Four Brooklyn Townhouses That Make Clever Use of Space to See This Weekend, Starting at $995K

This weekend, stroll around central Brooklyn to four renovated townhouses that mix tasteful updates and sometimes canny reorganization of the interiors with preserved historical details. Ranging in price from $4.5 million for a three-family brownstone in Park Slope that inserts a spiral staircase to negotiate a duplex between two floor-throughs to $995,000 for a tiny workingman’s house in Bed Stuy that uses a spiral staircase to reconfigure a constrained volume, they all play with circulation to make the most out of precious square footage.

At 131 Berkeley Place in Park Slope, an attractively updated three-family brownstone is set up as a double duplex sandwiched between two floor-through apartments. A spiral staircase in the duplex facilitates privacy between the units. The duplex has white-painted exposed brick and a galley-style kitchen with a geometric patterned tile backsplash, a pass-through to the dining room, reclaimed-wood open shelves and exposed beams. Two sets of French doors open to the rear patio through the dining room. Unusually, the upper floors have internal windows on an air shaft, bringing light and air into the center of the units. The rentals look very nice and the whole thing looks nicely renovated. It’s asking $4.5 million.

At 429 4th Street, also in Park Slope, a circa 1900 limestone townhouse is hitting the market, featuring lots of ornate woodwork — fretwork screens, pier mirrors, mantels, bordered parquet floors, built-in benches. It’s got a center hall stair and is set up as a rental over an owner’s duplex, which means the owner’s unit is open to the entryway and renters can see into owner’s unit as they climb the stairs, although the duplex has a spiral stair to increase privacy. A few of the rooms on the parlor level have tin ceilings. It’s listed at $2.995 million.

At 2108 Kenmore Terrace in Flatbush, there’s a 1920s neo-Colonial brick townhouse that may not seem thrilling in the photos but has a lot of good points and potential. Among its notable features are a garage, two wood-burning fireplaces, stained glass, and a greenhouse-like breakfast area. It’s also unusually wide at 26 feet, with four bedrooms and an ample number of bathrooms — three full and one garden-level powder room. It’s priced at $1.65 million.

Finally in Bed Stuy, 712 Monroe Street is in a row built as tiny workingman’s houses during the era of Italianate and Neo-Grec townhouse design. Originally the buildings were only two rooms deep and lacked any bathrooms. Now this one has been modernized, with the kitchen moved to parlor level and bathrooms inserted on every floor. A bottom flight of stairs has also been removed to make way for a bathroom, and a circular staircase inserted for circulation. For all that, its marble mantels are still preserved in place. Though some might prefer the traditional configuration of two bedrooms over a double parlor with a kitchen and dining room below, this form also has its pluses, with the bonus of a third bedroom or office and laundry room on the ground floor. This one is asking $995,000.

131 Berkeley Place
Price: $4.5 million
Area: Park Slope
Broker: Corcoran (James Cornell, Leslie Marshall)
Sunday April 7, 12 – 1:30 pm
See it here ->

429 4th Street
Price: $2.995 million
Area: Park Slope
Broker: Compass (Mark Jovanovic, Scott Hustis)
Sunday April 7, 10:30 am – noon
See it here ->

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2108 Kenmore Terrace
Price: $1.65 million
Area: Flatbush
Broker: Halstead (Elizabeth B. Pierre-Louis)
Sunday April 7, 11 am – 2 pm
See it here ->

712 Monroe Street
Price: $995,000
Area: Bed Stuy
Broker: Corcoran (Heather McMaster, Ariane Dembs)
Sunday April 7, 12:30 – 2 pm
See it here ->

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