Co-ops
April 29, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 1 Pierrepont Street
Co-op apartments don't come much finer than this. This south-facing unit at 1 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights has four bedrooms, two fireplaces and killer Manhattan views from the common terrace. It looks to be in pristine condition (though we coulda used some photos of the kitchen and bathrooms) and on a fairly high floor. The listing ain't for the faint of pocket book however: The asking price is $3,450,000 and the monthly maintenance is $3,518. Anyone know what percentage down is required at this building?
1 Pierrepont Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
April 28, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 430 Clinton Street
This 25-foot-wide floor-through co-op at 430 Clinton Street has three bedrooms and some nice old details to recommend it. (It's also been stripped of original details in some places.) We're not wild about the kitchen or the cheap-looking bi-fold closet doors either, but those are easily changed. The maintenance is pretty low too: $774 a month. The asking price of $1,450,000 seems a little nutso though. After all, no square footage is provided in the listing, but it's hard to see how this is more than 1,200 square feet, and could be as small as 1,000 square feet. Nice building and nice location and all, but come on. There's mention of an open house on the listing but no time specified.
430 Clinton Street [Brooklyn Bridge] GMAP P*Shark
April 24, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 175 Eastern Parkway
We've always had a thing for this six-story, 78-unit limestone co-op at 175 Eastern Parkway, whose facade is set at a 45-degree angle to Eastern Parkway right across from the Brooklyn Museum. Apartment 4J, which just came on the market as an FSBO, is a 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom that is attractive in a classic, understated kind of way. All things considered, we think the asking price of $595,000 seems pretty reasonable.
175 Eastern Parkway [Craigslist/FSBO] GMAP P*Shark
April 21, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 9 Pierrepont Street Amended
How much is the ground floor of a prime Brooklyn Heights brownstone worth? Only $600,000 judging by the latest wrinkle in sales strategy at 9 Pierrepont Street. Early last week the listing hit the market (with no interior photos) as a duplex asking $2,995,000. The duplex listing is still up, but there's a rather similar triplex listing for $3,5995,000 that just came to our attention. (Interior photos are now up on both listings.) The difference? The ground floor doctor's office. Seems like a relatively small amount for a floor of a brownstone on Pierrepont!
9 Pierrepont Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
Co-op of the Day: 9 Pierrepont Street [Brownstoner]
April 18, 2008
Gowanus Green: Bells, Whistles, and Rain Gardens
The preliminary site plan for Gowanus Green, the development that a consortium led by Hudson Companies will build next to the canal, is shown above, and it includes plenty of interesting amenities. The developers intend to have retail space in the ground floor of the buildings fronting Smith Street, a bar and restaurant near 5th Street and the canal, a bike shop on the ground floor of one of the Smith Street buildings, a daycare, a wellness center, an amphitheater, a playground, and a rain garden. The rain garden "incorporates some of the storm water features we're using and is supposed to be an interpretative educational feature that draws people in from the playground," according to Michael Wadman, a principal for Hudson Affordable Housing. The wellness center, meanwhile, will probably have things like doctors' offices and acupuncturists, says Wadman, that will be partially geared toward the senior population that will live in some of the affordable units set aside for them in the development. Here's a full breakdown of the number of units and height of the buildings currently being planned:
Building A: Low-income rental with 94 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building B: Mixed-income condo with 47 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building C: Low-income rental with 136 units; 6-story base with two setbacks to 10 stories.
Building D: Mixed-income rental with 149 units; 8-story base with two setbacks to 12 stories.
Building E: Mixed-income co-op with 150 units; 6-story base with three setbacks to 12 stories.
Building F: Mixed income co-op with 61 units; 8-story base with setbacks to 12 stories.
Building G: Mixed-income condo with 90 units; 6-story base with three setbacks to 12 stories.
Building H: Mixed-income condo with 45 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building I: 3-story community facility with space for the Gowanus Dredgers.
Density is concentrated near the canal, which meshes with City Planning's draft framework for rezoning the area, says Wadman. Timing-wise, what needs to happen first is the remediation of the property, which is being spearheaded by National Grid. The city is hoping that clean-up begins this year and is completed sometime in 2010, "which would allow us to get all our approvals in order and go through ULURP," says Wadman. The total budget for the project is $285 million, and the 70 percent of it that has affordable components will receive subsidies. Wadman says that right now the plan is to build in two phases, with the buildings fronting Smith and 5th streets, which will primarily be the low-income housing, completed first.
Hudson Companies Chosen to Develop Public Place Site [Brownstoner]
Renderings of the Related and Hudson Public Place Plans [Brownstoner] GMAP
Vying Public Place Plans Get an Airing [Brownstoner]
Gowanus Roundup: Public Pl. Bids Whittled, Builders Bullish [Brownstoner]
April 16, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 9 Pierrepont Street
Almost $3 million for less than half of a brownstone? Only in Brooklyn Heights, kids. The owners of this lower duplex at 9 Pierrepont Street, one of The Heights' most desirable streets, are betting that the combination of the parlor floor grandeur, 27-foot width and landscaped garden will justify the asking price of $2,995,000. As far as we can guess, the total square footage on the apartment is somewhere close to 3,000 square feet. If the interior is top-notch, $1,000 a foot's not a crazy place to start; the maintenance of $1,252 is pretty reasonable for the space. Of course, they have to compete against entire houses in the neighborhood that are asking the same price.
9 Pierrepont Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
April 14, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 415 St. John's Place
What's a garden worth? That question will be implicitly answered by the sales process of this ground-floor unit at 415 St. John's Place in Prospect Heights. The apartment itself—a two-bedroom, one-bath affair—is quite nice, but it's asking $645,000 and is only about 900 square feet. The twist, however, is the private yard that comes with the apartment. This outdoor space is over 800 square feet. The maintenance is an entirely reasonable $750 per month. Think they'll get their price?
415 Saint Johns Place [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
April 10, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 469 Eastern Parkway
This one-bedroom at 469 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights is a beautiful, generously-sized apartment. Unfortunately, we don't think the days of a $400,000 one-bedroom (okay, $399,000 in this case) are here yet. After eight weeks on the market, the price was just shaved by $11,000 and we suspect it has further to go. That said, it'll make someone very happy some day. What do you think of the layout?
469 Eastern Parkway [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
April 1, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 279 Sterling Place, #1B
We've already professed our love for this1887 Renaissance Revival building at 279 Sterling Place in Prospect Heights. Now one of the lower duplexes is on the market. The main living area on the first floor of the former public school is pretty stunning: double-height ceilings, massive windows, lotsa light. The sleeping quarters downstairs are less spectacular but feel less subterranean than one might imagine. In all, the space is 2,222 square feet and is asking $1,299,000, or a little less than $600 per foot. Realistic?
279 Sterling Place [Brenton Realty] GMAP P*Shark
Architecture 101: Public School That Went Private [Brownstoner]