House of the Day: 40 St. Marks Avenue
After purchasing the brownstone at 40 St. Marks Avenue in Park Slope for $900,000 in 2003, the current owners set about doing a renovation that looks to be quite tastefully modern. We’re not sure how much original detail they had to work with, but a couple of marble fireplaces are about all we can spot…
After purchasing the brownstone at 40 St. Marks Avenue in Park Slope for $900,000 in 2003, the current owners set about doing a renovation that looks to be quite tastefully modern. We’re not sure how much original detail they had to work with, but a couple of marble fireplaces are about all we can spot now. Still, it looks like a quality job, so we suspect they’ll be plenty of interested parties. Whether they’ll be able to swallow $2,195,000 for a house between 5th and 6th Avenues remains to be seen.
40 St. Marks Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Yeah, I agree- thanks 11:49. Very helpful comments!
Thanks for the great report 11:49. I always think to look back at past HOTDs after open houses, but rarely do people post because it’s been a few days. Thanks for doing so!
Impressions from the open house…
A lot of attention was obviously paid to details on the reno. They also managed to make a fairly narrow house feel rather airy.
However, many things were either not well thought out or not completed. For example, a door in the kitchen that lead to nowhere. I guess they were going to put some sort of deck there, but I can’t see how that would possibly work, given the rather minuscule back yard. Frankly I’ve seen larger diner booths, but the outdoor space was nicely done for what it was. There was a deck on the second floor which was a more pleasant space.
They did a good job on the cabinets and closets, but I was puzzled by a large window-like opening from the master bedroom to the stairs. There was a sliding glass door in the master bath that covered either the shower OR the toilet stall which was, well, just kind of weird.
The other bathroom looked like they had not renovated it yet and it did not fit into the modern look. The stair banisters also looked out of place, like they had been transplanted from a rather bland suburban home.
The house might be legally a two family, but there was no kitchen or bathroom in the garden floor, there was also only one small window in the front and one in the back, so it would not make the most desirable apartment.
The interior is about as far from a brownstone as you can get. Very little detail or period charm. It looks as if the owners would rather be in a slick new condo.
3:06 – If you included more than one link, the the blogging software probably thought it was spam. Nothing conspiratorial at work.
Hmmm, I tried to post recommendations about attractive things to do with small yards, and I provided links for photos as options. But I guess Brownstoner decided not to post it. Don’t know why. Maybe I wasn’t being snarkey enough to merit being included.
4:36- I agree with you. I think 4:28 is way off. I’m a buyer as well coming from Manhattan and a yard is pretty much our #1 requirement. There is no way we’d pay over $2mm for no back yard. You can get all sorts of newly renovated (or newly constructed!!!) inventory if you go for condos in Manhattan or Brooklyn. The main appeal of a house is related to the yard.
That yard is still bigger than the average Manhattan balcony.
Sorry 4:28. Those Manhattan buyers you mention are mainly moving to Brooklyn so they can have some outdoor living space, as least I am. I’d rather have to fix it up a little (and to make it suit my tastes in the process) and have a backyard than not.
In a market where — in spite of recent volatility — demand for town houses in move-in condition far out-strips supply, there are plenty of affluent young families in Manhattan for whom this would be a very attractive purchase. Brand-spanking new reno, nothing to do but move in and enjoy. Most of the comments above are just nit-picky. Don’t lose sight of the big picture.