NY Daily News on Interesting Condo Developments in Brooklyn Heights

By on June 3, 2014 7:28 am in Development, Real Estate

In case you missed it on Friday, the NY Daily News posted an interesting piece about how developers are creatively converting commercial (and other) buildings into condos. It mentions Jared Kushner’s purchase of Brooklyn Law dorms to be flipped into mega mansions, the upper floors of Montague Street’s Brooklyn Trust going condo as well as the Daten Group’s conversion of the Poplar precinct into residential units.

NYDN: The whole process, including applications and construction, has taken about three years. Work is slated to be completed by this fall.

“It’s like a Broadway show,” said David Ennis of Daten. “It looks easy, but there’s a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes.”

Still, the building’s former life makes for a great story — and helps command a premium price. Units currently on the market have asking prices ranging from $2 million to $4 million.

“You could still see the marks of where the original holding cells were” when Daten bought the building, Ennis said.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is also requiring that Daten retain the iron bars that engulf the lower-floor windows.

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  • Karl Junkersfeld

    You can’t make this stuff up. Can you imagine paying 2MM for an apartment that has windows with jail bars located on the ground floor? This is similar to an apartment at the Pierhouse in BBP facing the A subway line exhaust building looking east. I have been there when the exhaust is active and it is very very loud.

  • Cranberry Beret

    “Preserving” the jailbars on the windows is nuts. Sometimes the Landmarks commission is through-the-looking-glass.

    Speaking of nuts, this quote: “the median price for a Brooklyn Heights townhouse is close to $7 million.” In 2013 the median and average price for houses in the neighborhood were both in the mid $3 million range. Now this year they’ve both doubled. That’s crazy.

  • ujh

    Karl, I understand the Pierhouse “townhouses” are floor-through units, so none of them will face only Furman Street but not BBP, because they would not be saleable. One could easily see the Furman Street side becoming “storage” space.

  • ujh

    Cranberry Beret, in historic districts (and Poplar Street is in the BH Historic District) no façade changes are allowed; that’s the reason for the window bar mandate.

  • TMS

    Jailbars are also known as FIREBARS. As in, you are cooked to a crisp in the event of a fire.

  • William Spier

    Hey Junkersfeld, those penthouse moguls will be able to look right in my windows, and this conversion has taken longer to do than it took to build Ramses II pyramid. So, In order to not be considered Poplar Street hoi polloi, one of us has to buy a Maserati and park it in front of 75. I will discuss this with you next time you are lounging in front of Cranberry’s.

    At least I have my garden. Come buy and take a look.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Thanks for the invite. It is indeed a magnificent garden second to none.