House of the Day: 484 East 17th Street
We got a tip from a regular reader on Friday about a new listing on Mary Kay Gallagher that he said was the nicest house he’d ever seen in Ditmas Park. The reason he’d been inside is that it was on last year’s Victorian Flatbush house tour. (We even included a photo of the kitchen…
We got a tip from a regular reader on Friday about a new listing on Mary Kay Gallagher that he said was the nicest house he’d ever seen in Ditmas Park. The reason he’d been inside is that it was on last year’s Victorian Flatbush house tour. (We even included a photo of the kitchen in our recap below.) From the photos on the listing, we’d have to agree that the 1902 Queen Anne Victorian looks spectacular. In addition to the tip-top restoration of the historic details, the kitchen and bathroom renovations look beautiful to us — a rare perfect balance of the modern with the traditional. So the question isn’t whether there will be demand for this house (we bet there will be a line around the block), it’s whether the asking price of $1,950,000 will fly. We bet it’s not far off.
434 East 17th Street [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
Victorian Flatbush House Tour Recap [Brownstoner]
Bill 10:31-
I posted earlier in the thread about this block but I’ll repeat what I wrote. This house is on East 17th between Ditmas and Dorchester. To my mind it is the nicest block in Ditmas Park. Furthermore, this particular house, while probably the nicest on the block, sits among 3-4 houses in a row that are really nice. It’s a solid block. Go take a look.
Well actually 9:51 there are sides of houses on Cortelyou at Westminster, Argyle and Rugby, and there’s the one vinyl clad house next to new construction at Stratford, so thats 4 houses, in 5 blocks on a retail street.
Look I’m all for development too, my point is that if the residents, shopkeepers, pols and organizations leave it up to the new breed of “developer”, it will not be in context, improve curb appeal or retail. The condo’s on Stratford evidence that already. The developer completely disregarded calls for a building that fit the history of the neighborhood and now we’ll all be staring at barbecues and lawn chairs on the balconies facing the street. I think its safe to assume that the developer that buys the warehouse across Stratford will not be building a nice red brick building with any nod to the history of the neighborhood, either.
Cortelyou Road needs a masterplan that takes into account the need for a great retail “Main Street” for Victorian Flatbush.
Rebuild the library building with 6 or 8 stories of apartments and new nicer, maybe 2 story library. Rebuild the C-Town with a 6 or 8 story building, maybe even extend it by removing the recently vandalized/bricked-over house on Rugby. Have continuous 6 or 8 story brick buildings from Coney Island Ave. to 17th Street, with good size retail at street level and nice apartments above.
I’m not anti Cortelyou, I’m Cortelyou hopeful and bless all the new merchants coming in. But I believe that to really have the retail strip that we all dream about, we’ll need to do more than just encouraging the rental of current space.
Bill – I am raising two young daughters in this neighborhood and could not be happier. We came from park slope and find this neighborhood so friendly and open. My girls have a lot of friends here, tons of playdates in the playrooms everyone with kids in this neighborhood has, etc… I would absolutely check out the house if I were you. I wish it were available when we bought a few years ago!
For some reason TypeKey didn’t post it’s little logo, but the above post is me.
This is an absolutely gorgeous house. I wish I could afford it. Ditmas Park is such a wonderful, unique neighborhood combining the best of city living with a classic Americana “Our Town” small town look. This house looks like the best of the best. What a privilege to live in a beautiful historic HUGE space. If people don’t get that that is the reward, not the amenities, or lack thereof, or the closeness to midtown, then this is not for you, even if you can afford two of them.
Oh, and this nabe has been “diverse” long before most people knew it existed. It works because DP people have always taken pride in their homes and the neighborhood, and themselves, and that supercedes questions about safety that seem to crop up whenever there are people of color in the neighborhood. Bill, at 10:31, if you are really interested in whether your daughters would be happy, you need to go there, walk around and see for yourself. One could certainly debate as to whether or not the Heights is condusive to bringing up children. If you bought this, or a similar house, your daughters would be able to enjoy a huge yard, large bedrooms, and more space to run around than 99% of the Heights. They would have neigborhood kids to play with of many nationalities, and you would be pretty close to the park, as well. If you can afford this house, your kids are probably in private school anyway. What a great thing to be in a unique and growing nabe in NYC, in a wonderful house like this.
All of the posts are most helpful! I am a serious buyer planning to see this place soon. I have looked at several of the Ditmas houses to come up over the last couple of years, but have found them next to run down shacks with odd neighbors. Live in Brooklyn Heights now and still can’t quite get a feel for the nabe in Ditmas, but we are open to it. Does anyone know what this street and the condition of the neighbors’ houses is? What about raising a couple of young daughters in this area? Any response would be most appreciated. Love this site by the way!
To be fair, only one private house abuts Cortelyou Road between Stratford and East 17th Street… In fact, the newest, hippest shops or on exactly the side of the street you’re complaining about – Belle and Maxie’s, Ackerson Wines, Brooklyn Hearth. There are several large storefronts. One is currently empty with a “for rent” sign hanging in the window – on the south side of Cortelyou on the corner of Stratford. Rumor was it was going to be a bank. A gym would do nicely there.
As for condos on Cortelyou and Westminster, north side – that lot has been empty for decades. If the building harmonizes with the existing neighborhood, that’s good news. Condos, if they don’t threaten the existing period homes, increase population density, and more people means more money spent in the stores on Cortelyou Road.
The block of stores with the “for development sign” on it has been used as a storage facility for years (antiques). The iron grill is down 24 hours a day. A total eyesore. Such a use adds nothing to the vibrancy of Cortelyou Road. A well done condo development would be a boon in many ways. I’m all for development when it’s done in context and doesn’t threaten the existing architecture.
Unfortunately Cortelyou Road doesn’t have the real estate/building stock that Smith Street or 5th Avenue has. The storefronts are tiny and on angles. The north side of Cortelyou has the sides of Victorian houses that have been neglected or horribly bricked over. And now there’s the abomination going in on the east corner of Stratford, a “lovely” modern condo complex (can’t tell yet if there’s fedders holes), complete with balconies facing Cortelyou. Not to mention the the east corner of Stratford which now has a Corcoran “for development” sign hangin on it. I shudder to think about what will come to fruition there?
Cortelyou Road needs a Main Street America program to save it from becoming even more of a mish mash without quality spaces available for the shops we desperately need.
Agreed 7:15 – but bikes don’t have to wait in traffic, so may be fair. I live in PPS and it is about a 5-7 minute drive – 20 minute walk to Park Slope. I LOVE this neighborhood and am shocked by the hipsters I see walking down my block and other around here these days. I am starting to feel too old and lame to live here now 😉