52hicksst1007.jpg
54hicksrear1007.jpgThe owners of 54 Hicks Street have been working on the conversion of the brick townhouse into a 3-unit condominium since early 2006 and are now bringing the finished project to the market themselves sans brokers. Of course, they had a little help along the way from Baxt Ingui Architects, themselves no strangers to townhouse renovations. Based upon DOB filings, there was three-story (if you include the basement) addition made to the rear of the building and quite a lot of reinforcing and moving of walls. How’s the end-product? Hard to say, as there are no interior photos provided and it looks from the outside like it’s still very much a work-in-progress. The owners must feel pretty good about it’s going to turn out, as they are asking $1,975,000 for the 1,788-square-foot uppermost apartment. Hopefully someone can give us the report from the open house yesterday; if not, we’ve got another shot at it next Sunday as well. Update: Check out how the FSBO’ers “borrowed” some of the marketing verbiage from a competing project in the nabe on the jump. What’s that they say about imitation being the highest form of flattery?
54 Hicks Street [FSBO] GMAP P*Shark

Here’s the original spiel from 118 State Street:
The Carriage House on State presents a rare opportunity to own a home in Brooklyn’s most desirable community. Located on a beautiful tree-lined street in Brooklyn Heights, the four-unit boutique condominium is the result of a complete renovation of a 150-year-old carriage house, reconfigured and adapted for modern living. No detail has been overlooked and no expense spared in the conversion of this stately early 19th century building into an exceptional collection of hand-crafted homes featuring the luxury finishes, top-of-the-line appliances, and materials of fine quality discerning buyers expect when purchasing new construction. The architect’s finely tuned touch is evident in the ample use of natural light and airy space, and in layouts that place a premium on stylish functionality for both growing families and couples who like to entertain. Unsurpassed in its design and construction quality, the Carriage House incorporates special features such as sound insulation between floors and walls, oversized windows, spacious baths, and pocket doors that collectively enhance the living experience within.

And now from the NYT FSBO ad for 54 Hicks Street:
This Brooklyn Heights Brownstone on Hicks Street represents a unique opportunity to own a large home with outdoor space in Brooklyn’s most desirable community. The 1840s building has undergone a complete 15 month renovation resulting in a three unit condominium that provides all modern amenities. Every detail has been considered and no expense spared in the conversion of this building into hand crafted homes featuring the luxury finishes, top-of-the-line appliances, and materials of fine quality expected when purchasing a newly constructed building.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. “His Maticulous management” Now that is funny. It is not right when an owner posts his own comments! You have never passed by during construction or spoke with the neighbors regards the miriad of poor workmanship & mishaps that occured from the hiring of sub par contractors to do the work. The finish may look good but the process in getting there was a nightmare for anyone like myself with a post overlooking the rear yard. It was so poorly run the rear masonry work & foundations took forever including 1 wall collapse. Perhaps the owner installed all the sound proofing in order for him to avoid hearing the owners complaints in the future. I recognize his g.c he is a super of a building on Pierrepont Street. Need I say more…..

  2. I went to the open house at 54 Hicks and was impressed with the total scope of what the owners are doing to make this condo arrangement an attractive purchase.

    I was most impressed with the owner who has installed high quality extra’s to attact any potential buyers. It was mentioned earlier that there might be sound intrusion but all the walls are insulated with the best sound proofing money can buy. This extends to the floors with multiple layers of insulation so as not to hear noisey neighbors.

    Kitchen appliances were top notch , bathroom flooring etc. In total I was impressed with the owners efforts to produce a high quality product for a high quality price.

    What impressed me most was the owner himself. There was no question in my mind that he took a much more personal approach to the project by installing items like an expensive heating system that would not be part of your normal development. Obviously, the fact that he will be living downstairs in the ground floor apartment contributed to his meticulous management of the project.

    In conclusion, although the price is a bit high, this may be a case were you are getting what you pay for.

  3. Ever closer than the downtown view from 12 Middagh is the BQE view, with noisy trucks belching exhaust 24 hrs/day literally at the doorstep. Who cares if it’s 300 or 3000 sf.

  4. As I don’t own the Middagh Street carriage house nor was I the broker representing it, I’m sure you will forgive me the egregious addition of 200 square feet based on memory lapse. That said, it was only 500,000$ more expensive than a substantially smaller duplex on a ‘rougher’ block and not a single family home but a duplex condo. I know what I consider to be the better deal…..

  5. Not sure how you figure the Middagh Street house at 3000SF…even the broker said it was only 2800SF, and that INCLUDED (disingenuously IMHO) the garage and roof deck. Just look at the floor plan on corcoran website.

  6. Definitely not worth 2mil when you consider that the entire house next sold for 2.2 mil in June of 07. Not to say that the next door house doesn’t need work — it does — but 2 mil for a duplex in a townhouse in this part of the Heights is very high imop. The carriage house at 12 Middagh just around the corner sold for 2.5 last October and it was 3,000sf plus a garage and balcony with downtown view. 1.5/6 would probably be more on the money for this one. Also, doesn’t really look out on anything nice re front: Tut’s Cafe. Great food but I wouldn’t want it as my view.

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