House of the Day: 85 State Street
The first and only time we’ve discussed 85 State Street was back in March 2005 when the five-story brick townhouse was listed as an Open House Pick with an asking price of $2,500,000. That turned out to be a very good price for the dude who bought it; six months later he flipped it for…
The first and only time we’ve discussed 85 State Street was back in March 2005 when the five-story brick townhouse was listed as an Open House Pick with an asking price of $2,500,000. That turned out to be a very good price for the dude who bought it; six months later he flipped it for $3,200,000 to a developer who proceeded to do a modern gut renovation of the place. Although we have no reason to doubt the quality of the work in the house, the aesthetic result just doesn’t do it for us. For $5,500,000 (the asking price), we’d want a little more character. If we wanted to spend that kind of dough on something modern, we’d probably opt for something more like this. Apparently, we’re not the only ones: The single-family house has been on the market now on-and-off for more than a year, starting at $5,800,000 with Corcoran, moving to $5,950,000 with Douglas Elliman, before moving to Halstead last November where it’s gradually edged its way down to the current asking price of $5,500,000.
85 State Street [Halstead] GMAP P*Shark
Open House Picks 3/11/05 [Brownstoner]
I just watched the video and although I am a miminalist. I don’t love the design of the house. I don’t think it achieves what they intended.
– The stair railing should have been metal. The thick wood slats are too wide.
– Choose of cabinet hardware. Wire Pulls?? Come one.
– Slatted wood door? Why? Why? Why? It screams laundry room in Dyker Heights.
– Staged very badly. Although I like a mix of traditional and contemporary. This is not done right. I usually like seeing traditional details with cont. furntiure, not the other way around.
bayridgegirl, I got it and agree with you 100% on the spam, the price and the photos (not to mention your confusion over Dave’s comment re: the 1939 540K Mercedes).
the developer paid $3.2m, and the renovation probably cost at least $1mm. so $5m wouldn’t be an outrageous price if it’s really a “triple mint” renovation. $6m was indeed a stretch, though.
bxgrl, I’m not the recessed lighting snob. But I really do think there needs to be some life or character added to this. Not that it needs to be Dyker Heights “Mansion”-ized, but just something is missing…
I wasn’t referring to the prices, but all the spam. Am I the only one that saw that?
Okay, let’s talk about the price. Double in 3 years? is that justified? Either it was way underpriced in 2005 or way overpriced in 2008.
uh oh- biff won’t like the recessed lighting. too cold and minimalist for me but someone will love it. I really disliked the way they set up the parlor living room with the massive divider. claustrophobic and too dark for me and I would feel too guilty if I wanted to paint the built ins because they beautiful.
If it stays on the market another year, they may have to end up converting it back to a boarding house.
The asking price is unrealistically optimistic, more so every day.
and CobbleHilller loses by a fraction of a second…
i usually like modern interiors. but something about the cabinetry gives this a feel that is more office than home. or is it…the recessed lighting?!? or the staging? in any case, it’s a little cold.
extra points, though, to the creativity of the shelving unit(and maybe a glass wall?) to replace part of the (load-bearing?) wall. maybe has ductwork or plumbing, too? anyway, not sure i personally like the look but it’s nice to see something different.
Even though bayridgegirl was referring to the insane banter in the Brownstoner archive link that makes us all seem like members of the Oxford Debating Team, I’ll bemoan the price change. From $2.5MM in March 2005 to $5.95MM in November 2007? I realize there was a gut reno, but Mamma mia! I think this will go for under $5MM. I really see nothing overly special about the place.