Latest news with #Brownstoner
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYC's earliest concrete building asks $2.99M for sale
The historic structure on the intersection of Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn sticks out like a 'stone' thumb. The Coignet Stone Company Building, newly on sale for $2.99 million, is the earliest known concrete building in New York City. It was constructed in the 1870s as a functional advertisement for its proprietors, the New York & Long Island Coignet Stone Company, with the very same patented cement stone the company was desperately trying to sell to New Yorkers. The business did not survive the test of time, but their showroom — slash everlasting billboard of sorts — did. Advertisement 5 The building has long stood proud in Gowanus, and for years at this point has been surrounded by the Gowanus Whole Foods Market. Courtesy of Corcoran 5 Its uses can vary, such as for an office, a restaurant or a store. Courtesy of Corcoran 5 Though hollow, what's inside are relics to a Brooklyn of another era. Courtesy of Corcoran Advertisement The building's broker, Erica Nieves of Corcoran, described the building's current condition as 'raw.' 'It definitely needs some TLC,' Nieves said. 'But if you're a person who knows the history of this, that knows that Gowanus is an artsy neighborhood, then you can see the potential.' The former showcase structure spans 2,360 square feet across three levels, and boasts some of the details expected of the city's pre-war gems — soaring 13-foot ceilings, arched windows, a curving staircase and cornices. 'I've passed this building for decades upon decades, and I know that a lot of people in the neighborhood have been vying for this building just to be restored,' Nieves said. And, indeed, that's the experience of many — as the Gowanus Whole Foods Market very visibly hugs this historic structure that stands right on the corner. The thoroughfare is also a bridge between trendy Gowanus and quaint Carroll Gardens, meaning the building has long received hordes of passersby who regard it as a local landmark. Advertisement The Coignet Agglomerate Company of the United States was founded in 1869, according to a Brownstoner timeline of its history. Construction on its all-concrete offices and showroom began in 1872. The bright white stone was a stark departure from the borough's typical brick and brownstone facades. The business, then renamed the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company, filed for bankruptcy a short time later, in 1873. The building changed hands numerous times — and got an unfortunate makeover with brick cladding — before abandonment in the 1960s. 5 The structure at this point has stood abandoned for decades. Courtesy of Corcoran 5 A new owner has flexibility. Courtesy of Corcoran Advertisement The Coignet Stone Company Building's current owner acquired it in 1992, according to city records. Attempted sales in 2013 for $3 million and in 2019 for $5 million were unsuccessful. Although the exterior got a total, white-washed refresh in 2016, thanks to a pledge from its neighbor Whole Foods, the interior looks every bit the abandoned warehouse. The landmarked building's zoning changed as recently as yesterday, according to Nieves. Instead of a mixed-use property, the building now only allows for businesses, like a restaurant, office or retailer. The current sale coincides with an offer to lease the property, Nieves said. 'Everybody, for decades, has gone by this building and wondered what's inside,' Nieves said. 'So to have a company take it over, whether it's a restaurant, a shop where people can actually tour the space, would be phenomenal.'
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Stunning Brooklyn mansion lists for $12.49M after a renovation
A 22-room classical mansion in Prospect Park South is on sale for $12.49 million, making it the most expensive listing in the bucolic Brooklyn neighborhood — one that seems a world apart from the city. The unusual and wonderful Brooklyn residence that Brownstoner once dubbed a 'Colonial Revival on steroids' returned to the market on Monday with a major facelift, according to StreetEasy. The 11,000-plus-square-foot mansion listed for $12.49 million — a nearly $10 million jump from its last sale price. The landmarked home's listing representative, Mike Lubin of Brown Harris Stevens, told The Post that its current owner of eight years, an architect, restored the home to its former pre-war splendor. Advertisement 'This is considered kind of the Grand Dame of the neighborhood,' Lubin said. 'It was built with a lot of architectural detail, and the scale is very, very dramatic.' 12 The exterior of the home is unmistakable, with dramatically large eaves, unique windows and soaring Ionic columns. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The large front porch. Brown Harris Stevens Advertisement 12 The entryway features a coffered ceiling, the grand staircase and one of several fireplaces in the home. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The current owner restored the home's unique windows as well as its millwork. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The chef's kitchen includes its own fireplace, as well as a 10-foot island and a marble farm sink. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The dining room is lined with rich mahogany. Brown Harris Stevens Advertisement 12 A cozy library on the first floor. Brown Harris Stevens The home possesses the scale of a county manor, with stately two-story Ionic columns and an expansive porch. The interior spans 11,450 square feet, including nine bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. When the mansion was last snapped up for $2.75 million in 2017, it was in a state of disrepair with peeling paint and rotting wood marring the once-grand facade. You wouldn't know it looking at the home today, however. The once 'creepy' home now boasts some of the most impressive curb appeal in the neighborhood, thanks to the extensive renovations. These changes, according to Lubin, included bathroom, kitchen, roof, plumbing and central air upgrades — as well as restoring the pocket doors, fireplace mantels and 66 wood-framed windows. Advertisement 'It was like a puzzle that had to be taken apart and put back together,' Lubin said. The front double doors lead to a coffered hall connected to a front parlor, a reception parlor, a mahogany-clad dining room and a library with bay window. The impressive chef's kitchen has a 10-foot island, a marble farm sink and its own fireplace — one of many fireplaces throughout the home. The third floor — a former ballroom with 16-foot ceilings — has been converted into an entertainment room featuring a decadent bar and a spiral staircase up to a reading nook. 12 The primary suite. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The ensuite bathroom features a freestanding tub. Brown Harris Stevens 12 An additional bedroom. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The furnished basement. Brown Harris Stevens 12 The backyard. Brown Harris Stevens Advertisement The private backyard, with its large stone patio and green lawn, is one of highlights of the home for Lubin. 'You feel like you're in Connecticut or Long Island,' Lubin said. 'It doesn't feel like an urban garden. It's incredibly peaceful.' Attempts by a previous agent to sell the home for a higher $12.95 million between 2022 and 2023 were unsuccessful, but Lubin said this is partly to blame of the strangeness of the post-pandemic market. 'There were offers, but none that they wanted to accept,' he said. Advertisement Prospect Park South was largely built by developer Dean Alvord at the turn of the 20th century. Alvord had with a vision of suburbia in the middle of Brooklyn. This residence, at 1305 Albemarle Road, however, was built by the little-known architect Henry B. Moore in 1905. The home was notably featured in the Oscar-winning film 'Reversal of Fortune,' and scenes from 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' were filmed on the first floor. The next owner of this opulent home will be in good company — the famed actress Michelle Williams bought her own 18-room mansion just down the block in 2016.
New York Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
This could be Brooklyn's second-tallest skyscraper — if it replaces an ‘eyesore' office building
A public-private partnership is eyeing a notoriously gloomy Downtown Brooklyn office building for an ambitious overhaul. The all-black, seven-story office building at 395 Flatbush Ave. Extension was once dubbed 'one of the biggest eyesores in downtown Brooklyn,' by Brownstoner. Now, the borough's second-tallest tower could take its place. The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development is looking to rezone the city-owned site to allow for a 72-story, 840-foot-tall mixed-use tower, the Real Deal reported. A tower that size would be second only to the 93-story Brooklyn Tower, just down the street. 3 A rendering of the proposed 72-story tower. Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the plan at last week's Real Deal NYC Forum 2025, touting the city's new tax incentives and City of Yes zoning changes making the proposed development possible. Developers Rabina and Park Tower Group control the site through a long-term ground lease with the city. Josh Rabina, President and CEO of Rabina, said the plan to replace the 'dark and outdated' office building will 'breathe new life into one of the most important intersections in Downtown Brooklyn.' '395 Flatbush will respond to the city's urgent housing needs, while anticipating and supporting future growth by overhauling the public realm for the thousands of people that pass through every day,' Rabina said in a statement. The 53-year-old building sits just above the DeKalb subway station, in the heart of Brooklyn's transit-rich central business district. The currently squat, triangular office is currently occupied by a Verizon call center and ground-floor storefronts. Its sheltered sidewalk is often crowded with computers and homeless encampments. A spokesperson for the developers said the 350,000-square-foot office building is 'no longer meeting the needs of the community.' 3 The current office building has been dubbed 'one of the biggest eyesores in downtown Brooklyn.' Rabina 3 Plans for the tower include a public public plaza, widened sidewalks and an improved subway entrance. Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects The proposed 1.5 million-square-foot tower would include 1,263 apartments, 253 to 379 of which would be designated as permanently affordable at or below 80% of area median income, according to city records. The developers plan to construct the affordable units without receiving any loans or grants from the city, according to a spokesperson, but will instead will take advantage of new city tax incentives. An Adams aide has also stated that the building will house formerly homeless residents, Gothamist reported. The surrounding area will also receive a 10,000-square-foot facelift. The developers plan to construct a 4,750-square-foot public plaza along Fulton Street, widen the sidewalk along Flatbush, add green landscaping and expand the DeKalb Avenue subway station's public entrance. The new all-electric building design will also offer 66,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to 75,000 square feet of commercial space, according to a spokesperson for the developers, adding that the redevelopment will retain and reuse portions of the existing office building. Plans for the tower, however, are still in their infancy — the project must first pass through the city's lengthy land-use process. A public scoping hearing for the project will be held on June 5.
