For years Crown Heights was known by real estate agents as “the next neighborhood.” Its rows of tree-lined townhouses on landmarked blocks could compete with anything nearby Prospect Heights, Bed-Stuy, and Park Slope could offer. Plus it had the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and was walking distance to the Botanic Garden, The Brooklyn Museum, and Prospect Park. So why did it take so long to become the neighborhood that it is now becoming?
Like a dam with levees pushed to their limit, Crown Heights’ geographical location, enviable housing stock, and the rising tide of real estate prices in surrounding neighborhoods meant that sooner or later something had to give. First though, the amenities in the neighborhood had to change. New coffee shops, restaurants and increased beautification projects on Nostrand Avenue have turned Crown Heights into a neighborhood, residents new and old, always hoped it would be.
The mural-filled dining room of Ras Plant Based, plant based cafe located in Crown Heights.
With a median sales price of $768K and the median price per square foot of $895 according to Property Shark, it is still below nearby Prospect Heights and Park Slope, but the median square foot data shows a massive 29% year-over-year increase. The reason: Crown Heights is exploding with new condo developments and with them, the kind of restaurants and local amenities that are finally pushing hipsters, millennials, and professionals down from Washington Avenue to Franklin Avenue and on to Nostrand. Here are some of the most notable condos.
Museum House, 805 Washington Street. Courtesy of Compass
Museum House — 805 Washington Street
Located on the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, The Museum House is so named because it’s a mere stone’s throw away from the Brooklyn Museum as well as the Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn Library, and Prospect Park. Clad in museum-like white stone, the nine-story condo building has 37 one-to-four bedroom units ranging from $800,000 to $2.795 million, with all of the one-bedroom units priced around $1 million, either sold or now in contract.
111 Montgomery, Courtesy of Compass
111 Montgomery
Dubbed as Crown Heights’ first luxury condo development by the New York Times, 111 Montgomery spans 12 stories and 163 studio-to-three units with over half the units already sold, according to StreetEasy, which lists an average sales price of $851,373. Most of the units are 1-2 bedrooms and make up the majority of recent sales. Amenities include a residents’ lounge, children’s playroom, fitness center, rooftop terrace, and community garden.
488 Sterling Place, Courtesy of Compass
488 Sterling Place
A luxury condo building on the cusp of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, 488 Sterling Place, consists of 25 upscale eco-friendly condos, designed and developed by the Brooklyn Home Company, previously known for the brownstone themed classic designs matched with modern touches. This soothingly palleted collection of homes skew more Prospect than Crown Heights price-wise with most of the homes now in contract. If you’re after classy finishes in a classy neighborhood, this is a great development to buy into.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, located just a stone's throw away from 54 Crown Street.
54 Crown Street
A development that will make 111 Montgomery seem like a beach cottage, 54 Crown Street, according to plans filed by Carmel Partners, will be a 17-story, mixed-use building with 569 residential units. The currently vacant lot sits on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Crown Street and is five blocks away from the Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum subway station. Although the residence type has not been specified, NewyorkYimby.com suggests that the building will be rentals based on the average unit scope of 683 square feet. If they happen to be condos for sale, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
If you are interested in buying, or renting, in Crown Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, reach out to me at gene@charneycompanies.com.