Fate of Cambridge Place Wreck?
We hear that a developer recently bought this wreck on Cambridge Place (#62 #56 we think) in Clinton Hill at auction and we’re dying to know what his plans are. Is anyone familiar with what the process would be if he wanted to tear it down and build new given that it’s in a landmark…
We hear that a developer recently bought this wreck on Cambridge Place (#62 #56 we think) in Clinton Hill at auction and we’re dying to know what his plans are. Is anyone familiar with what the process would be if he wanted to tear it down and build new given that it’s in a landmark district? Are there explicit criteria that need to be met to justify a tear down? Are there strict codes governing what he can do or is it more a matter of presenting a proposal that the landmarks commission subjectively signs off on? It won’t surprise readers to hear that we hope he’ll restore its original form but we have to say we are not particularly optimistic.
Funny that I came across this article, because I have just purchased this wreck and am in the early stages of getting Landmarks’ approval to restore it.
Look … it takes a lot of legal wrangling to get a contributing house such as this demolished. It does not really matter what condition the building is in – LPC/NYC recently won a judgment in the state cts where LPC accussed the owner of the Skidmore House in MN (on E.4th St.) of demolition by neglect (the roof had collasped in there – the place was a wreck). The cts sided with LPC, and the owner has to pay to fix it up – at least get it structurally sound. In addition, I also worked with the elderly owners of a small carriage house over in B’Heights (the ones who own that lovely home that had a fire recently). The carriage house’s roof had entirely collasped in; you could not even step inside of it – and STILL we saved it. What happened there was basically a bidding-war among developers – the highest bidder (in cash, mind you) won. I think that building went for over $1M. crazy. Anyway, I personally think that there is an owner out there who is willing to put the $ in to save it. If it’s standing, it will be saved. (but good luck to whoever gets the place)
Yes, Aguayo & Huebener is representing the seller, and the asking price is $999,000.
I live a block over and am familiar with the house. Indeed, there are probably significant structural problems with the house, given that I have seen it decline further over the past five years or so. However, having friends who have done significant structural repair, and having done a bit of it myself, I can guess that there is a lot they can do from the base joists of the structure on up – even if it means gutting rotted material a bit at a time, and replacing with new. We are woodframe home owners in Clinton Hill, and we just finished an approval process with landmarks, in which we had a full facade restoration done. Indeed, landmarks will not let this building go down. It may end up changing hands a few times before a buyer – who understands the complexity, cost, and time of a structural – not just architectural – rennovation, and can fit the actual bill. The house is located on one of the best blocks in Clinton Hill.
I think Aguayo and Huebner has this on the market currently for 999k, no?
I have to strongly disagree with the previous poster about the bones of the house. We previewed the house along with a friend who happens to be an engineer. He said the house was completely collapsing. Our friend said that a case for demo could easily be made for this house as it can easily be argued that it is not salvageable.
Hey Browstoner,
Did we talk about this house before?
I went in the house when they had an openhouse. Yes, it’s a wreck, but the “bones” appear to be in pretty good shape. For example, the floors have virtually no discernable slope (not counting the gaping holes!) – sigificantly less than many townhouses I’ve been in – indicating the structure is pretty solid. It even has some intriguing details and a pretty cool layout. Overall, it seems pretty obvious that the question will be if the money saved by demo-ing and building from scratch will be more or less than the money (read: time) spent wrestling with LPC; plus, if a new build will be worth more than a restoration. All things considered, I think the price paid for it (I seem to recall it was in the mid 800s) was pretty reasonable considering the size of the house and the size of the lot. We’ll see what happens….
Glad to hear it! Thanks for the detailed response.
does anyone know the history of the building? it’s actually really beautiful! I’ve seen it up close and I have to disagree with the (former)LPC guy – i think the developer can easily make a case for demo. it’s in pretty rough shape…