, 2009 1:26 PM

pure house porn. stunning. can't comment on the price since it's beyond what this avg joe understands - ie prices over $4M is beyond me

Posted by: more4less at August 18, 2009 1:28 PM

It's in the listing, but the video tour of the house is really fun...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785302607?bctid=1887748195

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 1:31 PM

I love that BHS titles this listing "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" when it appears to be a case of "TO BUY AND TO FLIP."

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 18, 2009 1:47 PM

Guys this house was so well done. It is my favorite block in the slope. the house next door is great(313),also friends 311 was just totally rennovated inside and out and that house is great . So 3 great house in a row maintained to the 9's.

Posted by: tartag at August 18, 2009 1:47 PM

Posted by: tartag at August 18, 2009 1:48 PM

I love the chandelier (sp?) in the dining room. Anyone know where I can get one of those?

Posted by: new2hood at August 18, 2009 1:49 PM

are those doors LPC compliant? the dining room flrs are WOW

Posted by: more4less at August 18, 2009 1:50 PM

"I love the chandelier (sp?) in the dining room. Anyone know where I can get one of those?"

In the trash outside this house after they've sold it to the new owner who hates everything old...?

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 1:51 PM

i love porn

Posted by: MoneyForNothing at August 18, 2009 2:02 PM

Video's good. Wish they went a little slower, tho. Do you agree that the same building would list for 30 million in Manhattan?

Posted by: Nomi at August 18, 2009 2:06 PM

perfect!.....except for the white paint on the front door. What's with that?
It is a huge house,ample for a celebrity and his/her entourage. The only problem is that celebrities like garages so they can come and go without being seen. Madona's new house on the UES has what? a four car garage? That's why she bought it I'm sure.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 2:07 PM

perfect - except the horrible white door!

Posted by: gkw at August 18, 2009 2:09 PM

This listing is so stale it's crunchy. Sellers are going on an extended fishing expedition.

And what's with only 5 interior pictures?! Lastly, nice walk-in closets BUT lame "master bathroom" (no tub and no double sink and no window). Small garden because of extension.

Posted by: Mr Joist at August 18, 2009 2:11 PM

"and what's with only 5 interior pictures?!"

There's a video link on the listing which gives you a tour of practically the whole house. You don't think that's better than photos?

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 2:13 PM

"Video's good. Wish they went a little slower, tho. Do you agree that the same building would list for 30 million in Manhattan?"

Oh, was that pre-crash prices? But still.

Posted by: Nomi at August 18, 2009 2:14 PM

Wow! Now that's the brownstone fantasy! That's what compells people to sign away their financial future for a wreck in the hood only to bailout midreno.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at August 18, 2009 2:16 PM

A house like this might go for for 10 million on the Upper West Side and potentially 15 or 20 on the UES. Maybe about the same in the West Village...

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1480572&ohDat=

similar?

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 2:19 PM

"There's a video link on the listing which gives you a tour of practically the whole house. You don't think that's better than photos?"

If I thought it was better I would not have said so. The video didn't show baths and was way too fast. Plus, pausing the video to see details brought up an Open House NYC overlay.

A listing like this (5 floors) should have 20+ pictures. Mechanicals detail, etc. I'll never understand $4+ million listings that don't have more than a dozen well-lit & staged photos. Buyers at this price point want a full and complete presentation online. Actually, at the price point there should be a separate website for this house.

Posted by: Mr Joist at August 18, 2009 2:21 PM

Here's one in the West Village for 17 million....it's roughly the same square footage but a totally different style...

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1265368&ohDat=

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 2:23 PM

Mr. Joist,

If I remember correctly, the Connelly/Bettany mansion only had a handful of photos also. Perhaps in these higher echelon homes, the owners actually think they they *might* sell to a celebrity figure and want to add some mystery to the home so we don't have to see exactly where it is Sarah Jessica Parker might be taking a shit one day?

I have no idea...I'm just throwing it out there.

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 2:25 PM

I see a white door and I want to paint it black.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 2:26 PM

11217, I know that West Village house. I always thought it was a new house built to look old. I love that big bathtub under the skylight and the original Keith Harings, but that's about as far as I go. Personally, if I want modern, I'll buy a loft. If I buy a townhouse - especially for $17 million, which, IMHO is a tad overpriced - I want original detail.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 18, 2009 2:35 PM

Super fancy, no doubt. Although I don't dig the 6-over-6 windows (too neo-colonial) or the white door with side lights. The knotty pine panelling in the library also leaves me cold.

Gotta say sometimes real estate speak is just LOL funny, viz, "Enjoy the depth and timbre of plaster lath walls and ceilings." I assume they mean that plaster lath walls are very soundproof. But meanwhile I'm having visions of house hunters arriving to view this place with a pair of drumsticks in hand so they can beat the walls and experience the timbre for themselves!

Posted by: grand army at August 18, 2009 2:36 PM

Funny thing is that there are houses all over the country as nice as this and even more so. There are a few in Europe too. :)

For those of you hating the library panelling, you have absolutely no taste in old houses whatsoever. :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 2:41 PM

I agree with DIBS (as I so often do) - I love the library paneling.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 18, 2009 2:43 PM

I was going to buy it but that white door was a deal breaker.

Posted by: kuroko at August 18, 2009 2:44 PM

Does anyone who lives nearby know if it still has the white door?

I could have sworn I walked by this house the other day and don't recall a white door....

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 2:46 PM

11217 -- "A house like this might go for for 10 million on the Upper West Side and potentially 15 or 20 on the UES. Maybe about the same in the West Village..."

Yes, I thought 30 million was overstating it. A lot.

Dave -- "For those of you hating the library paneling, you have absolutely no taste in old houses whatsoever. :)"

This is where good paneling belongs. It's a library!

Posted by: Nomi at August 18, 2009 2:49 PM

All that money and they couldn't manage to put a loo on the parlor floor?

Posted by: DeLepp at August 18, 2009 2:57 PM

Pine paneling was frequently used in Georgian houses in the UK but it was designed to be painted over. Even when stripped (historically incorrect but often very attractive), it has a much nicer color and patina than what's visible in this photo. I accept that website photos can be misleading but I just don't find this at all attractive -- it looks too new and better suited to a traditional colonial house in the suburbs. Sorry, Dibs, but I remain unmoved.

Posted by: grand army at August 18, 2009 3:00 PM

Not very extravagant Master Bedroom. The second floor should be one gigantic master bedroom with the additional two floors above it more than enough for additional bedrooms. I'm underwhelmed by the lack of a true magnificent ensuite bathroom. That little WC attached to the master bedroom just doesn't cut it.

I think this issue and the lack of a powder room on the parlour floor points to a bad architect.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:04 PM

Thank you DIBS, I could not have said it better myself. If you don't like historic panelling in a CPH Gilbert house, you ain't got no taste.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 3:05 PM

Sorry, Dibs, but I remain unmoved.

Posted by: grand army at August 18, 2009 3:00 PM

Good thing because as deLepp pointed out, there's no powder room on the parlour floor.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:06 PM

With regard to no bathroom on the parlor floor, in this house, the parlor floor is used for formal dining and the front parlor room. That's it.

The Living room and kitchen are located in the "English Basement" and has a bathroom.

In a house like this where the parlor looks to be strictly used for entertaining, I'm not so sure I'd want a bathroom so you can hear Prime Minister x take a dump while I'm eating my foie gras and caviar.

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:11 PM

great house but overpriced--international celebrities don't fight over brownstones in brooklyn

Posted by: bklplebe at August 18, 2009 3:15 PM

11217, you shouldn't really mix foie gras and caviar. We need to go out some night so you can learn a few things. :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:18 PM

That is one heckuva lucky au pair that gets the 4th floor of this beauty.

Posted by: CHMomma at August 18, 2009 3:19 PM

"great house but overpriced--international celebrities don't fight over brownstones in brooklyn"

Let's see, Norah Jones just paid 5 mil for a brownstone.
Sandra Oh recently bought a brownstone in Boreum Hill.
Maggie Gyllenhall lives in a brownstone about 5 blocks from here. Michelle Williams and the former Heather Ledger live in a brownstone in Boreum Hill. Lili Taylor lives in a Brownstone in Brooklyn. Not sure anyone fought anyone for any of those, but they are out there...

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:20 PM

I hate foie gras AND caviar Dave! Give me escargot anyday though!

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:21 PM

it's a gorgeous mansion, as was the house on Willow Street which sold for $5,000,000. Is Park Slope more expensive than Brooklyn Heights?

Posted by: Maly at August 18, 2009 3:23 PM

What about truffles, 11217??

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:25 PM

Maly, you raise a good point. BH is much smaller than PS and geographically they are very close. Certainly there are streets in BH that because of their name will always command a premium but there are, as we see here, grander houses in PS than many of the ones in BH. There are also fewer 25' wide houses in BH and more of the narrower older Federal styles because BH IS older than PS.

I think this is worthy of a lot more investigation, speculation, discussion, baiting and vitriol. :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:28 PM

Repainting the front door with very good paint could add as much as .0006% to the cost. That's the straw that broke the camel's back and a real deal breaker :-)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 18, 2009 3:28 PM

Umm... is there really much difference between $8.5 million and $7.75 million?

I mean, would the buyer be different? If you can afford the lower, can't you afford the higher?

Numbers just seems to lose meaning after a certain point. Does the word "mortgage" even enter the equation with properties like this?

Posted by: tybur6 at August 18, 2009 3:28 PM

"it's a gorgeous mansion, as was the house on Willow Street which sold for $5,000,000. Is Park Slope more expensive than Brooklyn Heights?"

Maly, here are the break down of price per square foot for the largest sales of the week today:

Brooklyn Heights: $694 psf
Fort Greene: $750 psf
Park Slope: $556 psf
South Slope: $708 psf
Clinton Hill: $444 psf

So yes, in fact South Slope is more expensive than BH. As is Ft. Greene. :)

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:29 PM

**DROOL**
I must marry a rich guy.
Not loving the master bath tho. Where am I going to soak after shopping at the food coop, while waiting for rich husband to come home?
Dave a master bedroom floor thru would have been SWEEEEET!!!!

Posted by: Bitter Renter Girl at August 18, 2009 3:31 PM

11217, love the parlor flr bathrm post. hehehe

Posted by: more4less at August 18, 2009 3:33 PM

11217, you are instigating now.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:37 PM

That's why I put the smiley face. :)

But I meant what I said about the parlor floor. In a more typical brownstone, the parlor is the most used floor for living, but in this one, it's the floor below that and having a totally open parlor level here for entertaining seems best to have left out the bathroom.

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:39 PM

11217 is a bubbling fontain of information today. Not only is Park Slope more expensive than Brooklyn Heights but it has also recently overtaken that neighborhood in its proximity to Manhattan.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 3:40 PM

Minard:

#1. I was being sarcastic, thus the smiley face. Clearly South Slope is not more expensive than Brooklyn Heights. Just because I happen to prefer PS doesn't mean that I don't get BH's prestige. I may be a PS shill, but I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. (That one was for all the BH seniors out there) :)

#2. Someone said that it takes them 40-45 minutes to get to their midtown office from Brooklyn Heights and I merely said that it takes me the same time to get from my home in Park Slope to my office on the UWS.

Not sure what the hell the person in BH is doing wrong that it takes them 40 minutes to get to midtown, but considering that many people say a big selling point of BH is its proximity to Manhattan, I don't know why Tyburg can get from Ditmas Park to Midtown quicker than said person...

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:45 PM

Whoever buys this place will be exceptional people with exceptional lives...

Posted by: infinitejester at August 18, 2009 3:46 PM

Considering how frail many prime ministers are I hope who ever buys this place hires "carriers" so that drunks and the fralies don't fall down and crumple at the bottom of the stairs after rich meals and buckets of wine.

Posted by: DeLepp at August 18, 2009 3:46 PM

On the parlour level powder room issue...I'd have one there for when I'm there alone drinking Armagnac in the library and need to drain the vein but if there were guests, I'd probably agree that its best they use a different floor and that "closet" would remain locked.

Certainly a parlour powder room is ONLY used for #1 and NEVER for #2 anyway.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:47 PM

I can get from Stuyvesant Ave to 34th Street in 25 minutes. I kid you not.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:49 PM

If Winston Churchill were smoking and drinking in that library he'd just ask for a bucket to pee in anyway. There'd be porters to take it away.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:51 PM

"A listing like this (5 floors) should have 20+ pictures. Mechanicals detail, etc. I'll never understand $4+ million listings that don't have more than a dozen well-lit & staged photos. Buyers at this price point want a full and complete presentation online. Actually, at the price point there should be a separate website for this house."

I keep chuckling over this one. My thinking is that buyers at this price point are not wasting any time online looking at photos! More likely than not, the chosen brokerage is dealing with the prospective high end buyer via the buyer's personal assistant(s), etc. At the point the prospective buyer gets directly involved, there's no need to look at online photos to figure out if the house is a match. Instead, it's on a list of 2 or 3 "A" list properties which have been thoroughly vetted by the "service class."

At least that's what I imagine. After all, this kind of listing -- and the kind of people who will seriously entertain it -- are far removed from my direct experience!

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 18, 2009 3:51 PM

Oh I believe it, Dave.

The other day I made it from 103rd Street and Broadway to Grand Army Plaza in 35 minutes.

And once I got from the 7th Avenue Q stop to 42nd Street in 23 minutes.

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 3:52 PM

11217, agreed! I can walk from Brooklyn Heights to Manhattan in under forty minutes (and that has come in handy during blackouts and other subway-stopping phenomena).
I take issue though with your posting of square foot costs.
While it is a reasonable measure in commercial leasing and cookie-cutter residential construction, it is very misleading when applied to brownstones. For one thing, a large amount of sq. footage is dedicated to hall and stair, it is very possible that a 1200 sq ft apartment or loft has more usable floor area than a 2000 sq. ft. brownstone. But more importantly, people buy old brownstones for their beauty and detail (at least most people) square footage costs are pretty meaningless especially as the top floor of say a five-story brownstone is pretty under-used in most cases. square footage values are used by realtors, my apologies if you are one, more to mislead than to inform.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 3:54 PM

He was joking, Mssr. Lafever. Why is it these 19th Century archtects are all bereft of a sense of humour?

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 3:56 PM

11217, some days I can get from BH to midtown (near GCT) in about 30 minutes door-to-door, but most days it takes me 40-45. It all depends on how the 4 and 5 are running. For reasons unclear to me, they are notoriously slow (and hot and overcrowded) and there is almost always a long wait between trains.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 18, 2009 3:58 PM

The only thing I don't like is the front door... Great property...

Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at August 18, 2009 3:59 PM

Dibs, Get your mind (or your head) out of the commode!

Posted by: grand army at August 18, 2009 3:59 PM

As Minard Lafever said, however, I can walk from home to City Hall in Manhattan in 45 minutes, via the Brooklyn Bridge, which is how I commute home most nights, and for which purpose proximity is key for me.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 18, 2009 4:05 PM

Magnificient house with great details and a beautiful garden. That white door is an unfortunate scar but can be easily remedied with satin black paint. Is that white door even LPC approved??
Anyways we wish that kitchen had period cabinets instead of the faux loftish open shelves meant for rentals....ah sorry for sounding snobbish but this place is priced @ that level.

Sorry 11217 but we cannot disagree more on the need for @ least a powder room on the Palor floor....no amount of rationalizing is going to sooth such an obvious deficiency. Could you imagine having the Premier running down steps to use the loo? Remember lots of wine is consumed during those parties right? Can you say diuresis? What happen to protocol? Oh in a house of this level the loo will be sound insulated and the Toto toilet will produce minimal noise on flushing..custom engineering.

DIBS we are with you on the paneling in the library..it feels right, looks sophisticated and reeks of old world savoire faire. Can you imagine smoking a Cohiba esplandidos in there after inking a serious $$ deal...ah la vie en rose...hahahaha.

Posted by: pierre de taille at August 18, 2009 4:15 PM

So, in a 7,000 + square foot mansion death match, who wins? Prime BH or prime PS?

Posted by: Maly at August 18, 2009 4:16 PM

Mr. DIBS, it is hard to keep a sense of humor when one has been dead for a hundred and fifty years. In my day a sense of humor was seen as a character flaw. Why do you think we faced our houses with the darkest and dourest masonry ever quarried? When you see a brownstone do you think: the people who built this must have been a lot of fun?

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 4:23 PM

Mssr. Lefevre:

Those times at the turn of the Century were filled with the guilt of the end of the Victorian age. When I think of a brownstone, I fantasize as to what may have gone on inside, behind the closed doors and lace curtains, beyond the prying eyes of society. Buggy whips and manacles come to mind in dark gas-lit boudoirs painted in deep hues of maroon and aubergine.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 4:29 PM

"I take issue though with your posting of square foot costs.
While it is a reasonable measure in commercial leasing and cookie-cutter residential construction, it is very misleading when applied to brownstones. For one thing, a large amount of sq. footage is dedicated to hall and stair, it is very possible that a 1200 sq ft apartment or loft has more usable floor area than a 2000 sq. ft. brownstone. But more importantly, people buy old brownstones for their beauty and detail (at least most people) square footage costs are pretty meaningless especially as the top floor of say a five-story brownstone is pretty under-used in most cases. square footage values are used by realtors, my apologies if you are one, more to mislead than to inform."

Considering that I live in a 350 sf shoebox dripping with brownstone detail, I do understand you.

As Dibs said, I was joking.

And no, I'm not a real estate agent.

Yet. :)

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 4:49 PM

Mr. DIBS you are thinking of a specialized sort of house. Not an ordinary, er, non-commercial house.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 18, 2009 4:51 PM

quote:
Those times at the turn of the Century were filled with the guilt of the end of the Victorian age.

(he should know! he was there!) :)

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 18, 2009 5:19 PM

If I owned this house I would walk around in a suit 24/7, and dine out in grand style, and generally be a gadabout.

Then I'd start a TV talk/interview show from my basement, and pretend to be Dick Cavett, whom people in college said I reminded them of.

Posted by: infinitejester at August 18, 2009 5:53 PM

I'd film porn in this place.

Posted by: 11217 at August 18, 2009 5:56 PM

Quote: ***keep chuckling over this one. My thinking is that buyers at this price point are not wasting any time online looking at photos! More likely than not, the chosen brokerage is dealing with the prospective high end buyer via the buyer's personal assistant(s), etc. At the point the prospective buyer gets directly involved, there's no need to look at online photos to figure out if the house is a match. Instead, it's on a list of 2 or 3 "A" list properties which have been thoroughly vetted by the "service class."***

I think you'd be surprised. If the buyers are old money or just old, then you're right. But do you think the Google millionaire who bought the Connelly mansion didn't spend days researching the house, using Zillow, PShark, Gmaps, etc.? The same goes for some controlling young rich hedge fund type. The new money and younger types want information NOW and access to lots of pictures, floorplans, data, etc. In any event, I think it does the sellers a disservice to restrict information and assume an assistant will do the homework.

Posted by: Mr Joist at August 18, 2009 5:59 PM

With digital cameras these days I bet there's a lot of porn filmed in many homes these days, 11217. In fact just last night, oh, never mind.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 18, 2009 6:13 PM

Then I would run for office, because to those to whom much is given, much is expected.

Posted by: infinitejester at August 18, 2009 6:19 PM

Okay, guess I'll be the contrarian here.

This house is - for this amount of scratch - rather unremarkable.

Sure it's big, but the facade is boring, the stoop is a yawn, the doorway is unremarkable, and the interior detail is underwhelming.

Where's the WOW?

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 18, 2009 6:38 PM

International diplomats don't use the loo during dinner parties. They pee in the bushes on the way to and fro.

Posted by: mopar at August 18, 2009 7:20 PM

"Michelle Williams and the former Heath Ledger . . ." (11217)

There's something wrong with this wording. He's dead, not a newly married society girl.

Posted by: Nomi at August 19, 2009 1:10 AM

"As Minard Lafever said, however, I can walk from home to City Hall in Manhattan in 45 minutes, via the Brooklyn Bridge, which is how I commute home most nights, and for which purpose proximity is key for me."

Man, you guys are some slow walkers. Bridge is 1.2 miles, I make it in 20 minutes flat, can go faster and cut it down to 17 if i'm in a hurry. Manhattan Bridge about 22 mins,.

Posted by: denton at August 19, 2009 7:00 AM

Nomi, so funny.

Posted by: mopar at August 19, 2009 12:47 PM

I walk couple days a week home from manhattan east 40's to near Bergen St station on Smith in 1 1/2 hours (using Manhattan bridge).

Posted by: Petebklyn at August 19, 2009 3:36 PM

« Co-op of the Day: 145 Hicks Street, #B37 StreetLevel: New Lure in PLG »

August 18, 2009

House of the Day: 315 Garfield Place

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