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
At long last some sensible commentary from someone ACTUALLY INVOLVED…not a bunch of armchair developers who have never had a dime of real risk…its a lesson to everyone who slings stuff around on this board with no real knowledge…b’stoner you should post Rolf’s commentary on your front page…
The word flipper is used in a slanderous uninformed way. Be carefull. It tilted the conversation from important issues of development and its community context downward towards cynical incomprehension. Rolf Grimsted
Thanks so much, Rolf, for sharing all that. We know it ain’t easy having one’s hard work dissected on the Internet. We applaud your motives and the outcome. Good luck on future projects–we’d love to hear how they are progressing.
Sorry about the double posting I got confused by the failure message- Rolf
I along with my partner Emily Fisher are the developers of this piece of property. We are not flippers but community sensitive developers. The Idea for this project was started on 584 Pacific Street right next door. Our Idea was within the zoning to develop a browstone as a two family condominium. The result is that there is close to twenty five hundred square feet in each apartment. The cellar and the attic do not do not count in FAR. The cellar has a large well that lets in a lot of light and gives access to the back yard. Although the bottom apartment has the yard on both buildings we put as many decks and terraces as we could. The space was to be divided so that there were two floor through parlors (public space) stacked on each other. This meant that the sleeping areas are two floors apart. The kitchen’s are put in the corners in order to maximize the loft like feel of the public areas. We carefully kept and restored the townhouse feeling of the stoop and the cornices and porticos. These buildings had origionaly been SRO’s and had been boarded up for at least 8 years before we got then out of their legal trouble. We started with 584 and someone else got 582. When we were finishing 584 the person who had already gut renovated 582 and added the extension, then flipped it to us because his plan of making a youth hostel was not economicly viable. We did not want to pay as much as we did but since the extension was already built and a fair amount of the work involved was done, we thought we could make a go of it. There were a fair amount of problems with the construction that the previous owner had done that did add cost. Then we started to design to find the right balance in order to make two very attractive apartments. There are few people that see the apartments that do not love the apartments, the pictures look nice but do not fully illustrate the thoughtfull design and layouts. The bottom apartment at 582 we sold to someone who missed out on an apartment at 584. We customized their kitchen and made some changes for them and thy closed in the fall. The other apartment we kept working on and had on the market since then. My partner and I live in Beorum Hill Brooklyn since 1993 when I bought my townhouse, we have two daughters. We designed out of our frustraions with the limitations of Brooklyn townhouses. We thought that our idea was right for the time and the market. It has proven to be a successful venture.
When we started What Ratner might do was a vague notion. It has had effect on the marketability on that block to a small degree. That block of Pacific Street used to be a wreck. Now there is a strong block association and many good people who live there in condos and coops. We plant flowers every spring with the block association in all the tree pits. It may have been edgy once but now it is a lovely neighborhood with lots of people that are fighting to keep it that way. Location wise it is at the intersection of lots of great neighborhoods, with access to all trains and the L.I.R.R.
We are currently developing other sites such as the corner of Nevins and Pacific which has been derelict since a fire over twenty years ago. We are making two townhouse condos there more side by side than stacked as it is on a corner. We also are puting apartments above Hank’s Bar on the opposite corner of Atlantic and Third. I assure you that we are part of the community we build in and have no intention of flipping anything. We do complete new construction within the shells that exist which brings added value. Our work is not cosmetic. We also strive to develop green building practices and are developing a new green standard for brownstone Brooklyn. We are trying as hard as it may be (economicly) to be quality builders of family homes over junky constructers of paste up buildings. We also strive to be responsive to the market and develop a long term clientel interested in what we have to offer. We will hopefully be able to do more projects such as the ones at 582 & 584 Pacific streets and make the fair profit we are as we go. Rolf Grimsted R&E Brooklyn, Inc.
Two triplexes? I don’t get it. Even with the top floor as a setback, I count 5 floors, unless the bottom floor for the bottom triplex is entirely below ground.
Not for nothing, but I believe the actress is Rachel Weitz, while the real estate broker is Rachel Weiss.
Now back to your scheduled program…
Eureka! The truth is revealed.
I saw the place at the beginning of January. It’s actually quite nice and very centrally located. I was quite concerned about the inevitable construction across the street with accompanying noise (and resultant blocking of views all the way to the Empire State building). The renovation wasn’t bad, although I would have sprung for a nicer kitchen with nicer appliances, therby justifying the asking price. There’s a new woodburning fireplace and nice outdoor space facing south. I believe the lower triplex sold in October for 1.3 million. And it’s the same Rachel Weiss (how many times a day does she hear this joke?).