House of the Day: 1216 Albemarle Road
Here’s an unusual listing for Victorian Flatbush. The house at 1216 Albemarle Road in the micro-nabe known as Prospect Park South has been sitting empty for over a year but its checkered past goes back much further. The original Victorian house was torn down (a fire maybe?) prior to 1965. The land was then divided…
Here’s an unusual listing for Victorian Flatbush. The house at 1216 Albemarle Road in the micro-nabe known as Prospect Park South has been sitting empty for over a year but its checkered past goes back much further. The original Victorian house was torn down (a fire maybe?) prior to 1965. The land was then divided into three lots and three architecturallly similar shoe-box type homes were contructed. This house is built on the foundation of one of these houses. For some strange reason, Landmarks insisted that the current design incorporate the brick work and first floor window from the 1965 houses into the new design, so what exists there now has been framed out around that 1965 window. We’re not sure whether the current owner ran out of money or just got tired of the project after investing so much time and energy negotiating with Landmarks, but the construction is very much mid-stream, with not much more than some walls, some windows, some electrical and a brand new furnace. It just hit the market yesterday but we’ve already gotten emails from readers about it, a couple of whom contributed the photos below; evidently no one in the neighborhood is particularly happy about how this place is turning out. Even if it were beautiful, the asking price of $1,900,000 implies an absurd multiple of $1,000 per buildable square foot! Egads. Is there any chance in hell of getting this price?
1216 Albemarle Road [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
How close is it to Midwood? Many big houses sell to large, affluent orthodox families for over $2m — they just never appear on the open market. So the market can actually bear much higher prices than many people are aware of.
it does have a nice garage under the bay window and a nice location. Depending on how unfinished it is, I could see it going for a million. It would be brand new construction and a lot of people really like that.
And not being too huge can be a plus.
I think it looks pleasant. but if it has water damage or anything like that, then it’s a different story.
It seems the most you can get for a single family in Vic Flatbush is around or under $500 a square foot. For an unfinished 2 story 1850 square foot house on a small lot with no historical anything should really go for no more than 900,000. Maybe throw an extra 100 to 200 thousand for the great location on Ablemarle and argyle in PPS and your at 1.1 million. But don’t forget that this building is unfinished. I guess your back to 900,000. But who knows, maybe there is someone who is looking for a shell to customize?
If your house burns down, they will let you rebuild it like it was incorporating anything that was not consumed. They may make you put up a plaque or something with the year of reconstruction.
wait. seriously. so, god forbid, if my beautiful hundred year old house burns down, landmarks is gonna make me put a piece of crap like this? Really??
Landmarks would never let anyone build a new Victorian cottage or Tudor. that much I do know. they say it is “falsely historicizing” which means “forget it”. Hideous is OK though.
I assume every brick of this baby was stipulated by landmarks. otherwise they would have to take it down. Which would be an imporvement.
I’m not sure landmarks actually required them to keep the ugly facade. I don’t think the person who was building this had very much money and they probably didn’t go to landmarks to get a new, neighborhood era looking house approved, because it would have cost a pretty penny to build. Once the structure exists, landmarks can’t make you take it down, but I do not think they would require you to keep something that does not really fit the historical era. I also live in the neighborhood and am truly saddened that the owner is being this ridiculous. I was hoping a sane price would be put on this and someone would build a cute little victorian cottage or tudor on the site (which is now an eyesore in an otherwise beautiful neighborhood). It is sort of like the landlords who are trying to get brooklyn heights/park slope rents on Cortelyou Road, thus turning away a lot of people who want to put stores and restaurants into the horrible empty spaces but can’t afford prime rent.
It sounds like the landmarks commission considers the 1960’s historic. I can’t believe they made them build that boring house around a bay window.
-demented!
But I heard that Landmarks insisted they incorporate the hideous multicolored 60s brick!