Tag Archives: landmarks preservation commission

In his new “My 2 Cents” column, Donald Brennan presents unbiased, hands-on evaluations of properties on the market that he’s visited and examined inside and out—and gives you his unique perspective as an architect, developer and appraiser.

Gut rehab for the buyer with a plan.

I took a look at this single-family townhouse with one of my buyer clients in the fall. Great block in a great neighborhood. This four-story, 2,700 square-foot, estate-condition property was listed for $1.9 million, or $703/square foot. (Just a few days ago it went under contract, price unknown.) While the building is habitable “as is,” most buyers would want to rehabilitate it before moving in—since the scope of potential work could be significant, and occupancy during the renovation would be very unpleasant, if not impossible.

Local Externalities—The property is located in the landmarked portion of Cobble Hill, in an attractive residential area, near the corner of Degraw Street. Tompkins Place is a quiet, charming street—just one block long–located between Kane and Degraw streets, and between and parallel to Court and Clinton streets. All the neighboring lots are built on, share similar bulk, are of the same vintage, and appear to be occupied. Therefore, there is little if any risk of new adjacent construction that might negatively impact the value of this property. The immediately adjoining properties—57 and 61 Tompkins—have been attractively renovated and modernized into comfortable single-family homes.

Architecture/Appearance— 59 Tompkins Place is part of a group of five three-story townhouses (numbers 53 – 61) built in the early 1850s in the Anglo-Italianate style. Each house is characterized by a low three-step stoop and a narrow width of 15 feet—since at that time the demand in Cobble Hill was for small houses. The group remains intact today, but without the pediments referred to in the 1969 Landmarks Designation report.

In general, this townhouse—consisting of five bedrooms and three full bathrooms—has a dated and run-down appearance. The exterior of the building seems slightly out of place: Its lower level is painted with a brownstone finish (although the paint is peeling and the color seems a bit off), while the upper levels are finished in brick. Its windows have been reduced in height. And it’s the only one of the five townhouses without an ironwork fence—its fence having been replaced by a low concrete wall, which is currently in need of repair. The building has a garden-level floor, but no cellar. Some of the original details remain—such as decorative moldings and marble mantles—but they’re not in great shape. The floors, windows, kitchen and bathrooms are all in poor condition. Some fixtures are missing. With no cellar, storage area is limited—so the mechanical equipment is housed on the garden level, and other items are stored under the front garden. The back garden space is a bit awkward, with multi-level, hard-to-navigate space.

Rehabilitation—Nothing short of a gut rehab would bring this property up to the level of its neighbors. All mechanical systems would need to be replaced, as would the kitchen and bathrooms. New windows should be installed and cut to their original size, and floors refinished. While the original moldings are salvageable, they require repair. The lower façade should be redone with a true brownstone finish. And the garden area could use to be reorganized and leveled to make it more efficient and functional.

What would all these renovations cost? At least $300/square foot—bringing the total all-in cost of this building to $2.7 million, or $1,000/square foot. Despite the expense, though, I do think this would be a reasonable investment–considering the lack of supply of single-family townhouses in Cobble Hill as well as its strengthening real estate market.

Another factor to note: Permits for such a rehabilitation project would need approval not only from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but also from Community Board 6 –after it considers the feedback from the very active and involved Cobble Hill Association. While this association doesn’t have an architectural review committee like other neighborhood associations, it’s made up of representatives from all of Cobble Hill’s block associations—meaning your neighbors on Tompkins Place will be able to directly weigh in on your rehab project!

Donald Brennan    917-568-6525  dbrennan@brennanrealtyservices.com

Please contact me if you’re in the market to buy and would like to learn about my buy-side services, or if you’re thinking of selling your home and would like to learn more about my sell-side services and to receive a complimentary comparable market analysis.

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