A four-story Brooklyn Heights townhouse at 265 Hicks Street (on the corner of Joralemon) is undergoing a renovation that will convert the eight-family property into two units. Brownstoner reports that the DOB permit calls for “exterior demolition and restoration of the existing brownstone,” which will include construction of a new front stoop, rear balcony, new roof and—ooh la la—a penthouse addition and new elevator.

The home was on the market in 2008—without interior photos—which would lead one to believe that the interior calls for a gut reno. Brownstoner : It was last asking $2.5 million, and sold in December 2011 (delivered vacant) for $2.2 million.

(Photo: Brownstoner)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46234

It appears the historic Williamsburg Bank building at 1 Hanson Place, which stood for decades as the tallest structure in Brooklyn, at 512 feet & 37 stories, is now just one of the crowd. As gentrification continues in Downtown Brooklyn, at least a half-dozen highrise residential towers are in the works.

The New York Observer tallies the progress, noting the skyline along Flatbush Avenue “has been utterly transformed” in recent years, as six new apartment towers rose during the last building boom: the Toren, the Brooklyner, the Oro, Avalon Fort Greene, the DKLB and Forte.

Adding to those projects (with BHB research from Brownstoner, Real Deal, Curbed):
* The Oro 2 at the corner of Gold and Johnson Streets is now getting off the ground, which will rise to 35 stories with 208 apartments.
* Billionaire John Catsimatidis is preparing the second of four buildings on Myrtle Avenue between Ashland Place and Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. At the end of June he filed for a 15-story mixed-use building with 160,000sf of residential and 13,000sf of commercial.
* 29 Flatbush Avenue, where construction is well under way. The 42-story rental building is slated for 2013 completion.
* Two Trees is developing a formerly city-owned property at Flatbush & Lafayette near BAM, which is said to include a residential tower and public open space.
* City Point Phase 2 facing Fulton Street Mall, is set to begin construction in the coming months. The nearly complete Phase 1 (due to house Century 21) comprises 45,000sf of retail space; while Phase 2 will include a 250-unit 19-story tower and a 400-unit 30-story tower—both residential rental—connected by a four-story structure containing a half-million square feet of retail. Phase 3 is supposed to be a 54-story tower, but so far remains penciled in on the drawing board.
* Still in the planning stages: The Hub from movie moguls David and Douglas Steiner, which calls for a 52-story, 720-rental unit tower at Flatbush and Schermherhorn.
* 85 Flatbush Avenue Extension—a triangle-shaped parcel at Flatbush, Tillary and Duffield—remains ripe for development, after Brooklyn-based North Development Group, led by developer Isaac Hager, planned to build a 21-story, 108-unit residential condo tower at the vacant site, which stalled at year-end 2011.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45622

The six-story apartment building at 70 Clark Street and Henry is photographed here September 15, 1948. Note the three towering TV antennas along the roofline. The street-level retail gave us Parker Drugs, offering a lunch counter and soda fountain; with “Soda and Lunch,” “Cosmetics and Cigars” advertised along the front signage. (See details below.)

Today, 70 Clark, across the street from the St. George Hotel, is the location of Clark’s Restaurant and Ozu Japanese, while the residential coop has changed precious little over the past 50+ years. According to a recent Prudential Douglas Elliman listing, many of the building’s units feature 9-foot ceilings, along with a common garden between its twin structures.

(Historic Photo: Wurtz Brothers, Museum of the City of New York/Current: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45694

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved the design for a new townhouse to be built on an empty lot at 437 Henry Street at Kane Street. Brownstoner reports that the plans include a carriage house and modification of the fence along Kane. The lot is next to the double-wide mansion at 439-441 Henry Street.

The entire 100-by-200-foot property was purchased in January 2011 for $5.4 million by the current owners of 439-441 Henry. The existing Henry Street property will be subdivided into apartments, with CWB Architects overseeing plans—the same firm that is designing the Strong Place Townhouses next door on Kane Street. Work on the new townhouse isn’t expected to begin until next spring or summer.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7730

The 25-foot wide, four-family brownstone at 29 Grace Court, which has been on the market for nearly two years, has at last found a buyer. Originally listed for $6.2 million in September 2010, followed by a price drop to $5.95 million in January 2011, Brownstoner reports that its sale has been recorded for $5.25 million—not exactly a sacrifice. The home entered into contract June 8, closed July 18, with the deed recorded July 30.

The Brooklyn Heights residence, listed by Brown Harris Stevens, boasts a massive parlor floor with beaucoup original details and a stained glass skylight. It comprises a 2.5-floor owner’s duplex, ground floor studio and two additional floor-through apartments above. (Lots of [very pink] interior photos below.)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45259

After a lot of media attention over the Brooklyn Heights couple that swears their 240-square-foot, $1,500/month apartment is sweet & cozy—along with NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s bizarre notion to inundate the city with “micro-apartments” averaging 275-300sf—Curbed decided to have a jolly good time by searching out the 10 smallest units for sale in Brooklyn.

Among contenders it found on Streeteasy are three humble Heights apartments, including 155 Henry Street, 5C, offering 400sf for $275,000. Curbed writes, “Maybe the residents of that $1,500/month Brooklyn Heights studio should move here. With a 20% down payment, monthly payments would be just $1,510, and the closet space is far more ample.”

Also offering 400sf is 60 Remsen Street, 3G, asking $299,000: “This Brooklyn Heights studio faces a courtyard, and the apartment has a separate dressing area/office. To the extent that we ever advocate living in very small spaces, we like this one.”

Next up is 70 Clark Street, 4H, whose 415sf runs $289,000: “This place has a sunken living room and allows pets and pied-a-terre dwellers, as well as subletting after two years. Which is probably about the time it might start to feel too small,” Curbed suggests. Indeed.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44612

Brooklyn Heights rental property 75 Clinton—at the corner of Montague Street (above Rite Aid)—is 90% leased, with 66 of the 74 units spoken for. Units hit the market in early May 2012. In January, owner Dallas-based investment firm Invesco flipped the nine-story property from condos to rentals, citing the “booming rental market,” with plans to market the units from $2,800 to $7,000 a month.

According to Brownstoner, studios, one- and two-bedroom units have more than met demand, with monthly prices of $2,362 to $11,000 per month. Streeteasy lists three on the market for $11,000, $4,100 and $2,550 a month. Among building amenities: a 24-hour doorman, common rooftop terrace with harbor and Manhattan views, a fitness center and bike storage room. The Corcoran listing is here.

When the building was originally destined to be a condo, units were priced at $519,820 up to $1,699,000.

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44579

Our neighbors to the south in the posh Brooklyn Bridge One appear to dig their digs. According to Curbed, the condo community has sold 317 units, with 25 more units in contract, which equates to 80% sold. Just under 100 apartments remain on the market, including one- and two-bedrooms, as well as lofts with flexible floor plans. Uh, I’m not sure how that math adds up, but I’m just a word guy here. Prices start at $525,000.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44202

Rents in all of Brooklyn ticked up 2% in May 2012 and are a robust 10% higher than one year ago, according to the Brooklyn Rental Market Report released Friday by brokerage MNS. Brooklyn Heights, meanwhile, remained relatively flat from May 2011 to May 2012. Park Slope showed the largest jump year-over-year gains, with a 40% increase in rents; while DUMBO posts the highest rentals in all of the borough, followed by the Heights and Williamsburg.

Breaking down stats for Brooklyn Heights, MNS says studio apartments averaged $1,959 a month in May 2011, actually dipping to $1,914 in 2012, while averaging just 6% more than the borough as a whole. Studios posted a high over the past year of $1,980 in November 2011.

One-bedrooms remained flat, averaging $2,927 last May, compared to $3,002 in May 2012, surpassing the borough-wide average rent by 22%. Two bedrooms rose steadily: $4,502 a year ago, compared with $4,763 in May 2012, trumping the overall Brooklyn average by 35%.

NMS says, “It’s worth noting that for under $2,000, you can still rent a studio apartment in (Brooklyn Heights), one of the most beautiful and established locations in Brooklyn. Only (here) is the average studio rent ($1,914) less than half the average rent for a two-bedroom ($4,763), representing a significant incentive to live solo in this neighborhood.”

To compare and contrast all Brooklyn neighborhoods, see the MNS PDF here.

(Photo: Steve Minor via Flickr)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42476

When the condo project at 20 Henry Street hit the marketplace in February after years of delays & drama, asking prices at the former Peaks Mason Mints building (known as the Candy Factory) were between $450,000 and $2.56 million. That comprised studios up to 4 bedrooms, including 24 lofts (among them, six $2M+ penthouse units) and an additional 14 units in the adjacent modern structure on Poplar Street scheduled to wrap this summer.

Brokerage Stribling & Associates claimed then that 20 Henry had an 800-applicant waiting list—and it turns out they weren’t sugar-coating the building’s appeal. Brownstoner now reports that it is two-thirds sold, with 25 of 38 units spoken for.

Among them, four of the six penthouses are in contract. The largest and most expensive unit in the building, a 4-bedroom in the original factory building, is priced at $2,895,000. Closings should begin later this summer.

More history on the well-traveled build-out was featured in a Wall Street Journal article in February: The former industrial space was built in 1885 as the base of candy makers Mason Mints & Mason Dots. In the 1970s, it became housing for artists under the state’s Mitchell-Lama subsidized-housing program until the program ended in 2004.

Developers Urban Realty Partners bought the site in 2007, but weren’t able to finish a condo conversion after the imminent economic collapse. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund stepped in and took over the project in 2010, alongside plenty of legal drama…

(Photo: Brownstoner)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42369

A New York Post story on Sunday titled “The Rentals Are Rising” takes a look at 10 new upscale residential buildings that have recently begun leasing. The properties: Manhattan’s 100 John St., 116 John St., 290 Mulberry St., 247 E. 28th St. and 666 West End Ave.; Long Island City’s 4615 & 4540 Center Blvd.; and in Brooklyn, Williamsburg’s 365 Union St., Vinegar Hill’s 109 Gold St., Crown Heights’ 542 St. Mark’s Ave…. and Brooklyn Height’s own 75 Clinton Street.

The piece says of the latter: “Since it came on the market this spring, Brooklyn Heights’ 75 Clinton leased 50% of its 74 units. But what caught our attention was a 3-bedroom on the ninth floor [that] rented for a whopping $10,000 per month. The rest of the rents aren’t nearly so high (studios start at $2,800; studios with home offices are $3,210; 1 BR go for $3,660; 2 BR go for $5,000; and 3 BR are $7,630). But we’ll also say: Brooklyn rents are officially as crazy as Manhattan’s.”

The NYP also notes, “Vacancy rates are at historic lows and rents are at historic highs. And the number of new rental units coming to the Manhattan market in 2012 is relatively small: 2,596 apartments, according to Citi Habitats, the smallest figure in seven years.” That certainly offers one reason for the outer boroughs influx.

Read the full Post piece and see property photos here.

(Photo: NYP)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42158

According to Epoch’s research, based on Property Shark stats, Cobble Hill has the No. 4 priciest block: delimited by Warren St to Baltic Street/Clinton Street to Court Street, with a median price of $2.8 million. And at No. 5 in Cobble Hill is Hicks Street to Henry Street/Baltic Street to Kane Street, with a median of $2.7 million.

Overall, the priciest block in Brooklyn is in Midwood, delimited by Avenue I and Avenue J/Ocean Parkway and 7th Avenue, with a median sale price of $4,350,000. The biggest sale there was a single-family home on 935 Ocean Parkway, on Nov. 11, 2010 for $6,130,000. Less than one year later, on Sept. 20, 2011, it exchanged hands again, for a slightly smaller amount of $6,000,000.

See the full article here.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/6972