Standalone Wood-Frame in the Clinton Hill Historic District With Private Driveway Asks $4.5 Million

Here’s a wood-frame standalone built circa 1863 with a somewhat tangled recent past.

Brooklyn Homes for Sale in Clinton Hill at 56 Cambridge Place

by Chris Erikson

12/29/2017 3 minute 0

Here’s a wood-frame standalone built circa 1863 with a somewhat tangled recent past. It’s at 56 Cambridge Place, in the Clinton Hill Historic District, and offers quite a bit of potential for a buyer with vision and deep pockets.

The house, once a simple wood-frame structure that was altered in the late 19th century with a new neo-Tudor, half-timbered gambrel roof and Queen Anne style angled bay, was vacant and crumbling 15 years ago. It was sold at auction in 2004 and then picked up in 2005 by Shahn Andersen — known to some readers as a development partner on the ill-fated Broken Angel project.

He got some work done — it was available as a rental in 2010 — before selling in 2011 for $999,000.

It changed hands again in 2013, where it was purchased by 2930 LLC — who appears to be Sam Boymelgreen, according to public records — for $2.25 million. Boymelgreen developed the Kestrel in Windsor Terrace; his father, Shaya Boymelgreen, was temporarily barred from selling condos.

In 2016, a mortgage lender filed a foreclosure lis pendens against the property.

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The listing claims that over 4,000 additional square feet could be added to the 6,000-plus that are already there (a figure that presumably includes the basement). It asks you to imagine a “one of a kind residence” with “7+ bedrooms, 7+ bathrooms, multiple entertaining spaces, library, wine cellar, staff quarters, and much more.”

There’s also a suggested floor plan and a bunch of renderings to prod your imagination, alongside a handful of shots showing the house in its possible current condition.

At some point, the interior of the house was gutted and a two-story open space created on the ground floor, which isn’t going to appeal to every buyer.

The listing notes that “detailed architectural plans have been prepared as a representation of one of many possible transformations.”

The location is prime Clinton Hill, and there’s a private driveway to park in.

Listed by Nadine Adamson and Kelsey Hall of Brown Harris Stevens, the house is asking $4.5 million. It’s a hefty sum for a property that will suck up many an additional dollar, but the potential is considerable. What do you think?

[Listing: 56 Cambridge Place | Broker: Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP