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
David- My point is I dont think its “tacky or uninspired” to copy an old design.
My position is clear – I think they are nice
I assure you bob999 you are not the only person in the entire world that values quality architecture. Yet the fact that you cannot name a SINGLE development that meets your criteria can only mean that your criteria clearly have no validity.
David, I don’t understand your position, here. You’re saying you’re satisfied with mediocre design? Hey, it’s a free(ish) country. I wish I could give you pix and addresses of a thousand great examples of terrific contemporary architecture in Brooklyn–sadly, there are precious few. (I do like the 14 Brownstones a lot–the right scale, nice finishes, airy and serene–but they’re trimmed out at a luxury level so they don’t quite qualify as affordable.) It doesn’t change the rather obvious validity of my point: Brooklyn (and the rest of the world) would be a better place if more people could bring themselves to give a damn about quality architecture rather than just building the cheapest, most expedient crapatoria they can get away with. It IS possible. It’s just not often done. BTW I agree with you that many great buildings combine several styles–that is definitely true.
I saw these and they are tiny. Forget the fact that they ahve crunched abunch of units into what should be 6 units tops. the three bedrooms say they are 1300+sf (if I remember correctly), but are so chopped up that it doesn’t feel that way. Also the ceilings do feel pretty low.
One plus is the large Decks on the roof.
The outside is not that bad, it could be worst. My husband and I went to see them. First they are small. The Square Feet that Corcoran has just does no add up. The living room and kitchen are all one room not very big. The bedrooms can fit a double bed and 1 end table and that’s about it.
What is cool, is that some have a finished basement. But all in all the apartments where all small.
Don’t worry – I’m not into pancakes – they’re too easy to make myself. Now if you opened a nice pan-asian restaurant or perhaps a high end BBQ place with outdoor seating and a good beer list, I would be tempted. But only if you promise to start looking on the bright side and realizing that you live in an imperfect, but fabulous neighborhood in and imperfect, but fabulous world 😉
crap. crapola. crapaliscious. the crapolator. st. crapious. crap. crap. crap. crap. crap…
Ouch! It’s a minivan, by the way, no tinted windows. And please don’t come to my David Eyre pancake house.
Bob999 that is all very nice rhetoric but could you please provide an actual example that has been built in the last 25 yrs that you think actually meets your criteria (and for which even a 1st yr Architect could build). – address and pictures would be an added bonus.
BTW – so what if it contains ‘a little bit of this style’ and “a little bit of that style” – many of the most admired Brownstones and other similar buildings are also matches of styles (Italianate, ,Gothic, Queen Anne, etc….)
pshark sux – what is your point