House of the Day: Mucho Moderne in ProHo
This listing is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a rare example of what appears to be a successful modern renovation of a brownstone interior by a flipper: The space is clean, light and lofty. Second, the building has been condo’d which makes for an interesting financial analysis. At first it didn’t make…
This listing is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a rare example of what appears to be a successful modern renovation of a brownstone interior by a flipper: The space is clean, light and lofty. Second, the building has been condo’d which makes for an interesting financial analysis. At first it didn’t make sense to us: The flipper bought the building for $1.3 million in September 2004. and now has the upper triplex on the market for $1.36 million. Assuming his renovation costs must have been at least $500,000 and carrying costs another $100,000, we didn’t see how he was making any money. Then we realized that he must have added another floor with a set-back (hence the pitched roof in the photo), giving him a total of five floors and a projected cumulative gross sales price of, say, $2.3 million to $2.4 million. In this case, basically, he breaks even on four floors and puts the fifth floor proceeds into his pocket at profit. That’s how the game is being played now.
582 Pacific Street [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark
An attic at the time was considered as of right. There were abuses that occurred in certain boros so they have cut back and are now disallowing an open staircase. It is possible as we did to carry Far up to make combine space. We had to cut some far from the downstairs apartment. The short answer is that there used to be more wiggle room and the angled roofs are prohibitive. They are interpreting the code more tightly so it is difficult as with many things DOB to say. We were very careful to stay within all aspects of the code. The usage for an attic is like a cellar storage and rec room. Legal if you follow the tight perameters of the current code interretation. Our interetaion after modification was approved. Rolf
I live close to Rolf’s new development on Pacific and Nevins. I am excited. It is going to be remarkable. If all developers in Brooklyn had the same sense for aesthetics, integrety and loyalty to old structures, Brownstone Brooklyn would be a hell of a lot nicer than it is. Just think about how many of those horrible new developments you see all over, which we spend time lamenting and protesting on this blog. I salute Rolf for the work that he is doing!! (And wish others would get it…)
I live close to Rolf’s new development on Pacific and Nevins. I am excited. It is going to be remarkable. If all developers in Brooklyn had the same sense for aesthetics, integrety and loyalty to old structures, Brownstone Brooklyn would be a hell of a lot nicer than it is. Just think about how many of those horrible new developments you see all over, which we spend time lamenting and protesting on this blog. I salute Rolf for the work that he is doing!! (And wish others would get it…)
Is the “attic” that “doesn’t count” in the FAR legal or illegal? Is it a code violation?
Sorry, but I don’t understand Rolf’s long defense at all. I thought I was a pretty smart guy. I went to a top college and everything.
Seems to me like a lot of fancy words strung together without meaning.
By the way, the modern renovation photos look very nice to me.
The word “flipper” has taken on a pejorative meaning for a reason–because the large majority of people who flip properties do not take the kind of care in renovating or reaching out to the community that owners who plan to inhabit a building do. We think it was pretty clear that we were highlighting this as an EXCEPTION to that connotation so no need to stay so high on that horse.
Yes, thanks Rolf for your very informative and thoughtful response. I admire your courage, community commitment and ability to transform thoughts, ideas and words into concrete action and, more importantly, tangible results.
On another note, contrary to the above comment from Anon, bloggers on this site are not a bunch of “armchair developers” or simply lack “real knowledge”. Brownstoner contributors are extremely informed and typically provide thoughtful, relevant and constructive commentary with respect to some of the pertinent issues discussed on these boards.
Moreover, we are active members of the Brooklyn brownstone community and our personal and professional backgrounds run the entire gamut: from home owners, renters, investors, brokers, flippers, mortgage finance professionals, to developers (yes, developers). In short, we are indeed informed and more often than not the nail gets hit right on the head.
Dear Rolf, I think you did a beautiful job. Congratulations.
Rolf:
I think that you should be using the Corcoran Group sell your listings, not Halstead. Of course, I am an agent at Corcoran, so….
They really are lovely.