Williamsburg

Are you the type of New Yorker who dreams of great apartments after you've gone to bed? Maybe you've dreamt up a loft that looks like this, with wide open space, strikingly high ceilings, a private terrace and roof deck with views of the Williamsburg Bridge (Every NYC apartment worth dreaming about has outdoor space!). The listing, anyway, claims this Williamsburg studio at 138 Broadway is the stuff of dreams, and we have to say that it does look dreamy in the photos -- especially the 20-by-22-foot main space that's being used as the living and bedroom. The apartment comes from a well-known Williamsburg building, the Smith Gray, a cast-iron design built in 1882 for the Smith and Gray Department Store Building. It was converted to condos in 2002.
Check out the apartment

Distinctive Homes

December 29, 2015

First Look at Six-Family Townhouses Set for North Williamsburg

At the northern edge of Williamsburg, near the Greenpoint border, work is beginning on a 12-unit project developed by Ami Barr's Djem Land LLC and designed by Queens-based InFocus Design and Planning. The building is situated at 171-173 Bayard Street, between Graham Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard, and replaces a one-story, nondescript light industrial building that the Long Island-based developers snapped up for $1.8 million in early 2014. Renderings posted on the architect's website show an orderly facade of red brick, large sash windows, and steel lintels. A somewhat strange marble cornice tops the first three levels and the fourth story is set back, simulating a modern rooftop addition atop a rehabilitated manufacturing building.
More details ahead

December 17, 2015

Williamsberry’s Modern Mini-Me at 79 South Fifth Street Gets Glassed

Over in South Williamsburg, construction is moving apace on Mona Gora's noodle factory-to-nests condo conversion known as Williamsberry. While the building’s name has picked up a fair bit of ridicule, we think its ambiguity represents the neighborhood well; like that over-processed frozen yogurt flavor that's tangy to some, bitter to others, but too intriguing to stop tasting. The project is composed of an eight-story, former noodle factory building that is being transformed into 54 high-ceilinged residences topped by a rooftop solar farm. Alongside the conversion, the team is constructing a modern yet complementary six-story building at 79 South Fifth Street, which is also being designed by Workshop DA with interiors by Paris Forino.
Lots more details and renderings

December 15, 2015

REVEALED: Domino Sugar Factory’s Tiny New Neighbor at 349 Kent Avenue

In the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge and across from the massive Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment underway by Two Trees, a tiny corner site at 349 Kent Avenue and South 5th Street will give rise to a six-story, 10-unit residential building designed by Brooklyn-based Workshop DA. The 4,000 square-foot lot was purchased for $1.3 million by Eugene Bushinger's 351 Kent Realty LLC in early 2011 and in May, it was reported that building permits were filed for a 15,300 square-foot residential building. The pre-existing, two-story structure that once provided a welcome splash of color along the Brooklyn Greenway has since been demolished. Its worn, brick faced boasted a geometric and robot-infused mural painted by R. Nicholas Kuszyk (a.k.a. RRobotsollaboration) with How and Nosm in 2011.
find out more about the development here

November 30, 2015

Brooklyn’s Sketchbook Project Has a Library of 34,000 Doodles You Can Browse

It claims to be the world's largest collection of doodles, and it's located right in Williamsburg (h/t Atlas Obscura). The Sketchbook Project is a "crowd-sourced library that features 33,903 artists' books contributed by creative people from 135+ countries." Located at a storefront space in the Brooklyn Art Library, the project encourages artists (or anyone with an artistic inkling) to order one of their blank sketchbooks, fill it up with their drawings, and send it back to be added to the physical and/or digital library for creatives from all over the world to view.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

November 19, 2015

Live Like a Snowbird With Sunrise Views in This Williamsburg Rental for $3,450/Month

They call people who head to Florida for the winter “snowbirds,” flying off to southern climes to avoid the chilly season. This one-bedroom condo at 275 South First Street, on the rental market for $3,450 a month, resembles that seasonal roost in a subtropical spot, albeit with the substantial bonus of amazing Manhattan views and a prime Williamsburg location. Three sunny exposures and two terraces provide your imagination with a big boost in conjuring the beachfront experience and giving winter the brush-off.
See the whole place

Distinctive Homes

November 4, 2015

Rent a Literal Dumpster Apartment in Williamsburg for $1,200 a Month–or $200 a Night

By Diane Pham

Calling all "hipster types!" The home of your Instagram dreams is awaiting you in a lot in Williamsburg. Spotted by redditors early this morning on Craigslist, the apartment is being described as an "art deco hipster retro mini apt from a converted dumpster is green friendly and sustainable. .and trendy...1200 month. Or 200 per night." Because why commit to a whole month?
find out more here

October 20, 2015

Quirky East Williamsburg Artist’s Loft Offers a Bygone Authenticity for $3M

This converted East Williamsburg warehouse at 139 Powers Street is of the sort you don't come by too often anymore. It's one of those really cool-looking spaces you'd walk by maybe ten or twenty years ago and think, "hey, I'd like to live in this neighborhood" and wonder who lived there and what it looked like inside. As the listing says, it offers "authenticity that is difficult to find." The immediate neighborhood is that rare "unspoiled" old-school slice of what was once the 'burg's Italian enclave, and still has the vibe of being a mix of old, new, neighborhood-y and Vice-era cool. The two-story property, currently used as a single-family home, spans 3,600 interior square feet in a 25 x 100-foot building and is listed at $2.95 million; the loft currently belongs to local artist Joanne Ungar, and it definitely reflects the owner's creative tendencies–and green thumb.
Take a look around

October 16, 2015

Williamsburg’s New Soda Factory Lofts Bottle Industrial Architecture but Add Modern Style

Leasing has launched at the former Williamsburg manufacturing plant of the Brooklyn Bottling Company and Dr. Brown's Soda. The new development at 60 Berry Street is aptly called the Soda Factory Lofts, and the 40 units are an attractive mix of industrial architecture and modern style. There are currently 12 apartments on the market, ranging from a $3,300/month one-bedroom to a $5,500/month two bedroom.
Check them out

October 14, 2015

Spiffed-Up Williamsburg Loft Has Killer Views and Brilliant Built-Ins for $6,500 a Month

Williamsburg was once a neighborhood known for its big, open loft spaces. While those lofts may have gone condo and acquired dog-washing stations and compost centers, they’re still very much in existence. Case in point: this cavernous loft in the totally 21st century Esquire Lofts at 330 Wythe Avenue, just a hair south of the 'burg's decidedly factory-to-fancy Northside, on the rental market for $6,500 a month. This impressive space in a former shoe polish factory–built in 1914 and converted to condos in 2000–is listed as a one-bedroom, but it’s a duplex (in the loft sense of the word), and though there’s no floor plan, it claims a sizable 1,600 square feet. One of the best things about lofts–even well-groomed ones–is that no two are alike; former residents have carved out unique living and sometimes working spaces, and this is no exception. The standout feature here would have to be that custom-milled raised wooden storage platform.
See what else is cool in this loft

Distinctive Homes

October 14, 2015

REVEALED: Karl Fischer Pens Another Bottom-Line Design for East Williamsburg

Here's our first unfortunate look at a 12-story residential building slated to rise within a rapidly gentrifying corner of East Williamsburg. The block-through parcel at 46 Cook Street, between Graham and Humboldt Streets, will give way to a 34,000-square-foot mixed-use development designed by Karl Fischer Architect and Brooklyn-based developer Joel Braver, under the LLC Cook Properties. The project replaces a one-story brick warehouse building and is located just two blocks from the Flushing Avenue J/M subway station.
More info ahead

September 1, 2015

Modern Two-Bedroom in Williamsburg Comes With a Dreamy Outdoor Space

If you're on the hunt for a modern condo unit (and aren't shopping on a strict budget), Williamsburg is one Brooklyn neighborhood that is full of them. Here's the top-floor unit at 317 South 4th Street, a boutique condo with four total units—a two-bedroom, two-bathroom on the market for $1.45 million. The floor-through apartment has all modern finishes, lots of glass, a private balcony and even a 700-square-foot roof garden.
See more of it

August 27, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at Thor Equities’ Retail Jewel Box in Williamsburg

Last August, Joseph Sitt's Thor Equities purchased a string of Williamsburg properties for nearly $22 million with the intent of replacing the gritty row with a 10,000-square-foot retail jewel box. Now, Thor's website gives us our first look at what the prime property at the southeast corner of Berry and North 6th Streets may hold. The two renderings presented of 124-136 North 6th Street reveal a sleek, two-story building clad in brick and glass that could potentially house a half-dozen boutique retailers. According to the Observer, who first reported the deal last October, Thor is seeking a retail showroom and/or restaurant tenants. Above the spaces, the building may be topped with a gardened roof deck enclosed in trellises.
More details

August 26, 2015

A Glassy, Modern Single-Family Home Asks $12,000 a Month in Williamsburg

If historic townhouses are not your thing, this single-family home has gone the modern route. Built in 2006, it's a 1,000-square-foot, four bedroom home located at 257 Berry Street in Williamsburg. The exterior is, of course, plenty glassy, and the interior is a more modern take on Williamsburg's older loft apartments. It is now on the rental market asking $12,000 a month.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

August 21, 2015

Model Agyness Deyn’s $3.6M Former Williamsburg Loft Has a Tax Bill of Just $24 a Year

A renovated 2,911 square-foot corner loft in Williamsburg's Mill Building at 85 North 3rd Street just hit the market for $3.6 million. The spacious loft condominium with dramatic open spaces and original details is the former home of Brit model Agyness Deyn, who bought the Northside pad for $1.97 million in 2008 and sold it in 2012 for $2.175M. New owners have given it a rustic-luxe update and hope to keep the upward trend going, with a current ask of $3.65 million. An expensive loft in the 'burg wouldn't faze us, (and the building has an impressive menu of amenities–doorman, garage, roof deck–for a loft), but the tax bill was a shocker: Taxes on the pricy pad are a mere–as per the listing–"unheard-of $24 a year," due to a J-51 exemption and tax abatement in effect until 2025.
Find out why the taxes are so low

August 18, 2015

‘Exceptional Quirks’ and Reclaimed Materials Abound in This Historic Williamsburg Church Conversion

One of the neighborhood's oldest landmarks, the Saint Vincent De Paul Church at 167 North Sixth Street in Williamsburg's uber-trendy North Side was recently converted into 40 rental apartments known as the Spire Lofts. We know that converted churches get people's attention at the very least–but like many historic building conversions, they can be a disappointment. The apartments here don't try to be especially historic–but the interiors differ somewhat from the usual boilerplate rental "lofts" that tend to spring up like weeds in North Brooklyn. The building's recently-listed batch of two- and three-bedrooms ranges from $6,400 to $8,000 (the spoken-for one-bedrooms started at $4k), so they're pricey. The interiors are somewhat innovative, though. The listing promises "...modern details and state-of-the-art finishes [that] blend flawlessly with expertly salvaged materials, including original exposed brick, reclaimed Heart Pine pillars and beams, arched stained glass windows, custom steel work and exceptional quirks around every corner." On the down side, there's no floor plan and no mention of square footage.
Take a look at the loft-style interiors, this way

August 9, 2015

Construction Update: Williamsburg’s 95 South Fifth Tops Out

By Heather Cooper Vivares

After breaking ground earlier this year, Horrigan Development and Pilot Real Estate Group’s 95 South Fifth Street has already topped out. Although the site’s pre-war building is not landmarked, Standard Architects is preserving the industrial heritage aesthetic by incorporating the facade of the former three-story brick warehouse into the new 6,500-square-foot addition. The 26,500-square-foot renovation will be split between 18,000 square feet of residential space, plus a small 675-square foot commercial space that will be used as a restaurant at the base.
More here

New Developments

June 17, 2015

POLL: Is Eliot Spitzer’s Williamsburg Development ‘Offensive?’

Yesterday, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer revealed the first official rendering for Spitzer Enterprises’ mega development on the South Williamsburg waterfront. The $700 million trio of 24-story rental towers was designed by ODA Architects, who referred to the project as a “molded iceberg.” Today, Lincoln Restler, a senior policy advisor to Mayor de Blasio, took to Facebook to […]

June 16, 2015

Renderings Revealed for Eliot Spitzer’s ODA-Designed Williamsburg Mega-Development

Leaving his political career in the past, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer is taking on the development world. After his father's death in November, the controversial politician took over the family's real estate business, Spitzer Enterprises. And he's now revealed the first rendering for his Williamsburg mega-development in the New York Times (not Twitter), showcasing a trio of 24-story rental towers designed by ODA Architects. Located at 420-430 Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg, the project is in keeping with ODA's signature boxy, glassy aesthetic. It will cost $700 million, have 856 units, and boast two rooftop pools and a park with an esplanade.
More details here

June 8, 2015

The Ultimate Williamsburg Loft Is on the Market for $7,500 a Month

Coming straight from Williamsburg, the Brooklyn neighborhood that's perhaps best known for its stock of loft apartments, is the ultimate loft at 330 Wythe Avenue. This is at the Esquire loft building, a pre-war building that now has its own dog washing station, common terrace, and compost center. While the building's gone condo, this apartment is up for rent asking $7,500 a month. It's been billed "the coolest loft apartment in Williamsburg," according to the listing. Do you think it fits the bill?
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

June 4, 2015

According to Real Estate Brokers, All of Brooklyn Is an Extension of Williamsburg

A hilarious new map on Reddit pokes fun at real estate brokers’ tendency to stretch the truth to when it comes to an apartment’s proximity to desirable Williamsburg. Here, Coney Island is South-SouthSouth Williamsburg, East New York is South EastWilliamsburg, but only a tiny little triangle in Brownsville gets a reprieve from the hipster treatment […]

Real Estate Trends

May 28, 2015

Quirky Cabin-Like Home with Tons of Outdoor Space Is Up for Rent in Williamsburg

This 2,000-square-foot three-bedroom Williamsburg duplex is a lot of things: It's cool, kooky, rustic and a little beachy, too. Some nice interior details have been paired with a fun, smart design. The listing calls this a "city meets country oasis," and with all the exposed wood, we'd have to agree. It all makes for a special pad with a killer outdoor patio and garden. If you fall in love with it, it's now on the market for $7,995 a month.
Go inside here

May 22, 2015

Combine Two Offbeat Williamsburg Apartments to Create the Ultimate Loft

Two apartments, units 408 and 309, are now available at the Mill Building, 85 North 3rd Street in Williamsburg, with the potential to create a massive loft apartment. When we first saw this listing, only one unit was up for grabs, but now a buyer will have two floors and 3,600 square feet to work with, as well as the potential to build out as many as five bedrooms alongside a media room and library. How much for the opportunity to create this mega loft? The asking price is $4.775 million.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

May 7, 2015

This Williamsburg Townhouse Is Giving Off Hipster Vibes