HOTD: How Low Can the Pfizer Mansion Go?
The Pfizer mansion at 280 Washington Avenue has been on and off the market and all over the price map for almost two years now. The 12,000-square-foot mansion, which is dripping with restored period detail (a little over the top in come cases), started at $3,595,000 in January 2005 before going off the market a…
The Pfizer mansion at 280 Washington Avenue has been on and off the market and all over the price map for almost two years now. The 12,000-square-foot mansion, which is dripping with restored period detail (a little over the top in come cases), started at $3,595,000 in January 2005 before going off the market a few months later; then in February of this year, it burst back onto the scene at $3,995,000, only to be reduced a few months later to $3,695,000. And now last week it dropped by almost another 10% to $3,399,000. Where does it stop? As we’ve said before, it’s not very expensive on a per square foot basis. There just aren’t a lot of buyers looking to drop more than $3 mil on a place in Clinton Hill just yet.
280 Washington Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
House of the Day: 280 Washington Avenue [Brownstoner]
Pfizer Mansion Hitting Market [Brownstoner]
charles, please sell to me. you know that i get the house and that i will love it and make it even more beautiful than it is already- i will live in it until my last breath. i will fill it with beautiful vibes and happy loving people. i am the person to pass the torch to-
Actually, using the floorplan provided in the Corcoran listing, the square footage for this house comes out to about 7400. This makes rough sense: around 1800-2000 each for the garden and parlor floors, 1500 for the first floor of bedrooms and 1000 for each of the top two. Not sure where the above mentioned 11 or 12 thousand comes from. At $3.3mm (also from the listing), this comes to $444/sq ft. Still relatively inexpensive but with an additional minimum of $1mm for restoration, this goes to more like $580/sq ft which seems to be in line with other properties in the area.
Just saw this beautiful house- it is lovingly inhabited and maintained by a guy passionate enough to take on the task of protecting it. It is not clean like your mom’s suburban house and not for the upper east siders mentioned above. It is not a dump. It requires no more work than going into a spotless place and then having to gut all their crap that you don’t like. This is not as broker friendly as the house that has just had a pie baked to entice buyers. It requires a little imagination- but not even that much. It has solid bones, great floors, woodwork and plaster work. Everything is intact. You just have to look past the fact that it’s a giant bachelor pad. It needs a fresh coat of paint and for the most part (something it doesn’t really have) furniture. Trust me ( to the writer above) there are plenty of people in Brooklyn with enough money to buy this as a single family home – you just don’t recognize them because they don’t fit your narrow Moveon.org view of wealthy people. They may actually be the people who live in Brooklyn not because they have to but because they want to.
You guys are a trip,,
Where you get this info’ makes me feel like a hollywood celeb’ dealing with the tabliods.
comment #1 “flipped so many times is makes me dizzy”.
I am the 3 RD , repeat THIRD owner since new. Phizers #1, Catholic Church #2 1930,,amd me 1991.
Comment #2,, dump not renovated,,
Con Edison just passed my all new wiring and meters about 4 months ago.. New wiring and plumbing througout the house..
Yes I get all the light in my rear garden,, my rose bushes love it,,,
Sorry no open house,, \
The price is cheap,,developers are spending 300/sq ft,, I have close to 11,000,,so thats about $3,3 mil there,,,now add the ORIGINAL OTIS OLDEST private elevator IN |BROOKLYN in working order,,and that in anyones handbook adds about $400,000,,, full through only one in the hood lot with parking,,,just in property valuation add about $300,000,,,
Now littered with stainglass. The lower 3 floors ,,the grand ones” I call them are restored to their original glory,,the 22k gold leaf work is as the first master craftmen , as are the other rooms.
So the price vs the market vs the ‘hood. My neighbours 282, have, to my guess invested another $750,000.. And see the original beauty and have no problem doing so. If you add up the individual price elements above you come to a price wellin excess of $4 mil,,,
an heirloom one of a kind rare gold broach is not a garagesale item,,,either you love and respect the find,,or you would rather buy a piece of “bric-a brac”,,
Its a one of a kind property,,and no I dont care what my taxes , insurance,,and fuel bill are,,, I Have lived here since 1989 ,, and just about manage these cramped quarters by myself,,,
And for the developer who offered $2,75?
“Developer”,,, need I say more,,, You sound like someone who thinks they have an interest in the value of restoration,, but got “jilted”,,
NO it will not be sold for condo’s developer,,
Its for a unique private family with,,dare I say it ,,money,, and taste,,,
No I dont listen to Rachmaninof, I do listen to Sashatacivich and Killing Joke,,, And only started the big restorations work for 3 years.
I dont think the place is twice the value of next door. it should be 3 times,,But the person making that comment ,, like most has never been inside,,
Next door is nice,,but its not his place,,,
Someone made the comment about my Morrocan party room,,, they didnt mention the fishtanks in the bathroom walls?? and who was the guy that wanted to bring by the Hookhas and the harem,, where can I find him,,
charles davis was my father,,I have a different one,,
But in all seriousness ,,please find the girl who thinks “I am her kind of guy” and likes eccentric taste of velvet sofas and chandliers,
This was a comment above:
“It’s a very special property. It shouldn’t fall into the hands of a developer. And, as crazy as the owner may be, it’s good that someone took an interest in restoring the building.”
Said perfectly,,,,
I’ll let you al know when it sells,,and throw a party in my much debated Morrocan party room,,,,
Its actually more Masonic in nature,
I moved out of Brooklyn years ago, but still keep thinking…
Anyways, do you all know what a steal you’re getting in terms of taxes? $6,500!! That’s how much property tax I pay on a $200K house in Brighton (Inner-ring suburb of Rochester)
Ouch.
I agree it looks institutional. And not just because of its size. Do they say who the original architect is? I wonder if he did big institutional buildings normally. Would be interesting to find out.
Long and dark.
Who needs that?
I suspect the reason they keep getting flipped with no restoration or maybe a couple of rooms is that it really does cost much much more than anyone realizes…then they sell in an up market and take what profit they can get. In a down market, hold onto your what’s left of your shirt on the way down.
This building has beautiful staircases, an incredible elevator and two restored rooms. The rest is a DUMP. It doesn’t work as a one family and is a terrible set up for a condo conversion. The dance club in the basement is very strange.
It would cost big money to modernize the electrical and plumbing. The house is in bad shape. As others have said, it isn’t close to 12,000 sq. feet. It’s an unusual property that needs a very unique buyer.