House of the Day: Crown Heights Grand Dame
Readers know that one of our pet peeves is the omission of addresses from real estate listings; that omission is particularly galling when a broker fails to respond to an email request for an address. You’d think the free publicity would be enough. Not one Brooklyn Heights Real Estate broker. The radio silence and the…
Readers know that one of our pet peeves is the omission of addresses from real estate listings; that omission is particularly galling when a broker fails to respond to an email request for an address. You’d think the free publicity would be enough. Not one Brooklyn Heights Real Estate broker. The radio silence and the lack of interior photos make us wonder whether this “Grand Dame” across from the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights is not an exclusive. (That, and the fact that the broker thinks it’s located in Bedford Stuyvesant.) Regardless, this baby looks awfully charming from the outside, though the listing does disclose that it’s in need of “total” restoration. Given that fact and the square footage of 3,872, we’d say that the asking price of $1,500,000 is rather aggressive. Thoughts? Update: We know now that the address is 875 St. Marks Avenue and have been sent a few photos of the interior which are posted above and on the jump.
Grand Dame [Brooklyn Heights RE] GMAP
All right you guys, I’m in! 888 Park Place may still be available and would also make a gorgeous B&B.
FYI- the lovely space in the photo just above the gorgeous triple window is what used to be the kitchen ( form the 70’s I think.) Once water damamge rendered it unusable, they used the room for storing whatever.
I have 15$ in my savings account you can have! Seriously- i wish there was a way to do it. A B&B seems to be the only way to use the whole house without redoing the entryway. Or a commune because to reconfigure the entry and staircase would be a crime. Now to relive the heartbreak again of seeing that wonderful old house and hoping the right person buys it.
Ha! I’m with you, Yente, too bad we didn’t meet at one of the open houses for the place and connect. I’m also jealous that you have $10 left over.
;>)
Ok, if we pool our money (I have about $10 left after my renovation), maybe we can buy it together, renovate it ourselves (I know you’re DIY also, CHP) and open a B&B. Who’s in?! Where’s Shahn when you need him?
Sorry, stained glass window is not round, but is right above the front door.
This house still upsets me. The windows in the turret were still the original curved glass. The frames let in drafts the size of monsoons, but it was still the original curved glass windows……sigh. They even had curved ornate radiators on the top floor in the turret. You should see the built-ins. Argh!!! Why did this have to come back to haunt us?
Oak coffered ceiling, oak panelling for days……….billiard room completely panelled in oak. Magnificent built in cabinet, huge window seat below that stained glass bay in the first picture…..
I wanted this place, too, and had actually drawn up a business plan to turn it into a B&B. Yente – I always thought we’d get along. I went down to the DOB and pulled the folder. The house was owned in the 30’s by a doctor (it is on Doctor’s Row)who used the entire parlour floor for his practice. His family lived on the top 2 floors, and had a new kitchen put in on the third floor. That’s why that large complete kitchen with all the cabinets (what’s left of it, anyway) is on the third floor. They also replaced the original fireplace with an electric one, and they walled off the round stained glass window seen on the exterior from the rest of the house. They also had the rather cool shower and master bathroom put in on the top floor.
I also found the original letter to the first owner authorizing the building of the billiards room on the ground floor. (An incredible room under all the crap). The entire rest of the ground floor is unihabitable, and some of it, beyond where the second photo above is, was so bad, no one could even get to it, let alone go back there. No one had been back there in years, I was told. The floor was gone, and the plywood was so spongey, it felt like you were on a diving board.
Alas, I had an architect and his engineer behind me, but I couldn’t convince any lending institution to go with it. Hal, Yente, Bx2Bklyn and others did not exaggerate the amount of mess and damage that place had. The first time I saw it, one of the people in my group literally ran out of the house looking like he was going to be sick.
But if one had the money……., piles of money, what a showplace it would be. I hope whoever gets it, and it certainly won’t be for a mill 5, doesn’t try to make 4 floor throughs. The center stairway and configuration of the house doesn’t lend itself to it unless you destroy the beauty of the house.
I have a ton of pix of this place, too. I really wanted to buy it, and really regret that I couldn’t. In spite of the structural damage, and the mess and the work, she was a beauty.
For $1.5 mil in Crown Heights, I am not bringing my own architect.
In the interest of full disclosure, the photos posted (other than the facade) are not current. They were taken during that Flateau showing mentioned above by others. I think it was a year and a half ago or two. Everybody had a blast guessing how many 40 yard dumpsters would be needed to clear it out. Nice to know one poster above stayed and counted. 😉