The High and Low: Two Picture-Perfect Bow-Front Townhouses Go Head-to-Head
66 Morton Street, $17M (left); 280 Park Place, $3.5M (right)
A classic bow-fronted Prospect Heights townhouse (above, right) offers many of the things we love about this star-studded $17 million West Village home (above, left)–for a lot less. The big-ticket Manhattan beauty set records and made movies. But for $3.5 million, a new-to-market gem in one of Brooklyn’s most coveted neighborhoods is just as charming, and even offers some perks the Manhattan home lacks.
66 Morton Street.
66 Morton Street.
The recent sale of this West Village townhouse at 66 Morton Street set a weekly record for big-ticket buys. At $17 million–20 percent over the ask of $13.9M–it embodies the dream of West Village townhouse living. With its stunning bay front, 25 foot width, original details and landscaped garden, it’s got curb appeal from the outside and modern conveniences and pristine historic details–and four floors of living space plus a basement–within. It’s actually a three family house on the books, so while the new owners can keep using it as a grand single family home, there’s plenty of potential for rental income.
66 Morton Street.
66 Morton Street.
The house’s many turns on the big screen include Harrison Ford’s residence in “Working Girl,” Matthew Broderick’s pad in “The Night We Never Met” and Winona Ryder’s home in “Autumn in New York;” SELF magazine held their 25th anniversary party here.
280 Park Place.
THE COMPETITION…
But that was before brownstone Brooklyn became movie central. While you’re dreaming of townhouse living in a home like this, take a look at this 4,500+ square-foot Prospect Heights beauty at 280 Park Place, on the market now for $3.5M. The neighborhood can easily be seen as Brooklyn’s answer to the West Village with its grand historic homes and tree-shaded streets, with every amenity nearby on Flatbush and Vanderbilt Avenues; you’re also steps from Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park.
280 Park Place.
280 Park Place.
Also a three-family dwelling (which can be converted for single family living, of course), this lovely brick townhouse gets the benefit of a prime spot on one of the neighborhood’s loveliest streets, and offers a stunning bay front and a gorgeous 100-square-foot landscaped rear garden to look out over. There are also plenty of original details like crown molding, restored mantles, built-ins, high ceilings and inlaid wood floors. The house is an unheard-of 75 feet deep at the parlor level. There are two renovated rental units on the top floors and an owner’s duplex (including the aforementioned ornate parlor) with central air, skylights and an updated modern kitchen.
280 Park Place.
280 Park Place.
It might take a bit of renovation effort (and plenty of white paint) to make it look identical to the West Village version, and at $3.5 million it’s not exactly a basement bargain–though priced in line with the coveted neighborhood’s recent sales of similar homes. It does, however, underscore the oft-heard reminder that while brownstone Brooklyn prices may have soared in recent years, they’re still nowhere near what you’d pay for a very similar home in Manhattan.
[Listings: 280 Park Place, by Roy Ed Stickradt of Halstead Property; 66 Morton Street by Eileen Robert and Charlie Miller of the Corcoran Group]]
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Images: 66 Morton Street via Corcoran; 280 Park Place via Halstead Property.
