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Open House Agenda: Three Apartments to See This Weekend

By Donna M. Airoldi | December 6, 2013 7:42am
 Three duplex apartments with private outdoor space to put on your open house calendar.
Duplex Apartments to See This Weekend
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BROOKLYN — Finding a sufficient amount of space in an apartment isn’t always enough for buyers: It's also about the right layout. For house hunters who covet rooms on multiple levels, giving the feel of a home or townhouse, here are three duplex apartments — each with private outdoor space — with open houses Sunday.

326 State St., Apt. 1A, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
1 Bedroom/1.5 Baths
Condo
874 square feet
$695,000
Common Charges: $549/month
Real Estate Taxes: $68/month
Open House: Sunday, Dec. 8, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Lowdown: “This is an outdoor-space lovers' apartment," Jordan Cooper, of Cooper & Cooper Real Estate, said, noting there's a patio and a 26-foot-long garden.

“Yes, it’s a duplex, and being on two levels is interesting," he said, "but outdoor space is going to be important to the person who buys it.”

Even though the building was just constructed in 2007, the current owner made upgrades to the kitchen appliances and cabinets and installed reclaimed wood floors, so it has a different aesthetic from neighboring units, Cooper said.

There’s a wall of windows in the living room, but a potential drawback is that they are on the ground floor and overlook the sidewalk.

“The building has fencing that gives some distance to the street, which is quiet and tree-lined. No one can come right up to the windows,” Cooper explained. “Very few buyers have that concern, but one [did], so we asked the board and the building is open to the new owners putting planters out front, at their own expense.”

Location: You’re in the heart of Boerum Hill and an easy walk to several other neighborhoods, including Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn. All 11 subway lines that transit through the latter neighborhood are within a short walk.

The area is brimming with new residential developments that are selling out quickly, Cooper said. Atlantic Avenue, one block south, has seen a plethora of retail and dining locations open since the debut of the nearby Barclays Center. One such place is Manhattan pizzeria Luzzo’s, which opened its first Brooklyn location in November.

Why put it on your open house calendar? With the garden and patio, you’re getting almost an additional 500 square feet of space. “It’s a friendly building, there are only three board members and there’s no interview,” Cooper added.

 

311 W. 76th St., Apt. 5, Upper West Side, Manhattan
1 Bedroom/1.5 Baths
Co-op
Approximately 800 square feet
$895,000
Maintenance: $583/month
Open House: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2-3:30 p.m.

Lowdown: This Upper West Side duplex gets good light, has a wood-burning fireplace and a rooftop deck with a retractable awning and views of Riverside Park and the Hudson River.

The owners have lived here for more than 30 years and in the past five renovated the kitchen, bathroom and downstairs level, said Robin Lyon Gardiner, of Town Residential.

“It has many wonderful features, but it’s not huge and it’s a walk-up," she said. "When you have a walk-up, you eliminate a lot of potential buyers. That’s why we priced it where we did."

A buyer could remove the built-ins in the living room and regain usage of two feet of space, Gardiner suggested. “They could also put in a straight staircase to the second level, and behind the sheetrock in the living room is a beautiful brick wall,” she added.

Pets are allowed on a case-by-case basis. The board recently restored the building’s exterior and stoop.

Location: The unit is one of six in a brownstone on a tree-lined, landmarked block that feeds into Riverside Park.

The neighborhood’s famous grocery stores — Fairway, Citarella and Zabar’s — are nearby. A branch of the popular Red Farm restaurant opened in October on 77th Street. The 1, 2, 3 trains are at 72nd Street.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “Once you walk in the front door, it really is an oasis. It’s so quiet, you don’t feel like you’re in New York City,” said Gardiner, who lives on the same block. “And you live in a real neighborhood. We all know each other on the block. Everyone looks out for each other.”

 

368 W. 23rd St., Apt. 5F, Chelsea, Manhattan
1 Bedroom/2 Baths
Co-op
1,100 square feet
$1.55 million
Maintenance: $1,800/month
Open House: Sunday, Dec. 8, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Lowdown: This top-floor corner duplex faces west and north and comes with two outdoor spaces — a balcony off the lower-level dining room and a rooftop deck off the upper-level bedroom. The owners remodeled in 2008 when they converted the unit from a two-bedroom into a one-bedroom.

“They took out the downstairs bedroom and made it into an L-shaped living and dining room space. The upstairs level is now the bedroom suite,” said Calli Sarkesh, of Douglas Elliman. “They added high-end finishes throughout. The appliances, cabinetry, windows — all have exceptional designs."

The seven-unit 1900-era building has an elevator unlike most Chelsea buildings of this scale, explained Sarkesh. There also is a private entrance on the upper level.

There is no underlying mortgage, he added, and the monthly maintenance is expected to be reduced by 40 percent next year, to about $1,150.

Location: The entrance to the building, on Ninth Avenue at 23rd Street, is close to the High Line, Chelsea’s art galleries and several well-established restaurants near 23rd Street and 10th Avenue, including Red Cat and Trestle on Tenth. The Meatpacking District is an easy walk. The Meatball Shop opened a branch on the building’s block and is always packed, said Sarkesh, who lives across the street. The A, C, E trains are at Eighth Avenue.

"There’s so much new development in West Chelsea — which is the part of the neighborhood west of Ninth Avenue — and the price per square foot keeps breaking records,” Sarkesh said. “There’s a different feeling once you leave Eighth Avenue. There are a lot of young, hip families and kids.”

Why put it on your open house calendar? “It’s probably the sexiest duplex in Chelsea at this price-point on the market now,” Sarkesh said. “And the addition of not one but two outdoor spaces makes it singular.”