Windsor Terrace
May 1, 2008
House of the Day: 41 Howard Place
While this house at 41 Howard Place in Windsor Terrace is far from a steal on a per square foot basis, we suspect its charm and (relatively) unimposing price tag of $1,350,000 will lure a buyer fairly quickly. (That, and the bragging rights of your block having been featured in a Jack Nicholson movie.) Another reason for optimism: the almost identical 19 Howard Place sold for $1,370,000 last September.
41 Howard Place [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
April 21, 2008
New Plans Revealed for Windsor Terrace Playground
Last month the Prospect Park Alliance showed off its new design ideas for the revamp of the Vanderbilt Playground at a meeting that the Windsor Terrace Alliance has extensively recounted. The park alliance hopes to finish design work on the project by the end of this summer and start working on a year-long renovation in fall '09. There's a lot of cool stuff planned for the playground, which has an entrance at Vanderbilt and Prospect Park Southwest, including a wooden climbing structure with a continuous running area for older kids, multiple water features, and an enclosed area for tots.
Vanderbilt Playground meeting with the PPA [Windsor Terrace Alliance]
A New Look for the Vanderbilt Playground [Brownstoner] GMAP
Rendering from the WTA.
February 19, 2008
A New Look for the Vanderbilt Playground
Windsor Terrace’s Vanderbilt Playground in Prospect Park (the entrance is at Vanderbilt and Prospect Park Southwest) may eventually look something like the model above, which the Prospect Park Alliance presented to the community last fall. The facility is slated to get a facelift within the next couple of years pending a lengthy city approval process, according to the Windsor Terrace Alliance. Among the proposed changes: The wooden climbing structure will be replaced with a structure made of bridges, cables and two slides; there will be a large dome made up of a web of ropes with a slide coming off it; and a 30” tall x 11’ long water wall will be created in the tots’ section. Construction on the project is likely to begin in spring 2009, and the Prospect Park Alliance will be presenting modified designs to the community next month.
Renovation of Vanderbilt Playground [WTA] GMAP
Photo of model from the Windsor Terrace Alliance.
February 12, 2008
Windsor Terrace Condos Sell in a Heartbeat
The nearly complete Parc Maison in Windsor Terrace doesn’t feature Brooklyn’s most exciting architecture ever (not execrable, just a little uninspired for a prime corner lot in our opinion), but the condos sure sat well with buyers. Eight of the development’s units went into contract after only two open houses this fall, according to Corcoran broker Andrew Booth. (The project’s developer is hanging on to the remaining seven units for the moment, though those may also eventually hit the market—Booth claims that if they did, “we’d sell them within a week.”) The condos are in townhouses and range in size from 1050 to more than 1600 square feet. Prices went from $599,000 for the smaller 2-bedrooms to $699,000 for the biggest 2-bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and it seems like those prices hit the sweet spot for Windsor Terrace buyers. Surprised?
Parc Maison Listings [Corcoran] GMAP
1101 Prospect Avenue [StreetEasy]
Development Watch: 1101 Prospect Avenue [Brownstoner]
February 5, 2008
Bidding War at 538 16th Street?
The wind hasn't gone completely out of Brooklyn market's sails, at least if one house in Windsor Terrace is any guide. According to a tipster, 25 families came to see the 1,800-square-foot house at 538 16th Street this weekend and six of them ended up making offers—at or above the $999,999 asking price. Granted this price seems low to start with for a house with some charm just a block from Prospect Park but, then again, it also looks to be in need of some updating. So what do you think: An aberration or a sign that the pessimists have it all wrong?
538 16th Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Photo by Kate Leonova for PropertyShark
January 23, 2008
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Rendering by Prudential Douglas Elliman
Coming Soon: Morton's Steakhouse
333-335 Adams Street, between Tillary and Willoughby Streets, Downtown Brooklyn
As previously reported, Morton's Steakhouse is set to open in the Marriott on Adams Street. The The New York Observer posted the steakhouse's most recent press release, along with this rendering of the exterior—which might be just garish enough to keep locals true to Peter Luger. (What's up with those rainbow-colored rectangles? Could they be giant lights?)
Now Open: Hotel Delmano
82 Berry Street, near N. 9th Street, Williamsburg; 718-387-1945
Both Eater and Grub Street are raving about this new looker of a cocktail lounge, opened by the owners of Union Pool. (Note: It's just a bar—it's not a hotel.) The Grub Streeters are digging "mixologist Jeff Hanson’s $9 to $12 renditions of the Last Word, Corpse Reviver No. 2, the Hemingway Daiquiri, and the Seelbach Cocktail." And Eater says "this is Brooklyn with the ante upped."
A New Spot in the Uncommon Grounds Space
50 Henry Street at Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights
"Just this month it came back to life as The Wine Bar at 50 Henry Street. The space has had a complete makeover and a full bar has been installed along with a matching liquor license, impressive wine list and a chef formerly of Mario Batali’s Babbo behind the stove." [The Brooklyn Paper]
After the jump: Brooklyn's own Diner Journal expands and Windsor Terrace gets a new restaurant...
January 9, 2008
Co-op of the Day: 147 Prospect Park Southwest
We think this prewar two-bedroom co-op at 147 Prospect Park Southwest is looking like a decent buy at $574,000. The sponsor unit has beautiful parquet floors, beamed ceilings and stripped wood moldings; it also has a separate dining area. In addition, the monthly maintenance of $727 seems reasonable for a 1,000-square-foot space. Too bad the sponsor put in such a crap kitchen though.
147 Prospect Park Southwest [Orrichio Anderson] GMAP
147 Prospect Park Southwest [NY Times] P*Shark
January 8, 2008
Windsor Terrace: Hot or Not?
An article in the latest issue of the Real Deal looks at Windsor Terrace and sees lukewarm prospects for the neighborhood. Why so? Well, to begin with, one broker says prices in the area are falling. An Elliman broker who recently sold three Windsor Terrace townhouses says prices are down 7.5 percent, and that properties are slow to sell. Other brokers, meanwhile, say a lack of new development in the neighborhood means there’s not enough inventory. And Windsor Terrace home values may fall even more if prices drop in the Slope. “My feeling about Windsor Terrace is that as Park Slope goes, the Terrace goes,” says Zev Keisch, a broker at Bond New York. “If Park Slope shows a slowdown, then people who were compromising by going to Windsor Terrace to be in that area don’t necessarily have to – and can look at their first choice, Park Slope, with a greater chance of a successful buy.”
Windsor Terrace on Edge [The Real Deal]
Photo by Betty Blade.
December 12, 2007
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
A New Bar and Music Venue on 7th?
"According to a couple of sources, 7th street between 2nd and 3rd aves will soon be home to a new musical venue run by the good folks at Union Hall. Given the problems that I've heard about with their current location - i.e. noise complaints, it makes sense to open something in a location where noise is not an issue." [Food of the Future]
Luger's Mystery Room Opening Soon
178 Broadway, Williamsburg; (718) 387-7400
"Upon walking into Lugers in Brooklyn tonight I had noticed a big plaid curtain to the right of the bar. Looks as though the mystery room which I have inquired about many times before on the site is set to open by weeks end. The manager Tom has told me the it will open by the end of the week but he still has to see it to believe it himself, the project has been ongoing for over 5 years and has been held back numerous times due to environmental issues. Right now the room is filled with tables and chairs and is completely lit with lights." [Eater]
Tanoreen Will Relocate Within Bay Ridge
7704 Third Ave., nr. 77th St., Bay Ridge; 718-748-5600
"Tanoreen has decided to expand to accommodate all its new admirers, acquiring the lease on a nearby space twice its size. 'We're really tight on the weekend, and our lease is up. So now is the time to make the step,' chef-owner Rawia Bishara tells us. 'It will be four to five months, but we won’t be closing; we're going to move right from the one location to the other one in late spring.'" [Grub Street]
The best jelly doughnuts ever, a new wine shop in Windsor Terrace, and a mysterious new development in the Slope...
December 7, 2007
Condo of the Day: The Residence at Windsor Terrace
This new condo on the Windsor Terrace-Kensington border hit the market a couple of months ago, with Corcoran touting its “elegance, affordability and style.” How so? The eight units evidently have seven-foot windows, crown molding, Jacuzzis and “luminous white marble countertops”; in terms of affordability, the pricing is a touch higher than at other new developments in the area, like Park Circle. Two-bedrooms are asking between $509,000 and $560,000, or around $575 to $600 a square foot. (At Park Circle, which is about seven blocks away and has larger units, prices are running in the mid-$400 to mid-$500-a-foot range.) Since there are no interior pics on Corcoran’s website, it’s hard to judge whether the finishes transcend the ho-hum exterior and justify the prices. Anyone scoped them out?
Fort Hamilton Pkwy Listings [Corcoran] GMAP