Caton Avenue Condo Coming to Market
Construction on Caton Court, a medium-sized condo near the Parade Grounds, is looking more or less complete nowadays. The banner hanging from the building announces that it’s going to have one- and two-bedroom units (far as we know, they haven’t hit the market yet), and we’re wondering what kind of prices the developers could be…
Construction on Caton Court, a medium-sized condo near the Parade Grounds, is looking more or less complete nowadays. The banner hanging from the building announces that it’s going to have one- and two-bedroom units (far as we know, they haven’t hit the market yet), and we’re wondering what kind of prices the developers could be hoping for. Condos at Lefferts South, about five blocks east, are selling for around $500 a foot, and it seems to us like Caton Court’s location between 17th and 18th streets is more attractive than Lefferts South’s. But per a reader who’s been watching Caton Court go up—and is rooting for it to sell well—the new building’s coordinates are potentially problematic:
The avenue itself is an incessantly clogged noisy truck route, and the Church Ave. IND station, in need of an upgrade throughout, is at its very worst at the Caton Avenue end, a virtual ruin. The commercial strip a block away on Church Avenue is pure crap, and when they roll down the grates in the evening it’s creepy…I wonder whether new residents will want to pay whatever they’re asking to be the gentrifying pioneers on what is currently a very gritty working-class corridor.
Predictions?
GMAP
3:07 you need to stop smoking the crack that they are selling over in Lefferts Gardens. This section of Flatbush – Caton Park I think is no worse than LG. I’d rate them about the same. If the condo’s at Caton and Bedford are selling, these will sell too. I however agree with the poster that said that thye’d prefer buying in one of the older pre-war buildings. Real Estate has its ups and downs but every neighborhood that we can not afford to live in today survived previous downturns and are now some of the countries best neighborhoods.
Going rental in 3… 2… 1…
500 per sq foot to live there seems so high. where is the market down turn. I bought a great condo in prime williamsburg – lots of gentrified amenities + no trucks + no scary/sketchy anything – for less than $500 per sq foot last year. Thought that was the top of the market?
Brenda that was awesome.
“Heart of Darkness” is quite a way to speak about a community filled with black and brown post-colonials.
Was this as bad as it seems?
3:20
isnt most of the density and other negatives on “the other side” of the tracks from this place…like ocean ave and e21st street…
this bldg seems to be on the quieter, nicer side…far enough away from flatbush
i live nearby.
it’s true, this area won’t gentrify overnight. this can be a pro AND con.
the r.e. in the area is pretty reasonable considering its so close to the park and on reliable subway lines. very nice for first-timers (as myself)
however, the housing stock in this area is quite dense. some blocks feel/look like eastern-european megablock housing. someone mentioned sketchiness- yes there are def pockets of that around as well. and ditto on Caton Ave being a trucking nightmare!
there are some truly beautiful arch gems scattered throughout, but in general, some people have to rely on courtelyou rd. or hop the train to 7th ave park slope for ‘gentrifrying’ ammenities.
There is a very strong established commercial sense on flatbush ave in this area (a kin to Fulton Mall), but it seems like spaces are limited for what the hood is desperately lacking –
SOMEONE PLEASE OPEN A COFFEE/WINE/BAR/ or CAFE IN THIS IMMEDIATE AREA ALREADY!!!!
the demand is there (and untapped) – it’s a total cash-cow!
I live in Lefferts Gardens and this is no Lefferts Gardens. The neighborhood immediately around Flatbush and Church/Caton is a lot worse than LG, and many people on this site seem to believe that you will get shot if you stop at a stoplight in LG.
Therefore, by extrapolation, if you go to look at this building you will be killed instantly.
beautifully crafted, Brenda!
I live around the corner (on Parade Place) from this new building and can’t imagine people paying $500/sf. There are a lot of things I like about the neighborhood (proximity to the park, diversity), but there are a lot of things that are still missing that would make it attractive to big spenders (amenities, mostly).
The picture here makes it look a lot nicer than it is in reality. It’s just squished in between two buildings that are actually nice (although run-down) and looks nothing like the rest of the neighborhood. The building is just kind of … bleh.
As a comparable – I don’t know the price per square foot of co-ops in my building, but I know the overall sales prices and I’m pretty confident they’re well under $500 per. And that’s on a much less noise-polluted street, and a lot of the units in our building have views of the park. It’s also a beautiful old art deco building. So the idea of somebody paying $500/sf for a kind of blah building without nice views and a lot of noise, in the same neighborhood, is weird to me.
I think if the price is lower than $500 per, though, it could have potential for buyers. Like 1:59 said, there are some things that are changing. I don’t think the area is going to wildly gentrify anytime soon, which is just fine with me, but I can see some general sprucing up happening.