Set Speed Condo Report: The Roanoke
The Roanoke building on South Oxford and Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene has been completely renovated since the summer. Since then, the listing broker for these condominium units seems to have switched hands from Taj Property, the original broker, to an open listing, and finally seems to have landed in the hands of Corcoran. This…
The Roanoke building on South Oxford and Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene has been completely renovated since the summer. Since then, the listing broker for these condominium units seems to have switched hands from Taj Property, the original broker, to an open listing, and finally seems to have landed in the hands of Corcoran. This building, according to the site, was built in 1890 and has ‘Romanesque Revival’ details. As the condos are centrally located for transportation, dining and nightlife, it’s a bit surprising that there are so many units left on the market. From the Taj website floorplans, there appear to be 20-24 units, each of varying sizes. The Corcoran site has listings for 10 of them, so it’s quite possible that there are several units in contract already. The Corcoran site promises porcelain baths, wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, original details and beautiful light.
Originally marketed in the summer, when things were still frothy, these units were priced extremely aggressively, with one penthouse duplex unit priced close to $1MM for barely 1100 square feet. From the looks of it, Corcoran may have tempered the developers’ expectations and lowered the pricing on a lot of the units. Prices and sizes on the Corcoran listings range from a 705-square-foot 2 bedroom, 1 bath for $494,000 to a 1,075-square-foot 2 bedroom, 1 bath for $914,000 (presumably the penthouse duplex units). There are even two units available for rent for $2100 per month. Maintenance charges range from $397 to $498 per month and real estate taxes are $232 to $298 per month. The taxes make it seem like there is no tax abatement on these, which could veer buyers towards other new condos in the area with less monthly taxes.
New Condos at The Roanoke [Corcoran] GMAP
Every Thursday, ltjbukem, whose own blog Set Speed scrutinizes the progress and quality of new developments in the area we know as Brownstone Brooklyn, pens a guest post about goings-on in the condo market with an emphasis on new projects.
For what it’s worth, I greatly appreciate the brief blog and forum that follows. It’s great to get work-in-progress photos from varoius sites. It’s also useful to hear the general public sound off on the relative value of the various properties for sale. Thanks to all for the constructive contributions.
The building is in a landmarked district, so it is landmarked. As for the price, they’ll go for what the market in the area supports. Considering that the top end brownstones in the area have gone for over $2 million, it will be interesting to see what these go for. They are just condos though. A two bedroom coop (not condo) in a brownstone will go for 550-650K in the area, or more if it is especially large or has something special.
i can see the roanoke from my apartment where i sit right now. i think that it’s good that the building is being renovated (ps i don’t know if it’s a landmark, however, it used to be in old AIA guides to the city when it had fire escapes on the facade). the problem with the roanoke is the prices. i think we see that with all these condos — it’s offensive to have these asking prices that are so out of context of the neighborhood. most people moved to brooklyn not just for the greenery and the smaller scale, but to get away from these obnoxious condo projects and the absurdity of manhattan’s prices. it’s just a shame that it’s in my (our) backyard now.
I agree with 9:04PM. I don’t have time to track down all developments and I enjoy the discussions that result from LTJ’s posts so this and the others have served a purpose IMHO.
I don’t understand why people would think this place should be demolished simply because it used to be a crack house. It’s great that is it is being renovated. Hopefully the reno is not to shoddy. It is smack dab in the middle of prime Fort Greene. If people are shocked that the same area was a drug den 20 years ago – well let’s just be happy that it is not anymore. 120 years ago it was an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood and it is again now…
Yeah, I can confirm that that place was always the black sheep of the block for the past 30 years. And the fire that burned it down about 20 years ago spat embers 1-2 city blocks away. After that it turned to a crackhouse and was taken over by squatter/drug dealers. I’m more than happy to see it fixed up, but I’m skeptical that the fix up will work, and also that the construction will be done in a reasonable time period–the hype on this condo has been going on for more than 6 months now, and the front windows are still cracked and filthy.
Also, take it easy on Set Speed. No one’s claiming that he’s a professional real estate journalist. He’s a neighborhood blogger, for god’s sakes. Just accept a little extra local info without all the insane raving about needing “expertise” etc. It’s not like he’s charging you a fee. Just appreciate it.
i’d like to throw in that the i really like th setspeed condo reports and look forward to thursdays. Why? Because I don’t want to troll around broker sites to see what is on offer and etc. I don’t wantto track prices and etc. But, I’d like it spoon fed to me once in a while to keep me somewhat in the loop. that is part of what a blog is…
Not quite sure if the realtor is implying that the entire building is original from 1890’s and fully landmarked? Wording is ambiguous.
I lived on the next block on Lafayette from the Roanoke in the 1980’s. Indeed it was a drug house. Attempts to renevate happened in 1986/7. Squatters were thrown out and guard dogs were installed. I watched this building burn to the ground when those renovations were nearly complete. All that remained was a portion of the stone front.
Looking at the realtor photo, I do not remember the top floor before renovations or fire and the entrance way was the center door.
My question is this being sold as landmark, does anyone know history of the building to confirm the realtor statements, and just how much of a building needs to remain to retain landmark status.
I would expect from a condo report, that the ‘reporter’ actually at least visits the condo. Makes sense, or?
I personally am disappointed. The value added by ltjbukem compared to just posting a link to the project link is not existing.
As a recent condo buyer ltjbukem, in a project that still needs to find buyers (at now reduced prices) he has an interest in pimping condos. Look at the reports of the past. Any real negative comments on anything? Never.
You can stop this series.