Hipness on Horizon for Staten Island
After last week’s rousing debate on the pros and cons of Staten Island as a viable alternative for would-be Brownstoners priced out of Brooklyn’s red-hot market, we were interested to see this weekend’s The Hunt column. The article (and accompanying slide show–not to be missed) details how a Park Slope couple looked for, and ultimately…
After last week’s rousing debate on the pros and cons of Staten Island as a viable alternative for would-be Brownstoners priced out of Brooklyn’s red-hot market, we were interested to see this weekend’s The Hunt column. The article (and accompanying slide show–not to be missed) details how a Park Slope couple looked for, and ultimately found, their dream house. (According to the article, Brownstoner.com and Forgotten-ny.com were both key tools in the couple’s search.) After passing on two houses in Ditmas Park and one in Jersey City, the artist and musician couple ultimately fell in love with a 1929 Mediterranean-style spread at 22 Fort Hill Circle in the St. George section of Staten Island. Personally, we preferred the 3 other houses they looked at first, but we can certainly see the appeal of this rambling back yard. And it’s hard to argue with the price–$655,000 for 2,500 square feet. The couple is so gung-ho on SI that they are creating a web site called Prodicalborough.com:
Because of the real estate crunch, Staten Island is being welcomed back to the fold and being recognized as an underrated and extraordinary place to live. Everyplace else has a cool Web presence, but there is no hipster stuff for Staten Island – just Yellow Page listings.
It’s only a matter of time before Babs Corcoran is putting out a press release desribing her latest purchase within walking distance of the ferry, we’re sure.
Looking for a House and a Turret [NY Times]
Oh, forgot to add, to the anonymous poster who inquired about the Ditmas houses,
> I know exactly where both of the houses shown
> in the slide show are, yet I have never, ever
> seen them listed. Who were/are they with?
every single one of those finds (the green house, the blue house, and the red gothic victorian in Jersey City) were listed only on craigslist by the owner/broker, the owner, and a broker, respectively. Interesting that they turned out to be the biggest contenders in our search.
Is that you, Russell? We did a tour of Staten Island this weekend, just to check out the architecture. There are some really gorgeous houses there! Passed by your place and tried to figure out where you went for groceries and the like. Was it near the Dunkin’ Donuts? (Sorry I don’t remember the street name). We couldn’t really find any “downtown” within walking distance…where is it? Maybe we missed it. The other thing we were wondering about in terms of SI becoming an “it” place to live….some of the houses are enormous. So big in fact, that I can’t imagine anyone returning them to single family homes. If that is the case, I imagine that a lot of investors/developers will buy up these places. What is your take on this (if you are indeed Russell!)
Oh, I should note the walk can be up to 15 mins from JSQ, so maybe not short by some standards. I do it twice a day (more like 12 mins for me) with no problems.
For both Victorians and brownstones, you should also see the Lincoln Park area of Jersey City (a short walk from Journal Square.) There’s some beautiful stuff in the heights, but you’re often stuck with buses instead of the much more convenient PATH train.
We are still looking. I found that Times article very interesting although it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know about the market. We are focusing our search right now in Jersey City/Jersey City Heights. There are a few Victorians up in the Heights, and some nice brownstones in the downtown area. We gave up on affording something in Brooklyn a long time ago, but love reading this site.
Rita – thanks for your input. Very informative. Did you buy elsewhere in the end? Or still looking?
My husband and I looked at this house months ago (and even brought my folks to see it). We seriously considered buying it. It is as gorgeous in real life as it is in the photos. The backyard is massive, and the former owners were gardeners so it has a dreamy English garden feeling to it (not to mention the koi pond, and a hot tub). The issue for us was the area. St. George does not have a downtown to speak of. The walk from the ferry is about 15 minutes (which isn’t too bad by itself), but it’s a pretty steep hill and I didn’t feel safe walking by myself at night. If the area was a bit safer and more interesting, we would have bought it. My friend has lived in St. George for over 10 years and said that she has seen dozens of hipsters come and go, but they always leave in the end when they get fed up with the commute (kind of drag unless you work at home or work downtown) and they figure out the area is not moving in the direction of becoming the “next big thing.”
This house is beautiful! There are only a handful of Spanish/Italian style villas here in Ditmas Park, and I envy the owners. That stucco exterior is period perfect (not like the stuff slathered on some of the Victorians areound here) and easy to maintain.
The slide show was fun, but now I have a question. I follow the Ditmas Park real estate scene VERY closely, and I know both the Ditmas Park houses shown in the slide show – but I have never, ever seen them listed anywhere. Does anyone know who had/has them? Thanks.
That house is gorgeous! I live in Ditmas Park, and there are only a handful of Spanish/Italian style homes here – and I envy every one of them! The slide show was a real treat, but I have some questions. I follow the Ditmas Park real estate scene VERY closely, and I know exactly where both of the houses shown in the slide show are, yet I have never, ever seen them listed. Who were/are they with? Thanks.