It’s hard to believe that there was a time when Prospect Heights was considered to be on the wrong side of the tracks. That was back in the 1990s when Flatbush Avenue was the dividing line between neighborhoods and real estate values. On the other side of the line was stately Park Slope, itself only a decade or so away from being a somewhat shady neighborhood too. But as Nina Simone once sang, “Everything Must Change,” and that is undoubtedly true in real estate. Now, unbelievably, Prospect Heights, thanks in part to the massive development going on in the newly coined Pacific Park, could even eclipse its upscale neighbor.
What’s the Big Deal About Prospect Heights?
Geographically, Prospect Heights has always been a real estate explosion waiting to happen. Its proximity to the verdant oasis of Prospect Park, along with The Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Library has long been its calling card. Then there are the rows of elegant brownstones, time capsuled architecture forever in limited supply. The construction of the Barclay Center, the area around The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with Apple, WholeFoods and a slew of new retail and dining options around the Fulton Street/Flatbush intersection along with Pacific Park’s gleaming, chic apartment complexes and open space has been rocket fuel to its adjacent area’s real estate.
Once Crown Heights caught the appreciation fever, Prospect Heights found itself sandwiched between escalating and increasingly sought-after neighborhoods. According to The Real Deal, as of September 2021, inventory in Prospect Heights dropped by 42% while prices shot up by 11% year-over-year resulting in bidding wars and one-day sales.
Condo Options in Prospect Heights
If you’re not in the market for a townhouse, you still have options in Prospect Heights. New developments such 856 Washington, 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, and older developments such as 34 Butler Place, 535 Dean Street, and older apartments turned condos such as 98 St. Marks Place, have electrified the condo market. Realtor.com shows the median listing home price and the median sold price to be around $1M which would mean, with current interest rates and good credit, a home buyer would be looking at a mortgage payment of around $3,370 not including taxes and insurance for a two-bedroom condo. Studio apartments at 550 Vanderbilt can be purchased for under $800,000.
What’s Available in Pacific Park?
A lot, if you want to rent! Shimmering, hulking new amenity-filled new apartment towers are transforming the once dimly lit Pacific Street in front of our very eyes. The chic 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, which straddled the line between the two neighborhoods, set the tone and now two new affordable rental buildings — 535 Carlton Avenue and 38 Sixth Avenue —along with the world’s tallest modular building, 461 Dean Street, are following in its wake. Construction is also well underway on Brooklyn Crossing and Plank Road. By the time Pacific Park is finished, the 22-acre master plan will see 15 new buildings with a total of 6,430 housing units, of which 2,250 will be affordable. There’ll also be a new school, hospital, scores of restaurants, and retail along with eight acres of public open space designed by Thomas Balsley. The major transit hub is served by the Atlantic Terminal Station.
SUMMARY
Prospect Heights and Pacific Pacific Park, though, ostensibly once all a part of Prospect Heights are now two very distinct neighborhoods, one sparkling and new and the other established and older. Both can be mutually beneficial to one another. If you’re looking to buy a condo, Prospect Heights is probably your best bet, assuming you include 550 Vanderbilt in your catchment. There is a mix of newer developments, those constructed in the last 20 years, and older apartments reconfigured into condos to choose from — all interspersed with gorgeous, tree-lined townhouses.
Pacific Park, is a new neighborhood developed on the old Atlantic Yards rail terminal with renters in mind. As such, it might lack the same warmth and lived-in feel of its neighbor. However, with the slew of bars, restaurants, and buzzing action on the Vanderbilt thoroughfare, not to mention the eight acres of landscaped open space, whether you’re a buyer or renter, there’s likely to be something for everyone all within a short walk.
