House of the Day

Grand Park Slope Neo-Classical Home Has Whiff of Old-Money Privilege With Price Tag to Match

This circa-1905 neo-classical four-story, at 848 Carroll Street in Park Slope, is a domicile of distinction, enough so that it is listed in the AIA Guide to New York City. Designed by architect William B. Greenman, it’s “a narrow bay-windowed neo-classical exile from the Upper East Side,” says the guide. As it happens, an “exile from the Upper East Side” –…

by Chris Erikson

02/03/2016 3

This circa-1905 neo-classical four-story, at 848 Carroll Street in Park Slope, is a domicile of distinction, enough so that it is listed in the AIA Guide to New York City. Designed by architect William B. Greenman, it’s “a narrow bay-windowed neo-classical exile from the Upper East Side,” says the guide.

As it happens, an “exile from the Upper East Side” — a breed that’s been crossing the river in meaningful numbers lately — may be exactly who buys it. If not one of those, exactly, then someone else who covets an elegant, expansive home that carries the whiff of old-money privilege — and who can face down a stratospheric price tag.

With a brick and limestone exterior, the house is no brownstone, not literally and not in its particulars. Set with the first floor at street level, it’s got a center entrance and a left-side staircase.

Inside that entrance is a large and grand entry foyer with a stately curved leaded-glass window and a tiled fireplace; beyond it is the kitchen.

There’s a triple parlor above, with the dining room — decked out with coffered ceilings, wood paneling, leaded-glass windows and a carved fireplace mantel — connected to the main kitchen below via a dumbwaiter. (There’s also a smaller service kitchen to the rear.)

A sweeping master suite with a den takes up the third floor; above are two more bedrooms and two baths, one full, one half. There’s a Juliette balcony off the top front bedroom, awesomely — there’s also a pair of decks in addition to the garden. (Or maybe there are three decks — the listing, from Halstead’s Jackie Lew and Marc Wisotsky, cites that number, though the floorplan shows only two. A roof deck perhaps?)

The place has been recently gotten a high-end renovation, with improvements including updated mechanicals, a zoned HVAC system, a Stealth Acoustics speaker system, radiant-heated bathrooms and a security system. A basement wine cellar — but of course — was also installed.

It looks to be in flawless shape, but the listing informs us that “the high-end renovation of this exceptional property is almost complete and presents a unique opportunity for the discriminating buyer to finish it to their own specifications.” So there are things left unfinished. The kitchen, which is not pictured, is likely among them.

The house last sold three years ago, when it was a House of the Day; it sold then for the asking price of $3.575 million. Those buyers embarked on the renovation, but for whatever reason are now selling instead of seeing it through.

The current price is exactly a million dollars higher: $4.575 million. Think they’ll get it? What are your thoughts on the house?

[Listing: 848 Carroll Street | Broker: Halstead] GMAP