Developer Non Grata: 330 Park Place Destruction
We receieved an email from an alarmed resident of Park Place in Prospect Heights this week. The subject of concern: The tear-down of a hundred-year-old house (one of three free-standing houses on the block) to make way for a five-story apartment building is underway, with the second floor having been completely removed already. Unfortunately, the…
We receieved an email from an alarmed resident of Park Place in Prospect Heights this week. The subject of concern: The tear-down of a hundred-year-old house (one of three free-standing houses on the block) to make way for a five-story apartment building is underway, with the second floor having been completely removed already. Unfortunately, the block ain’t landmarked, though until this point it had been very well preserved. We wrote about this place back in January 2005 when we reported that it had been the subject of a bidding war. And what a bidding war it was. Listed at an initial asking price of $1.175 million, the deal ultimately closed at $1.4 million in July of ’05. The developer is somebody named Mark Schildkraut. Anyone know what this guy’s track record is? Are we in for an aesthetic disaster?
Bidding War in Prospect Heights [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Not much new on this in a while, eh?
It would seem that the owner has left the original facade, including the porch, and is building the new construction behind it.
I’ll try to remember to get a pic.
So, Anon 9:15am, if the destruction of brownstones makes you yawn, why do you bother visiting a site whose stated mission is to celebrate brownstones?
Neo Grec
Thanks for the wind. Next time I will study when I am interested.
Yawn.
Even living on a landmark block in Carroll Gardens does not seem to protect me and my brownstone. You should see the uglyness being built around us. I am heartbroken……
This “renovation” is being done “as of right”, meaning that no special permission is required beyond the normal DOB permits. So in this particular case, appeals to local agencies and/or politicians won’t make any difference. For the future, the residents of Prospect Heights and, for that matter, all of Brownstone Brooklyn that is not currently landmarked, should consider organizing to achieve a higher level of protection for our historic neighborhoods. Until this building was effectively demolished, the block had presented a completely intact 19th/early 20th century street front. So I disagree with the posters who are suggesting that this is not a significant loss for the area. It most certainly is. And brownstoner is quite correct that PH is vulnerable. The combination of AY-fueled speculation and under-built FAR is lethal. Recently a 3-storey brownstone on St Marks between Carlton and Vanderbilt was built out 20-30 ft in the rear (blocking light and air for the neighbors) and up two storeys — all in an orange stucco finish to rival anything you’d find in Costa Mesa, CA! Then there’s the old burlap factory on Bergen St btw Carlton and 6th Ave that was illegally demolished last spring and is now being rebuilt — right up to the sidewalk — as a Fedders condo block. There are other examples and more tk. It’s grim overall but if people want to get involved in preserving the architectural fabric and character of the area, I suggest they contact the Prospect Heights Neighbrohood Development Council (www.phndc.org), the Municipal Arts Society (who are helping PHNDC and others with a local landmarking initiative), the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, and other local and city-wide groups. We can join forces to find the right balance between development and destruction.
And what, the other 4 story brownstones don’t dwarf those two story houses already?
And if you are so concerned with the aesthetic, you can always walk on another block.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
PS Ask the developer about it, but why bother since you already know what it will look like
That was a pretty fugly house though … imho
however, it is sad that something much worse is bound to take its place.
Re: Mr. Marvin, I live on Park Place and yes, people in the neighborhood who know the developer’s work said it will be 5 stories tall (next to 2 and 3 story buildings),use up every bit of FAR and spectacularly ugly.
I agree wholeheartedly with Anon. 12:59.