Townhouses off the Beaten Path
When considering townhouses in
“Families, affluent buyers and creative buyers are finding unique and lovely homes in every nook and cranny of the city,” said Charles Homet, senior vice president and associate broker at Halstead Property.
This influx of development may be due in part to townhouses that were parceled off into multiple family homes now being restored back to their original glory.
“Many townhouses were converted from single-family homes to multiple-unit dwellings at various times as the city’s economy soured,” Homet said. “Conversion of these back into luxurious one-family dwellings offers great development potential.”
According to Charles Ruoff, senior vice president and associate broker at Brown Harris Stevens Brooklyn, LLC, that borough has emerged as a top market for townhouse development—but supply is limited.
“I principally represent buyers and sellers in the purchase and sale of townhouses and brownstones in downtown Brooklyn, [which includes]
Hill,
Ruoff also sees an increase in development in the
“Many of the most desirable locations in the downtown
As the prices of townhouses have risen in the downtown Brooklyn area, up-and-coming areas in other neighborhoods have emerged, including Clinton Hill, Windsor Terrace and Kensington, as well as
Ruoff recalls two notable townhouses in Brooklyn he’s come across—the former home of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany on the corner of
As far as price per square foot, downtown
Eileen Robert, Corcoran senior vice president and director of townhouse sales, names Harlem and
“Some of these houses have more original details than mid-Manhattan homes,” she said. “Two weeks ago, I saw the most spectacular original carved Mahogany newel post in a Clinton Hill.”
But Robert remembers a
“If I had to choose one house which made the most enduring impression on me, the answer has to be a house in
But Lucie Holt, senior vice president and associate broker at Citi Habitats, said that in when it comes to
“Harlem was years ago a big development for townhouse development because there were so many shells available and going for low prices, but that has tightened up a bit,” she said.
Cathy Taub, executive vice president and associate broker at Stribling and Associates, also names the uptown/Harlem area as a prime locale for these single-family gems.
“
But Taub agrees with Ruoff in terms of
“
And don’t forget about
“There are examples of lovely townhouses in the
Roger Erickson, senior managing director at Sotheby’s International Realty, also has seen townhouses in the village, including one that he just can’t seem to forget.
“I once sold a townhouse that was in the
Holt also names the village as a hot area for townhouses—albeit not as expensive as those on the
“The value of townhouses varies depending, of course, on where they are location-wise,” she said.
“Probably the most expensive area for townhouses would be on the Upper East Side close to Fifth and
While Robert can name many notable townhouses that sit on the Upper East Side, she also mentions the area “downtown 10th Street between University and Sixth, as well as the West Village name streets, Bank, Charles and Perry,” as sought after areas, and Brooklyn Heights, Montague Terrace and Columbia Heights.
This just proves that townhouses can call other neighborhoods home.
“The
Only a rarefied group of buyers can afford those. There are many other options for townhouse buyers than just the
According to George van der Ploeg, senior vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, when it comes to finding off the-beaten-path townhouses, one must simply travel downtown.
“There are tons of townhouses in these areas and all other areas that were residential before 1920,” he said. “Having said that, Tribeca is a good example of ‘off the beaten path’ since almost all of the townhouses were demolished to make way for commercial loft buildings in the 19th and early 20th centuries.”
However, increasingly popular loft-style apartments have nearly wiped out the existing inventory of townhouses in Tribeca.
“Most of the townhouses in what is now called Tribeca were demolished years ago to make way for commercial loft buildings,” van der Ploeg said. “However, a few remain, including 452
Louise Beit, senior vice president at Sotheby’s International Realty, agrees, noting downtown as an unexpected area ripe with townhomes.
“Especially downtown along the waterfront or on a cobblestone street, where one will see one or two neo-Federal brick townhouses standing alone between loft buildings, which brings a certain nostalgia and yearning for the original character of the street when there was a whole row of these quaint houses,” she said. “The commercialization of these areas has resulted in the deletion of priceless architectural remnants of the past.”
It seems that instead of moving to the suburbs upon the arrival of children, families are instead putting down roots in the city.
“The trend during the last 20 years is for urban living,” Homet said. “This has revived whole neighborhoods as buyers have looked to stay in
Listed by Corcoran agents Sara Gelbard (212-242-9941) and Paul Kolbusz (212-500-7026) at $9,950,000.
Listed by Corcoran agent Tatiana Cames (212-444-7833) at $1,950,000.
Living room at
Listed by Corcoran agents Ellen Newman (718-923-8072) and Lisa Detwiler (718-923-8091) at $5,395,000.