(Photo from NYTimes)

If you were saving up for the most expensive Brooklyn real estate listing, the $25million Clocktower Penthouse at One Main Street in Dumbo, you may be too late. Two Trees Management has reported to The Real Deal that the 7,000 square foot triplex is off the market. “The individual who is most serious about it is basically reserving it to make a deal,” says Asher Abehsera, a vice president at Two Trees Management to The Real Deal. They can’t reveal the buyer yet, but Abehsera says that “it would be easy to rent it for $60,000 [per month], I’ll tell you that much.” Whoever is renting to own or buying this condo will have one of the best views of NYC from that solarium on the roof.

Previously:
{One Main PH Set at $25M, 09Aug2009}
{New Co-Exclusive Listing for 1 Main Street PH, 01Feb2010}

The 25 Washington Street building is being converted from an office building to a residential rental building (noted first in November 2009). There is an application on file “for a two-story extension to the building (with “accessory cabana spaces” on the roof) in 2007.

The building is owned by Two Trees Management and formerly occupied by approximately 100 small businesses. As seen by the photos, the top floor roof has been removed and is being readied for the extension floors. Exposed wood beams and large windows are seen in the first photo above.

Further information on the building according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission Dumbo Designation Report:

Date of construction: 1901 (NB 1114-01)
Architect: William Higginson
Original owner: Robert Gair
Type: Factory
Style: American Round Arch
Stories: 6 and basement
Structure/material: Brick; slow-burning mill construction

Features: Ten bays on Washington Street, eleven bays on Plymouth Street, and ten bays facing east at lot line; segmental-arch openings; brick piers between windows from second through fifth stories; basement set behind areaway with pipe rail; bluestone window sills; sills on second and sixth stories continue across facade as beltcourses; brick corbelling and dentil course above firstand fifth-story windows; corbelling at roofline; high parapet on Plymouth Street; bulkhead on south side of Washington Street facade.

History: In 1887, this site was home to a steam pump factory. By the 1890s, this lot and the adjoining lot to the east were owned by the Dodge & Olcott Chemical Company. Dodge & Olcott was established in 1862 as an outgrowth of a chemical business that had been established in New York in 1798 by Robert Bach (George Olcott was a descendant of Bach). Between 1880 and 1904 the firm opened a distillation plant for producing essences of aromatic herbs and roots 118 on this block. The 1904 Sanborn atlas notes that Dodge & Olcott manufactured “essential oils” in its factory. Conveyance records seem to indicate that Dodge & Olcott sold the properties on the south side of Plymouth Street between Washington Street and Adams Street to Robert Gair in two transactions in 1904 and 1911. However, an 1895 application for a one-story brick storage building at 21 Washington Street indicated that Gair was the owner of the property (NB 1156-95; it is possible that Gair was a lessee). The present building was erected by Gair in 1904 and became the administrative headquarters of the Charles William Stores, housing the firm’s general offices, employment and educational divisions, dispensary, and recreation and reading rooms. The company leased this space from Gair.

{BIS record for 25 Washington St}
{Dumbo’s Next Blockbuster Condo Conversion: 25 Washington?, 25Aug2009, Curbed}

Three bedroom apartments are not very common in Dumbo. Many of the loft conversions are open layouts with large living/kitchen areas with one or two bedrooms and new buildings in Dumbo were designed for a couple or small families in mind (or was it to maximize the number of apartments?). Once a family has two or more children, it’s time to move out. In our view, this creates a transient neighborhood (vs families who live in a brownstone house for generations) and one that brings in young professionals (the high cost of rentals in Dumbo doesn’t attract college or graduate students who are on limited budgets.) With that said, let’s take a look at the three bedroom apartments currently on the market. Not including the $25,000,000 penthouse at 1 Main Street (Prudential Elliman listing and previously on DumboNYC here and here), there are currently 5 listings for sale in Dumbo for three bedrooms. The 42 Main Street (aka Bridgefront) just came on the market this past weekend:

• 42 Main Street #3A, $1,089,750, 3 bed/2 bath, 1,330 sq.ft ($819/sq.ft)
• 70 Washington Street #5D*, $1,495,555, 3 bed/3 bath, 1,700 sq.ft ($879/sq.ft)
• 30 Main Street #8G, $2,675,000, 3 bed/2.5 bath, 2,474 sq.ft ($1,081/sq.ft)
• 1 Main Street #14, $8,500,000, 3 bed/2.5 bath, 3,208 sq.ft ($2,649/sq.ft)
• 1 Main Street #6GH, $3,300,000, 3 bed/3.5 bath, 3,300 sq.ft ($1,000/sq.ft)

*Technically the 70 Washington listing is a 2 bedroom with a home office but is listed as a 3 bedroom on the broker’s site. Another 2+1 bed 70 Washington unit sold in 4 weeks last month for $3,850,000.

If you’re looking to rent a three bedroom, you currently don’t have much choice. There’s only one unit on the market, the $20,000 per month 3 bed, 2/5 bath, 3,208 sq.ft (Sotheby’s listing), last listed for sale at $7,800,000.

Previously:
{3 Bedroom Rentals in Dumbo (Nov 2009)}

181 York Street (aka The Lili Rose), by architect Bricolage Architecture & Design, is now on the market for rental units. Prudential Douglas Elliman and Corcoran both have listings for the Vinegar Hill apartment. There are two 2 bedroom units and eight 1 bedroom units in the building. Initial prices for the 10 unit building:

• 2 beds, 2 bath, 850 ft², range: $2,800 – $3,000 per month
• 1 bed, 1 bath, 500 ft², range: $1,650 – $2,350 per month

Will the Lili Rose rentals go at these price points?

(Photos from Elliman)

(Photos from Corcoran)

{Streeteasy listings for 181 York}
{BIS}
{181 York St Update}

Wow that was fast. This 70 Washington Street penthouse (PH-L) that was on the market on February 4 closed its sale on April 12 for $3,850,000 ($1,808 per square foot). The listing entered into contract on March 5, only a month after being in the market. The asking price was $4,200,000, so the sold price was -8.3%.

Elsewhere:
{Brownstoner: Last Week’s Biggest Sales, 20Apr2010}
{Streeteasy.com listing}
{On the Market: Gorgeous 70 Washington PH, 05Feb2010}

 [+] Click for larger

The Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the Toll Brothers proposed design of 205 Water Street yesterday (via Curbed). The 10-story residential building will have 67 units and 86 parking spaces underground. Toll Brothers did not apply for the full 12 stories that the current zoning allows. Mr. Von Spreckelsen, a Sr. vice president at Toll told Crain’s that it planned to begin construction by the end of the year and sales could start as soon as Spring 2011.

Previously:
{More 205 Water St Renderings, 05Apr2010}
{205 Water Street Plans Revealed, 18Mar2010}
{Toll Brothers to Build Condos at 205 Water St, 07Jan2010}
{Demolition at 205 Water Street, 24Jan2007}
{In the Press: Demolishing 205 Water Street, 27Jan2007}
{Stop Work Order Violation Issued at 205 Water Street, 14Feb2007}

The DOB has issued a Full Vacate Order on the townhouses at 11, 13 and 15 Old Fulton Street due to “significant structural defects of rear wall entire building and rear yards to be vacated.” Commenters in a 2007 post about 11-15 Old Fulton Street, did mention that there are “severe structural issues with them, and the land they sit on,” so this may have affected the buildings.

DOB listing for:

1. 11 Old Fulton Street
2. 13 Old Fulton Street
3. 15 Old Fulton Street

Top photo courtesy of epc.

Previously:
{Three Vacant Buildings on Old Fulton Street, 18Jan2007}
{Old Fulton Street Townhomes Under Contract, 30Nov2007}

New York Mag published their “Most Livable Neighborhoods in NY” article today. (Might also be the ‘bloggiest’ article since it’s mentioned in many real estate and neighborhood blogs). The list of 50 neighborhoods are a quantitative index of the 50 most satisfying places to live. However, according to Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, the writer of the article, while they were based on “objective statistical dimensions” and “you’ll find that it’s fairly easy to slot any of 15 or so neighborhoods into the top position, and any of 40 or so of the 60 that we evaluated into the top ten.” Data is based on housing cost, housing quality, transit/proximity, crime, schools, green space, food/restaurants, health and wellness, shopping and services, diversity, “creative capital” and nightlife.

So where’s Dumbo? Dumbo is #19 on the list (paired with downtown Brooklyn) and ranked high in shopping and services (#5), creative capital (#1), transit (#11), and housing quality (#12). In the NYMag piece, he writes: “Dumbo supplies the art galleries and waterfront access but is expensive; Downtown Brooklyn provides the stadium-seating multiplex and public-transit hub, but is high in crime and bereft of nightlife. This area received the highest score of any (95 points) in our creative-capital category: People in the arts constitute about 20 percent of its workforce.” Housing quality is defined as “historic districts, code violations, cockroaches” but it’s difficult to quantify that in an urban center where quality can vary from building to building.

Silver writes on his blog that “Not to encourage gentrification, but if I were buying property as an investment right now, I’d look toward places that are cheap relative to those qualities that take the longest time to upgrade or repair — particularly transit lines, and to a lesser extent greenspace and the quality of the housing stock. That might mean places like Long Island City and Sunnyside (Queens), Prospect Heights and DUMBO (Brooklyn), Washington Heights (Manhattan) and perhaps even some portions of the South Bronx near the train.” Not sure if I would characterize Dumbo as an investment as it avoided the real estate bust (prices are still as high as they were in 2008), but with developments in the Brooklyn Bridge Park and downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo may be an investment in the upcoming years. Do you think the article got it right?

(Plymouth Street looking South)

(Water Street looking North)

Curbed posted more proposed renderings of the Toll Brothers’ 205 Water Street building.

To us, the design seems to be consistent with the area (but what do we know?), but what is that protruding top part in the photo below? It looks unfinished, but perhaps that’s the look they’re going for.

(Plymouth Street looking South)

The Landmarks Preservation Commission had scheduled a review of the plans for April 6, but has been “Laid over”, for a future date. What do you think of the design?

(Water Street looking North)

Photos from Curbed.

Previously:
{205 Water Street Plans Revealed, 18Mar2010}
{Toll Brothers to Build Condos at 205 Water St, 07Jan2010}
{Demolition at 205 Water Street, 24Jan2007}
{In the Press: Demolishing 205 Water Street, 27Jan2007}
{Stop Work Order Violation Issued at 205 Water Street, 14Feb2007}

 [+] Click for larger

The Community Board 2 committee approved Toll Brothers’ building design for the vacant land on 205 Water Street on Wednesday night. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the CB2 committee felt the design “fit the DUMBO context, committee members also said they appreciated that the developers did not shoot for the full 12 stories that the current zoning allows. Instead, the housing will remain at seven stories, except for one luxury condo unit that will extend to nine stories on one side.”

The project will contain 67 market-rate units and 86 parking spaces in an underground garage. The current zoning in the landmark district of DUMBO doesn’t require 20-percent of the units to be below-market-rate housing at each residential complex — but the landmark zoning of 2007 requires that the project be voted on by the Landmarks Commission. After the project reaches the full community board, it heads to the commission for an April 6 vote.

“We loved the gritty nature of this industrial area, and that was our inspiration,” said Navid Maqami of GreenbergFarrow, the project’s architects. “The rust colors, steel and concrete — these are what you find in DUMBO.” In a Crain’s article, David Von Spreckelsen, a senior vice president at Toll says “Besides Brooklyn Heights, this is the only desirable place in Brooklyn where we would want to do a project now,” He mentioned how little inventory there is in Dumbo and that “recent resales of existing condos in the neighborhood have been between $800 and $1,200 per square foot.”

Toll bought the vacant lot at 205 Water St. for $100 per square foot in December.

{CB2: This project takes no ‘Toll’ on DUMBO, 18Mar2010, Brooklyn Paper}
{205 Water Street Plans Revealed at Community Board, 18Mar2010, Brownstoner}

Previously:
{Toll Brothers to Build Condos at 205 Water St, 07Jan2010}
{Demolition at 205 Water Street, 24Jan2007}
{In the Press: Demolishing 205 Water Street, 27Jan2007}
{Stop Work Order Violation Issued at 205 Water Street, 14Feb2007}