Vinegar Hill Greek Revival With Wooden Storefront, Two Apartments Asks $2.15 Million

Located on the atmospheric commercial spine of Vinegar Hill, this early 19th century structure offers a storefront with two apartments above. Buildings in this historic neighborhood don’t come up on the market that often and indeed, 54 Hudson Avenue hasn’t changed hands since the 1970s.

The Greek Revival-style building is one of a row that was in place by 1841 and likely dates to the 1830s. It’s within the petite Vinegar Hill Historic District. Designated in 1997, the district is actually comprised of three noncontiguous sections of early and mid 19th century structures that reflect the period of the founding of the neighborhood.

No. 54 is a three-story red brick building with the simple stone lintels and a dentil cornice typical of the period. There’s still a wooden storefront that, according to the designation report, had some alterations in the 1970s, but is largely intact. Brownstoner’s Suzanne Spellen described the address as the most original in the row and home to a grocery in the early 19th century. The circa 1940 tax photo shows the storefront when it was home to the Evans Political Club.

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The entrance to the commercial space still bears the gold lettered sign for the Department of Signs & Symbols (now DEP ART), an art space that occupied the storefront in 2015. The spot’s most recent claim to fame, the listing informs, is a turn as a butcher shop in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Floor plans show the commercial space has an open plan with a half bath at the rear. There’s a full height cellar below, accessible via the shared hallway staircase.

The shared hallway has wide-plank floorboards, an exposed brick wall and a door at the back that leads to the garden.

Up the shared staircase are the two floor-through apartments. Both are set up with living rooms facing the street and kitchens in the rear. Adjacent to the living room in the second floor unit is a small bedroom with a closet and window. The wall was removed in the unit on the third floor, leaving an open sleeping alcove.

There are only a handful of interior images in the listing, but they show a second floor unit with wood floors and a beamed ceiling. The kitchen has light wood cabinets, green countertops and is open to the living and dining spaces. The windowed bathroom adjacent to the kitchen could perhaps use a bit of a style upgrade. It’s got a mix of tile on the floor and walls and white fixtures.

The third floor unit has tile floors in the dining space and kitchen; the latter has tile counters and wood cabinets. A door leads to a private balcony. The sleeping alcove has a lofted bed and exposed brick wall. The bathroom is located in the middle of the unit, breaking up the open floor plan. It’s got a skylight, a blue cast iron tub, vintage sink, black and white hex tile, and blue floral wallpaper.

Out back, the rear garden has a concrete patio with a wooden pergola and raised planting beds. Ivy grows up the brick wall of the adjoining building at 52 Hudson Avenue. On the other side is a vacant lot, part of the property owned by Con Edison, which operates a power plant in the area. That lot is not included within the historic district, so could potentially be developed.

As noted, the property hasn’t changed hands since the 1970s. It’s now on the market for $2.15 million, listed by David Feldman of Halstead. What do you think?

[Listing: 54 Hudson Avenue | Broker: Halstead] GMAP

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