House of the Day: 145 Van Dyke Street
Houses in Red Hook don’t come on the market that often because, well, there just aren’t that many of them. They tend to be a little quirky, often in a good way. Take today’s HOTD at 145 Van Dyke Street. To start with, the house is set back 40 feet or so from the street,…
Houses in Red Hook don’t come on the market that often because, well, there just aren’t that many of them. They tend to be a little quirky, often in a good way. Take today’s HOTD at 145 Van Dyke Street. To start with, the house is set back 40 feet or so from the street, with a sizeable garage in front of it. The interiors have a certain charm to them as well — pulling off the modern/traditional straddle. The dark beams set against the crisp white ceilings and walls feel out of the pages of a magazine shoot. The whole house isn’t quite as stylized, though: the bathroom looks perfectly ordinary. Another bonus: The owners of this house are among the few people who could walk to Fairway. As for the $1,195,000 asking price, we have to admit to not having strong feelings about. What do you think?
145 Van Dyke Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
I’ve lived in Red Hook for a year and a half, paid what I’m sure people on this site think is too much for a house whose listing was featured on this very site at one point and have not regretted it for a minute. It is not a neighborhood for everyone but for those who fall in love with it, it’s heaven. Moving to a neighborhood is about more than just how many up-scale amenities there are. And taking a 12 minute bus-ride to get to Borough Hall where almost every train runs through it is a small price to pay for a low-density lifestyle. The small town nature is truly unique compared to other Brooklyn neighborhoods I’ve lived in. There’s a real sense of community here and a real political/civic commitment on the part of long term and new residents alike. Not to mention there’s the opportunity to buy something relatively affordable and do an interesting reno and not be hassled by landmarks (which of course allows for some ugly construction as well). But it’s also about knowing your neighbors and the local shopowners (who are also your neighbors) in a way that I saw die out in Park Slope, for example, where I lived for 12 years before moving here.
So you have to figure out what the intangibles are worth to you and then whether you want to take the risk and jump ship to the so-called hinterlands. In regard to this house, I haven’t been inside it, but I personally like the reno and the fact that the bathrooms aren’t high-end gives you a chance to put your own stamp on it down the line. It’s on a beautiful cobblestone street and is a stone’s throw from Fairway and the waterfront. That said, having the garage as your facade doesn’t do a lot for it’s curb appeal, but one could always take it down and turn the space into a front garden and driveway or spruce the structure up as a carriage house. I don’t think the house is overpriced considering it’s in move-in condition. But I don’t think it’s cheap either. From what I can tell, the houses that go for under a million are usually smaller, though. I would bet this goes for around 1.1.
this has the right parts but in the wrong places.
I agree with the tear-down assessment.
I agree with john and anon 12:33 – red hook has a vibe and its a cute neighborhood but why would people pay this price to live so far from transportation. According to the floor plan the house is a 20×30 which means its not even 2000 square feet total . Its asking is over 650 a square foot. That seems very high. Plus the house is not that nice. If it were a top notch renovation i would say well maybe, but that looks like a very shlocky renovation. The support beams on the header look the same as the ones in my unfinished basement. There is the ‘raw’ look and then there is just cheap and cheesy.
Even though NYC real estate is grossly overpriced, overvalued, or whatever you want to call it…
I’d pay ask IF, and only IF, I could tear down this monstrousity (sorry to you Laura Ingals types), build whatever, and had some sense of certainty that I could still have water/city views for the next 10, 20 yrs.
Agree with John – Red Hook is cool and has character but it doesn’t seem like an appealing place to live day in and out at this price.
Even if you don’t need the subway everyday, why would want to live in NYC and pay top dollar if you arent near good public transit.
The cool factor in Red Hook would wear really thin after a few long winter walks on the dank blocks.
I like Red Hook, I really do. But these prices for a ‘hood that’s got no subway remotely close to it aren’t logical.
It’s got a Fairway, a couple of good bars, a few decent places to eat, but 1.2 for that area is asking a lot regardless of condition.
What gut reno on Coffey Street?
Address please?
Cool house lots of possibilites i think it will sell for around 1 mill.
Would be intriguing, if there’s FAR, to build on the garage’s roof.