House of the Day: Maple Street Mansionette
In yesterday’s discussion of the House of the Day on Albemarle Road, a couple of commenters cited 51 Maple Street as an interesting comparable. Priced $300,000 less than the Albemarle listing, 51 Maple Street does appear to have more details and what a score that covered driveway is! Beyond that, we don’t know the nabe…
In yesterday’s discussion of the House of the Day on Albemarle Road, a couple of commenters cited 51 Maple Street as an interesting comparable. Priced $300,000 less than the Albemarle listing, 51 Maple Street does appear to have more details and what a score that covered driveway is! Beyond that, we don’t know the nabe well enough to make the call, but we sure would like to hear what readers think is the better buy.
51 Maple Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP
HOTD: Brick Colonial on Albemarle [Brownstoner]
I’ve posted on the other thread, but the house is not really on Albermarle, despite the address. It faces either Stratford or Westminster and is quite close to Church Ave., which is not the most desirable part of PPS. In fact there are many other sections of Victorian Flatbush, albeit where the houses are somewhat more modest (and cheaper to heat… and renovate), which, to me are far preferable in terms of location. Rugby Road between Beverley and Cortelyou is conveniently located near everything, and there has been a lot of renovation on that block over the past two years. It looks great and it has a strong sense of community. The houses are smaller than in PPS for the most part, and a tad less interesting, but still loads of charm and details. If a house came up for sale here, I’d call my friends. The southern end of Victorian Flatbush is another story. Lots of beautiful, large homes, as well as the more modest variety (modest by Victorian Flatbush standards, anyway), but not really in walking distance of the park or any amenities that are particularly desirable. Places like Waldorf Court and Glenwood Road, with the Flatbush malls like you find on Albermarle, are GORGEOUS, but rather desolate. I like being near the bustle of Cortelyou Road. It’s not overly crowded, but it’s never a lonely walk home alone in the dark. As far as the house for sale in PPS goes, brick is usually a plus, especially in Ditmas if it is original – which is unusual, but happens. In this case it’s just aesthetics… I don’t care for the house. There are several other brick houses along Abermarle and on the “English” streets b/w Albermarle and Church which are far more interesting looking, fabulous in fact. I also really hate what they have done with the metal railing on top of what appears to be an addition, creating a makeshift deck. I hate it when people sacrafice the original look of the house to create more living space, especially when these homes are so large to start with. It smacks of greed… or an illegal conversion. Finally, from what I’ve heard, the interior has lost quite a bit of detail and needs big bucks thrown at it. Not worth the current price tag. Depending on the interior, 100-200k overpriced. There are still issues on Church Ave that affect PPS homeowners who abut it.
To the immediately preceding post, why wouldn’t you be interested in Albemarle and Stratford?
I’m the poster from Ditmas Park, and quite frankly, although I made the choice to live in Ditmas Park over PLG (and passed up a fabulous house in the process), I would not be interested in the PPS house on Stratford?/Albermarle for sale at the moment. And what’s all this talk about PLG being superior in terms of access to the park? I’m two blocks from the Parade Grounds (where I’m tethered to by my children’s soccer games for most of the year), and just a stone’s throw from the actual park… I don’t see how proximity to the park makes PLG more desirable than the Northern end of Victorian Flatbush in that respect. The other thing I don’t care for about PLG and which is not going to change, is that there is a real feeling of being hemmed into a confined number of blocks, bordered by huge high rises, the congestion on Flatbush Avenue, and several subway stations I’m not particularly comfortable with. Maybe PLG is right for those who have posted above, and many others. And I’m happy for them. They are the owners of fabulous looking homes. I have often told people that the architecture there is as good and sometimes better as that in the prime areas of Victorian Flatbush. However, whoever said the homes in Victorian Flatbush feel small inside must not live in one of the Chicago style homes in PLG. I’ve been in several of them on the house tour and they have three tiny bedrooms at best, one of which you lose if you want a decent sized bathroom. Fine if your childless or just have one kid. You tend to get people with larger families in Victorian Flatbush, also people who want to occupy their entire home, and not wind up squishing into just 1400 square feet after they rent out a few floors to swing the jumbo mortgage, which is usually the story in Park Slope, for example. Also, I stand firm – the gentrification of Cortelyou Road, which is starting to bustle, but since it isn’t a huge stretch of Flatbush, will, I bet, never become overly congested, is a huge bonus.
First, hard to compare since the Brown Harris listing tells you, like, nothing! How many square feet is it? What’s the lot size? No specs at all. What’s up with a real estate agency’s site that doesn’t give you information you need to know?
Second, I don’t see the issue as comparing PLG vs. PPS. They’re different. However, being that close to Flatbush in that section is a little rough, if for no other reason than traffic. The house looks to be in poor interior condition. I’d say location, size and condition are probably significant differentiators. If it was on the other side of Bedford, it’d be more interesting. As a comparable to PPS, not sure I get it, and not sure that if you used it as a comp, the Albemarle listing might be underpriced.
We were recently in the market for a house, and we looked at both nabes. For us, Lefferts Manor was the right choice. The houses in Victorian Flatbush are awesome from the outside, but I always felt disappointed once we went in them. The rooms tended to feel smaller than I expected. Also, Coney Island Ave. is the most depressing stretch of road in all of Brooklyn!
When we walked into the house that we ended up buying in Lefferts we were struck by how grand it felt. Our new neighbors in Lefferts are great, and the area has a wonderful feel to it. I’m hoping that Rogers Ave. gets some interesting stores, but being able to walk to the farmer’s market at Grand Army Plaza is great!
My vote is for the Maple Street house.
“There’s work to be done, but this is a solid house…” OUCH! Sounds like brokerese for “This place is falling apart!” Also, it’s vacant, perhaps meaning anxious owners. The location is great — right next to the Park. I do believe PLG (at least this side of Bedford Ave) will one day rival (or even surpass) Victorian Flatbush in terms of amenities, but it’s not there yet…overall, not worth over $1 million.
That said, the house on Albemarle is not representative of Victorian (really Edwardian, from the actual construction date of most of the houses in question) Flatbush architecture either. It looks like it could be in Bronxville or Riverdale.
I vote for the PLG contender.
you get what you pay for in PLG – i would argue to a certain extent that PLG’s proximity to PS is a greater asset than the recent developments on cortelyou rd (as long as you’re up for either taking the subway one stop or walking across the park). plus, PLG has a significantly shorter commute into manhattan and greater access to prospect park than Ditmas. neighborhood groups are also putting pressure on the city to take similar “gentrifying” steps as far as what the completed lincoln road bridge will be like to assure that the street is appealing to new businesses. PLG does not yet have an EDC or BID, but with any luck one of the grassroots groups will take their organization to the next level.
“There’s work to be done, but this is a sold house…” OUCH! Sounds like brokerese for “This place is falling apart!” Also, it’s vacant, perhaps meaning anxious owners. The location is great — right next to the Park. I do believe PLG (at least this side of Bedford Ave) will one day rival (or even surpass) Victorian Flatbush in terms of amenities, but it’s not there yet…overall, not worth over $1 million.
That said, the house on Albemarle is not representative of Victorian (really Edwardian, from the actual construction date of most of the houses in question) Flatbush architecture either. It looks like it could be in Bronxville or Riverdale.
I vote for the PLG contender.
I’m a longstanding Lefferts resident, and I’m sure Victorian Flatbush is a great place to live. We looked at area ourselves before we moved to Lefferts, mostly because it’s closer to the park, our friends and our kids’ schools. The shopping and restaurants here aren’t great, but there are plenty of amenities: the park, the Botanic Garden, the ice skating rink, the zoo, the library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Grand Army Plaza Farmers Market, and on and on. This is clearly a great house at a fair price. The neighborhood is great too: filled with artists and writers and other interesting people. It will never be the fanciest or most expensive neighbhorhood in the city, but that’s fine with us.