326 State Street: Fudging the Mezzanines
Maybe we were too quick to praise the design of the new Scarano building at 326 State Street last month. According to a reader who got a look at the interior, the building’s working the whole plywood mezzanine charade. Here’s what the reader had to say: I thought you might be amused by this little…
Maybe we were too quick to praise the design of the new Scarano building at 326 State Street last month. According to a reader who got a look at the interior, the building’s working the whole plywood mezzanine charade. Here’s what the reader had to say:
I thought you might be amused by this little anecdote resulting from my popping into the open house at 326 State today on my way to Atlantic Antic. The developer is selling the units himself, without the aid of any agent, and he was there, in person…What was much more interesting was that when I saw a ladder, as opposed to a stair, going up to the mezzanine and asked “So, is that a way to get around the FAR situation?” he said, “Kind of,” and then volunteered the information that there was a built-up plywood floor in the bedroom upstairs (or actually up-ladder), adding, “You can remove it once you move in”.
Word to the wise: If you’re going to facilitate the violation of building codes, probably better not to advertise the fact to someone walking in off the street.
326 State Street: Eating Our Words [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Still Out of Scale on State Street [Brownstoner] DOB
326 State Street: When Too Much FAR Is a Bad Thing [Brownstoner]
guest at October 4, 2007 10:51 AM,
Yet another speculation posted like its a fact! It’s like a disease on these comment boards. I’m the tipster for this story and am positively and absolutely not a broker.
The whole “mezzanine as a selling point” is absolutely criminal, especially after the heat this architect took (is still taking) and the forefit of his professional certification privileges (bet this property was pushed through prior to that).
A “bonus selling point” that has half the Scarano projects in the South Slope shut down or un-able to get C of O’s.
One on 23rd St. actually advertises “luxury mezzanine living” (profiled on brownstoner this past spring, search 211 23rd St.). Guess what? SWO and vacant with no work for 6 months last time I drove by.
I hope the DOB reads this blog and can shut down 326 State St. just like the Washington in Ft. Greene. Tisk-tisk
Draw them legal. Build them legal. Sell them legal.
Seems fairly simple to me.
1st poster here again: I don’t know enough about FAR and code violations, etc. to comment on that side of the matter. For me, the real shock and horror was the overall shoddiness of the work–both in design and construction. Maybe I’m just naive because I haven’t seen other new construction in Brooklyn. Are these low standards of quality really the norm?
A word to the potential buyer or those of you that just don’t know. What i’m about to say has been said before.
YOU CAN NOT MODIFY THE APARTMENT IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU WILL INCREASE THE FLOOR AREA.
Firstly, a “bedroom” has very specific requirements which include a cetain floor area, minumim ceiling height and natural light and ventilation (a window) of a cetain size.
God forbid the buyer makes changes (removes the plywood platforms and ladders and creates usable floor area, and a fire occurs in the building. The ensuing investigation would most certainly yield what modifications were done and where. Once the insurance company finds out the apartment was illegally modified, by an increase in floor area, the building becomes illegal as well. The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) will have been exceeded and ultimately, the insurance company has a right to refuse making any payments and / or future coverage.
Please do your own homework and don’t take anything the brokers / sellers say as being correct.
I understand that this is a scarano project and is yet another egregious example of the ways he manipulates building codes to squeeze out extra far. However, to me this seems more like a case of a bitter real estate agent who walked in off the street looking for flaws so he could then turn around and say, “see what happens when you don’t use a real estate agent.” I find the real estate agents motives here to be as unsavory as the developer’s squeezing out the extra FAR.
You are usually so gung-ho about FSBO listings so why so down on FSBD (for sale by developer) listings. They are trying to save a few bucks, like the homeowner. And I know that i would always choose to avoid having to work with a real estate agent.
This sounds very similar to 335 Warren Street…and I believe its another Scarno design. Prices have been all over the place on this. After the first open house in May/June, prices jumped to $120,000.00 on some of the units. I see now they have cut about $50,000.00 prices since the units are still on the market. Crazy!
http://www.twotreesre.com/search/qsearch/?form_request=33&action=results&showres=1&1171_0=&1185_0=6&631_0=&635_0=&635_1=
Regarding FAR useage I think this is an unfair attack on Scarano et al…. not because it is “right” but because it is so common among other developers and brownstoners as well.
For example how many brownstone owners rent out space within a brownstone that isnt CO as 2,3 (or whatever family) – or use basement for office where it is not permitted.
Further how many condos (and a few Brownstones) openly flout the zoning laws concerning using below-grade space for bedrooms.
Virtually every new low rise condo has apartments with below-grade space marked as “recreation space” when it is priced and layed out in everyway to be used as bedrooms (and often listed that way on resale)
Whether one agrees that the bathroom fixtures were quality or not (IMO they were fine but not high end), the flooring is significantly flawed. In some places the faux wood flooring (or maybe it is some type of pergo composite) seemed to bubble off the floor.
The kitchens were low end stainless-appearing appliances and the cabinets and counters were low-medium quality.
If you wan to live in new constrction in this neighborhood, go rent at the new building at 200 Schermerhorn instead. Not fancy eitehr, but at least not a joke in design.
“If you’re going to facilitate the violation of building codes, probably better not to advertise the fact to someone walking in off the street.”
And yet in one Scarano building I visited, they played it up like a bonus. Several condos actually had two completely separate spaces, each with a door to the common hall. The broker seemed excited to tell me about all the extra space they managed to offer for the low low price of having to knock down a wall to connect the place before I could move in! They even designed it that way for my convenience! And then the basement had a drop ceiling that actually intersected a glass door to the back yard at about eye level (the center of the floor was lower than the sides). I’d get the full door back after I tore out and raised the ceiling. Just a little fun with the building inspector! Nudge nudge; wink wink…
And the same broker stopped returning my calls when I asked how many illegal Scarano ‘fixes’ would be needed in another place she wanted to show me. My bad, discussing open secrets I suppose.