Kensington Townhouses: Affordable or Avoidable?
A group called Gracie Developers is finishing up its Kensington Townhouses project at the corner of Beverley Road and East 7th Street in Kensington. We haven’t seen a photo of how it looks from the outside yet (anyone?) but judging from the rendering above it’s a step up (just) from a lot of the crap…
A group called Gracie Developers is finishing up its Kensington Townhouses project at the corner of Beverley Road and East 7th Street in Kensington. We haven’t seen a photo of how it looks from the outside yet (anyone?) but judging from the rendering above it’s a step up (just) from a lot of the crap that’s being built on small lots in the area but a far cry from 14 Townhouses. We’ve talked about it a thousand times, but why do architects persist in designing these ridiculously-scaled stoops? The name of the development is a little misleading, too. From what we can tell, these are really just apartments within a larger building that’s designed in a kind of Disneyfied townhouse theme. Regardless, the interiors are unexciting, and for $600 a foot in this part of town we’d expect some higher ceilings, bigger windows and nicer doors. Corcoran is also its own toughest competition on this one. If we were a buyer in this part of town, we’d opt for the Park Circle over this place in a heartbeat. Cheaper by the foot and far superior views. If any of you check out the open house this weekend, please snap up us a photo of the exterior. Update: The developer sent us a photo which we’ve included on the jump. It looks a little better in real life, but we still don’t get those stairways and those slope-roofed entranceways. A lesson to err on the simple side if you’re not going to spring for real architectural talent.
336 E. 7th Street – Apt: C [Corcoran] GMAP
Criticizing a building’s design is hardly the same thing as bashing a neighborhood so no need for the martyr complex, BkOrig.
Kensington is great, and I haven’t seen anybody credible here bashing your hood. What most of us are attempting to bash are lame developers who build cheapo, crummy buildings that fail to respect great nabes. Like Kensington. I say: cool architecture for everybody, in all of BKLYN. I know it almost never happens, even when people’s budgets are unlimited (one look at MTV Cribs will prove you that), but hey, I can dream. By the way, despite my sometimes intemperate criticism of the building above, for which I apologize, I want to congratulate anybody who manages to get a little piece of NYC real estate, such as the guy who so nicely posted photos of his new place here. Here’s to ya!
… Wow, I didn’t know you guys ventured this far into BK. I really thought you went into shock after Park Slope. We here in Kensington want to thank you for being even slightly interested in our little town, even if you are trashing it. Thanks. And by the way this is from someone who owns in Fort Greene and in Kensington and has chosen to live in Kensington.
The first thing I saw was the ugly garages. I’m surprised no one else pointed them out. Anything with those two nasty curb cuts in front is not going to look good.
schprechen zie crap…
11:24 – you are correct about the awkward proportions of the stoop and first floor. There is another potential reason for this – ADA access. In order to make a building accessible, you either need an at-grade entry, a ramp or a lift. The at-grade entry is by far the cheapest, and it allows you to create a full basement, which can be sold (not as habitable space, per DOB, but still as sellable space).
There are a host of code and technology issues that all contribute to making it more and more difficult to properly recreate historic architecture, accessibility is just one.
One final reason for the stoops on this project – it puts the stair on the outside, where it does not cut into living space. So more actual square footage for the first floor units.
I too drive by everyday and want to hurl! I especially like the vinyl shingles inside the portico… they’ve got like 50 sq.ft. of shingle area and they couldn’t spring for the real thing? These are hideous. Cheapo stucco, little windows, bizarre entrance elevations, home depot doors and vinyl accents. Funny thing is the “architect” had a sign up early, but took it down before project completion. This is the continued Queensification of Brooklyn.
BornInBrooklyn….WOW, place looks GREAT!!!! Congrats and good luck with it! Ignore all the negative comments on this site, all the haters just wish they could buy something and get out of their rental.
Anon 11:19PM
Note I said “more important,” there is no question that design isn’t essential to quality of life, I’m actually a graphic artist, so I know. But I don’t think this is the case in every situation. In terms of the livelihood of many, unfortunately affordability isn’t catching up with design soon enough.