Another Historic Clinton Avenue Gem to Be Sold and Razed for Apartments

Another notable Italianate villa on Clinton Avenue will likely meet the wrecking ball.

The freestanding 1850s house at 532 Clinton Avenue, located just outside the Clinton Hill Historic District, is in contract, one of the current owners, Yariv Bardugo, told Brownstoner.

Permits have been filed to build a 16-unit, eight-story residential building in its place. At 27,120 square feet, that averages to 1,695 square feet per apartment, which suggests condos.

The house, currently listed for $9.9 million with Victor Banks of Century21, is perfectly symmetrical, with some Gothic Revival touches and round arched windows, Brownstoner columnist Suzanne Spellen noted in a Building of the Day.

The DOB new-building filings list Yuval Golan as a partner and owner. His company, Bapaz Aderet Properties Corp, sold a property just down the block at 505 Clinton Avenue for $3.8 million in 2016 and where apartments are planned. There was once a modest and likely even older Greek Revival wood frame house there as well, which was torn down previous to the sale.

Golan’s exact relationship to the current owners of 532 Clinton Avenue is unclear. There may be some interesting parallels in their operations, however: For example, public records appear to show a pattern of unusually low sale prices to longtime owners.

According to the New York Post, a lawyer for an 84-year-old woman named Evelyn Popalardo filed a suit against Golan and Bapaz Aderet Properties Corp in 2010 after her son sold her Sunset Park home to the developer for $6,000.

The architect on file for 523 Clinton Avenue, Afshari PC, has worked on a few different projects in Brooklyn, all in Bed Stuy, including a four-story, six-unit condo at 59 Quincy Street; a three-story, three-unit condo at 1040 Herkimer Street; and a three-story, four-unit condo at 282-284 Patchen Avenue.

A previous listing had the home for sale at $11.9 million — and, according to Bardugo in a previous post, the price had dropped further to $7.9 million. The house was previously put on the market in 2009 for $3.5 million, as we noted at the time, but didn’t sell.

At least three generations of a family named Warren have owned the house, with online records showing ownership going back at least to 1982. (The family initial, “W,” appears over the porch.)

In December of 2016, the heirs of James N. Warren sold the house to 532 Clinton Avenue Corp. for $525,000, public records show. The heirs remain co-owners along with Bardugo, a longtime family friend, he previously told Brownstoner. (Brownstoner’s attempts to contact the family have been unsuccessful.)

Construction is booming all over Brooklyn, and many wood-frame houses that sit on large lots with excess FAR are being torn down to make way for new developments, especially in Bed Stuy, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush.

Clinton Hill’s many freestanding mid-19th century homes — wood frame or otherwise — are also vulnerable to development if they are not protected. Nearby, a freestanding Second Empire mansion at 489 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill is being demolished to make way for apartments.

[Photos by Susan De Vries unless noted otherwise]

Related Stories

• Building of the Day: 532 Clinton Avenue
• Historic Clinton Avenue Villa Hits Market as Tear-Down, Wants $7.9 Million
• Historic Clinton Hill Mansion, One-Time Civil War Veterans’ Spot, Coming Down for Apartments

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.