Brokers Push Brownstone Gem To New Heights
The 7,075-square-foot mansion-style home, on its opposite side, faces the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and has those “breathtaking sunset, river, harbor and Manhattan skyline views from every floor,” a fact that was confirmed during a recent tour and open house — held, appropriately, at sunset — sponsored by the Kory Team, which has the exclusive listing and includes broker Karen Kelley.
“It has also undergone a truly exquisite historic renovation [also confirmed on the tour],” said Kory, who added that the current owners spent “a major amount of money” on the renovation project. According to Department of Buildings permit records, that renovation was done by Benjamin Baxt of Baxt Ingui Architects beginning in 1999 and involved the removal of partitions installed to create several smaller apartments. In addition, to returning it back to a single-family home, Baxt researched and added marble mantles, plaster mouldings, spindle replacements on the stairway, custom woodwork and flooring (in the Parquet de Versailles style) all designed to reflect the home’s 1836 origins.
“Everything on the front facade was replicated in accordance with the Landmarks [Preservation] Commission,” Kory said, adding that the wrought iron railing along the stoop was recast, the Corinthian columns of the entryway were restored, and the entire facade replicated from pictures found during his research.
Other amenities listed include an English-style garden, elevator, central air, a complete gym, media room, family room, library and as many as six fireplaces and bathrooms.
Originally on the market with another brokerage firm at an unprecedented asking price of $20 million, it was taken off the market earlier this year and then the exclusive was given to The Corcoran Group. It joins the three other “rare examples” of Brooklyn Heights homes with record-breaking listings — one at 8 Montague Terrace with an asking price of $12 million; one at 82 Remsen Street with an asking price of $10 million (both still on the market); and one at 212 Columbia Heights that reportedly sold for $8.5 million.
This building at 140 is known to this newspaper as the former home of the well-known philanthropists, Donald and Mildred Othmer, who lived in the home for over 40 years, leaving it to Polytechnic University in Brooklyn upon their deaths in the 1990s (the university then sold it to private owners).
The Othmers were major benefactors of Long Island College Hospital, where there is now an Othmer Pavilion, and the Brooklyn Historical Society, which now has the Donald and Mildred Othmer Library. “Prices have been rising in the Heights at a fairly reasonable rate over the past three years in large part because the Heights has reached another plateau,” said Kevin Carberry, a Brooklyn Heights broker, in an article last year. “I think it’s this community’s allure. And that’s no surprise to those of us who live and work here.”
The neighboring home on Columbia Heights is also known to this newspaper because of a former famous occupant: Norman Mailer. It is thought that he or a member of his family still retains some ownership there.
Kory said she is marketing this property to “those who either love Brooklyn Heights or cannot find a home they love in Manhattan, and definitely to those who appreciate the finest in architectural renovation.”