Living the A-list life along the fabulous Flatbush Riviera. Eat your heart out Park Slope!!

On possibly the rainiest day this year we decided to do what felt like a marathon of open houses. My husband had suggested that perhaps we should stay in. I for some crazy reason that I can’t understand disagreed, “we’ll be mostly indoor anyways” I whined. So he gave in, and we both lived to semi regret it. After viewing 270 Greene Ave it would’ve been a short skip to 315 Greene Ave. if not for the torrential rains. We were beginning to get soaked when we made it in through the doors, “best stay awhile” the agent greeted us — and she was so nice about it we did stay awhile. Enough to get a good look at the goods.

The first unit we looked was 1B a 2 BD / 2 BA ground floor duplex at $610k and at over 1,500 sq ft it was well positioned. The unit was impressive. The light filtered in from both the back and the front yard, giving it an ambient glow throughout. The living room had floor to ceiling windows, which opened nicely to the front, and a not-too-small balcony in the back. The bedrooms breathed well, and had decent closet space, the bathrooms featured nice spa like finishes but weren’t connected to any particular bedroom so it would have to be shared with living room traffic. The downstairs portion of the unit was laid out similarly to the above, but had only half as many windows giving it a basement-esque feel. The “bedroom” at the bottom didn’t have a door, but it seemed for all intents and purposes to be intended as a bedroom and was staged as a kids room, it opened out to a small but pretty garden. Overall the unit was very strong, and we liked that the stairs felt like stairs (i.e. it had a landing) and not a hybrid between steps and a ladder.

We continued to look at some of the other units, one bedrooms (2B) but didn’t like them half as much. They featured the same layouts but without the duplex,  which actually took a lot away from the units. They put a “nursery” where the stairs should’ve been, and it just seemed awkward that the nursery would be effectively in the hallway, though I suppose it could function successfully as a home office.

Though just down the block from 270 Greene Avenue, the neighborhood already felt changed, brownstones graced the block rather than empty weed ridden lots, empty store fronts or boarded up houses. The building itself is non-descript, and there aren’t any amenities, not even a common roof deck so you can expect to NOT get to know your neighbors. Also, you’d have to resign yourself to the G and all the transfers that entails.  Still,overall it was in our minds a pretty good value for the price, and certainly much stronger than many new developments we’d seen, including 270 Greene.

We weren’t expecting much from 270 Greene Ave. We had actually gone there the past weekend but missed the open house by 15 minutes. We did however get an eyeful of its cinder block exterior and surroundings. The abandoned liquor store on the corner, overgrown parking lot next door, boarded up townhouse across the street, and empty store fronts that littered the block did not bode well. But we would’ve been wrong to dismiss it.

An increasingly rare breed of agent was well prepared with marketing materials, his card, and knowledgable on the highlights of the development. He pointed out that things would be rapidly developing in this area. He gestured to the corner cafe, “see .. that just opened a few months ago, and directly across the street a restaurant will be opening from the same owners as General Greene.” “REALLY?” we asked in unison.  Quite a feat if it’s true.

The units were pleasing, and spacious at $549k for 987 sq ft , $689k for 1,312 sq ft, and a whopping $775k for the penthouse  3BD / 3BA. The finishes were modern,  jacuzzi tub, high ceilings and oversized windows. Some of the units were also nicely laid out duplexes with surprisingly roomy closets. The development also had large personal storage, bike storage, common (but small) roof deck, and a nice 15 year tax abatement. All that said, the units seemed a bit dated. There were unsightly ACs littered about the rooms, the architecture and design didn’t leave much to the imagination, and despite the jacuzzi tub the bathrooms were on the bland side. And while the common charges were very low ($320 or less), I wouldn’t mind paying extra for a door man, given the neighborhood still has some rough spots.

Overall, the development was better than expected but over priced. The agent certainly did a lot to highlight its strong points, but there’s no getting around that it’s only near one subway (the G) — which means you’d have to transfer to get almost anywhere. It’s still next door to a parking lot of weeds, boarded up townhouses, and limited amenities.

When thinking over what kind of apartment we wanted to buy in NYC invariably coops were discussed. We quickly dismissed them since neither of us were interested in running through the gauntlet of the board. Yet, we couldn’t help but notice some of the great values were coops. So we decided to look at what appeared to be an incredible value coop– 209 Clinton Avenue.  Corner unit, two bedrooms, 1 bath, hardwood floors, Manhattan views, ~ 900+sqft and sunny. All for ~ $420k. Not bad.

We suspected we weren’t going to like it when we saw the complex resembled an upscale project. We grew more suspicious when we had to navigate the security guard with the wobbly eye. And Josh just about turned around when we saw that what we took for a bathroom was actually the elevator. When we got to the floor there weren’t any signs telling us which unit it was — and the doors themselves weren’t labelled, blind luck guided us to the right door. The agent greeted us in what I thought was night gown. But she seemed friendly enough. The owner was also present, and staring creepily at us as we toured the apartment.

Not to be too harsh, it still affords a great value for those who don’t mind an apartment that looks its age. It also had great light, peeks of a Manhattan view, and is located on a beautiful tree lined street that had many graceful houses.

One of my favorite blogs for all things decor, apartmentherapy recently did a cover on a Downtown Brooklyn apartment called “Gene’s Graphics & Color“. I flipped through the photos, and imagine my surprise when invariably I saw it closely resemebled the units at the Belltel. Not only that, but  it seemed to be from the very same line we were looking at earlier this year. I gotta admit they’ve done a lot with the place — lux finishes in the bathrooms and nicer sliding doors on the “home offices”, I’m seething with design envy. But still, no amount of renovations and awesome interior design is going to make up for the fact that it’s still only got two windows, and the bedrooms are reailroaded together.  Or does it?

We almost walked by this house without realizing it’s very unique feature. But once noticed, we felt it was something like a 3 legged unicorn, something special but also something not quite right. Even if we could get over the bunk doors there’s still the perilous stairway leading to the inevitable face plant.

442 State Street was Brownstoner’s House of the Day — March 25th 2009,  but they didn’t mention its special character  – in fact their photos seem to go out of the way to hide it. When it sold May earlier this year they still didn’t mention the bunk doors. I say celebrate it. Can’t wait to see what the new owner does with it.