House of the Day: 26 Willow Street
There’s lots to choose from if you are a deep-pocketed buyer with a hankering for a house on Willow Street. Back in December, 69 Willow Street ($5,750,000) was a House of the Day, followed by 46 Willow Street ($4,000,000) and 47 Willow Street ($2,400,000) in February. And of course, there’s the mother of them all,…
There’s lots to choose from if you are a deep-pocketed buyer with a hankering for a house on Willow Street. Back in December, 69 Willow Street ($5,750,000) was a House of the Day, followed by 46 Willow Street ($4,000,000) and 47 Willow Street ($2,400,000) in February. And of course, there’s the mother of them all, Truman Capote’s former crib at 70 Willow, which is still for sale at the reduced price of $15,900,000. Now, as Curbed noted yesterday, there’s one more to add to the list: 26 Willow Street, a gorgeous 23-foot-wide Greek Revival house that just hit the market with an asking price of $3,800,000. Sweetness.
26 Willow Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
The only way to know is to look at the house or talk to someone you trust who has seen it. It did the latter. I talked to someone who went to the open house. All the talk on this board is based on a few pictures. You can not see the bathrooms or the kitchens (it’s a 2-family).
My friend told me that everything needs updating. Kitchens are ancient (and not “as fancy as you could get — in the 1980s”). Ditto the bathrooms. All of those will have to be replaced.
The plaster walls are in rough condition. They’re not terrible, but they are bumpy and will need significant work. Most likely, the prospective buyer will probably want to do a skim coat for walls and ceilings throughout the house.
The floors are in good condition. The plaster and wood moldings are caked with many layers of old paint.
There is limited space for those who wish to make something like a large master bathroom. There is no room for that.
Buyers wishing to make a one-family will be challenged when deciding where to put the kitchen. The first floor of the house (i.e., the basement) is well below grade, so a nice large kitchen on that floor in the back facing the garden would feel a bit claustrophobic. It can be done, but is that where you would want to spend most of your time in the house? Probably not. If you put the kitchen on the main parlor floor, then you are limited to a small room at the side of the dining room. Again, it can be done, but not optimal.
Having said all that, my friend and I agree that it is a lovely house and can be made into an amazing single-family residence. Of course, the buyer can choose to spend as little as they want in renovating. Sure, $300K or $500K would make it more liveable. But my suspicion is that anyone spending nearly $4mln in Brooklyn Heights would want to do a more extensive renovation that both respects the integrity of the house and brings it to a very high level in terms of mechanicals, kitchen and bathrooms. A
gain, in my opinion, that would take considerably more than $500K as quoted in this commentary section above. High-end contractors (not the very high end, mind you) typically charge in the region of $350-$400 per square foot (that’s a very rough measure, of course). This house is 3900 sf, which brings you to $1.4 mln. Could you do it for less? Of course you could. The amount you spend merely depends upon your expectations and desires. So, please, let’s not start debating how much this will cost to renovate. It’s a personal decision depending upon the level and quality of materials and finish that the buyer expects.
bkhts2, this is not a house in Fort Greene that has been sitting empty for years and before that was a badly maintained SRO.
Most likely everything in the house was updated in the 1980s to the best possible, most expensive standard at the time. No doubt the kitchen is as fancy as you could get — in the 1980s. Clearly this house is beautifully maintained. I don’t think you’re going to have years of foundation problems, leaks, roof problems, ancient plumbing, wiring from 1912 — nothing like that.
Most likely the baths and kitchens need a cosmetic update. I’m sure you could put in something top of the line for $300,000 and three months max.
As Minard says:
“This is a lovely house, very Patrician. A rare opportunity.
There are very few houses like this in the Borough.”
Exactly.
I really liked 47 Willow, just wonderful in spite of the narrow plot. This one is just lovely; I’m with Donatella, if I had this kind of money, this is just the sort of house I’d love.
47 Willow Street is shown as “in contract” on Corcoran’s site. That was fast.
echo chamber
This is a lovely house, very Patrician. A rare opportunity.
There are very few houses like this in the Borough.
Needs work? Have you seen the kitchens and baths? Likely they’re just out of style, but well maintained.
Brooklyn Heights blog says the reason they’re all for sale at the same time is because two of the owners just died. Presumably the others are retiring while they have the chance.
I like Willow, but this house is on the last block before you hit the BQE, so not ideal. Clearly, a North Heights person, you don’t mention anything South of Remsen. What about Grace Court, Willow Place and Garden Place? All wonderful streets.
Also, I like Remsen West of Hicks, but East is a constant stream of people going to the Promenade.
Of course I failed to mention Columbia Heights. Top 4 streets, then.