New Condos Come to PLG

Formerly an abandoned building, 411 Rogers Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Garden has been turned into a six-unit condo building. When I spoke to Alyssa Morris, a Corcoran agent, she said that only three of the six units were available for showing.

For $375, 000 (common charge: $269), you can get Unit 2, a two bedroom, one bathroom duplex with access to your half of the manicured private garden. Unit 4, a two bedroom, is going for $350,000 (common charge: $227). Unit 6, a 2 bedroom, is going for $365,000 (common charge: $269) and includes access to the roof deck.

According to Corcoran's website, "There are six new residential homes set up as duplexes with private gardens for entertaining and outdoor leisure, as well as 2-bedroom floor-through apartments-- some with private roof decks for those ring-side firework views."

When I visited 411 Rogers Avenue last weekend, I saw two duplex apartments that share the backyard. The first level of the duplexes is in the cellar, which is small and kind of cramped. The other four apartments are relaid single units. Also, don't get your hopes up about the roof deck. The roof deck is just an asphalt roof that is not fit to walk on. From the roof you have a nice view of a huge tree in my backyard; so much for seeing fireworks. But with the right plants, and some railings for those evenings you have a couple too many beers with your friends, it could be a cool chill-out space.

Still, in today's market, these units are reasonably priced. The common charges are almost too good to be true. I’d definitely negotiate them down on the asking price of the condo, because there are a few things that will need work.

In general, I thought the rehab was a bit shoddy and they really didn't put too much money into the bathroom or kitchen materials. There was another downside too--the duplexes have one bathroom. Anyway, I'm sure that to someone looking to buy the pros will outweigh the cons. The building is in a great location--just a block and a half from the 2 and 5 trains, and two blocks from Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens.

Related articles:
1) Condo Conversion on Rogers Ave.
2) Corcoran's listing for 411 Rogers Ave.

PACC Restores 420 Classon Avenue

Eventhough I'm still mad at PACC (Pratt Area Community Council) for withdrawing my application for 55 Putnam Ave, 5 years ago, I think they did a great job of restoring 420 Classon Avenue, which is on the border of Bedford Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill.

PACC took three dilapidated builidings and turned them into 12 affordable condominiums. According to Brownstoner.com, the lottery has been held and the non-profit is currently checking applicants' credit records and confirming their eligibility. Hopefully PACC doesn't stifle another young man trying to attain the American dream.

The job doesn't look cheap but the prices are pretty good: Four one-bedrooms priced between $185,000 and $211,000 are available for households earning up to $73,700; four two-bedrooms priced from $258,000 to $270,000 are available for households earning up to $92,200; four two-bedrooms priced from $374,000 to $424,000 are available for households earning up to $116,900.

Inside 83 Halsey Street

Garden Level Condo: $625,000

A couple pictures of the Garden level condo at 83 Halsey Street.

Two bedrooms and two small bathrooms, plus access to half of the backyard. Each apartment has its own water heater and boiler. Do you think this is worth $625K?

Halsey Street, Condo Haven?

The Condo-ization of Halsey Street

Over the past few weeks we've noticed two browstone/townhouses turning condo on Halsey Street, between Bedford and Marcy Avenues. Over the weekend, we saw 83 Halsey Street, and today we noticed an ad for 145 Halsey Street. Both these buildings were featured and discussed on the Bed-Stuy Blog.

We went to an open house at 83 Halsey Street on Saturday. This four story brownstone has been divided into four condo apartments listed at market prices: $499,000, $445,000, $655,00 and $625,00. Prices aside, each apartment featured some pretty nice perks: gas burning fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, decks for the higher floors and private backyard entrances for the lower floors. The investors also went to a lot of trouble to preserve the wood detailing, such as the original sliding doors and stained glass windows. However, there was a downside: the bathrooms were really small, and the garden apartment features a standing shower. The tiling and fixtures in the bathrooms were no show stoppers either. According to Property Shark, 83 Halsey Street LLC, brought the building for $630,000 on February 23, 2006. The apartment on the top floor, a two bedroom, two bath, is already under contract at $499,000.

145 Halsey Street (http://www.145halsey.com/ ) which was purchased in 2005 for $710,000, boasts that each sun-filled condo has three rooms, eleven foot ceilings with elaborate crown moldings, modern chandeliers with original plasterwork medallions, original fireplaces, pine flooring, a restored original bathtub, stainless steel appliances and cherrywood finish cabinets in the kitchen. There's a showing this weekend from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

What does this mean for long time residents on this street? Will these condos help boost property values? Will renters be priced out?

83 Halsey Street is between Bedford and Nostrand, where some of the largest and most well-kept brownstones in this part of Bedstuy can be found. My guess is that many of the owners on the block could care less, and probably welcome the condo and the change it represents as it will only increase their property values and the likelihood that they will recieve top dollar for their homes.

145 Halsey is on a nice, but different block: the brownstones are slightly more narrow and several of the owners are new. There are also several kinds of browstones on this block-- some are traditional brownstones, others are brick/brownstone combos and there's a really big conversion project going on at the corner of Halsey and Marcy. Time will tell what change will bring to this strip of Halsey Street, but either way, I'll be around to let you know the deal.

145 Halsey Street

Condo Conversion On Rogers Ave.

While browsing through the NY Post's archives on Prospect-Lefferts Garden, I found an article titled "Lefferts All Right." It describes the buzz surrounding the neighborhood, its charm, and its proximity to Manhattan and Prospect Park.

"If you've been listening to the buzz, chances are you've heard that Prospect Lefferts Gardens (or PLG) is the next "it" neighborhood. While not as trendy as nearby Park Slope or Prospect Heights, the area does have its unique charms, including grand Victorian homes and well-tended yards."

What was most interesting about the article was its assertion that "what has truly been missing from this beautiful 'hood is housing stock." It went on to describe how the call for condos has been answered by a huge development called Lefferts South, at 2233 Caton Ave. (Which is technically not in Prospect Gardens.)

"Another condo that has people talking is a six-family house on Rogers Avenue near Lefferts Avenue. Developer Joe Schwartz thinks it has the old-world charm people love about Lefferts Gardens but offers more value than older properties in the area.

The two-bedroom units are 850 square feet with high ceilings, roof and backyard access and hardwood floors, and will be priced around $350,000 to $400,000. The building will open for sales in three to five months."

I blogged about this building last year. They completely gutted this building, which was basically a shell, and restored it back to its original charm. The owner had to restore all the original details on the facade because this six family building sits in the Prospect-Lefferts historical district. He even reconstructed the original front door.

I think this condo conversion is a great addition to that stretch of Rogers Ave. It's busy, but it has a lot of potential.