House of the Day: 638 Union Street
We wish there were some more photos to work with but from what we can see this new listing at 638 Union Street has a decent shot of achieving its asking price, in large part because the asking price is only $1,300,000, not a big number for Park Slope. (Granted, this is only a stone’s…
We wish there were some more photos to work with but from what we can see this new listing at 638 Union Street has a decent shot of achieving its asking price, in large part because the asking price is only $1,300,000, not a big number for Park Slope. (Granted, this is only a stone’s throw from 4th Avenue, but it’s still Park Slope!) Anyway, the photos of the entry hall look fine but there’s not much to go on when it comes to the rest of the interior. (The fact that the listing says “Bring your architect and imagination to design a spectacular home of your own” suggests that the rest of the interior ain’t much to brag about.) The exterior will probably be a big selling point for some people, as the fully-detached house is surrounded by a large community garden
638 Union Street [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
This house has had those two garden lots on either side like this for decades already, I doubt anything is going to be built on the any time soon. Which is good, I like the gardens……I believe it is called (Annies garden)? I pass it everyday as I go to the gym on 5th everyday…..
I like the outside of the house. I like Union St, there are lots of trees and the people keep gardens all around their trees.
This area is busy, but never the less, I like it. It is convenient to all.
The house while looks good on the outside should be converted back to a one family, thus needing a whole new configuration, plus a full gut job….
But I can dream, can’t I ????
PS: I wish I had $1,300,000 so I could buy it myself! A few of the garden volunteers have expressed similar interest already.
Nomi; There’s a chain-link fence between each garden and the house, but the Garden of Union (the larger of the two gardens) is screened by hedges and some climbing vines. The other side (Annie’s Garden) just had the fence replaced, so it is visually open. Still, the gardens are open to the public only a few hours during weekend days, or when they’re being maintained by volunteers. Other than an occasional visitor in there within sight of your house, or the garden admirer complimenting your garden surroundings, it’s relatively private. And as the gates are supposed to be locked after 6 PM, you would have the views of both gardens in the evening, with no-one in them. If you ever wished to escape noisy neighbors, you couldn’t ask for anything quieter or more pleasant than a garden on both sides.
You can put in lot line windows if you want, but they don’t count toward your legally required windows, and you really can’t bitch when the lot next doow gets built and blocks them.
I’d take 156 Lafayette for $200k more…
Ahh, ok, brikenny, thank you. But the backyard is completely open visually to the gardens?
“I suspect this will go quickly and close to ask.”
Who are you and what have you done with the real Snark?
Yes, there IS a backyard. The community gardens flank it; they don’t go around the back.
This is being sold by one of my neighbors so I’m familiar with the house. The interior has been altered a few times over the last 50 years to make 3 apartments, with the owner living on the garden floor. The low price reflects the upper units being occupied, and it’s a harder sell when tenants are still there. That also explains the lack of photos, with the tenants’ apartments not being shown. It’s structurally in good shape, although there are lots of upgrades that could be done, especially with wiring, or conversion back to a single-family.
Proximity to Fourth Ave, in spite of the occasional noise issue, is generally considered an asset as the Union St. stop on the R train is a half block away, and Fifth Ave grocery stores, restaurants, and shopping are at the other end of the block.
And DIBS; the Community Gardens flanking this house are lots owned by the city (under the auspices of the Parks Department now) and are still considered potential “building lots”. There can’t be windows put in on the sides if it’s a lot-line wall, and certainly not if the city still has the option of selling the land for new construction. The haters will have to look elsewhere to grumble.