Category Archives: Crown Heights

Crown Heights Real Estate: For $339k, What Would You Do With 615 St. Johns Place?


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This “Prime” Crown Heights property, a little one-story shell across from Franklin Park, is for sale. They are asking $339,000 and soliciting cash offers. It seems like a very good price for the land alone.

“If the seller was properly motivated, and a little patient in terms of time to close (which they might be if they get no cash offers fast), a 203(k) loan on the property would turn up a very nice single-family home for the price of a condo,” the other day. An FHA-backed 203(k) loan, which would pays the seller and gives you cash for renovations, can be had by anybody who can pony up a 3.5% down payment. As long as you use the existing ~1000-square-foot foundation to erect a three- or four-story building, it could work.

If the plot is zoned R-6B, which it seems to be, somebody could erect a 4-story building (max buildable: 5200 square feet), one condo per floor, and if it’s short enough, no elevator would be required under the building code. Such a plan could be realistic – judging from a few small “infill” buildings recently built in the neighborhood.

With 5200 square feet to use, four stories would clock in at 1300 per floor, with a nice roof deck and back yard to boot. By going condo, you could get money back quickly even at $570,000 per floor. So why is this still on the market? One issue could be that no one is giving out construction loans right now (hence the cash-only situation, and the interest in 203k loans).

546 Grand Ave. Restaurant to Reopen


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Reports on Brownstoner suggest that the space formerly occupied by the unpretentiously named 564 Grand Ave. Restaurant in Crown Heights (pictured here in its hole-in-the-wall heyday) will be reoccupied by a potentially snazzier, more upscale restaurant that’s still focused on Spanish-American Food. So goes the neighborhood. Folks say the old 564 was dumpy but nevertheless a great place to grab a tasty meal and a refreshing Corona or two.

Crown Heights Real Estate: How'd You Like This Fixer-Upper for $500,000?

Get ready to bid on this Crown Heights landmark, located at 838 Prospect Place (photo: Daily News):

It’s scheduled to be up for auction on Oct. 20, starting st $500,000. But before you get too excited, consider that the building has been empty and rotting since about 2008, so you’ll likely need to do a full gut renovation while you fend off the raccoons infesting the back yard. Apparently the city purchased it and planned to make it an assisted-living facility group home, but they had trouble reconciling some design requirements (such as new fire escapes) with historic preservation codes covering the property.

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