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PLG House in Contract for $1.85M
A four-story, single-family brownstone at 36 Rutland Road is in contract for $1,850,000 in an all-cash deal, a tipster tells us. The building is semi-detached and includes an adjacent lot with a detached two-car garage. The ask was $2,100,000. If the sale goes through, it could set a record for the price of a single-family house in the area. As far as we know, the highest-recorded Prospect Lefferts Gardens sale is 52 Midwood for $1,665,000.
36 Rutland Road Listing [Fillmore]
Photo by Fillmore
05/08/2013 10:15 AM
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House of the Day: 160 Maple Street
This attractive limestone in Lefferts Manor was designed by architect Axel Hedman in 1909, according to the listing. The triple parlor floor has plenty of built-ins, panelling and fireplaces. There are original marble sinks in the passthroughs, as well as a new marble bath, a sunroom, and a beautifully updated kitchen with granite and a travertine backsplash. It’s close to Prospect Park too. What do you think of it and the $1,585,000 price?
160 Maple Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
05/01/2013 1:30 PM
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Rental of the Day: 268 Winthrop Street
Car owners take note: This Prospect Lefferts Garden rental at 268 Winthrop Street comes with a parking space. Otherwise, the interior of this three-bedroom, two-bath apartment is pretty nice, although the exterior leaves something to be desired. We do like that alcove kitchen. What’s most interesting to us, though, is the price: $2,500 a month for 1,100 square feet of space. Not too bad, eh?
268 Winthrop Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
04/29/2013 12:30 PM
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Past and Present: The House at Nostrand and Parkside
A look at Brooklyn, then and now.
New York City is, by and large, built on the ruins of its past. If left to the powerful real estate concerns of this city, there probably would only be a handful of old buildings around, the iconic masterpieces, and everything else would periodically be razed in order to build anew. The city has been like that since the Dutch landed. New Yorkers like new, newer, newest. Brooklyn is a little different; her history always more residential and tied to the land, but even here, the progression from Dutch farmhouse, to wood framed buildings, to masonry structures, to modern glass and steel can be found in just about every neighborhood. So with that in mind, when I saw the photograph of the wood framed house, with a family on the porch, I was quite certain this house was long gone. I was very wrong.
First of all, it is rare to have an address to work with. Many of the photographs in the collections of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Museum are unmarked, and their locations unknown, unless there is a very recognizable landmark in the photo. But this one came to the Brooklyn Museum with an address, the corner of Parkside and Nostrand Avenues, in Flatbush. Today, we’d consider this the outer reaches of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, or perhaps Wingate. The photograph itself gives us some clues as to the general year it was taken, and when you go to the maps, which I love to do, the mysteries begin to unravel. (more…)
04/26/2013 10:30 AM
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Let’s Play Flipper, Part 2
So, the listing is up for the Prospect Lefferts Gardens two-family we told you about last week. That was really fast. But our flipper did not just turn around and put the property back on the market without doing some work first. He cleaned it out, exposed the floors, did some plaster work, painted, sandblasted the limestone stairs, cleaned out the back yard, inspected the mechanicals and brought them to working order — including the gas lamp outside — and put on a new roof. Here is what he had to say about his first project:
The thinking is that the property will speak for itself and a buyer would want to apply their taste to the kitchens and bathrooms (although I personally would do simple subway tile, etc.). A prospective buyer I spoke to said that they would want to avoid paying for a second place while they renovate so I’m making the garden floor immediately livable.
The first open house is this Sunday, April 28. How do you like the new look? And do you think they will get their price of $995,000?
04/24/2013 11:00 AM
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Co-op of the Day: 125 Ocean Avenue #4F
We’re loving this FSBO listing at 125 Ocean Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens that hit the market last week asking $345,000. It’s huge for a one-bedroom (1,000 square feet) and has a wonderful prewar feel. What’s more, it’s right across the street from Prospect Park. Going, going, gone!
125 Ocean Avenue #4F [FSBO] GMAP P*Shark
04/18/2013 12:59 PM
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Let’s Play Flipper
A first-time developer contacted us with an interesting proposal: He had just purchased a two-family in Prospect Lefferts Gardens; could we post photos and floor plans and ask the Brownstoner community what they would advise doing with the property? A little background: Our correspondent works full time in development for a company that builds large multi-unit properties in the New York City area. This is his first venture on his own. He’s moving very fast: He saw a listing for the building on a Tuesday, got in to see it the following Sunday, made an offer on the spot, and closed two weeks later. He’s already met with an architect and lined up a work crew. In fact, by the time this post goes up, he might have already sold the building! He’s debating whether to turn around and sell it as is at a slightly higher price, or to renovate first and sell for more. He noted the structure is in fine shape, as are the walls. There are inlaid and parquet floors, as well as built-ins and other original details. The above photo shows one of the bedrooms as seen from the dining room. The developer asked us not to mention the exact address or what he paid for it. What would you do with the property if you owned it? Click through to the jump for more photos, the current floor plan, and the original building blueprints. (more…)
04/12/2013 10:00 AM
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Rental of the Day: 125 Maple Street
125 Maple Street is back on the rental market, after asking $8,800 a month back in 2011. Now this five-bedroom home is asking $7,000 a month. The listing uses the word “majestic” to describe the pad and we’d have to agree. It’s got a detailing left and right, including a gold-leaf ceiling, stained glass, and the original mirrors to the house. And don’t forget the solarium, a formal dining room, a backyard, wine storage, and a laundry room. Phew! So would you pay $7,000 a month to live in a house like this in Prospect Lefferts Gardens?
125 Maple Street [Citi Habitats] GMAP P*Shark
04/10/2013 12:30 PM
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Closing Bell: PLG Arts Presents at Tugboat
Longtime Prospect Lefferts Gardens resident, photographer, old-house enthusiast, and Brownstoner commenter Bob Marvin will be curating a PLG Arts group show at Tugboat Tea Company at 546 Flatbush Avenue. The show goes up tonight, and there will be a reception Thursday, April 4, from 6 pm to 9 pm. The show features the work of 22 local artists in many media, including paintings, photographs and sculpture. The exhibit is the beginning of an ongoing monthly collaboration between Tugboat and PLG Arts. The nonprofit is about six years old and has produced art shows, theater, a crafts market and murals in the neighborhood. Above, “Flowers” by Otto Neals. Click through to the jump to see more highlights from the show. (more…)
04/01/2013 4:00 PM
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Walkabout: Brooklyn’s Architects – Benjamin Dreisler
Quite a few of Brooklyn’s most prolific and successful architects have a German background: the Berlenbach’s; father and son, Rudolph Daus, William Schickel, and the most prolific of all; Theobald Engelhardt. To this list, we can add another; Benjamin Dreisler. His work appears mostly in Flatbush and Long Island, and he was a busy man, designing hundreds of homes in those areas, while also contributing to the architectural landscape of Brownstone Brooklyn. He also was quite active in Brooklyn’s architectural enclaves, leading architectural organizations, and contributing to the general public’s knowledge of just what it was an architect did. This is his story.
Benjamin Dreisler came from Bavaria, and was born there in 1849. He came to the United States in 1881. We don’t really know what he was up to until 1895, when his name appeared as a builder, with an office in Flatbush, on Avenue C and Flatbush Avenue. By 1896, his name starts appearing as an architect in the Real Estate Record and Builder’s Guide, which tracked the building trades in the New York City metropolitan area.
A great deal of Dreisler’s work was in Flatbush. Between 1899 and 1911 he designed sixteen homes in Dean Alvord’s Prospect Park South. His homes also appear in other parts of what we call Victorian Flatbush. In Midwood South alone, he designed 20 frame cottages, all typical of his suburban style, middle class housing work. In a newspaper advertisement, he wrote that he had designed over 400 such cottages across Flatbush, Long Island and New Jersey, all modest and modern suburban homes, reasonable in cost. A group of ten homes in Kensington was described as being for “clerks and other skilled workmen.” (more…)
03/28/2013 10:32 AM
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Building of the Day: 1950 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, one building at a time.
Name: Congregational Church of the Evangel (United Church of Christ)
Address: 1950 Bedford Avenue
Cross Streets: Corner Hawthorne Street
Neighborhood: Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Year Built: 1916-17, interior; Tiffany window installed in 1927
Architectural Style: Late Gothic Revival
Architect: Harold S. Granger, interior designed by Carroll Pratt
Other Work by Architect: Granger – no other work found. Carroll Pratt – houses in Prospect Park South and other Flatbush suburban areas, also post offices
Landmarked: No, but on National Register of Historic Places (2010)
The story: In 1907, several members of the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church in Stuyvesant Heights and the Flatbush Congregational Church met to discuss the possibility of establishing a Congregational Church in northern Flatbush. They rented an old Flatbush Avenue mansion for services, and wrote up a charter. The 83 people who signed the charter book were the founding members of the church. In a wonderful tradition, anyone who joins the church to this day signs their name in this same book.
The church took its name from the Evangel Circle of the Lewis Avenue Church. One of the first tasks of the new church was to raise money to build a church on land on the corner of Hawthorne and Bedford, bought for $15,000 by one of the parishioners. In 1916, the cornerstone of this church was laid, with much fanfare.
The architectural firm that would design the English Gothic Revival stone church was that of Nelson & Van Wagenen. They were well-known church architects, responsible for the Fort Washington Collegiate Church and Bethany Memorial Church, in Manhattan, as well as other sacred and secular buildings. Harold S. Granger was an associate with the firm, and is credited with the design of this church. He did a very nice job, but this is the only building of his that I was able to find. (more…)
03/27/2013 3:30 PM
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Open House Picks
Carroll Gardens
37 3rd Place
Corcoran
Sunday, 12:30-2:30
$2,995,000
GMAP P*Shark
Ditmas Park
136 Argyle Road
Brooklyn Bridge Realty
Sunday, 12:00-2:00
$1,499,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bed Stuy
341 Hancock Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 1:00-3:00
$1,300,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
43 Lefferts Avenue
Century 21
Sunday, 11:30-1:00
$799,000
GMAP P*Shark
03/22/2013 1:00 PM
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Rental of the Day: 277 Rutland Road
This three-bedroom takes up the upper two floors of the home at 277 Rutland Road, in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. It looks like an ideal apartment share, and there’s also access to the building laundry room and the backyard. At $2,650 a month, the price seems right. Do you agree?
277 Rutland Road [Alexander Bilu] GMAP P*Shark
03/12/2013 12:30 PM
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Locals Visualize Remake of Q Plaza
A proposed new design for Q Plaza, above, can be seen at the blog The Q At Parkside. The design will improve the all-cement corner with seating and trees, just outside the Q stop at Parkside near the Southeast corner of Prospect Park in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. The renderings were created by local In Cho and presented to the Department of Transportation. Since the area is so close to the park, the DOT would not normally support adding greenery here, but the change can happen if locals support it, said the DOT. And so a group has been formed to do just that, The Q At Parkside reported.
Makeover Time for the Q Plaza [The Q At Parkside]
03/11/2013 11:30 AM
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Co-op of the Day: 45 Martense Street #5E
We’re not wild about the new kitchen and bathroom finishes but otherwise this two-bedroom co-op at 45 Martense Street is looking pretty good. At 1,400 square feet it’s a lot of apartment for $349,000, even for Prospect Lefferts Gardens (and especially since it’s prewar). The bedrooms are gigantic, there’s a ton of closets and there are two bathrooms. The maintenance is $856 a month. Good buy?
45 Martense Street #5E [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark
03/06/2013 12:58 PM
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Open House Picks
Fort Greene
11A South Elliott Place
Corcoran
Sunday, 12:00-1:30
$2,750,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
36 Rutland Road
Fillmore
Saturday, 1:00-3:00
$2,100,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Heights
474 Dean Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 12:00-2:00
$1,495,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bay Ridge
217 81st Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday, 1:00-3:00
$939,000
GMAP P*Shark
03/01/2013 1:11 PM
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Massive Tower Planned for Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Hudson Companies, the developer of Third + Bond, confirmed that it has filed plans for a 23-story, 254 unit mixed-use building at 626 Flatbush Avenue in Propsect Lefferts Gardens. The company has not yet received permits for the building. The Real Deal reports that the company signed a contract for the Flatbush Avenue site in March 2012 but has not yet closed. The L-shaped lot (the large building at the top center of the above image and the parking lot behind it) is on Flatbush between Parkside Avenue and Lincoln Road. The site’s owner filed for bankruptcy and TRD speculates that Hudson may need approval from bankruptcy court to close on the property.
This may all sound a bit familiar. Back in 2008 a 20-story glass-walled tower was planned for the neighborhood on Lincoln Road near Ocean Avenue. There was much community opposition and that building was never built. The lot was sold to another developer planning a much smaller structure. Think this is good for the neighborhood? Think it has a better chance than the last failed attempt to put a highrise in this neighborhood?
Hudson Companies Plans 254 Unit Tower Near Prospect Park [TRD]
02/08/2013 9:30 AM
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What’s Coming to 534 Flatbush Avenue?
Does anybody have the inside scoop on 534 Flatbush Avenue? The entire ground floor is under construction and it looks like a big, glassy storefront is going in. The DOB recently issued permits for the interior renovation of “an existing eating and drinking establishment.” A small grocery store previously occupied the corner space, but here’s an old listing for the entire ground floor — a huge space and an awesome location. You can read about the building’s history in this Building of the Day post. UPDATE: According to the Q at Parkside, this will be an upscale grocery called Wholesome Foods Market. It should open soon! GMAP
02/01/2013 2:00 PM
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Rental of the Day: 294 Fenimore Street
Here’s a two-bedroom rental in a Prospect Lefferts Gardens home, 294 Fenimore Street. The bones look good and the kitchen’s been renovated. It’s a few blocks from the park (between Rogers and Nostrand Avenues) and asking a reasonable $1,400/month.
294 Fenimore Street [Fraziers Realty] GMAP P*Shark
01/31/2013 12:30 PM
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Changes for the Corner of Flatbush and Lefferts
There are a few changes in motion for this corner of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the location of the old Bond Bakery building at 495 Flatbush Avenue. A tipster writes that a new beer distributor has moved into the ground floor one building over at 507 Flatbush at the corner of Lefferts, and is “catering to a diverse market who want more than just Bud Light.” They also fill growlers-to-go with on-tap craft beers. The windows of that building have also been replaced and the exterior’s generally been spruced up. As for 495 Flatbush Avenue, pictured above, the space of longtime-tenant Phat Albert’s is up for lease. The rest of the building, however, remains in poor shape, with most of the windows along Washington Avenue boarded up. The upper floors previously housed a daycare center and school. You can read about the building’s history at this Building of the Day post. You can also see a few more recent photos after the jump. Now if only someone can restore that clock tower! GMAP (more…)
01/30/2013 11:00 AM
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lamb
May 16, 2013 | 09:04 AM