house
We got a chance to walk through the Smith Gray building back in, what, 2002 when it was still being renovated. Its Soho-esque cast iron bones and huge windows are the main attractions in our eyes. Unfortunately, the penthouse units lack both of these things as well as the loft-like sense of space that most of the regular units have. Douglas Elliman currently has two such apartments on the market. The first, a 2,117-squear-foot three bedroom asking $1,399,000; the second, an 898-square-foot one bedroom asking $635,000. One bonus to remember about the building is that it’s still only about half-way through its 10-year J51 tax abatement, so common charges are low, low, low.
138 Broadway (Large) [Prudential Douglas Elliman] GMAP
138 Broadway (Small) [Prudential Douglas Elliman]


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  1. where is it in brooklyn that the average brownstone has only 2000 sqft? while the square footage o fthese apartments may be “unreal” the price per square foot is high compared to what you would pay for any 2000 sqft brownstone in the near vicinity. if you think these lofts represent a good deal you’ve been smoking real estate crack again.

  2. There is another large penthouse currently in the market, from aptsandlofts.com, listed at $1.25m, 1997 sqft.

    There was also a large apt by Elliman on a lower floor, 1800+ sqft, asking $1.2m, went into contract in couple of weeks.

  3. The larger one has fairly high monthly carrying costs as it stands right now — over $1400 per month. What will happen in five years when the abatement ends?

    And similarly, does the abatement cause the “no taxes” for the smaller unit? I’ve never heard of zero taxes on a condo unit.

  4. Another Scarano project – in fact one of the early ones in Wb. At the time, the conversion set a pretty high bar price wise.

    This is actually the SECOND Smith-Gray Building – the original building is across the street further down Broadway. Its also cast iron (painted green), by the same architect (William Gaylor), and was designated a city landmark about a year or two ago.

    The same architect also did the former Smith-Gray showroom on the corner of Greenpoint and Manahattan. (Smith, Gray made children’s clothing.)