364 Myrtle Avenue: Scarano Strikes Again
When the new four-story building at 364 Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene came on the market in early 2006, the reception on this site was generally positive. We thought the design, while not our favorite, added some excitement to one of Fort Greene’s unloved stretches. In addition to the generous proportions of the three apartments…
When the new four-story building at 364 Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene came on the market in early 2006, the reception on this site was generally positive. We thought the design, while not our favorite, added some excitement to one of Fort Greene’s unloved stretches. In addition to the generous proportions of the three apartments (which ranged from 1,500 and 1,700 square feet), these apartment boasted 17-foot high ceilings. And mezzanines. Which should have been the red flag to anyone who was paying attention. The initial asking prices of $877,000, $890,000 and $919,000 were too high and the listings languished until the summer when a 10-15% price cut across the board attracted interest. By Labor Day of last year, all three were in contract, with promised closing dates of early November. It wasn’t until around Christmas that buyers wre told that it could be another couple of months until closing. It seems there was some delay with the Certificate of Occupancy. In a black hole of communication, one buyer managed to get into the building when he walked by and saw some workers on site. When he got up to his apartment, he saw the appliances had been ripped out. A leak from the top floor had poured down into lower apartments and the bannisters were rusting already. His panicked call to the listing broker yielded the admission that the hold-up had to do with problems with the mezzanines and plans that had been incorrectly filed. The architect? Robert Scarano. With the expected delay now projected at one to two years, the developer let all three buyers out of their contracts. All three listings remain on the Corcoran site as of this morning.
364 Myrtle Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Set Speed Condo Report: 364 Myrtle Avenue [Brownstoner]
What’s Up With The New Building on Myrtle? [Brownstoner]
as to Planet Pleasure:
527 Myrtle Ave
looks like it is being converted to an F-4 eating or drinking establishment
“boymelgreen is not an architect, EJ.”
Fair enough, since the question was about architects. But in the broader sense, I was trying to suggest what Halden mentioned – that the developer (and contractor) have a lot to do with how things come out, and Boymelgreen is definitely very influential in the way his projects go (and I believe he uses his son-in-law’s company as contractor and his architects are closely connected as well). But this is *really* digressing.
You can’t get a mortgage without the C of O so I hope you’re paying all cash, 10:32
Just occupy the apartment and ignore DOB. DOB is a joke and same with the CO permitting process. The DOB is still extremely corrupt and if this building didn’t get so much attention you could have just paid off the department and received a temporary CofO.
Trust me! Just go and live in your apartment, change the lock, get a lawyer the reclaim your appliances and you’re set. The lending bank will work with you on the loan as long as you make your payments. No one will care – it’s your apartment, don’t let the city holdup prevent you from claiming your space.
boymelgreen is not an architect, EJ. instead of blaming scarano, maybe brownstoner should be blaming the developer’s group. haven’t heard that name thrown about much on this blog.
10:19 – you need to look at the track record of the contractor and developer, not just the architect. The former have a lot more influence over the quality of the finished product than the latter.
10:09 – Radusky gets his fair share too!
Are there any satisfied Scarano buyers out there? I’m about to buy into one of his buildings, and am curious if he has built anything without major construction flaws.
You must have a blindspot for all the Boymelgreen posts, 10:09.
Hey speaking of Planet Pleasure I noticed that they have painted the building and there is work going on inside. Anyone know what it will be?