After dinner at Grimaldi’s the other night, we noticed a sale sign at 11-15 Old Fulton Street (Between Water and Front Street). I’ve always wondered about them… three vacant townhouses between Grimaldi’s Pizza and Fulton Ferry. According to the realtor Massey Knakal, the owners are selling the properties for $7.5million. It’s a highly visible location with great “potential for condominium conversion or mixed-use rental”. From Massey Knakal:

“Vacant 4 story 21,716 sq ft walkup mixed-use building with proposed plans for 24,812 saleable sq ft. The property will be delivered with Landmarked approval’s to convert the existing buildings to residential apartments and add fifth floor penthouse suites, and retail on the ground floor and basement Located in the landmark district of DUMBO Current C of O of existing building is for residential use & commercial use Highly visible location with 72 feet of frontage on Old Fulton Street. Great potential for condominium conversion or mixed-use rental. Walk to 2 and 3 trains at Clark Street, the A and C trains at High Street, buses, and a few blocks from entrance to pedestrian path on the Brooklyn Bridge. Blocks from Brooklyn Bridge Park and close to all restaurants and shopping in Brooklyn Heights. Asking Price: $7,500,000″

This could be a great opportunity to own a piece of historic property under the Brooklyn Bridge. But is the asking price too high? Any developers out there?

{Massey Knakal Realty}

 
Blogger ltjbukem has an eye opening post (as they often do) on price increases at Bridgeview Tower of approx 20%. Excuse my skepticism, but what the heck kind of strategy is that at a time of real estate price ‘correction’? The building is new construction, but how will the developer (or is it the broker) sell at these prices when there are many other new construction buildings in better areas? They’ll need to do more than to categorize this building as part of Brooklyn Heights or hang a banner on the building that says “If you lived here, you’d be home by now”.

• $985,210 with $740/maint, $40 tax ($860/sq.ft) for a 1145 sq.ft. 2 bed, 2 bath
• $680,250 with $509/maint, $29 tax ($858/sq.ft) for a 793 sq.ft. 2 bed, 2 bath
• $631,480 with $474/maint, $25 tax ($862/sq.ft) for a 733 sq.ft. 1 bed, 1.5 bath
• $618,770 with $449/maint, $24 tax ($889/sq.ft) for a 696 sq.ft. 0 bed, 1 bath

{New strategy @ Bridgeview Tower at 189 Bridge St., set speed aka onehansonplace.com}
{Bridgeview Tower Development Update (10/25/06), DumboNYC}

Brownstoner featured this 1 bedroom condo on 85 Hudson Avenue in Vinegar Hill. I walk by it often and wondered about the interior. I’m a big fan of the quiet street and relatively untouched neighborhood. But for $599,000 (816sq.ft., 1bed, 1bath, $271maint, $11 tax), you have to love the area. As some commenters said, it’s not very far from the York Street Station (F). The other benefit is that it’s close to Admiral’s Row in Brooklyn Navy Yard, as long as the row isn’t torn down to build a mega grocery store.

{Condo of the Day: 85 Hudson Avenue, Brownstoner, 1/11/07}
{Corcoran Listing, Apt 2B}

Curbed called J Condo “The Shining Star of Dumbo” for it’s reflective properties. But at night, the ‘beacon of lights’ are lit from 85 Adams Street, aka Beacon Tower, so we can identify Dumbo from afar. But I can’t help but wonder how incredibly annoying it would be for the residents-to-be on floors 18 to 23 A-lines, where the up-lights shine directly into the southern facing windows (living room and kitchen) or the B-lines’ western facing windows (master bedroom windows). If you look at the below night shot of Beacon Tower, you’ll notice the glow out these windows from the up-lights (the interior lights were off). Too bad the owner of unit 18A (with the terrace where the lights are located) won’t have a switch to turn them off. I’m all for up-lights but I don’t see the terrace beacon staying lit if the lights are so bright that it drives residents mad.

{J Condo, the Shining Star, DumboNYC.com}

J Condo is getting the Curbed.com treatment, being the focus of two posts in 3 days. On Jan 3, Curbed posted Dumbo’s Dose of Brick and Glass with some nice photos of J Condo and Beacon Tower. The commenters discuss the increase in condo inventory in the neighborhood, proximity to Manhattan Bridge, and pricing. While Dumbo condo prices approach the $1000/square feet range, there are some who believe it is worth the price (either because of proximity to Manhattan or cool neighborhood vibe) and others who say that anyone who purchased in Dumbo are idiots and will not be able to sell later at their purchase price.

Today’s (Jan 5) posting gives J Condo the distinction of “The Shining Star of Dumbo” because of the reflection from the sun in the afternoon and late afternoon on the glass side of the building. My take is that although the building is proportionally large, at least on the street side, the brick facade is more consistent with the old brick buildings of the area. The glass side brings more light to buildings on Adams and Washington Streets in the afternoons. If the J Condo is the “Shining Star”, does that mean that Beacon Tower is the shining moonlight, named for its ‘beacon’ of light at night? (I’ll post a pic of the Beacon at night when I get around to snapping a night shot this weekend).

{Dumbo’s Dose of Brick and Glass, curbed.com, 1/3/07}
{The Shining Star of Dumbo, curbed.com, 1/5/07}

Greenpoint Brooklyn construction (Image courtesy of Curbed.com)

Dubai construction (Image courtesy of Boudders)

According to a New York Daily News article yesterday, Brooklyn’s real estate is holding up:

The median sale price for an apartment in the northern part of the borough was up 22% in the last three months of 2006 compared with the corresponding period in 2005, according to the Corcoran Group.

And the average price of an apartment in Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights was up 3% in the same period, according to a separate report by the real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens.

But the increases in sale price is lower in 2006 compared to 2005. “During 2005, Corcoran reported a 14% increase in the median price of Brooklyn co-ops and a 12% increase for condos. In 2006, those numbers shrank to 7% for co-ops and 8% for condos. And the median sale prices for co-ops actually declined 4% in the last quarter of 2006.”

The article quotes developer Jed Walentas, a principal at Two Trees Management, who is “cautiously optimistic” about the Brooklyn real estate market.

“I don’t think it’s the seller’s market you had 18 months ago,” he conceded. But he noted that his company’s current downtown Brooklyn project at 110 Livingston St. was selling well.

Two Trees is converting the former headquarters of the Board of Education into luxury condos at 110 Livingston in downtown Brooklyn. Walentas said at least 160 of 300 units have been sold.

Gowanus Lounge predicts that late 2007 and 2008 in Brooklyn will see price cuts and unsold inventory especially in Williamsburg and Greenpoint where construction is almost as prevalent as in Dubai. (ok, not quite, but those images of the Dubai construction cranes are unbelievable).

{Home is where B’klyn bucks are, reports show, New York Daily News, 1/3/07}
{ Brooklyn Real Estate Prices Going Down or Staying Up?, Gowanus Lounge}

While it seemed like construction was slow all summer at 85 Adams, this past weekend, workers were busy installing the last of the dual glazed windows with special sound-absorbing liner. The external construction elevator was also taken down and the entrance to the lobby area was being worked on. The interior lights were installed and operational. While I’ve heard a lot from J Condo owners who are for the most part satisfied with the developers, I haven’t heard from any Beacon Tower owners. Do any readers own any units and have updates on move-in dates?

{85 Adams Street Condo Progress (9/12/06), DumboNYC.com, 9/12/06}
{Beacon Tower Garden Update, 9/6/06}
{Beacon Tower website}

Kudos to Gothamist on recapping the new condo construction in Dumbo for 2006. Read the entertaining piece here. New developments mentioned that are growing up are:

• 100 Jay Street (J Condo)
• 133 Water Street
• 206 Front Street (Vista)
• 85 Adams Street (Beacon Tower)
• 99 Gold Street
• 53 Bridge Street
• 189 Bridge Street (Bridgeview Tower)

Also being finished up in 2007 or completed in 2006 are:

• 4 Water Street (Fulton Ferry Condos)
• 84 Front Street (The Nexus)
• 50 Bridge Street

{Overgrown Down Under: Five Swaggering Condos Come of Age in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill, gothamist.com}

  110 Livingston Street building

The article in this Sunday’s Real Estate section of the New York Times observes that single women are betting that even if they buy property in a declining market, the values won’t drop as much as they would have spent on rent.

“A woman will say, ‘I’m still saving money in the long term.’ ” said JoAnn Schwimmer, an associate real estate broker at DJK Residential. “They’re able to see the bigger picture, while a guy says, ‘I have to get the best deal.’ ” She said that her female clients who bought four years ago have male friends still waiting for prices to drop.

According to the article, single women spent more than $30 million out of the $100 million or so in sales at 110 Livingston, the 299-unit condominium in Brooklyn. Single women bought 72 of the first 165 apartments sold. “Spending by these women far surpassed that of single men, who accounted for $19 million. Married couples accounted for about $45 million in sales, and investors $5 million.”

In the 70 Washington building, while women have purchased a smaller percentage of apartments in this building, single women bought about 40 of 200 of the units, including the two penthouses, accounting for about $35 million in sales, according to the executive sales director, Toby Klein.

Some of the more interesting data quoted:

While average sales prices have not dropped in Brooklyn, apartments are taking far longer to sell. Apartments in Dumbo, Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights sat on the market for an average of 111 days last quarter, compared with 62 days in the corresponding period in 2005.

While the premise of the article is “single women buying real-estate”, clearly the big winner is David Walentas, whose two buildings (70 Washington and 110 Livingston) in Brooklyn are cleverly advertised.

{Women Unafraid of Condo Commitment, NYTimes, 12/10/06}

The Fulton Ferry condos, located almost directly under the Brooklyn Bridge, at the corner of Water Street and Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, looks to be close to being completed. Some would consider the location to be on the border of Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, but there’s no argument about the fantastic views overlooking Manhattan. Not to be confused with Fulton’s Landing of Jersey City, NJ, the building is literally 50 steps to the Fulton Ferry Landing and the riverfront directly across from The River Cafe and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

There are only 13 units in the building, and the style looks consistent with the neighborhood’s character (despite the building’s trapezoidal shape). The ground floor has 2282 square feet of commercial space and a parking space for each of the units. Maintenance/cc and taxes aren’t listed, but the average price per square feet is $746.26 and average price is $1,167,162. Not bad at all for the space and location, but looks like all units are under contract except for unit 3A, listed by Brooklyn Bridge Realty. Are there any buyers out there who knows the move-in date or what the commercial space will bring to the area?

Click on photos for larger version:

Fulton Ferry Condo (fultonlanding.com)
4 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY